Now that we are in Fall full swing here in Hagerstown, I guess it's time I share. I grew up living next door to my grandparents. No lie, the best grandparents anyone could ask for. My grandfather was a Korean War vet, who loved to eat. The term "Foodie", he was the perfect living example of it. I guess it could be one of the main reasons he married my grandmother. She made wedding cakes out of her kitchen as a side gig until she physically couldn't do it anymore. This woman made wedding cakes for almost everyone in our small town that got married. Whenever I could, I would be in her kitchen right beside her helping. Grandma would tell us what was next in the recipe and literally let us mix the cakes and Icing. By the time I was 8, I could do laundry, cook a full meal, and make dessert because of her.
For my Senior project in High School, I ended up writing my own cookbook. All of the recipes in it were my favorite ones that I had mastered. The local printer in town printed me 100 copies, and I sold all of them for $10 each. That helped me purchase my first car! One day my grandmother, an avid Pampered Chef collector, gave me a cookbook full of all of her favorite recipes. It had her famous Red Velvet cake, and Icing recipes, my Great Aunt Ruthanns drop sugar cookies, my dad's personal favorite molassis cookies, my favorite Moist Chocolate cake and many more family faves. As I got older, baking became a favorite hobby of mine. I would make co-workers birthday cakes and cookies at Christmas. Every family get together I love finding new desserts to try, except Thanksgiving, if I don't show up with a Pumpkin Roll I will be dissowned.
Once I got married, every Sunday once football season starts, I crockpot dinner. Starting dinner is the first thin I do in the morning. This allows me the day to spend with my family, watching the games, hanging out together. It also allows us the time to acctualy have a meal together. But crockpot meals can be a good go to any day of the week. Below you will find 5 of my favorite crockpot meals, and even desserts. Some are ones I find through Pintrest, and a couple are my own personal inventions. I hope you and your family enjoy these as much and my family and I do.
- Chilli- This one I have developed on my own over time through many trial and errors. I have a husband who is very picky when it comes to textures with his food. One of his biggest is peppers and onions that get slimey. A lot of Chilli recipes have diced green peppers and onions, which made Chilli night at my house a bust. But finally one day I hit the nail on the head, and it is such a quick and easy meal. No, be warned, I don't use measurements in this for the spices, it's more like start with a little and as it cooks through the day, taste test and add what is needed.
Crock Pot Chilli, By Rebecca Lee
2lb ground beef, turkey or pork
2 40oz cans of dark red kidney beans
2 10oz cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chillies
1 29oz can of tomato sauce
1 12oz can of tomato paste
1 onion
Minced garlic
Chilli Powder
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
And if you like it a little spicy, you can add some red pepper flakes, or I like to add chipotle pepper seasoning
- Dice your onion up until its very fine. I run mine through the food processor, this gets it cut up so once its cooked my husband can't even see it.
- Take your 2lb of ground meat, onion, garlic, some chilli powder, cumin, salt and pepper and mix it all together in a large frying pan and brown your meat.
- Once your meat is cooked, drain out the excess grease.
- Rinse your kidney beans off and add them to the crockpot.
- Add in the tomato sauce and paste, along with the meat.
- Stir it all together, and add in a little more seasoning. With a crockpot, a little goes a long way. The flavors from the seasoning will come out more the longer it cooks, and you can always add more if needed.
- Cover and set the crockpot to low for 6hrs.
Get your families favorite chilli toppings, and you got yourself a great dinner. Now, my husband is wierd and likes his with rice. Another popular side is cornbread. I prefer cornbread :)
- Cooked Cabbage With Bacon, Kielbasa and Potatoes- I am German and Italian, my husband is African American, Cherokee Indian, Irish, and a few other European denomonations except German or Italian. So basically, my two favorite food groups are Pasta and Potatoes. This recipe is another that I slowly have made into my own. Its very easy, and oh so yummy. But I wouldn't let your husband eat dinner too late, or you are in for a long night. So with that warning out of the way, I hope you enjoy!
1 medium head of cabbage
1lb of bacon
2 14oz packs of beef Polish Kielbasa
approx 5 medium potatoes
1 onion
minced garlic
salt
pepper
1 cup of water
1 cup of vinager (apple cidar if you like a stronger taste, or white distilled for little to no taste. if you don't like vinager, you can do a cup of beef or chicken broth.)
- Fry your bacon. I cut mine into 1/2" pieces before I fry it. Once cooked, set aside, and save some grease for later.
- Slice your kielbasa into 1/2" pieces. In the same pan as the bacon, with a little bacon grease, fry your kielbasa. Once cooked, set aside.
- In the same pan, with a little bacon grease, caramelize your onions, add about 1tbs of minced garlic in at the very end.
- Cut your cabbage into quarters, removing the center. Rinse and place in the crockpot.
- Rinse and cut your potatoes into 1/2" sections. Place on top of the cabbage in the crockpot.
- Pour 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinager or broth over top.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover with the bacon and kielbasa, and a little bit of bacon grease.
- Put lid on crockpot, and set to low. Cook for 6 hours.
As my grandfather used to say, "This'll put some hair on your chest.". But as I would say, this meal will warm you to the core. I like to serve it with a good ol fashiond piece of butter bread, or some yeast dinner rolls.
Loaded Potato Soup- This is a Pinterest find from a long time ago. I since have used Tasty website for many recipes. You can fid this recipe and many more here. I like to serve this with a fresh piece of Sour Dough bread, nice and warm. And now I'm hungry.
Beef Pot Roast- A meal I'm sure you have had many times in the past. But, this is one of my favorite meals. I have a lot of tummy issues, so I don't eat a lot of meat. But I can eat the veggies from a good pot roast for days. This recipe from Cooking Classy, is sure to be a winner at your dinner table.
Slow Cooker Lava Cake- Betty Crocker is my girl!!! My BC cookbook is my main go to. I was given one for Christmas when I moved out of my parents house, but it is a binder one. I have used it so much, a lot of pages are now missing. My oh so kind husband found me a vintage one while at Goodwill one day, and I'm back in the game. My girls all love this recipe when it is cold out. Served with a side of vanilla ice cream and you'll be in a chocolate coma for daysssss. I will warn you though, if you haven't in the past used the crockpot liners, with this recipe DO! They will save you a huge clean up headache in the end.
These are my main slow cooker go to's. If you have a favorite, or one you thing I should try, feel free to send me a message! I love trying new things! Happy Fall everyone MacaroniKID Hagerstown peeps. Stay warm!
