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Have you ever cooked with a crock pot? Or what we call a slow cooker in the UK? My father gave me a crock pot for Christmas twenty-five years ago and I only had to replace it, for the reason that it was stolen. Some thief must have heard they were great and stole it for his wife.

It was good-looking enough to leave out on the work top and I guess that is how it caught my burglar’s eye. It was stoneware, really nice.

That is one of the points I would like to make in this article, some of the crock pots from the better manufacturers are pretty enough to take to the table. The other point I would like to make is that crock pots are not only for making soup or stews in.

I have recipes in the house for bread and cheesecake. Really, most people just do not believe me when I tell them what you can actually do with a crock pot, especially the modern programmable ones.

To prove it, I have reproduced one of my cheesecake recipes below. If you can not be bothered to make, just take it from me that it is gorgeous, simple enough to make and practically automatic to make. Those of you do get around to making it will agree with me, I am sure.

APPLE-NUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 cup (scant) graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla Topping: 1 large apple, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 7-inch spring form pan. Beat the sugars into the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, whipping cream, cornstarch, and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes on the medium speed of a hand-held electric mixer. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Combine the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and then spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake on a rack (or “ring” of aluminum foil to keep it off the bottom of the pot) in the Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let it stand in the covered pot (after turning it off) for about 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to handle. Cool it thoroughly before removing the pan sides. Chill before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator for any normal shop-bought cheesecake, but yours will be better..

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Whether you are cooking for two for romance or out of necessity, you will discover that there are many resources online and off to help you find the best meals for your terrific twosomes. One thing to bear in mind however is that when cooking for two, it is sometimes better if two are doing the cooking. This allows cooking to become a chance for communication rather than just a duty.

Despite the fact that there are many resources and recipes available to those that are cooking for two, there are even more recipes for those cooking for four, especially the traditional recipes that are designed to feed a family of four. These provide an opening to stretch your food budget even further.

By cooking traditional meals for four and eating half of it, you have managed to cook two meals for the time investment of one. It is a good deal for many, but above all for those that do not like the idea of cooking at all.

Young and older couples alike frequently find that it is as simple and almost the same cost to go to a fast food or other casual restaurant as it is to prepare a nice, healthy meal for two at home. The one thing they usually forget is that cooking for two can be an appealing way to bring a little romance into the evening.

When cooking for two, you will have as much opportunity to be imaginative as in anything else you do in your life. You have the option of trying appetizing new cuisines and the knowledge that if you do not like the food, you are not throwing away a lot of money.

You can try mixing and matching flavors and textures. You can make works of art on your plate as in nouveau cuisine. Or you can go farmhouse style. Cooking for two opens doors that are not readily available when cooking for larger numbers with more limiting tastes.

Cooking for two is a great way to get your partner involved in the cooking process as well. When cooking for two you can find out the things that you both enjoy and those that are not so interesting to one or the other of you.

Make sure that when you are cooking for two that you induce an open and candid conversation about the things that you like and dislike about the food being cooked. This will help you determine things to add to your regular menu as well as the items to avoid making a part of your dinner rotation.

Perhaps the best thing about cooking for two is the fact that you can afford to eat special occasion cuisine more often when you are cooking for only two than when you are cooking for a larger crowd. Bring on the steaks and lobster tail. Learn how to make shrimp scampi and fillet mignon. Take the time, when cooking for two, to prepare those dishes that you enjoy most.

Cooking for two is a great way of exploring the culinary universe and exposing your palates to some amazing surprises along the way. The Internet, bookstores, and libraries are filled with books about cooking for two. Take advantage of the chance to do just that and you will be amazed at the world of flavors you have been missing out on.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the Rival Versaware crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Everybody likes a meal correctly prepared. The evidence of this, if it needs proving, is that members of religious orders like monks often have to eat boring food like porridge, gruel and unleaven bread for penance.

I would like to share a few tips with you to help you get the most out of your food.

Chicken Tarragon – I love chicken tarragon, but this is my preferred version. Take: 1 chicken; .25 teaspoon of chopped onions; 1 heaped tablespoon of dried tarragon (double of fresh); brown stock or Bovril and water, cream, flour and salt.

Roast the chicken, carve it and place in a plate. Pour off the fat and make a gravy with it, the salt and the flour. Bulk the gravy up with the stock or Bovril and water. Add the tarragon and cream and cook for a minute or two. Serve with the gravy already poured over the chicken or serve the gravy separately. Add your favourite vegetables. This recipe will serve four.

Chicken Left-Overs – if you are unsure what to do with left over chicken, you could do worse than try this recipe.

Chop the chicken up small and mix it with sliced avocado. Cover with mayonnaise and sprinkle with crumbled, fried, crispy bacon. If this sounds excellent to you, take it from me that it tastes even better.

Apple Sauce – if you like apple sauce with your pork, bake a couple of cooking apples beside your joint of pork. Prepare and core them just as you would as if you were going to prepare them normally. Sprinkle with sugar, if required. Then, run a knife tip around them, so that they will puff upwards, but still retain their form. Gorgeous.

Sauces – if you cannot get the sauce right, just strain it and do not tell anyone. Nobody will know the difference and what are strainers for if not straining?

Soups And Stews – if you find that you have added too much salt to a soup or stew at the last moment, do not be concerned. Put a cube of sugar in a large spoon and lower it into the liquid for twenty seconds. It will absorb the surplus salt. If you have longer, and it is appropriate, add a diced potato and it will absorb the salt too.

Pie Crust – if you need a fast, yet flexible topping for a savoury pie like chicken or beef, leave the pastry off. Take a large bag of crisps; pop the bag to let the air out and scrunch it up until the crisps are but crumbs. Pour this over your pie before you bake it. It is odd but you can carry out trials with different flavoured crisps.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the Rival Versaware crock pots. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

There can not be many people who do not like food, but the human race, being what it is, I guess there are a few. For the rest of us, food is a source of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is often used to mark a celebration. not only that, but different foodstuffs are used for the different meals or definite occasions.

Celebratory meals were indubitably planned around the seasonal foods available, but some foods were transported great distances for the benefit of those who could pay for them. For example, my Dad thought it was a great treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day 60 years ago. How times have altered, very few children would think an orange a gift, special or otherwise, any day of the year nowadays.

Nonetheless, the storage of food is still a daily concern and so, I have listed a few top tips on storing food hereunder, so that you will get the best from what you have bought or grown long afterward.

The Smells Of Summer: the scent of fresh garden herbs are one of the joys of Summer. You can preserve many of these herbs in the following way. Take a suitably sized glass bottle and stuff your favourite herb into it until you can get not get even one more leaf in. Then fill it to the brim with your favourite oil olive oil (salad oil, not cooking oil). Leave it in the strong sunlight for two days if you are using basil or two weeks for tarragon. Allow the water to part from the oil and decant the oil off into another bottle. Just one or two drops of this oil on a salad or spaghetti will bring back Summer memoirs.

Bin Ends: sometimes, after a party for example, you may wake up to several small amounts of wine in different bottles. Of course, you can pour like wines into each other. When you are done, pour a teaspoon of olive oil into each bottle. This will create an air proof layer over the wine thereby preserving the wine for another week or two to go together with your favourite dinners – in the cooking process naturally.

Storing Garlic: cloves of peeled garlic will keep for months if you pack them into a screw-topped jar and cover them with olive oil. As you use the garlic, top up with more olive oil. The oil will absorb some of the flavour of the garlic and make a wonderful (basis for a) salad dressing. If you have used tinned garlic, the rest can be preserved in the same way, but you should rinse and dry them first.

Saving Tomato Paste: if you suspect that you will not be able to use up the left over half a tin or tube of tomato paste soon, you can put it into the ice cube tray and freeze it into blocks until you are ready to use it.

Parsley Crumble: keep bunches of parsley in the deep freeze. Then, when you need it, you can just crumple the head of the bunch in your hand directly over the pan or plate where you require it and put it back in the freezer. The stalks can be used in the stock pot. in fact, this technique works for all herbs.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

With a world population in excess of six billion people, we are all becoming increasingly aware that food is a scarce resource. Traditionally, people have not seen food as a resource, but more of a birthright. However, the populations of many Third World countries are forced to be more pragmatic.

We in the West are continuously bombarded by implorations for donations by charities and I think that many people are getting a bit weary of it. I also think that people are mistrustful of the charity workers’ expenses and fees, especially after the MPs’ expenses scandal in the UK. So, what can you do, if you want to make some sort of contribution?

I think that the best thing one can do is not to squander food. Not squandering or wasting food will reduce the quantity you have to buy, which will leave more on the supermarket shelves. This will augment supply, which will reduce prices. Therefore, by not buying so much food, you will be saving money and reducing the price of what you do purchase. Can not be bad, can it?

So, here are a few of my favourite money-saving tips.

Funnel – I have bought a few funnels in my time, but they always seemed to have fallen to the back of the cupboard when I needed one. I do not buy them anymore. Instead, I cut the top 9″ off the top of a plastic cola bottle. When I am done with it, I throw it away, especially if I used it for pouring oil.

Microwave – sometimes, when you open the microwave oven door, a whiff of the last meal comes out. Instead of spending money on cleaners or what-not, put a slice of lemon in a saucer of water and microwave it for three minutes after every time you use it.

Cabbage – cooking cabbage really smells! However, there are three ways of hiding the smell without using air freshener. The first way is to put a slice of lemon in the cabbage water as it cooks. The second way is to boil a small pan of vinegar next to the cooking cabbage and the third is to place a sieve over the cooking cabbage and put a round of stale bread in it. These methods work because the lemon cancels the smell of the cabbage as does the vinegar and the stale bread absorbs the smell.

Fish Fingers – it is not nice to have smelly fingers after cutting up fish, onions or garlic. As an alternative to washing and washing your hands, rub a little lemon juice on them and rinse for instant relief.

Sponge – a tablespoon of hot water beaten into a sponge mixture at the last minute will greatly enhance the rise and the texture of the cake.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots