Slow Cooker Oriental Orange Dinner

Photo courtesy the Cooking Corner.

  
     Asian appetizers were the theme of a recent party and since I had leftover ingredients, I decided to make use of what was on hand. I had snagged some turkey cutlets on sale, so I substituted them for chicken and came up with an interesting approach to a classic Asian flavor combination.
    This is an easy slow cooker dish that's served over rice to make a flavor-filled dinner.

Slow Cooker Oriental Orange Dinner
Sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. honey
1/4 tsp sesame oil

Meat base
1 to 1-1/2 lb. turkey cutlets, cut in 3/4 inch chunks
1/4 cup cornstarch
salt and pepper
3 bell peppers, any color, but red, yellow and green preferred, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
1 small onion, sliced in thin strips
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro, as garnish
1 cup cooked rice

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

In slow cooker place turkey chunks, onion and peppers. Mix in cornstarch and salt and pepper. Stir to coat well. Sprinkle crushed red pepper flake on top.

Pour sauce over top meat and cook on low 4 hours.

Serve over cooked rice and sprinkle with cilantro. Makes 6 servings.

Sriracha Baby Back Ribs

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

    Not everyone has a grill, let alone a smoker. But even without all this cooking equipment, you can still make tasty ribs right in your own kitchen, no matter the weather or time of year.
    This simple recipe relies on a good dry rub and a coating of Sriracha chili sauce for lots of flavor. Sometimes simple prep and few ingredients can be a very good thing.

Sriracha Baby Back Ribs
1 slab baby back ribs (silver skin removed)
2 T. dry rub
5 shakes liquid smoke per side
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup Sriracha sauce

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spray coat a baking sheet. Lay large piece of foil on baking sheet. Lay ribs on foil and season both sides with dry rub, salt and pepper. Shake on drops of liquid smoke.

Wrap ribs in foil and bake for 2 hours. Remove from oven and open foil.

Spread 1/4 cup Sriracha sauce on each side of ribs. Return to oven with foil open and continue baking another 30-45 minutes until meat is tender and has started to pull away from the bone.

Makes 1 slab ribs. Serves about 4-5.

Asian Meatballs

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     The girls were coming over for cards and I picked an Asian theme for the appetizers that night. I thought finger foods such as egg rolls, wontons and chicken wings would be fun or at least different. 
     I came up with the idea of meatballs coated in an Asian sauce. The meatballs turned out very moist, easy to make and they reheated well. It was also nice to keep them warm throughout the night.

Meatball ingredients.

Asian Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 cup Panko crumbs
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 T. parsley

Sauce
1/3 cup Hoisin sauce
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minces
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 400. Spray coat a baking sheet.

In medium bowl combine all meatball ingredients until well blended.

Shape into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and place apart on baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well. Set aside.

When meatballs are done place in sauce bowl, working in batches and stir to cover. Place in slow cooker on low to keep warm. Pour remaining sauce over meatballs and keep warm until ready to serve.

Makes 16 meatballs. Recipe easily doubled.

Meatballs out of the oven.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     We had a wedding in the family a few weeks ago and then it seemed we rolled right into the Easter bunny. I've been off schedule ever since.
     Just hours before the wedding I helped the bride make one of the highlights of the dessert table, chocolate covered strawberries. This was totally out of my realm, but proved quite easy. 
     We melted the chocolate in a 3 bowl slow cooker and starting dipping and dripping (the excess chocolate). The berries were laid on waxed paper to set up while we finished the meat trays. Timing is everything. We stacked these little pretties on fancy plates, wrapped them in foil and then dashed off to dress for the ceremony.
     Everyone at the reception loved these goodies and I found a few of the kids trying to snag handfuls. This would be a nice touch for upcoming spring and summer weddings.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

6 quarts of large strawberries

2 lb. of chocolate, 1 white and 1 milk chocolate.

Wash berries but do not cut off tops. Spread on layers of paper towel to dry.

Melt chocolate on low, stirring often. Use a small pan in a double boiler if needed.

Dip berries in chocolate, letting them drip briefly and gently shake off excess.

Lay on waxed paper for 20 minutes or so to set up. Store in an airtight container.

Vegetable Pizza

Vegetable Pizza
Jason Spindler, Attorney

    Many people these days are big on eating healthy. I'm just happy to have food and if it taste good all the better. But what if you can have healthy food that tastes good? Then you get the best of both. 

    I tried this veggie pizza at a fundraiser dinner and was so surprised at the flavor and texture. Even my hubby who is a complete carnivore thought this was really good.

Photo courtesy Taste of Home.

Vegetable Pizza

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1(1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix

1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup chopped green olives

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a baking sheet, and pinch together edges to form the pizza crust.

Bake crust for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Once finished cooking, remove crust from oven and let cool 15 minutes without removing it from the baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and dry Ranch dressing.  Spread the mixture over the cooled crust.  Arrange broccoli, green bell pepper, olives, cauliflower, carrots and cheddar cheese over the cream cheese layer. Chill for one hour, slice and serve.

Veggie Soup

Photo courtesy Taste of Home

    When I first started cooking, my version of vegetable soup consisted of some ground beef combined with a can of mixed vegetables. Agh! It was very lame. Unfortunately, I've not gotten much better. I can do stews of many varieties and different soups, but every time I try a veggie soup it's just too bland and boring for me. One of the guys at work shared his mom's recipe which he claims is "the bomb." That says a lot for a guy who doesn't like veggie soup.

Veggie Soup

Recipe courtesy Diana Spear

2-1/2 lb. beef rump roast

browned on all sides in virgin olive oil

2 qts. cold water

1 tsp. salt

Place the beef in a large soup kettle and cover with cold water. Add salt, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 3 hours, until beef is tender.

Remove meat and trim off fat. Cut into serving size pieces and return to the beef broth water.

Add the following - 

2 qt. Campbell's tomato juice

1 can beef broth

1 or 2 cans cut green beans, drained

1 can corn niblets

6-7 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)

1/2 qt. hot water

1 1/2 tsp. dried basil

3 T. chopped parsley

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Cook for about 30-45 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.

 Makes about 1 1/2 gallons.

Optional veggies

2 cups frozen lima beans

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 cup carrots, sliced or cubed

1 small can of tomato juice if needed.

*Leftovers may be refrigerated

Bangers and Mashed

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     I've only tried a few Irish dishes, but one that I really like is called bangers and mashed. In simple terms it's a sausage served on mashed potatoes topped with gravy. I guess that sausage links are called bangers across ocean, much like they call French fries chips.
     The sausage is flavored, not just plain old breakfast links, so that a brat or kielbasa would work, too. The trick is that after browning for a bit, the sausage simmers in a onion gravy and I've learned over the years that gravy makes everything better (or hides mistakes well).

Bangers and Mashed
6-8 sausage links in casings
2 T. butter
1 large onion
1 beer
1 T. flour
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 - 1 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper

Heat 1 T. butter in large skillet. Add sausage and brown on all sides, 1-2 minutes. Add onion and cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Slowly pour in beer and simmer 10-12 minutes.

Remove meat and set aside. In small bowl mix 1 T. flour and 1 T. melted butter. Pour into skillet and stir to combine. Mixture will be thick. Add Worcestershire sauce and slowly stir in broth.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and return meat to onion gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes.