Slow Cooker Baked Beans in a Rice Cooker (DRIED BEANS!!)

Here is our dinner tomorrow night.  One of the great things about it, is that you can start with dried beans and 4 hours later, you have a full meal.  My rice cooker has a slow cook setting.

Slow-Cooked Baked Beans in a Rice Cooker
Serves 6–8 as a side dish and 3-4 as a main meal.
Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1 lb kielbasa, sliced into coins 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 lb dried pinto beans
• 5 cups water
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup spicy mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Preparation:

1. Cook the bacon over medium heat in a medium-size skillet. When the bacon begins to brown, add the onions and kielbasa and sauté until translucent.
2. Place the beans into the slow cooker with the water, bacon, kielbasa and onion. Cover and set the slow cooker on high for 3 hours.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Combine the molasses, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. After 3 hours add the sauce and stir to combine. Cover and let the beans cook an additional hour.

The Last of the Turkey

Today, I am using the last of the Thanksgiving turkey.  I froze it all in single recipe packs so that we didn't have to overdose on it like many people do, right after the original dinner.

Turkey Hash Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded turkey
4 cups shredded white potatoes
2 cups shredded carrots
1 shallot, diced
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can evaporated skim milk
2 teaspoons ground thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper



Combine all ingredients well and pour into a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 4 hours or until hot and bubbly.   When done, lay slices of cheddar cheese over the top and cover until the cheese melts.

In the mood for German food this week?

I happen to love sour kraut.  As a matter of fact, I have never met a sour cabbage dish that I didn't like.  But, I know that I am in the minority.  In my slow cooker today is a meal to make even the most devout sour kraut hater change their mind. 

First I cook up 1/4 pound of maple cured bacon.  I dice the bacon before I cook it to make it cook faster and I cook it to a few seconds shy of crispy.  Remove bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.  In the bacon fat, saute a large onion that has been sliced very thin until it is translucent.  Mix the onion with 3 cups of drained sour kraut.  Add a tablespoon of spicy whole grain mustard and 3 granny smith apples that have been diced and add the bacon back into the mixture.  Pour into the bottom a slow cooker.  Lay 1 1/2 pounds of kielbasa on top of the mixture and cook on low for 6 hours.

Experimenting Today

Today, I am experimenting.  It will be edible for sure, but not sure how good. This is what I did.

I put two cups of  dried black eyed peas in my extra large slow cooker.  I had a ham bone in the freezer from a spiral sliced ham.  It was full of meat.  I defrosted it and put it on top of the dried beans.  I also poured in the packet of glaze that came with it originally.  (I hadn't used it because the sliced  ham was used for cold sandwiches.)  I then sauteed a medium onion, 5 cloves of garlic and a large jalapeno in bacon fat along with a teaspoon of each cumin and black mustard seeds.  I just wilted the onion and waited for the mustard seeds to start popping.  I poured the entire thing into the slow cooker on top of the ham.  I then added 4 cups of water and set the slow cooker to high.  I chose 7 hours, but will check on it and add or subtract time as I notice how the ham/beans are faring. 

It was actually done in 5 hours and it was AWESOME!!!!  My husband said "DO IT AGAIN," and most of the time he says NOTHING.

Menu 4/28 - 5/9

Here is our menu for the next week or so.

Sat 4/28 - OUT
Sun 4/29 - Pulled Pork Quesadillas and Slaw
Mon 4/30 - Chicken Tacos, Bean Tacos
Tue 5/1 -  Black Eyed Peas and Turkey Kielbasa in slow cooker and Slaw
Wed 5/2 - 2 for $20
Thu 5/3 - OUT for 10th Anniversary
Fri 5/4 - Wings, Celery, Carrots
Sat 5/5 - OUT
Sun 5/6 - Bourbon BBQ Ribs (Kentucky Derby), Black Bean, Corn and Pepper Salad (Cinco de Mayo)
Mon 5/7 - Chicken Fajita Wraps
Tue 5/8  - Roast Chicken, Smashed Garlic Potatoes, Broccoli
Wed 5/9 - Chicken a la King with Peas over Brown Rice in Rice Cooker

Another Bottom of the Jar Day

For those who follow my blog, you are aware that I love to cook from the bottom of jars.  For those who are first time readers, that means that when I have the end of some product that often won't come out of the bottom of a jar, such as jelly, mustard, chutney etc, I like to use the jar as a vessel to create a marinade or sauce or dressing thereby "washing" the remaining tasty bits off the jar walls.  After all, I paid for the entire contents of the jar, not just the product that comes out of it easily.

Today, I wanted to put some pork ribs in the slow cooker for the day.  I had no barbecue sauce and since I am trying to cut the sugar in what we eat, commercial barbecue sauces are not on my shopping list any longer.  I did have a jar of sugar free apricot preserves in the fridge though.  Well, it wasn't actually a usable jar, since there was barely a few tablespoons left and they were stuck to the bottom and sides of the jar.  I looked at the jar and had an instant "bottom of the jar idea".  

I took the jar and added a few tablespoons each  of soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, garlic, dehydrated onions, a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I closed the lid and shook vigorously to dislodge the sticky bits stuck to the jar.  I then placed the country style pork ribs in one layer at the bottom of my slow cooker and poured this sweet and spicy goodness over the ribs.  They are now cooking at medium heat.  I will turn it down to low in a few hours and let it go all day.  I can't wait to eat them.  The fragrance of spices and pork running through the house is intoxicating.