Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes! Time Saving, Money Saving Kitchen Tips ~ Noreen's Kitchen

This week's time saving, money saving tip is all about potatoes!  If you are like me, you purchase potatoes in large bags with every intention of using them faster than they can sprout eyes.  Truth be told, I never can do this and invariably end up scrubbing my potatoes free of their eyes when using up the bottom of the bag.  When this happens, I like to bake them all off and use them in other recipes.  Because this will encourage me to use them and not waste them, and while they will end up in the compost bin, I would much rather have my groceries end up in our bellies, fueling our bodies instead of making good soil!  

Baking potatoes in a slow cooker or crockpot, may not be something you have considered, however a quick search on YouTube will reveal that a lot of people have been doing this for a long time so maybe it's time for you to start!  This is a great way to bake potatoes in bulk without heating up your kitchen.  This saves both time and money because you don't have to babysit your spuds while they are in the oven and you get to use up the groceries you have spent your hard earned money on to nourish your growing family!

There are lots of different ideas about how to bake your potatoes in the slow cooker.  My preparation is really no different than how I prep my potatoes to go in the oven.  I scrub them up really well using either a green pad or a stainless steel scrubbie or even a brush will work.  I remove any eyes or bad spots from the potatoes and then dry them off with paper towel and let them sit for about an hour before proceeding.  I like to make sure the residual moisture from the scrubbing is pretty much gone.

I like to place the potatoes in a really large bowl then drizzle over a couple tablespoons of olive oil and give everything a good rub down, making sure the potatoes are completely coated with the oil.  At this point you can say you are done prepping your spuds.  You don't have to add anything else.  However I do like to add some Kosher salt and some steak seasoning to my potatoes.  You add as much or as little as you prefer.  You are the master of your tubers!   I will most likely be peeling these potatoes before I use them, however I may not.  The steak seasoning will permeate the potatoes during the long baking process and as a bonus they will perfume your kitchen so how can that be a bad thing?

Once everything is all oiled up and seasoned, place the potatoes in your slow cooker.  No need to add any water.  The potatoes will produce enough of their own moisture to cook and prevent drying.  Then pop the lid on, set the cooker to low and allow the potatoes to bake for 6 to 8 hours or until a knife will easily pierce the potato with just a little resistance.  You don't want these mushy, just nicely cooked.

The one major difference between potatoes baked in the oven and potatoes baked in the slow cooker is the skin.  Baked this way your skin is going to be soggy and not crispy like when you bake them in the oven.  I can over look this, especially in the middle of a hellish summer where I don't really want to be firing up my oven to 450 degrees just to make a baked potato to eat next to a delicious grilled steak.  You can always plug your slow cooker in on your covered deck, carport or garage (make sure it's out of the weather) and that will not heat up your house at all!  

Saving time by baking off potatoes in bulk is a great way to have them on hand for quick dinner, potato salad, casseroles, and home fries or any dish calling for potatoes.  Saving money is using what you have already purchased as well as saving energy.  A slow cooker will use about 8 cents of electricity over an 8 hour span of time as compared to an electric oven that will use 24 cents an hour.  I would say that is a great savings overall!

I hope you give baking potatoes in the slow cooker a try sometime soon and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

You can see how I did this in my YouTube video:

Low and Slow is the Key to Success! Tasty Slow Roasted Brisket Recipe! Noreen's Kitchen

Time to prepare for another in our bulk cooking series.  This time around I am using a beef brisket, slow roasting it to perfection and then see how many meals for four we can get out of it.  I have slow roasted brisket in a video many years ago.  Time for an upgrade!  Brisket can be intimidating to some people, simple because of the nature of the cut.  It is not forgiving and if done wrong, it can be be an awful experience.  There are a few tricks to doing it just right.  First off, low and slow is imperative, secondly, the way you slice this cut of meat is going to make all the difference in whether you have a melt in your mouth slice of beef or a chewy, stringy and tough piece.  Today I am going to show you the right way to achieve the perfect brisket!

I have around a 10 pound brisket, with a trimmed fat cap.  You want to make sure your cut is trimmed well.  Some brisket can come with a very fatty layer, which can be unappealing after it is cooked.  You don't want the fat to be trimmed away completely, because the fat helps to flavor the meat and keep it moist and delicious.  You can always discard it when serving.  Over all, I like to leave about a half inch if it is not already trimmed well.

Like my Calphalon roasting pan?  Check it out here: http://amzn.to/2kKzb1Q

Next is the seasoning and aromatics.  I have created a "rack" of vegetables to place the brisket upon.  Carrots and celery are great for this.  I also thick cut a yellow onion and scattered it around the roast.  For seasoning, I have generously spread some of my homemade dry onion soup mix.  If you would like to see how I made that, check out my video here:  http://bit.ly/2kQoLRo

I also added some bay leaves and crushed rosemary to the seasoning as well.  I added about 3 cups of water to the bottom of the roasting pan, then covered the roast with parchment and a double layer of foil.  The brisket was roasted in a 300 degree oven for 7.5 hours then allowed to rest for an additional 2 hours before slicing.  Allowing the brisket to rest for a long period is going to be helpful when slicing.  

To slice a brisket properly you will want to ascertain the grain of the meat.  Slicing straight across the meat is not the way to go.  You want to slice against the grain.  To do this you will want to slice diagonally from the narrow end of the brisket to the wide end.  This will help you to know that you will get nice short, tender, melt in your mouth pieces of meat instead of long stringy inedible pieces.

This brisket is a delicious treat.  It does cook down a bit so in the end, I would guess that we have about 7 pounds of edible meat.  We enjoyed our brisket the first night with mashed potatoes, gravy made with some of the drippings and steamed veggies.  We will be sharing other options to use the leftovers.  This makes for great budget cooking and freezer banking for nights when a long cooking process is out of the question.  

The leftover meat from a  tasty brisket is great for bbq beef sandwiches, taquito filling, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, hot beef open faced sandwiches, Chicago style beef sandwiches, beef pot pie, beef and barley soup and so much more!  You can even make a red flannel, roast beef hash with these leftovers and it will be amazing!  Stay tuned to see what I come up with!  I am confident we will be able to get 4 to 6 meals out of this roast.    Not as many as we did from the chicken, but a good number nonetheless.

I hope you give slow roasting a brisket a try and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

You can see how I made this in my YouTube video here:

You can find a printable version of this recipe on my website here: http://bit.ly/2kyEuAT

Noreen's Kitchen

Slow Roasted Beef Brisket

Ingredients

1 whole beef brisket 8 to 10 pounds 4 carrots roughly cut 4 stalks of celery roughly cut 1 large onion, thickly sliced

½ cup dry onion soup mix 1 teaspoon dried, crushed rosemary 4 bay leaves 4 cups water

Step by Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place celery and carrots in the bottom of a deep roasting pan.

Place brisket, fat cup up, on top of the carrots and celery.

Arrange onion slices around the brisket.

Sprinkle onion soup mix generously over the top of the brisket.  Sprinkle rosemary and bay leaves on top as well.

Pour water into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Cover with parchment if desired then double seal the pan with aluminum foil.

Roast for a minimum of 6 hours and check to see if the brisket is done.  If not return it to the oven for an addition hour to hour and a half. 

When brisket is tender all the way through a the thickest part of the meat, remove from oven and allow to rest for two hours before slicing.

When slicing the brisket, you will want to use a sharp carving knife and slice diagonally across the grain of the meat.  When you look at your slice it should not have long strings of meat running horizontally. It should have a short grain that runs vertically across the slice.  Slicing diagonally will achieve this.  Start at the narrow end of the brisket and slice your way back toward the wider end diagonally.  This will give you the perfect, tender, melt in your mouth experience you are going for.

Leftover brisket should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for no longer than ten days.  It can also be frozen in sealed containers or zip top freezer bags for later use.

ENJOY!

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Mama Mia That's A Saucy Sauce! Pantry Shelf Marinara Sauce Recipe!!

When I was a kid, coming home to a house filled with the smell of marinara sauce that had been simmering all day long over a low flame was an exciting indication that Spaghetti was on the menu.  There was possibly nothing more wonderful to my 10 year old self, than knowing that I would soon have a plate of delicious pasta set before me by my mother along with crusty bread and a salad.  My favorite childhood meal, to be sure.  As it was for many of you without a doubt.  

Today, I want to share with you a great recipe for a quick and easy, pantry shelf marinara sauce that you can make with ingredients you have on hand or, if you are planning ahead, ingredients that can easily be found in any market.  This sauce comes together quickly, simmers slowly for just about an hour and it is ready to use for whatever you like.  

This sauce is a great base for a lasagna or baked manicotti, stuffed shells or just serving over delicious pasta.  You can use this to simmer your meatballs or sausages for a great version of Sunday gravy or you can just have it on hand for lots of delicious recipes.  This is a great option for those of you who prefer not to purchase store bought sauce.  You can also use this basic marinara as a base to make your own Arrabiata, Vodka, garden or mushroom sauces. 

I have started with simple, pantry stable ingredients.  canned crushed, pureed and diced tomatoes along with tomato paste and some flavorings.  You can use what you like.  I used some sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, Italian seasoning, extra basil and red pepper flakes.  You could also add dried oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme whatever you like!  If you like red wine, add that too!  You be the master of your marinara!

I started my sauce by sweating and caramelizing a bit of onion as well as several cloves (the number is up to you) of fresh garlic.  This will add richness and sweetness to the sauce and the onions and garlic are going to disintegrate into the sauce and you will only have their delicious flavor.  Cooking them to the point of melting is the key.  

Simmering is another secret!  Low and slow, but not for too long.  This sauce comes together in just about an hour and is perfectly thick and rich.  It is delicious and not acidic and perfectly balanced.  You are going to love this sauce for just about anything!

Because I know people will ask, this sauce is not suitable for canning.  This is not a safety tested recipe.  Should you wish to can your own marinara sauce, I suggest you refer to the Ball Blue Book or the website for the National Center for Home Food Preservation as a guide for safety tested recipes that are safe for home canning.  I will be freezing my extra sauce for use at a later time.  This will easily keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.

I hope you will give this kitchen basic, pantry shelf marinara sauce a try and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

Get the recipe on my website:  http://bit.ly/2cLyMc7

You can see how I made this in my YouTube video here:

Noreen's Kitchen

 Pantry Shelf

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

2 – 28 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes 2 – 28 ounce cans pureed tomatoes 2 – 28 ounce cans of crushed, seasoned tomatoes 1 – 18 ounce can tomato paste 1 large onion, chopped  6 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 1 tablespoon dried basil 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

Step by Step Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  At least 8 quarts.

Add onion and garlic and sweat until they are slightly browned and very soft.  This will take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot.  Stir well and simmer uncovered for an hour, stirring occasionally. 

I sometimes like to add a parmesan rind to my sauce while it simmers.  This will give a deep salty edge to your sauce and also give it amazing flavor.  This is optional, but if you can find some parmesan rinds, I highly recommend it.

When the sauce has finished and is thick and rich, you can remove it from the heat and enjoy over pasta or as a base for lasagna, stuffed shells or any other pasta bake.

You can also use this as a base for other sauces such as arrabiata, vegetable, vodka, mushroom or any other type of tomato based pasta sauce you love!

This recipe is not appropriate for canning. 

Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to three months. 

Enjoy!

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