Crockpot cooking

limey said:

I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
cobwebs.

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

Why didn't you simply continue building your stew in the pot you used
to brown the meat... crock potting is a process like pressure
processing, not cooking.

limey wrote on 04 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about
1/2 cup of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at
this rate? If so, are there any suggestions?

Dora

I like this recipe

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pot Roast With Sour Cream Gravy

Recipe By :n/a
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 pounds chuck or pot roast
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon dill weed
5 small potatoes - (to 6)
5 carrots - (to 6) -- cut into 2" pcs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion
=== GRAVY ===
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon dill seed

Coat roast with flour, salt and pepper. Brown in oil in skillet. Put
roast in crockpot, add water and vinegar. Sprinkle dill weed over meat,
then add potatoes, carrots, onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook on LOW for
10 to 12 hours or HIGH for 6 hours.
For gravy, pour off 3 tablespoons drippings, add flour and heat. Measure
rest of drippings, add water to make 1 cup. Add to flour mixture and
heat
for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup sour cream and dill seed.
Heat to boiling.
This recipe yields ?? servings.

Source:
"Waldine Van Geffen on www.prodigy.net Food BB"
S(Formatted for MC5):
"09-27-1999 by Joe Comiskey - [email hidden]"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 752 Calories; 63g Fat (73.3%
calories from fat); 12g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber;
102mg
Cholesterol; 3328mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2
Vegetable; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 12 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

On Sat, 4 Feb 2006 11:36:45 -0500, "limey" <[email hidden]>
replied:

Quoted message said:

I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been
gathering dust and cobwebs.

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot
roast in it today - got up at 6 a.m. (that's for the
birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the meat,
since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12
hours to cook. It has been cooking now on low for
about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed
tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water. Am I going
to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If so,
are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

You're not ignorant just not as informed or experienced using
another easy tool.

No; your vegetables will finish at the same time as the roast.
Simply keep the lid on and let it do its job. That's the beauty of
a slow cooker. I usually cook meats the night prior so that I'm
not walking in from work to a mound of dirty dishes. The
set-it-and-leave it appeals to me.

The Ranger

limey said:

I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
cobwebs.

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup mix.
-
--
---
[email hidden] When replying by email please leave this signature intact.

"Terry" wrote in message

limey said:

Quoted message said:

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got
up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2
cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup mix.

I added the onion soup mix at the beginning but didn't have any cream of
mushroom soup. So - I'm winging it. It's the vegetables that I'm
wondering about, but Ranger tells me they'll be OK. This is strictly a "dry
run" since I've done practically no crockpot cooking. Next time, I'll prep
all the vegetables the night before.

Dora

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote

Quoted message said:

I like this recipe

Quoted message said:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pot Roast With Sour Cream Gravy

<snipped and saved>

Now that sounds good! I've saved it and it will be my next attempt.
Thanks!

Dora

limey said:

I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
cobwebs.

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestins?

Dora

Dora--your veggies should be done. I often put the carrots and
potatoes on the bottom, and meat on top to ensure the veggies get done.

Whenever I make a pot roast, I use a can of Campbell's tomato soup, a
small bottle of beer, and a packet of taco seasoning. Makes a lot of
liquid, but the sauce is nice and spicy. I also quarter 2 or 3 vadalia
onions along with the potatoes and carrots--the onions cook up
beautifully in a crock pot--r3

"tsr3" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

limey said:

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2
cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestins?

Dora

Dora--your veggies should be done. I often put the carrots and
potatoes on the bottom, and meat on top to ensure the veggies get done.

Whenever I make a pot roast, I use a can of Campbell's tomato soup, a
small bottle of beer, and a packet of taco seasoning. Makes a lot of
liquid, but the sauce is nice and spicy. I also quarter 2 or 3 vadalia
onions along with the potatoes and carrots--the onions cook up
beautifully in a crock pot--r3

Thank you for the tips. A little bell rang in my mind from the early
crockpot days, so I did put the vegetables in first. They included
potatoes, carrots, onions and celery and the stewed tomatoes, plus the onion
soup mix. Here's hoping, since the pot could be a godsend when going out
for the day.

Dora

limey wrote on 04 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

"Terry" wrote in message

limey said:

Quoted message said:

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today -
got up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown
the meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to
cook. It has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about
1/2 cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this
rate? If so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup
mix.

I added the onion soup mix at the beginning but didn't have any cream
of mushroom soup. So - I'm winging it. It's the vegetables that I'm
wondering about, but Ranger tells me they'll be OK. This is strictly
a "dry run" since I've done practically no crockpot cooking. Next
time, I'll prep all the vegetables the night before.

Dora

I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
liquids.

But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
liquids.

But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.

This is a learning process and I'm wondering about that myself. The
recipes I looked at for pot roast called for anywhere from 1/4 cup water to
3 cups!
I'll let you know later.

Dora

Dora

limey said:

I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
cobwebs.

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

No, you're not an ignoramus.... I use a slow cooker. It's a
rectamgular metal pot with glass lid that sits on an electric base. I
can salt and pepper the roast and brown on all sides right in the pot,
on top of the stove. You can use a pan instead and deglaze the pan with
beef broth when you put the meat into the crockpot. I put the broth in
after the roast is browned. I also put in garlic granules to taste, a
few shakes of dried basil and about a tbsp. dried tarragon (I'm hooked
on tarragon, but you can leave this out. I leave it on med-low until
about an hour and a half before ready to serve, then add potatoes,
carrots, cooking onions (about 2" diameter) and sometimes wedges of
cabbage. Whatever we're in the mood for. The vegetables don't get as
mushy this way. when it's ready, I drain the broth and thicken it with
a cornstarch slurry. Very tasty and with two of us, lots of
leftovers...hth..Sharon

limey said:

"Terry" wrote in message

limey said:

Quoted message said:

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got
up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2
cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup mix.

I added the onion soup mix at the beginning but didn't have any cream of
mushroom soup. So - I'm winging it. It's the vegetables that I'm
wondering about, but Ranger tells me they'll be OK. This is strictly a "dry
run" since I've done practically no crockpot cooking. Next time, I'll prep
all the vegetables the night before.

Dora

Dora, I forgot to mention in my first reply that I added some dried
onion flakes. ....Sharon

"biig" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

No, you're not an ignoramus.... I use a slow cooker. It's a
rectamgular metal pot with glass lid that sits on an electric base. I
can salt and pepper the roast and brown on all sides right in the pot,
on top of the stove.

Great idea! I browned it in the skillet which, of course, made another pot
to wash.

Quoted message said:

You can use a pan instead and deglaze the pan >with
beef broth when you put the meat into the crockpot. I put the broth in
after the roast is browned.

Another good tip! I used a little water plus the undrained liquid from the
tomatoes.

Quoted message said:

I also put in garlic granules to taste, a
few shakes of dried basil and about a tbsp. dried >tarragon (I'm hooked
on tarragon, but you can leave this out.

Ah, I was wondering about seasonings. I've read that one should go easy on
them and also salt and pepper, since the pot intensifies the flavors, so I
left them out. Now I can season!

I leave it on med-low until

Quoted message said:

about an hour and a half before ready to serve, then add potatoes,
carrots, cooking onions (about 2" diameter) and sometimes wedges of
cabbage. Whatever we're in the mood for. The vegetables don't get as
mushy this way.

I added the vegetables right at the beginning. I was afraid they would be
hard but they were fine and not mushy.

Quoted message said:

when it's ready, I drain the broth and thicken it with a cornstarch

slurry.

I didn't thicken the broth since DH likes it that way when I fix pot roast.
Personally, I would prefer more of a gravy consistency.

Very tasty and with two of us, lots of

Quoted message said:

leftovers...hth..Sharon

Sharon, I really appreciate all your tips, since I was travelling in
uncharted territory and made up everything as I went along. Surprise - it
tasted like pot roast.

Dora

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
liquids.

But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.

It turned out fine, thank goodness. Tasted like pot roast! The vegetables
turned out as they should and surprisingly it was not floating in liquid.
DH likes to ladle broth on everything and there's enough left for tomorrow.
I didn't thicken the gravy for this experiment. Thanks, Alan.

Dora

limey said:

[snips] Next time, I'll prep
all the vegetables the night before.

You're really confusing me here. I thought crockpot advocates tout
them as labor saving devices that add convenience to their daily lives.
Yet you got up at 6 a.m. so there'd be enough time for the roast to
cook, and now you're talking about prepping the night before. Clearly,
the thing is adding work and aggravation, not saving it. Why not just
cook? -aem

"aem" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

limey said:

[snips] Next time, I'll prep
all the vegetables the night before.

You're really confusing me here. I thought crockpot advocates tout
them as labor saving devices that add convenience to their daily lives.
Yet you got up at 6 a.m. so there'd be enough time for the roast to
cook, and now you're talking about prepping the night before. Clearly,
the thing is adding work and aggravation, not saving it. Why not just
cook? -aem

Point well taken. This whole thing was a dry run.
I have all day to cook; I enjoy it. However, many women have jobs or
reasons that take them away from the house until dinnertime and having
dinner ready would be pretty attractive. There are times when I am away
all day also but I'd have to do a lot better than that 6 a.m. start!

Dora

limey said:

"biig" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

No, you're not an ignoramus.... I use a slow cooker. It's a
rectamgular metal pot with glass lid that sits on an electric base. I
can salt and pepper the roast and brown on all sides right in the pot,
on top of the stove.

Great idea! I browned it in the skillet which, of course, made another pot
to wash.

Quoted message said:

You can use a pan instead and deglaze the pan >with
beef broth when you put the meat into the crockpot. I put the broth in
after the roast is browned.

Another good tip! I used a little water plus the undrained liquid from the
tomatoes.

Quoted message said:

I also put in garlic granules to taste, a
few shakes of dried basil and about a tbsp. dried >tarragon (I'm hooked
on tarragon, but you can leave this out.

Ah, I was wondering about seasonings. I've read that one should go easy on
them and also salt and pepper, since the pot intensifies the flavors, so I
left them out. Now I can season!

I leave it on med-low until

Quoted message said:

about an hour and a half before ready to serve, then add potatoes,
carrots, cooking onions (about 2" diameter) and sometimes wedges of
cabbage. Whatever we're in the mood for. The vegetables don't get as
mushy this way.

I added the vegetables right at the beginning. I was afraid they would be
hard but they were fine and not mushy.

Quoted message said:

when it's ready, I drain the broth and thicken it with a cornstarch

slurry.

I didn't thicken the broth since DH likes it that way when I fix pot roast.
Personally, I would prefer more of a gravy consistency.

Very tasty and with two of us, lots of

Quoted message said:

leftovers...hth..Sharon

Sharon, I really appreciate all your tips, since I was travelling in
uncharted territory and made up everything as I went along. Surprise - it
tasted like pot roast.

Dora

Glad to know it worked for you...Sharon

limey said:

"aem" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

limey said:

[snips] Next time, I'll prep
all the vegetables the night before.

You're really confusing me here. I thought crockpot advocates tout
them as labor saving devices that add convenience to their daily lives.
Yet you got up at 6 a.m. so there'd be enough time for the roast to
cook, and now you're talking about prepping the night before. Clearly,
the thing is adding work and aggravation, not saving it. Why not just
cook? -aem

Point well taken. This whole thing was a dry run.
I have all day to cook; I enjoy it. However, many women have jobs or
reasons that take them away from the house until dinnertime and having
dinner ready would be pretty attractive. There are times when I am away
all day also but I'd have to do a lot better than that 6 a.m. start!

Dora

Dora, most times a four hour cook would do too. Lots of baked pot
roasts (braised, I guess) only go into the oven for four hours and turn
out nice and tender....Sharon

limey said:

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
liquids.

But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.

It turned out fine, thank goodness. Tasted like pot roast! The vegetables
turned out as they should and surprisingly it was not floating in liquid.
DH likes to ladle broth on everything and there's enough left for tomorrow.
I didn't thicken the gravy for this experiment. Thanks, Alan.

I got a new Rival 5 - quart crockpot for Christmas, this weekend I
finally got around to using it...

Yesterday I made spaghetti sauce, it turned out well. It was a large
quantity and so plenty to freeze...

As I write I have a 5 lb. bone - in pork loin in the thing. I browned
it, then put it atop a "base" of onions, celery, ginger, garlic, a
coupla jalapenos, etc. Added cider vinegar, paprika, lemon pepper,
etc. It smells divoone, I think it will turn out okay...

I like the "set it and forget it"aspect. This week I am going to make
some kind of cabbage soup...

I intend to be selective about what I cook in it, I have too many
memories of eating crockpot stuff years ago that all tasted like the
same glop...

--
Best
Greg