There’s simply nothing better like the smell of dinner cooking as you walk through the front door.
Welcome home!
After a long day at work, the aroma welcomes you back home. But wait… Dinner is really almost ready??? You have been gone all day… yes, the Crock-Pot has magically been slowly simmering your dinner nonstop and the smell of a delicious dinner yet to come is wafting throughout your home. The aroma is welcoming you back, like two little, happy puppies wagging their tails anxiously awaiting to greet you as you enter the front door.
These two are waiting for their favorite humans to come back home!
Crock-Pot recipes are a mainstay in the playbook of comfort foods 101 in my opinion. The advantages of using a crock-pot or a slow cooker are plentiful. For one, the crock-pot will use less electricity than cooking a full meal on your stovetop.
Baked potatoes in crockpot??? Try it if you haven’t done that before. Yes, save electricity by using your crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours instead of using your oven. I brush mine with olive oil and salt pepper and cover it and walk away for a few hours.. dinner success!
Another advantage of using a crock-pot, Family evening meals can be prepared ahead of time… meaning that it can save you time, and of course, less dishes to clean up after the meal! If you are a meal planning cook, the crock-pot is for you! That’s a definite win in the family meal game plan!
This creamy chicken crock-pot recipe is one of the most versatile dishes that I make that can be used as a base for chicken pie, chicken casserole, or served over pasta. The leftovers can make a creamy chicken soup.
The last advantage of using a crock-pot is simply the monetary savings from each grocery storetrip. When you slow cook in the crock-pot, you can buy a tougher cut of meat ( saving a bit of money) and it will come out tender after cooking low and slow all day long. Crock-pots are designed to tenderize and add complexity of flavors to your protein as it simmers low and slow.The slow cooking process helps to preserve the nutrients. In a higher heat setting, those nutrients can be rapidly broken down, reducing the flavor profile.
As I write this blog post, I realize that some are probably rolling their eyes saying, “good grief girl, get in the 21st century and buy an instant pot”. Here’s my reply… Well, honestly I don’t want one. I love the idea of prepping before I leave for the day, and simmering my food low and slow all day long… nothing beats spaghetti sauce that’s been cooking all day long in the crock-pot and we love it. I’m the “set it and forget it until later” meal game planner.
I don’t think of a crock-pot meal as a “boring meal” that is often repetitive… week after week… “Mom, we are eating the same old stuff” type meals… that’s the whole point of “Crocktober”. Thinking outside of the usual crock-pot mindset and experimenting with new ways to use the traditional slow cooker.
SO…. Here’s a sampling of some of the amazing products that Wilkes County Hardware has to offer you that could add some extra flavor to your favorite proteins or vegetables slowly simmering away in your crock-pot. Hopefully you can find a bit of inspiration for some new “Crocktober Recipes” to make for your family.
This rub is a great addition brings flavor to any type of steak, or beef roast in your crock-pot! Hand choppers are great for making quick work of a large cooked pork lion, or even chicken as you make chopped BBQ or tacos in the crock-pot The best BBQ sauce… AND it’s locally made!Traeger sauces and rubs can add extra flavor to your crock-pot meals Pick your favorite! Use your imagination and available ingredients from your pantry and refrigerator and get cooking in your crock-pot for October! The options are endless!!! It’s Crocktober
Let’s celebrate the month of October with the Crock-pot… and get the slow simmer going … it’s Crocktober time!
FYI: Two recipes are linked in this blog post if y’all are curious… Happy slow cooking!
Sharing a few featured October favorites for the crockpot. These may not be new and different to you but they are well loved in “The Hardware Life” and easy to prep for any weeknight meal. Enjoy these Crocktober family favorites!
Note: You can use more chicken to adjust to your family size! I’m cooking for only two people right now.
1 cup chicken stock
Note: You can thin it as much as you like by adding more chicken stock, but I like to leave mine on the thicker side.
Get it Simmering in the Crock-pot:
1. Add chicken as the bottom layer first, season chicken as desired.
Note: ( I season my tenders with minced dried onion and black pepper )
2. Combine all other ingredients and stir into crockpot and cook on low for at least 6 hours or chicken throughly cooked. Mine usually cooks all day while I’m gone to work.
Alternate versions of Creamy Crock-pot Chicken:
1. Add frozen biscuits (cut into 4’s ) cook for about hour on high in crock-pot for chicken pie or dumplings type meal.
2. Use cooked creamy chicken as a base for chicken casserole and layer into casserole dish.
3. Creamy chicken & Pasta : Cook pasta and steam veggies and top the chicken with parmigiana cheese.
This pasta and chicken recipe make a hearty comfort dish meal. Ready to eat when you are hungry.
4. Creamy Chicken Soup: My Creamy Chicken leftovers and pasta combines to make a fantastic soup!!! Add a bit more chicken stock to thin if needed or another can cream of chicken soup and add your favorite vegetables or pasta. Simmer until vegetables/pasta is cooked.
Crock-pot Spaghetti Sauce
Crock-pot spaghetti sauce simmers and adds layers of flavors all day long!!! Your meat is tender and delicious.
Ingredients for Crock-pot Spaghetti Sauce:
1-2 pounds hamburger
1 container of fresh mushrooms (fine chop)
1/2 c Chopped carrots
2 T Italian seasoning
Fresh Herbs (Rosemary/oregano)
Spaghetti sauce base:
1. Shortcut- Add in favorite Jar Spaghetti sauce to your cooked hamburger, spices, and simmer away all day
OR….
2. Make your own spaghetti sauce base- 1 T tomato paste, splash of wine, crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning, I usually add extra Italian seasoning( if using dried herbs, you will need to use less by 1/3 vs using fresh herbs… use more than dried)
Get Simmering in Crock-pot:
1. Brown Hamburger in crock-pot on low heat for 30-45 minutes. Chop hamburger into smaller pieces as it begins to cook down. Drain away any excess liquid.
The slow cooker hamburger browning process is slower but well worth it. I usually brown my meat as I am getting ready in morning and then head back to kitchen to add spices/sauce before I leave.
2. Add herbs and Red Wine(if desired)
3. Add chopped mushrooms and carrots
This is a good way to sneak in veggies into your sauce, a fine cop makes these pretty invisible in your cooked sauce.
4. Add Spaghetti Sauce base ingredients and stir well.
5. Top sauce with fresh herb bundle, cover and simmer 8 hours.
I tend to add spices and flavors as I cook. Please add your favorite Italian blended spices and flavors to your sauce. The process of cooking the sauce slowly is a definite step up from the rushed cooking process of making a “quick spaghetti sauce”. The flavor profile will be different from a skillet spaghetti sauce made quickly.
Enjoy these “Crocktober Recipes” and enjoy cooking low and slow adding a bit a flavor as you go!
Which one of these statements BEST describesthe cook in your household???? Are you the Southern cook who uses a recipe as the roadmap to the ultimate meal success making absolutely NO alterations to the recipe as you cook OR do you simply use a recipe as a reference… using available ingredients on hand??? Too hard to answer??? I think I’m both but it depends on what I preparing.
When it comes to baking, I’m always going to be a recipe reader prior to baking, and even during “the making process” of the dessert.
Here’s one of my main reference tools from my kitchen wall… family favorite recipes…thanks to chalkboard paint. Yes, you can find chalkboard paint at Wilkes County Hardware!
Casseroles… Creative Cooking:
Alternately, when it comes to making a casserole, I’m definitely the latter. I’ll make a new casserole based on ingredients on hand AND using leftovers found inside the refrigerator and pantry. My favorite phrase to describe my supper creations in this type of instance would be“creative casserole cooking”.
Pantry staples…
For the creative cook, Casseroles are a chance to experiment with different flavors, textures, and ingredients to create the ultimate family style casserole dish. That’s the ultimate beauty of a casserole, you don’t have to be a recipe follower, you have the freedom to make and create as you cook! Use the “formula” guidelines below for making the perfect casserole adding these different components. Keep on reading to make and create a new family favorite casserole.
Casserole Cookbook Fun:
I’m betting that you can find a multitude of casserole recipes in any Southern cookbook. Lol, there might be a whole section devoted to just casseroles! I would bet that you may find some casseroles that you have NEVER heard of before or maybe even have the curiosity to make them. Go and seek out your favorite church cookbook, or elementary school fundraiser cookbooks, and you can find many different versions of the same casserole recipe too!
I keep a small stash of my favorite cookbooks right on the kitchen countertop. The cute doggie cookie jar holds some of my handwritten recipes.
I’m not really sure when “The Casserole” came into existence, nor is it the purpose of this blog post today, but as the seasons begin to shift and change, and the holiday season begins soon, I have begun to think about my favorite casseroles to make and consume. AND potential new casseroles to try… Pineapple Casserole, you might be on the slate for the holiday season!
After all, casseroles are the ultimate comfort foods and have become a “Mainstay” in most Southern households. Casseroles truly hold center stage at the long table at church potlucks and are always at the forefront of family holiday meals. So let’s dig into “The Casserole”. I’m getting hungry y’all! Anyone else???
Components of A Casserole:
Casserole components are pretty simple in composition: protein, vegetables, binding ingredients such as (cheese, eggs, sour cream, cream base soups, etc) and the crunch. But, I must admit that the crux of a casserole has to be the binding… the creamy sauce brings together the ingredients formulating your casserole dish. The binding ingredients once completely warmed in the oven, creates a bubbly visual that lets the maker know that the final product is done and ready to eat and consume.
The beginnings of Chicken Casserole… a family favorite…. Starting with the chopped chicken chunks Adding the binding… cheeses and soups. I add a bit of parmigiana cheese and cheddar cheese into my chicken casserole binder … it’s an flavorful addition. Milk instead of water adds a nice touch of a boost of flavor to the binder sauce.
Now, we must discuss the last component of a casserole… the crunch. Adding a bit of crunchiness on the top layer of the hot, bubbly casserole dish takes it to a whole other dimension of flavor, complexity, and texture not previously recognized.
Classic flavors like the crunch of a chopped Ritz cracker or French fried onions to top off old favorites casseroles, like the green bean casserole. Imagine taking these classic recipes to a higher level by adding a new flavor profile and texture with Panko, nuts, bacon bits, Saltines, or even crushed potato chips, or crushed pretzels. Your choices are endless! I bet it will be a smashing success!
A staple for Chicken Casserole topping (the crunch) and Thanksgiving Dressing!!!
I would just reckon that the top crunchy layer is the distinctive part of the casserole that sets it apart from someone else’s at the church potluck… beckoning the hungry parishioners to try that crunchy, browned casserole over the soggy topped casserole carefully situated next to the beautifully browned casserole. I know which one I’m spooning out and sampling.
Defining The Casserole:
As a student of history, I would bet that casseroles were a staple in Southern homes during the First World War, The Great Depression and also during World War 2. A casserole could easily supplement OR be the main course of the meal AND extend the number of people one could easily feed during a time of rationing. Of course, the use available ingredients on hand during the cooking process was crucial during these war years. Casseroles did become very common during the 1950’s when convenient, canned goods were the central ingredients, making the evening meal a little bit easier to prepare.
Dish It Out!
As I have mentioned, casseroles are a mainstay of Southern cooking, but I’m also suggesting that the casserole dish ITSELF is important! Whether you use the classic 9 x 13 baking dish or another baking vessel, my gut tells me that most of us probably use the same casserole dish EVERY SINGLE TIME we make a casserole! Let’s face it, we all have our favorite cooking utensils, and bakeware that we routinely use more than others. I know that I have one or two “go to casserole dishes” that I always use over all the others in my kitchen.
This Lodge Dutch Oven would make some amazing casseroles! You can find this available for purchase at Wilkes County Hardware!
According to one definition, a casserole is a dish baked and served in the same dish. In Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas casseroles are known as “hotdish”. A central ingredient of those “hotdish” recipes gravitates around the tater tot. There’s a whole debate about the hotdish vs the casserole … But for our purposes in the blog today, the dish itself is important “hotdish” or casserole!
AND remember, to never overfill to the top of your casserole dish prior to baking in the oven… are you chuckling as you read this??? It has probably happened to you at some point in your cooking experience, too much goodness in a dish overflowing everywhere all over your the inside of the oven. No one wants to be cleaning the oven as a result of the overflowing, bubbling, baking casserole. That’s definitely not magical!
Oven cleaner available at Wilkes County Hardware
Let the Casserole Magic Begin:
I firmly believe that part of the magic of the casserole has to be recipes themselves. The casserole recipes are as unique as each creative cook, using ingredients that you, as the chef, LOVE!
Enough said!! If you love it, and your family scarfs down the warm casserole goodness, SUCCESS !
Mojo Of Casserole Cooking:
There are definitely a few distinct advantages to casserole cooking, keep reading to get the casserole mojo mindset going right into the holidays.
Casseroles can feed a crowd, like the loaves and fishes in Biblical times. The spoonfuls of goodness can feed many in pinch or serve as a second meal as leftovers.
Casseroles can be prepared ahead of time… using the fix and freeze method which is a gift and a blessing to those who need a quick meal, like a sick loved one, a sleep deprived mom with a newborn baby, or even a family experiencing bereavement.
Casseroles can be the focus of the meal… breakfast, lunch or supper… yes, this dish can be served any time of the day. A versatile magical way to cook! Casseroles can also serve as a side dish, a “second fiddle”of sorts, to the main course. Have an abundance of vegetables from the garden???? Don’t be bewitched or bewildered by the excess. I bet you can find, make or create a casserole in order to use what you have! Now that’s just a bit of chef wizardry.
Casserole Comfort Food 101:
Nothing is better than on a cold, nasty day than making your favorite comfort foods. I have a few go-to dishes that I love as Comfort Foods. Casseroles fit perfectly within this description. With the ease of baking (using only ONE dish), then taking the hot, bubbly food out of the oven, casserole flavors wafting through the air, inhaling the first smells as it cools on the kitchen counter, and then finally the tasting… which warms the body, soul, and spirit. Comfort food at its best… right???Happy cooking y’all!
Front porch swings, and rocking chairs with a slight breeze blowing.. can’t you smell the fried chicken cooking inside, the aroma of homemade biscuits, a glass of sweet tea in hand or a cup of fresh squeezed lemonade and let’s add a warm slice of pound cake…. Just another Southern Summer loading in 2023.
WCH Recommends: These 2 Rocking chairs are an amazing way to rock the summer away and enjoy the breeze.
My Thoughts about Southern Pound Cake:
1. Pound cake can probably be found at family celebrations & holiday gatherings especially if they are potluck type gatherings.
2. You will always find at least one pound cake at church picnics or potlucks in the South… after all, it’s an essential Southern staple!
3. Pound cakes are a central part of any good dessert table.
4. Pound cakes are either a grand mystery of baking to some and to others.. well, they seem to navigate any pound cake recipe like a pro.
5. Pound Cakes can be baked different pans… Bundt, loaf pan, or a tube pan AND Most Southern cooks have a definite preference on which they use regularly to bake a pound cake.
WCH Recommends: Tube pans and cast iron loaf pans are great baking standard pans for baking all goodies this summer.
A Trip Back Into Time Regarding Pound Cake:
Pound cake is exactly what you think it is. It’s a fairly simplistic looking dessert. The origin is quite literally what it sounds like… the first pound cakes were made with one pound of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar! In today’s recipe equivalent… 3 1/3 cups of flour, 8-9 eggs, 4 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar. When you begin to think about that, most traditional pound cake ratios are slightly different today!
My favorite Pound cake recipe uses 6 large eggs
I didn’t realize until recently, that the first recipe for pound cake appeared in 1796 in the American Cookery Cookbook and Pound Cake Recipe was rooted in Northern European cuisine… Europeans measurements were by weight, hence, a pound of butter, flour, sugar. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how to stir and create a fluffy pound of butter with only using a wooden spoon😳!
Strange Things about Pound Cake:
Personally, the strangest reaction I ever witnessed about a freshly baked pound cake, I encountered a few years ago. I had made a pound cake to share with the staff at the hardware store and as we prepared to slice the cake, a former employee shouted out, “let me go find some honey or molasses to go with the cake to cut the dryness of the pound cake”. I was stunned. What on earth was this person’s perspective concerning pound cake??? I realized that they had potentially NEVER eaten a pound cake that wasn’t dry. To never have eaten an amazing piece of pound cake… moist on the inside yet with a crust on the outside.
Comfort Food 101:
Comfort Foods tend to be hearty, homey, and let’s just face it, good for your soul. The mental boost that your favorite comfort food creates, can restore your equilibrium.
As far as dessert goes, Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a family favorite comfort food. My Mom regularly makes this one for us when we visit, so frequently that my niece named Mom’s pound cake, “Nanny Cake”. The name has stuck. We all call Mom’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake, “Nanny Cake.” Now that’s truly Comfort Food 101!
My Personal Tips for Baking A Pound Cake:
1. Grease pan with Crisco /flour dusting mixture instead of using a baking spray. I have never had a great success with using a baking spray. For making a chocolate pound cake, dust with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder.
2. I always preheat my oven… before I begin to mix ingredients. One of my cake cookbooks recommends that you preheat 30 minutes before baking. This allows your oven to fully come up to temperature and allows for even baking of cake layers… I would bet that would extent to a pound cake as well! (Note: Some pound cake recipes are cold oven pound cakes and you are asked to not preheat oven)
3. Use the oven light and your nose! If it smells like it is almost done then it probably is … the oven light keeps you from peeking inside and provides a nice visual . Each time you open the oven door your temperature drops about 25 degrees and adds to the chances of your cake falling.
4. Use a cake tester after baking time elapses to check for complete baking doneness.
5. Pound cake recipes calling for a tube pan won’t always fit in a Bundt pan. (Tube pans have higher sides and will hold more, while Bundt pans are more shallow and fluted.)
6. When unsure of size of your cake pan, use a measuring cup to fill the cake pan with water to determine the pan’s capacity.
7. Read entire recipe and make sure you have all ingredients ready before beginning! Gather ingredients prior to mixing. It’s important not to overmix pound cake ingredients.
8. Bring cold ingredients to room temperature before baking… items like… eggs, butter, cream cheese, milk.
The garden centers in May see a frenzy of activity. The Spring season has brought enough warmth and heat to keep those blooms beautiful. Do you find yourself buying the same annuals or planting the same flower seeds each year??? At the hardware store, our flower seeds are selling quickly as well as potting soil.
WCH Recommends: Using a composting soil builder along with a great potting soil mix creates a fantastic base for growing plants and flowers. WCH Recommends: Zinnias bloomed all summer long with butterflies abounding! Stop by to pick up some seeds now for blooms later this summer.
I began to think about this the other day, my personal connections to flowers and what I plant is deeply rooted… linked to my personal life experiences and memories of those who I love and those who are no longer with us.
Hydrangeas are a favorite flower memory. I have a large snowball hydrangea that I planted several years ago based around my childhood home. These beautiful blooms here are from my granny’s garden.
I have a few favorites that I love to plant each year. The striking colors, the scents, the aesthetics, and durability(long lasting nature) of the plant definitely impacts my purchasing decisions. But, many of the reasons why I pick the same type of flowers each year is due to my associated memories with these flowers.. past celebrations, or memories of strolling through family gardens.
Aunt Mary and Pat always had their window boxes full of red geraniums every year. I always try to have a couple of red geraniums each year.
If you and I did a walk through in my garden areas at my home, it would be a definite literal story of sharing plants.. who gave them to me to transplant, or maybe the why I chose the blooming beauty for my garden and the personal connection to each flower. My question to you today, do you relate and link flowers that you plant to your cherished loved ones too?
My mom always had beautiful roses at home. I love this ketchup/mustard variety in my front garden area. Many of the varieties I have chosen are as a result of our conversations about the care of rose, heartiness of the variety. WCH Recommends: If you have roses, this is a great product to use!
My final thought to share with you today, flowers hold power… not only the outward beauty for your home, hope, resilience to bloom even in difficult circumstances.., and cherished memories of those you love. Let’s get planting!
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The Hardware Life - A wife's journey into the hardware business 