Great Crock Pot tips, tricks and secrets...Fess Up Folks

[The empressof all]

I confess I carmelize onions in my crock pot. I haven't let them go long enough to get dark enough for French onion soup but I don't like onion soup so :shrug:

I throw them in at night and wake up to yummy goodness ready to use brown onions.

3 lbs sliced onions
1/2 cup melted margarine (or butter)
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:

I dump it in the crock pot and let it go at low for 8 to 10 hours


http://www.recipezaar.com/Crock-Pot-Caramelized-Onions-24750

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. I just did a batch of carmelized onions...

A stick of butter, some olive oil, three pounds of onions, some smoked paprika, some chipolte powder, some brown sugar, and a few hours on the stove, me stirring it every so often, filling this place with the best aroma.

Now, it's the chicken with KC Rub that's smelling wonderful.

I like it here :)

[The empressof all]

2. Yes, my dear you were the inspiration for my thread

I read your post about the chicken and the onions and just had to share my little trick. Now that I no longer worry about burning them on top of the stove I'm enjoying the onions alot more often.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. Life without carmelized onions..

ain't worth living.

A young pal dropped by, and I fixed her a quick lunch:

A small olive/artichoke focaccia that I sliced horizontally, laid down some leftover hot Italian sausage slices, threw on some of the still-simmering carmelized onions, topped it with shredded mozzarella and provolone and some fresh garlic slices, put the top half on the whole thing, stuck it in the microwave - she had a short lunch break - until it was heated and all the cheese melted, and that kid wolfed it down like there was no tomorrow.

Very gratifying. What did we do without microwaves?

[pengillian101]

7. A young pal dropped by, and I fixed her a quick lunch...

"A small olive/artichoke focaccia that I sliced horizontally, laid down some leftover hot Italian sausage slices, threw on some of the still-simmering carmelized onions, topped it with shredded mozzarella and provolone and some fresh garlic slices, put the top half on the whole thing, stuck it in the microwave - she had a short lunch break - until it was heated and all the cheese melted, and that kid wolfed it down like there was no tomorrow."

YUM! Sounds delish! Can I be your old pal?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. Anytime........

Tonight, another young pal had a quick dinner of cold sliced chicken breast, cold shrimp, and a big bowl of Russian Salad.

Since I don't HAVE to cook, it's fun to feed them when I feel like it.

Drop by tomorrow. It's looking to be an all-ice-cream day................

:)

[eleny]

5. Smoked paprika is so good!

I only started using it last year and am hooked. Of course, I learned about it here in C&B.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. The BEST

comes from Penzey's:

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysspanishpaprika.html?id=eH6rrdNT

About a year ago, they opened a store not far from here. It's like living down the road from Heaven..

[susanna]

15. I'm not allowed in Penzey's anymore (at least jokingly).

Evidently, I can't restrain myself, this according to the Love of My Life. In truth, Love/Life is correct. I harbor a greed for spices and herbs quite unlike my usual spartan nature.

However, I put myself on their catalog list. Some things are meant to be handled privately, and if spices appear via mail automagically, where's the harm? And it it is like heaven walking in there (insert appreciative sniff here), so BFF and I hit it on the sly every couple months on Ladies' Day Out. I kid. Love/Life knows I go there and just rolls his eyes and drily points out that "three types of cinnamon might be overkill, don't you think?"

I've rarely met anything smoked I didn't like, and their Smoked Paprika is truly the best. I had never thought of putting it on carmelized onions, but now I have a reason to try it. Thanks!

[Lars39]

4. That sounds so good!

My latest light bulb moment was putting a folded up beach towel over the crock pot to hold in heat,get things going faster, and keep it simmering.

[eleny]

6. Onions overnight in the crockpot?

I don't sleepwalk but I'm sure this would have me levitating right out of the bed around 3 AM!

[pengillian101]

8. Frozen bread dough in the crockpot?

I am SOOOOOO going to try this.

[troubleinwinter]

9. I don't know.

There is a dish from my great-grandmother that our family has always called "Eyes and Balls" (yeah, with a little snicker), from the Depression days.

I've made it for many years, my mother did for many years, and of course great grandmother. It is simply dried blackeyed peas with "balls" of ordinary bulk breakfast sausage mixed with TONS of sliced green onions, added half way through. The sausage flavors the beans as they cook. It's not attractive to look at, but tastes wonderful.

I moved a coupla years ago to a rather high elevation and was a little leery about cooking dried beans (I'd heard some bad things). I put them in the crockpot. They were the absolutely the BEST beans I have ever had. The texture was even, skins tender, beans separate from one another. I doubt I'll cook beans in anything but a crockpot.

I don't know why the crockpot worked so amazingly well.

[The empressof all]

12. That sounds really good

I love black eyed peas and think they would be terrific with sausage. Do you brown the sausage first? I would think so to get rid of some of the grease and get better flavor. I'm gonna try this someday.

[troubleinwinter]

13. Nope.

Not browned. Just plunked in there for the last half of cooking.

I'm amazed that you said is sounded good. I've wanted to post it as a sorta heritage depression food, but thought it probly sounded awful! It looks sorta awful... kinda beige/grey. But I love it and make it a coupla times a year. It's (of course) better the second or third day.

My mother's recipe for the green onions in the "balls" was: "as much green onions as ya can fit".

I think a bag of beans, a roll of sausage and a bunch of green onions would be the recipe. I usually double the sausage cuz I like it. I buy the bulk rolls of ordinary breakfast sausage if it's on sale and throw it in the freezer.

Might be that we will be needing these sorts of recipes.

Ever heard of "fried maccaroni"? Another Depression days family recipe that I make for snacks cuz I like it. I have a bag of maccaroni on the table now, waiting to be made up.

Then there's Paul's Balls....

[troubleinwinter]

14. Another Depression food

was Oxtails on noodles.

In 'the day', Oxtails were very cheep, considered kinda throw-away poor people's meat. They are very expensive now. I ordered some through the butcher at the market (they came in a coupla days), and boy, were they ever expensive!

My mother used to say about oxtails, "all the flavor goes to the hind end", and she was right!

[The empressof all]

16. That "old time food" is still some of the best

And those breakfast sausage rolls are terrific for a great many things. I throw a roll of cooked sausage together with a bag of cubed seasoned stuffing mix, sliced brown onions, celery, apples, a couple of eggs, a stick of butter, with a handful of raisens to make the best dressing in the world. You can use it to stuff just about anything and it's great just plain cooked up in a casserole.

The bulk sausage is also great cooked up, mixed with onions and cream cheese for a quick low carb stuffing for mushrooms. I try not to think about what's in those rolls of "Jimmy Dean" but I always try to keep a few rolls in the freezer.

Oxtails and shanks have gone through the roof in price. I love them too!

[Lucinda]

17. If your a carnivore, and especially a carnivore on a budget

We buy inexpensive beef or pork roasts and sprinkle them liberally with garlic powder, sea salt (or kosher) and black pepper. Don't add any liquids. Just the seasonings. Look for beef with marbling and pork with a fat layer. Bone in if they will fit in your cooker. Leaner cuts wont work well for this.

Cook on low, and turn occasionally after juices develop in the bottom of the crock (and add more garlic powder, salt and pepper, once, after the first turn, to get the unseasoned side)

Once it's falling apart, its done. 8-12 hours as a rule. The pork will cook much quicker. Turning it important to the process, it seasons the meat with the "juices" and makes it very tender and moist.

From there, I use the meat to make bbq, tamales, enchiladas etc. And the liquid to make sauces. It's a GREAT way to cook inexpensive cuts of meat.

I may also add dried thyme and/or rosemary, depending on what we plan on doing with the meat.