365 Slow Cooker Suppers (the book!) Is Now Available!

Hello!!

This is just a quick note to alert you that my newest cookbook: 365 Slow Cooker Suppers is NOW AVAILABLE at your friendly neighborhood bookstore!!

Thank you for your support and absolute awesomeness these past few years --- you are all wonderful.

We're giving away 5 signed copies of the book today! Good luck to all, and thank you again!

HAPPY SLOW COOKING! steph


{to enter giveaway, please CLICK over to the review site!}

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Introducing: More Make it Fast Cook it Slow

Today is the 362nd day of 2010.

I really don't know where the time went. This past year was a complete blur for me. 

I had a(nother) baby.

and I wrote a(nother) book.

Adam doesn't want me to post pictures of the kids on the Internet, so instead of a beautiful smiling baby face (and man, she really is a smiler!), you're stuck with the cover art of the book.

I wouldn't recommend having a baby and writing a cookbook all at the same time, but if you do, make sure you've got the best family in the world to help.

and a really big freezer.

Mike, who works at BarnesandNoble.com would like to remind you that you can use the Barnes and Noble gift card you got for a Holiday present online. He'd also like you to know that there is a NEW! not in the book! recipe for ribs (in the features tab) on BarnesandNoble.com and that this new cookbook is ONLY! $10.55! for a limited time only!!!!!!

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an excerpt from the Introduction:

There are over 200 brand-new recipes in this book that have not been shared in the first Make It Fast, Cook It Slow cookbook.  I have separated the book into three sections: $7 and under, $10 and under, and $15 and under dishes. Within each section, there are chapters for beverages, appetizers, soups and stews, side dishes, main courses, and desserts. The main-course selections are bountiful, because I believe this is the most beneficial. 

I live in the SF Bay Area, which happens to be a terribly expensive place to live. The prices in this book are from my own hometown, from my own (regional chain) grocery store. I did not use coupons to purchase the food, although I did choose to buy items when they were on sale, and chose store brand items if the per-ounce cost was less expensive than that of the name brand.

Because of this, you may find that by shopping with the store circulars in your area, or by using coupons, or by purchasing meat in bulk at a warehouse store, you can find food at a lower price, and that my prices seem inflated. I'm okay with that! I'd much rather err on the side of overestimating the costs. 

In the past, many slow-cooker meals were made cheaply because they revolved around canned cream-of-something soup. While I do think there is a place in the world for condensed soup, this book does not have a single recipe that calls for this ingredient. My family doesn't use this product due to allergy and health concerns, and since so many recipes already exist with this key ingredient, I wanted to step away and prove to myself (and others!) that inexpensive slow cooker dishes can be made without it. I am such a sucker for a challenge. 

As in the first cookbook, everything has been prepared completely gluten-free. If you are not gluten-free, simply ignore my notes, or file them away in case you ever need to cook for someone with a gluten sensitivity.

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This book is a group effort. I could not have finished my Year of Slow Cooking challenge in 2008 without the love, support, and hand-holding each one of you have provided, and I certainly wouldn't have kept it up to unearth ANOTHER 200 recipes without your suggestions, emails, and comments.

Thank you.

I'm blown away by your generosity and support. I don't have any current plans for a booktour, but I'd really like to set up a roadtrip with the family over the summer. If I can finagle something, I will certainly let you all know.

If you can help with word-of-mouth publicity for this new book via facebook, a blog post, or something else, please let me know. The contact information for the publisher's publicist is up above in the "contact" section, or you can email me at crockpotlady AT gmail DOT com.

thank you again.

I'm not sure what this new year will bring, but I'm excited.

I'll keep you posted.

December 30, 2007: my New Year's Resolution

January 1, 2008: the first time I made black eyed peas

August 25, 2008: Haggis. because why not?

December 18, 2008: Tamales (traditional, wrapped in corn husks)

December 31, 2008: the second time I cooked with black eyed peas. It went MUCH better.

July 6, 2009: Cowboy Beans

December 5, 2009: Super Simple Cranberry Roast (what we're having for dinner tonight)

September 21, 2010: Hoppin' John

what I did after my challenge (january 1, 2009)

Frequently Asked Questions, part 1

Frequently Asked Questions, part 2

and last, just in case...

The Slow Cooker Diet

Have a joyful and prosperous New Year. Lots and lots of love.

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The One Where I Send You Elsewhere

Well, hello there! 

Happy You've Practically Made It Through Tuesday Which Means That It's Almost Wednesday, And That Means That The Week Is Pretty Much Over Since No One Really Does Any Work After Noon on Thursdays Anyhow Day!

Grab a cup of coffee, or hot chocolate, or a shot of tequilla, or whatever it is that you like to drink, and enjoy!

1) Zesty Pork Chop recipe over at Smithfield.com

2) Michelle Stern has her new website up and running: What's Cooking With Kids!

3) Amy Green at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free has a bunch of stuff lined up this week to help with planning your Thanksgiving dinner.

4) Shirley at GFE (gluten free easily) has her famous No-Roll Pie Crust recipe up and is giving away copies of my cookbook and the Spunky Coconut cookbook.

5) Speaking of Thanksgiving, here's a round-up of Slow Cooker Holiday Food and a write-up on how to have an allergen-free (aware?) holiday meal that I did last year.

6) If you live in the SF area, Sheryl, from Breaking Bread Blog has a fantastic compilation of Bay Area GF restaurants/foods for T-Day
Also, if you are in the Bay Area, I'm going to be at the Livermore Library on Sunday the 14th at 2pm for a book talk. And crustless pumpkin pie!

7) and! I have a bunch of books to give away over on Totally Together Reviews to help with your Holiday meal(s).

I hope you're having a great whatever-day-it-is!

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Slow Cooker Cheese Fondue Recipes--a double dip edition!

We had friends over for fondue night, and I was dying to use my Crock-Pot trio. My friend Jennifer loves sundried tomato dip, so I put that in, along with beer and cheddar fondue, and a goat cheese with thyme spread.

We (2 adults, 4 children) pretty much filled up on cheese and we didn't end up ordering take-in for dinner, but instead went out for dessert after the appetizers!

I made crustini out of a loaf of brown rice bread (food for life, pink package) for our dippers, and we also had carrot sticks, celery sticks, and raw cauliflower. We used all the dipping items, but greatly preferred the crustini for all (the cauliflower got fed to the guinea pigs the next day. they were thrilled.)

yummy crustini:

1 loaf pretty dense bread (I used food for life rice bread)

olive oil

salt 

pepper

---Cut each slice of bread into thirds, and brush olive oil on each side. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on each side. Bake on a lined or greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes on each side, or until nice and toasty.

 

 

Beer Cheese Fondue 

The Ingredients.

serves 8

1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (1 cup)

8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer (Redbridge, by Anheuser Busch is gluten free)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

The Directions.

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Put the onion, garlic, and cheeses into your cooker. Stir in the cornstarch and dry mustard. Crush the caraway seeds (Jennifer says to use a mortar and pestle, but I don't have one, and instead crushed them in a ziplock with a small mallet). Add them to the pot. Pour in the beer. Cover and cook on low for 2to 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper before serving, adding more to taste if necessary.

 

Thyme for Goat Cheese

The Ingredients.

serves 4 to 6

1 (11-ounce) package fresh goat cheese

2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leave, plus more for a garnish

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

The Directions.

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. If desired, place an oven-safe ramekin into the bottom of the cooker that you'd like to use for serving. Otherwise, plan on serving this right out of the crock.

Put the cheese into the pot (or ramekin), and press the thyme leaves into the top. Drizzle olive oil on top and add black pepper. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, or until cheese has softened and become easy to spread. Lift inserted dish  (CAREFULLY! use oven mitts!) out of the slow cooker and serve on the table with your favorite dippers.

The Verdict(s).

Fondue night rocks. End of story.

  

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How to Make Irish Cream Coffee in the Slow Cooker

 

We are given a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream every year for Christmas, and every year it sits and sits in the pantry until we re-gift it to whomever happens to spot it in the cupboard and says: ooh, Bailey's Irish Cream!

This year, it happened to be my friend Georgia, and since it was a rainy day and we weren't planning on going anywhere I decided we should treat ourselves to a bit of Irish Coffee.

In the slow cooker. 

Georgia's an awfully good sport... :-)

The Ingredients.

serves 4

3 cups strong black coffee

1/4 cup  Irish Cream Liqueur* (unless you're feistier than I am and want to add more!)

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

4 tablespoons sweetened whipped cream (the stuff in the can, or make your own)

* There are different accounts on the Web about whether or not Bailey's contains gluten. This is what their website's disclaimer reads:

I am allergic to Gluten/Egg/Lactose/Nuts - does Baileys contain Gluten/Egg/Lactose/Nuts?

We are not qualified to give medical advice. If you are a person with a serious food allergy, you should consult your doctor before consuming Baileys who can contact us for a more detailed list of component ingredients if required. The information below is intended as a guide only.

Gluten: 

Please be advised that the whiskey used in Baileys is manufactured by fermenting grain which contains Gluten. Due to the presence of gluten in the whiskey components before distillation we cannot absolutely guarantee that there are no effects to coeliacs. As we are not qualified to give medical advice persons requiring a gluten free diet should consult their medical adviser before consuming Baileys.

Saint Brendan's IS gluten free. Their website says:

Q:Is Saint Brendan's Irish Cream Liqueur gluten-free?
A:Yes. Saint Brendan's Irish Cream Liqueur is gluten-free.

The Directions.

Use a 2-quart slow cooker for this one, or double everything for a 4-quart (might be a fun idea for bunco or scrapbooking night). Combine the coffee and Irish cream in your slow cooker. Stir in the whipping cream and cocoa powder. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, or until the liquid is as hot as you like your coffee to be. Serve in mugs with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

The Verdict.

OH MY GRACIOUSNESS. I really liked this! The sweetened whipped cream is important---the coffee and the Irish Cream is too strong without a bit of sugar to cut it.

Now I want to play bunco!

Feel like pork? How about a Smoky Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwich? Pop on over to the Smithfield.com site!

Happy Day 20 of Crocktober!!

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Slow Cooker Little Smokies Appetizer Recipe(s)

It's a 2 for 1 day! I made two different types of Little Smokies a little bit ago to see which ones the kids liked better. I made one batch the super easy way that our family has made for parties numerous times, and I made a slightly-more-difficult (and sophisticated? can Little Smokies ever be considered sophisticated?) version to do a blind taste test.

The results? It was a tie. It was me and Adam and the two girls and it was a complete split down the middle. One kid and one adult on each side.

Oh! and since I made them both a few weeks ago and am evidently getting really really old, I have no idea which finish picture goes with which stack of ingredients. 

grr.

So! I think we should let the internet decide...

1) which photo do you think goes with which smokies? and 2) if you do make these, which do you and your family prefer?

:-)

Grape Jelly and Chili Sauce Little Smokies

The Ingredients

serves 8

 

1 pound Little Smokies sausage

1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce (housed by the ketchup)

1 (18-ounce) jar grape jelly

The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the smokies into the slow cooker, and pour in the sauces. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 or until the smokies are heated through. Serve out of the crock with toothpicks.

Big Barbecue Little Smokies

The Ingredients

serves 8

1 pound Little Smokies sausage

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup barbecue sauce (check for gluten!)

The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Dump it all in! Stir well and cook on low for 4 hours, or high for about 2. Make sure the smokies are hot throughout and serve out of the crock with toothpicks.

alrighty then! My verdict is mixed, so let me know yours when you have the opportunity.

Also, thank you so very much for taking the time the other day to pop over to the Smithfield.com site and leave such sweet comments. You are all WONDERFUL! Thank you!

Happy Crocktober 15th!

xoox

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Book Club Discussion: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

Good Morning!

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

This was the first book I've read in a very long time (maybe since college?) that I could tell was actual literature. I read quickly, and can fly through pop fiction rather quickly, but I found myself taking the time to absorb each page, paragraph, and sentence while reading.

This book was not just well-written, it was crafted. I have no doubt that it will live on for generations to come, and become assigned reading.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in suggesting The Help. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to finish the book, you might want to steer clear of the discussion. I'd hate to inadvertently spoil anything for you.

Tonight at 5pm Pacific, I'll be leading a live Twitter discussion @stephanieodea under the hashtag #thehelp. I hope to see you!

in the mean time, here are a few thoughts to get your brain buzzing:

1) I usually don't like books where the point of view shifts. I get distracted easily while reading and quickly get lost. This was not the case with this book, and I loved how Stockett stuck with the same point of view for a few chapters at a time before switching. I had no trouble following along, and marveled at how well the story unfolded through each character.

2) I sometimes get bogged down with dialect. I have skimmed pages before, waiting for the dialect to end so I could just "get back to the story." Not here. I don't know if this is an authentic interpretation of southern dialect in the fifties (some cranky Amazon reviewers said it isn't) or not, and I honestly don't care. It was perfect to me. I could read and understand it and I could hear the voices in my head. That's good enough for me!

3) I found that I could relate to all of the main characters, and rooted for them in different ways.

I related to Skeeter the most. I know what it's like to gnaw at your fingernails waiting for weeks to hear back from faceless NY publishers, I understood her relationship with her mother, I often have the "I don't fit in here" feeling she does in social situations, and I loved the way she handled the Miss Myrna job of faking her way through it.

What about you? What were your impressions of the book, and which character resonated the most with you?

new recipe: Boston (book club) Tea Punch

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Slow Cooker Boston Tea (book club) Punch Recipe

My friend Barbara wrote right away after I posted that I was interested in starting a book club. She told me that I must make her "famous" Boston Tea that she always serves to her book club.

Now this is a hot drink, which sounds weird in the middle of July, but I found it quite refreshing to sip on out in the yard after dinner.

Be careful.

this is um, powerful stuff.

The Ingredients.
serves 4

2 cups water
2 black tea bags
1/2 cup rum
2 ounces Triple Sec
2 tablespoons sugar
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)

The Directions.

Use a 2 quart slow cooker. Put water into your slow cooker, and add the tea bags. Pour in the rum and triple sec. Stir in the sugar. Wash lemons well, slice, and float the slices on top. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for about 2 hours. When thoroughly hot, remove tea bags (you can squeeze them just a bit to get out more tea flavor, if you'd like) and discard. Ladle into pretty mugs and serve.

The Verdict.

Barbara, thank you for sharing your book club tea punch! I'm thinking that the book clubs I've attended in the past have been kind of boring, but maybe the problem was that we never had anything like this to sip on!

My friends loved this. Maybe even a bit too much.

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book club reminder!

good morning!

This is a friendly reminder that we have a Book Club date for this Thursday, July 15.

The book is The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

It's a quick read---if you don't have all that much to do the next two days, you can most certainly knock it out.

and it's worth it.

this is one. very. good. book.

Hey Steph, what kind of snacks pair well with reading?
oh, I'm so glad you asked!

spinach artichoke dip
brie with apricot topping
apple dumplings
cheesecake
chocolate mousse
chex mix
mulled wine
nuts and bolts
tomatoes and goat cheese with balsamic cranberry syrup
chocolate covered strawberries
chocolate fondue

and last up, always a crowd favorite, even though I admit the ingredients sound terribly odd:
mommy crack, AKA Rotel Dip

See you Thursday!!
xxoxo

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A Book Club! so my brain doesn't go to mush!

[there is a new recipe for Country Captain Chicken down below]

I wrote last week about the possibility of reading a book or two together over the summer holiday. I haven't done much reading (other than Pat the Bunny and cookbooks) lately, and I miss it.

I received nineteen recommendations to read Kathryn Stockett's, The Help.
I don't know anything about this book other than the information listed on Amazon, and that it appears to be a bit controversial to some reviewers.

But my friend Danielle sells an awful lot of copies, and Shirley liked it, so that's good enough for me.

The kids are off school this upcoming Monday, and I'll need a good book to read during quiet reading time. Penny (I don't have a link for Penny!) pointed out that it's still only available in hardback (although there is a kindle version), but my local library has 12 copies, so hopefully yours has a copy to borrow.

How's July 15 or thereabouts work? I've got a deadline July 1, which is why I'd prefer a bit of wiggle-room. The 15th is a Thursday.

I'll start a discussion on this site in the morning, and then host a live twitter party that evening---5 to 6 pm pacific time.
If you don't have twitter, no worries. You can still follow along, even without an account.

As for facebook, I'm still a holdout. I don't have an account---I'm super nervous to have "just one more thing" to check during the day, and I figure if anyone really wants to get a hold of me they can track me down. That said, a reader did start a fan page where you can evidently chat back and forth. I think. I'm not actually sure how it all works!

Happy reading! See you on July 15th!

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