Applesauce in a Rice Cooker? YUP!

Applesauce in a Rice Cooker

4 large apples, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup cider
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

Add all ingredients into the rice cooker.  Cover and set on the cook mode. When cycle is compete, check to see if apples are tender. Add additional cook time if needed. Puree with hand blender or food processor if desired.

If you have a food mill, you can put the apples in wedges and even leave the seeds.  Then run it through a sieve and the food mill when the rice cooker is done.

Greek Inspired Lamb Stew with Feta Crumbles

I love lamb and it is usually too expensive for our budget.  Today, I made up a "stew" that uses ground lamb, cooks in a rice cooker and is luscious.  You could use stew lamb as well.  I served it with crumbled feta cheese on the top and it really is a hit here.  It makes 4 hearty servings.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 pound ground lamb or 1 1/2 pounds lamb stew meat (which usually has bones)
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 14 ounce can low sodium beef broth
1 cup barley
1/2 pound baby carrots
water
salt and pepper to taste (I don't add any salt to anything, the feta cheese was salty enough for us.)

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese (the fat free works just as well as the regular)

In a skillet brown the lamb in olive oil.  Add garlic, onion and seasonings after the lamb has begun to brown so they don't burn.  Pour all of the skillet into a slow cooker or rice cooker.  Add the barley and stir to coat the barley in the moist lamb and olive oil.  Add the crushed tomatoes and the beef broth.  Fill the beef broth can with water and add that too.  Add the carrots and stir to combine.

If in a rice cooker, cook on white rice setting until it turns off.  In a slow cooker, cook for 4-6 hours.

Serve with crumbled feta cheese.

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.

Grilled Cheese

I am not a sandwich person.  Oh, I eat them because they are convenient, but I would always choose a salad or bowl of soup or an entree type meal over a sandwich.  For grilled cheese though I make an exception.

Today is National Grilled Cheese Day.  For the occasion I am planning some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Crispy hard rolls will be stuffed with pulled pork and Monterey Jack cheese and I will grill them panini style to melt the cheese.  

This made me think about my favorite diner sandwich.  Most of the time when I go to a diner, no matter what time of day, I order breakfast food.  But, when I order a sandwich, it has to be a tuna melt with Swiss cheese or cheddar cheese.  The tuna has to have crunchy celery in it.  I especially like the open faced varieties because the tuna stays cool and the bread and cheese are crispy and hot and bubbly.   I love that contrast.  YUM!!  Just writing about it, makes me need one (YES NEED!) NOW!!!

I used to go to a local place for live music and they had a grilled cheese on the menu that I just had to order every time. It had 5 different cheese, applewood smoked bacon and tomatoes on it. It was made in a thickly sliced sourdough bread. I have yet to have a better one.

I found a really great link at the Food Network for fifty different grilled cheeses.  Check them out!