Slow Cooker Tips

          Hello everyone!! Today, I'm going to take a walk off the baking track and talk to you about some slow cooker tips (because I am using a slow cooker today and I thought it would be a nice change). Slow cookers can be used to make ANY recipe. Stews, chowders, pot roasts, gumbos, chillis, and so much more. They are the bread and butter for any busy person. For someone who is at work for a long day and is simply are too tired to make a meal, for someone who doesn't have enough room on the stove while making a large dinner for a large family, or just for someone who wants to start dinner in the morning and not have to worry about it while they spend some time with friends and family. But there are some things to worry about when using a slow cooker because even though they need little management, the food can still turn out bad if you don't remember some key things:

1. Most slow cooker recipes will be cooked on slow: if you cook on high when cooking meets they can get stringy and sometimes not very nice. If you do want to cook on high to speed up the process, you can cook on high for half the time.

2. Put different ingredients in at different times: remember that when you are cooking vegetables, roots take longer to cook than other vegetables do. So you can put them in sooner than other vegetables and you should never cut them any larger than 1 inch. Meats take longer to cook to so remember this as well. If you have sweet vegetables like green peppers, if you put them in at the beginning of the cooking process, then could turn bitter at the end, so add them later. If you have fresh herbs, you can add them at the beginning but they might lose there finesse, so you can add some extra at the end to give it that kick.

3. It CAN over cook: you can cook it for hours but if you cook it for TOO long then it may get over cooked and mushy. So try to stay as true to the cooking time as possible. The general rule for slow cooking times is meat cooks for 6-8 hours and poultry and veggies cook for 4-6 hours.

4. Use less liquid: in a slow cooker, no liquid escapes. Unless you are using a thickening agent like flour or cornstarch, you will want to have less fluid.

5. *DON'T PEEK*: I know it’s hard to resist but peeking will add 30 minutes on to the cooking time. The whole reason for the slow cooker is that all the heat gets cooped up in that pot and if you open the lid and "peek" then that’s just defeating the purpose. Only check, if needed, halfway through and at the minimum cooking time (EX: if it says cook for 4-6 hours, check at 4 hours).

          Those are the most important things to remember. Just have fun with the slow cooker because if you get used to it and start using it frequently you will see that it will be the best thing that ever happened to you. HAPPY COOKING!!

Coffee Crunch Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

            This recipe is a real delight. It is my own invention. This recipe is a traditional vanilla cupcake but with a twist. It has a little crunch of coffee in it. It is to die for. My family ate all of them in one day. see this recipe:
Cupcake Ingredients:                         Butter Cream Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup butter                                                     4 cups icing sugar

1 /3 cup sugar                                                  1 cup butter

6 eggs                                                              2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tsp vanilla                                                     4 tbsp milk

3 cups flour                                                     Assorted food colours (If desired)

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ cup milk

¼ cup coffee

2-4 tbsp instant coffee

Directions:

            Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease of put cupcake liners in 24 cupcakes. (You can easily cut this recipe in half if you want to).

            Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla.

            In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. On low, gradually at the flour, milk, and coffee (liquid) until well blended. Add the instant coffee. Then mix on for 30 seconds.

            Evenly fill the muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes. After baking, cool for 10-15 minutes.

            For the frosting, beat the butter until smooth and well blended. Add vanilla. On low, gradually add the icing sugar. When it is all blended in, scrape the sides down and add the milk. Beat on high until it is light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add food colouring if desired.

Back From a Long Break...

          As you have noticed, I haven’t posted for a while. I have been really busy and haven’t been able to access a computer or access a kitchen. But now I’m back and ready to give you some awesome recipes. Because the new month of February hasn’t started yet, I have decided not to put in a recipe until tomorrow. I will start by having a theme for the month and will pick a new theme every month. I will post a two or three recipes a week. That will get your pans moving. I will also continue to pass on hints, substitutions, and home secrets that you won’t get anywhere else. I hope you read this and will be inspired to cook like you’ve never cooked before! Have a GREAT day and I will be posting soon. ; D

Air Buns

          Table buns are buns that you can make pretty easily in 2-3 hours that the whole family can enjoy and can be frozen and kept for later too. It’s perfect with butter, or balsamic vinegar and oil. Really, it’s your choice. I like balsamic vinegar. These buns have a soft sweet taste and are delicious. If you don’t want it as sweet, you can put less sugar but it’s up to you. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp yeast

3 ½ cups warm water (and an extra ½ cup)

½ cup sugar (and an extra 1 tsp)

½ cup oil/melted butter

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp vinegar (malt if you have it)

10 cups flour

Directions:

          Get out a medium bowl (this bowl is going to be emptied into the next one). Dissolve yeast in ½ of warm water and 1 tsp of sugar. Don’t stir. Let sit until yeast is completely dissolved (when putting yeast into water, sprinkle so every bit of yeast touches the water). In a large bowl, blend or whisk water, sugar, oil (or melted butter), salt, and vinegar (if you have herbs you want to add, now is the time to add them. I like to add Italian seasoning and oregano). Add 4 cups of flour and mix until it makes a thin batter. Add yeast mixture and stir until smooth. With one cup at a time, mix in the remaining flour. When dough starts to get hard to stir with a spoon, start to knead until smooth and not sticky (but keep in mind you don’t want to much flour or it will not be a light bun but a hard rock with flour in it). Wash the large bowl you were using or get a different bowl, and grease (or spray with Pam) the sides. Put the dough in the bowl and move around the bowl until it is evenly covered with oil/grease.

          Fill a large bowl or pot with hot water and put it is the oven on the bottom rack but do not turn the oven on. Place the dough bowl above the water in the oven and close. Again, DO NOT TURN ON THE OVEN. Leave in the oven to rise until the dough has doubled. If you can’t use your oven for the rising process, just put it is a warm place. It works just as well. The rising process will take roughly 1 ½ hours.

          When the dough is done rising, punch the middle of the dough and knead for 5 minutes. Make rolls that are about 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Get 3 or 4 egg yolks. Grease pans/pan. Brush egg yolk over each bun and bake at 350 degrees until the top starts to turn orange. After cooking you can eat fresh, put in the fridge, or freeze for later.

Vinilla cake

          Vanilla cake is a delicious flavour sensation that is one of the easiest recipes you can make when baking a cake. I found this amazing recipe a little while ago and I think it is finally ready for you guys. The recipe is:

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup oil (or butter if you have read my substitutions list)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

          First cream the sugar, eggs, and oil (butter) together. Beat in the milk, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round pans or one rectangular 9x13 pan. Pour the batter in evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife stuck in the cake comes out clean.
          Don't forget that you can substitute the oil with butter or margarine. You can also add sprinkles, chocolate chips, or any kind of filling you can think of. Be creative and have fun. As for the icing, mix icing sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla to taste.

Potato Surprise

          Today’s recipe is a delicious twist to classic mashed potatoes. This is a recipe me and my mom made up when I was 7, and over the years I have been improving it. The recipe is quite simple:

Ingredients:

5lbs. Potatoes

2 1/2 cups Grated Cheese

1/2 cup Green Onions

6 Tbsp. Cheese Wiz

1 cup Sour Cream

1 tbsp. Oregano

1 tbsp. Butter

Directions:

          Peel and boil the potatoes until tender. Drain.

          Put the potatoes back into the pot and mash them. Mix in the cheese, cheese wiz, green onions, sour cream, oregano, and butter. Mix until cheese has melted and until it is all well blended.

          Pour into a greased or non-stick pan (9x13) and bake for 20 minutes on the bottom rack at 400 F. Move to the top rack and broil for 5 minutes.

          Take out and cool for 10 minutes.

          This recipe is delicious and will make mashed potatoes so much more interesting. Until next time.

French Toast

One of the world’s favorite breakfast specials is, you guessed it, French Toast. It is a very simple recipe that is way better than pancakes. The ingredients are:

8 Pieces Egg Bread
3 Eggs
¾ tsp salt
¾ cup milk

Wisk the eggs, salt, and milk together. Heat the pan to medium. Melt butter in the pan or spray with pam. Soak both sides of the bread in the egg mixture and fry in the pan. You can put syrup, jam, or powdered sugar on the French toast. This recipe is a real delight. Enjoy!