>I discovered A Year of Crockpotting (is that really a word? It is now) and I’ve checked her out every day since. I’ve copied a few recipes to keep in my file, and I’ve left a few comments. I’m not as dedicated as Stephanie, who is using her crockpot every day for a full year. I use mine about once a week during the school year, a little less often in the summer when I’m home to cook.

She had me at the title for this one: Clean Out the Pantry Crockpot Chili. My chili has a basic formula, but if I’m honest I’ll admit it’s never the same twice. Leftover taco meat? Meatsauce from spaghetti? Chunky spaghetti sauce with veggies from the garden? All of the above works in a crock pot full of chili. Last time I made chili in my crock pot, it turned out something like this.

Clean out the Fridge Crock Pot Chili by Daisy

Add to crock pot in this order:
1 can chili beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
leftover sloppy joe meat
leftover meatballs (chopped beyond recognition)
a few leftover vegetables
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1 green onion, diced
2 spinach leaves, diced (I’m not opposed to adding green veggies when the kiddos don’t know it)
leftover spaghetti sauce

Turn pot on low for 4-6 hours. About 1 1/2 hour before serving, add leftover spaghetti or egg noodles. Turn pot to high.

Serve with grated cheese (optional).

Enjoy!

>It was a good day for cooking from scratch. I harvested and cleaned ingredients from the garden. Prepared a balanced meal that would taste great. Set the table, even made a fresh green salad.

No one came home.

Amigo was at camp, so he was excused. La Petite had to work, and her job hours are unpredictable. Husband usually gets home within a predictable range of time. I thought I’d wait until one or both of them turned up before I began actually cooking.

5:00 – Husband called, said he had to run but wanted to tell me he didn’t know when he’d be home because he had to go out with a crew to cover breaking news.
5:30 – I started cooking anyway. Maybe La Petite would arrive and be hungry. Who am I kidding – she’s always hungry!
5:40 – I opened a Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Pomegranate flavor.
5:45 – Meatballs finished. Set aside.
5:50 – Pasta looked done, started sauce.
6:00 – Ate a delicious dinner alone, in front of Jeopardy.
6:30 – La Petite came home, hot and sweaty from working, and (thankfully) hungry.
6:35 – Husband called to say, “Elvis has left the building!” But he wasn’t hungry; they’d been working at a venue with a free taco bar, and he’d grazed quite a bit.
6:40 – Put the rest of the food away in the refrigerator. Cleared dishes, ran dishwasher.

Everyone had an alibi – not just an excuse, but a real reason not to be home. I’m glad I’m not dependent on this kind of family approval to keep on cooking. It could be rather depressing. As it is, I felt somewhat put out that I’d taken the time to plan and cook a decent meal for no one. When school starts and I’m cooking simple thirty minute meals again, they’d better not complain.

>Ellen Degeneres had Heidi Klum on as a guest to make meatballs. Of course! That’s what Heidi Klum does best, right? When I looked up the recipe, I said to myself, “Self, these are almost exactly the meatballs you already make. The only major difference is that Heidi uses half beef and half pork.” I had about a pound and a half of ground sirloin (on sale last weekend!), so I decided not to tarnish it with pork, but to make incredibly delicious meatballs Daisy style and top them off with a chunky marinara sauce.
I cheat on the sauce – a little. I use spaghetti sauce in a jar. But to make it chunky, my garden coughs up a few goodies. I wash off the garden ingredients, saute them, and add them to the jarred sauce.

Daisy’s Home Style Meatballs
1 lb. to 1 1/2 lb. ground beef (or turkey or pork, if you wish)
1 egg
1 slice of bread, cubed
assorted herbs, fresh (I use basil, thyme, and rosemary)

Mix bread, egg, and herbs. Let sit until the bread absorbs the liquid.
Add ground beef. Mix with hands or forks until the bread and egg mixture is thoroughly absorbed.
Let sit in refrigerator until ready to cook.
Use spoons or small scoop ( I love my small scoop for meatballs and cookies and more!) to drop into pan. Turn frequently until done.
Serve with spaghetti and chunky sauce with a salad on the side.
Oh, the sauce ingredients? That varies with the season. This week it was green pepper, green onion, and spinach. Yes, they ate it and pronounced it good.

>Amigo enjoys reading recipes. He subscribes to Campbell’s Meal Mail, which send recipes to his inbox regularly. He saves his favorites, prints a few in Braille and, if I’m lucky, print. He sent this one to me, and I modified it slightly to meet my family’s tastes. It cooked up easily and turned out quite tasty. In fact, it was so quick and easy it might become a staple for my Sept.-June recipe repertoire!

Fabulous Fast Shrimp
adapted from Campbell’s Kitchen

Prep/Cook Time: 20-30 minutes (See what I mean?)

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
1 small stalk celery, chopped thin
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 small russet potato, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh (or frozen, then thawed) peas
1 lb. fresh large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 can (10 3/4 ox.) cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
(generous dash ground red pepper to taste – optional)
hot cooked rice or egg noodles
paprika

Hear butter in skillet over medium heat. Add celery, green pepper, green onions, and potato and cook until tender. Add shrimp and cook 3-5 minutes or until shrimp are done.
Add peas, soup, water, and red pepper (if desired) and heat through. Serve over rice or egg noodles. Sprinkle with paprika.

Daisy’s tips:
Due to Amigo’s tender tummy, I skipped the red pepper and sprinkled the whole thing with lemon & pepper instead. The original recipe called for twice as much celery. Husband doesn’t like celery, so I cut that in half.
The original recipe called for cream of mushroom soup. La Petite doesn’t do mushrooms, so I used cream of chicken. If Husband would tolerate it, cream of celery would probably work, too.
The original recipe suggested serving over rice. Amigo doesn’t like rice, so I introduced the option of egg noodles, which La Petite apparently prefers, too.
Lots of leftover rice; I’ll have to check Campbell’s Kitchen for a few ways to use this up. Sigh.

>Guest Post by Husband, the better cook in the family. Based on this piece of history, maybe his talent is genetic!

This recipe was handed down to us. I remember looking forward to eating this as a young child. We would arrive at Grandma’s house on 14th Street in Milwaukee and the kitchen would have this wonderful almost sweet and sour aroma. It can be served warm, which is how I like it best, or you can make it up in advance and serve it chilled. Enjoy!

3 pounds, about 6 medium, Red Salad Potatoes
1/2 cup sliced White Onion (A Sweet Yellow Onion may be substituted.)
2 Tablespoons Flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Celery Seed
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Vinegar
6-8 Slices Bacon cut into 1 inch pieces (I prefer the Patrick Cudahy Thick Sliced, Double Smoked style in the black labeled box).

· Combine Flour, Sugar, Salt, Celery Seed and Pepper into a small bowl or Tupperware dish so they are thoroughly mixed.
· Peel and slice Potatoes into bite size, 1/4 inch thick pieces. Boil until they are cooked, yet still firm, drain.
· In an Electric skillet, cook the Bacon until crispy. Set bacon aside on a paper towel to soak up the grease. Drain all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease out of the skillet.
· Sauté Onion in the hot skillet with the bacon grease for 2 minutes.
· Sprinkle in the dry ingredients mix. Stir in the Water and Vinegar. Stir constantly until it bubbles then let it reduce to a syrupy consistency.
· Reduce skillet’s heat to simmer, blend in Potatoes. Blend bacon into the mix. Let simmer and stir occasionally for 30 minutes.