My Food All Tastes the Same!!

I hear this sometimes from readers or from people on the radio. Mostly they are remembering meals they were served as children in the seventies.

:-)

I think this idea came from using Cream of Something Soup recipes along with a packet of Onion Soup Mix.

When slow cookers first hit the market Cambells and Lipton came out with lots of recipes that were centered around --- You Guessed It!!

Lipton Onion Soup mix and Cambell's Cream of Mushroom (or chicken, etc!) Soup. 

This is why the food from the "past" all tasted the same. I PROMISE you that you can get different flavors from the crockpot.

In fact, you can have MANY different flavors -- one of my favorite ways is to make "Take Out Fake Out" recipes; so no matter what type of dish you are craving you can get that favorite flavor!!

I Need Help With Meal Planning!

Crockpotting and Slow Cooking forces you to meal plan. It's a wonderful feeling to know what you are going to have for dinner early in the morning when you are still highly caffeinated and coherent --

if you are NOT a morning person, I suggest assembling your food the night before for an easy morning plug-in.

It's not advised to put a freezing-cold stone pot into the heating element, so my suggestion would be to assemble the food in Ziplock Bags or in a large Tupperware bowl and then dump the food in the morning into a room temperature crockpot insert. 

If you really have trouble creating grocery lists and planning ahead in this way, I do sell slow cooker meal plans that will walk you through absolutely everything.

(PS: if you use the discount code : slowcook20  (all one word, no spaces) at check out you will get an immediate 20% savings on the bundle pack through the above link)

I've heard Bad Things About Dried Beans.

Okay. So red beans need to be brought to a rolling boil for 10 minutes on the stovetop before being added to the slow cooker to kill off any potential toxin that naturally occurs. This is a very rare potential toxin but it is a real thing.

On the internet it is referred to as "freaky red bean toxin" or "freaky kidney bean toxin" -- and while it is not a common occurrence I always recommend bringing any red beans to a full rolling boil for the 10 minutes and then draining and rinsing. 

What about Lead?

I have written about Lead, here. Long story short, don't worry about it.

Sure thing. I've written about my thoughts, extensively, here ---

but in a nutshell:

I know, I know, I know. There is a "slow cooker" feature on the Instant Pot --- but it will not work as well as a slow cooker as it does as a Pressure Cooker.

That is because it's in the shape of a cylinder (like a coffee can) and not oval like a traditional slow cooker. Slow cookers heat evenly, from the sides and the bottom, and are made to be left alone for hours upon hours.

Pressure cookers work GREAT as pressure cookers. But in my not so humble opinion, when you get too many things in one appliance they don't all work as well as you think they should.

I have also written many other articles that you might find helpful:

what to do with a Hot or Fast Cooking Slow Cooker

What Size Slow Cooker Should I Buy?

Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

Instant Pot vs CrockPot

Slow Cooker Secrets You've Never Been Told

I hope this helps a bit! Happy Slow Cooking!!!

steph

Loose meat sandwiches are sort of a "grown up" version of Sloppy Joes. These are delicious, savory, ground meat (can be beef, lamb, turkey, or chicken) sandwiches that aren't loaded down in sauce and glop. They are fantastic to serve at a football or any other sort of sports day get together!

I am such a dork that I didn't realize that yesterday was the Super Bowl until Saturday afternoon. 

I knew it was coming, but in my head I thought there were still a few weeks to go. Because of this, I didn't plan any Super Bowl food---

in fact, on Friday when I woke up feeling kind of sluggish and I'm-coming-down-with-a-cold like, I decided that I was going to eat raw for the next three days. 

And when I watched my DVR'd Oprah, and it was on "going vegan" for a week, it seemed like A SIGN that I should really do it. 

So I plopped the baby in the stroller and we walked to the local produce market and bought pretty much everything in sight 

(at least we must have, according to my receipt. DUDE. eating that way costs bank.) 

Anyway. I came home and made a delightful smoothie of pear, mango, clementine oranges, apple, banana, and kale (and then a bit of water to get it to smoothie-cize). 

It was actually pretty good.

and I was all geared up to eat/drink nothing but this concoction for the next three days.

You see where I'm going with all this.... right?

yeah. 

I lasted until about 1/4 through the game and then succumbed to Adam's "Super Nachos" (essentially a few chips loaded with 8 million pounds of cheese, guacamole, and sour cream).

oh well.

I don't really have a segue from that story to this recipe. 

The first time I heard of Loose Meat Sandwiches was on the Roseanne television show back in the 90s. 

I forgot all about them until our family friend, Harvey, asked if I had ever made them in the crockpot. 

When I said I hadn't he told me that they'd work great.

Harvey was right!

The Ingredients.

serves 8

1 pound extra lean ground beef or turkey (the lean is more imp. than the type)

1 onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups beef broth

8 hamburger buns (I used gluten free bread, toasted)

traditional hamburger fixen's (pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, etc)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. 

Crumble in the ground meat (it needs to be thawed, or it'll cook in a big clump). 

Add onion, sugar, spices, mustard, and vinegar. 

Pour in the beef broth. 

Mix well until everything is fully incorporated---you may want to use your hands. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. 

Stir well before serving by scooping with a slotted spoons onto hamburger buns. 

Top with your desired fixings.

The Verdict.

The meat is juicy and tender with a slight tang from the pickle and mustard. 

It doesn't taste salty as much as savory---which I was worried about. I've had hamburger-with-gravy sandwiches before and didn't really care for them, but this is not that. 

The kids loved their dinner, and Adam ate 1 1/2 sandwiches. 

I served the leftover meat over mashed potatoes with frozen peas the next night.

Thank you for picking out a winner, Harvey!

2008 flashback:

February 1: Banana Bread

February 2: Foil-packet tilapia

February 3: Jambalaya

February 4: BBQ Beef Ribs

February 5: Roasted Vegetables

I know, I know ... slow cooker seem synonymous with Fall and Winter cooking --- but I am here to suggest that you put your crockpots to work this summer and spring when the weather starts to warm up. 

For reals. I'm not joking.

:-)