by jphilo | Mar 23, 2016 | Recipes
I’ve been making chicken broth for years by boiling the chicken carcass in a big stock pot. But my daughter recently showed me how to make very flavorful broth in a slow cooker overnight. What could be simpler? Not much as this recipe shows, which works equally well with turkey.
Slow Cooker Chicken Broth
Place the carcass of a roasted or slow cooked chicken carcass, including skin and bones, in the slow cooker. Add pan juices and brown bits scraped from the bottom of the roasting pan. Fill the slow cooker with water. Throw in an onion (quartered), three stalks of celery cut into 3 inch lengths (include the leaves), and 6 garlic cloves (halved). It will look a little gross.
Put the lid on the pot, turn it on low and let it cook overnight. In the morning, run the contents of the slow cooker through a strainer into two large bowls. Allow the broth to cool. Pour into pint freezer bags. Seal and lay the bags flat on cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets in freezer until the broth is solid. Remove bags from cookie sheets, stack and keep in freezer until needed. Makes 8–10 pints of broth.
by jphilo | Apr 29, 2015 | Recipes
Today’s recipe has been on the back burner (no pun intended) for several months. Not because it needs that long to cook. But because in the busyness of the the past several months–weeks spent helping 2 mommies adjust to life with our 2 new grandchildren, book deadlines, and spring speaking engagements–the camera where the above picture was stored disappeared.
I’d given the camera, a really nice Canon Rebel, up for lost. Until a couple weekends ago, when my husband texted some good news while I was in DC for a special needs conference. “Found camera in trunk of my car.”
Hallelujah! The lost is found.
Now that I’ve been home for a while, I’ve been able to dig through the piles that accumulated in my months of Grammy duty, book edits, and travel for work. So now’s the time to pass on this very delicious, nutritious, easy, gluten-free, dairy-free, freezer meal-friendly recipe for chicken enchilada soup which I found at the gimmesomeoven website. The Man of Steel likes the recipe because he can sprinkle his helpings with cheese and sour cream. See what you think.
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
1 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
2 cups chicken stock
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (read the label to be sure it is gluten-free)
2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with juice
1 (15-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, drained
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt, or more/less to taste
Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 hours on high heat or 6-8 hours on low heat, until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken from slow cooker, setting it on a plate to cool for 10 minutes. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker and stir well.
Serve warm, with optional garnishes: chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, diced red onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips/chips
Or freeze in a gallon, zippered freezer bag for up to 3 months.
by jphilo | Apr 8, 2015 | Recipes
For the past several months, I’ve been creating and freezing meals for my son and daughter-in-law and for my daughter and son-n-law, all parents of the 2 most adorable babies born in 2015. I have lost count of how many meals I’ve cooked, frozen, packed in coolers, and hauled to Wisconsin on the weekends we’ve visited.
The freezer meal binge ended well with this recipe for slow cooker corned beef and cabbage. It originally appeared at the Family Fresh Meal site. I made a double batch so we could eat some for supper and have enough left over for a freezer meal for each family. One batch went into the slow cooker (and the batches are big) to cook all day. The other was cooked in my big cast iron dutch oven in a 250 degree oven. It was done about 2 hours sooner than was the slow cooker. The adjusted times for adding vegetables for the oven version are in parentheses.
The meal was delicious and received the coveted Hiram seal of approval. I hope the frozen meals (3 gallon bags full) are just as good.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
5-6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, cut into wedges
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
8 ounce beer (I split a 12 ounce bottle between the 2 batches and had plenty of broth)
3 pounds corned beef brisket
1 pound carrots (about 4) peeled and cut into strips
1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
1 pound head of green cabbage, cut into wedges
Place onion wedges and garlic at the bottom of slow cooker. These will act as a stand for meat, so it doesn’t touch the bottom and dry out. Place beef on top of onions and garlic.
Next, mix together water, beer, sugar and vinegar. Pour over beef and then sprinkle seasoning packet that came with the corned beef over meat.
Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours. (For dutch oven method, cook in 250 degree oven for 6 hours.)
After 4 hours of cooking, add in potatoes and carrots. (Add potatoes and carrots after 3 hours for dutch oven method.) Cover and continue cooking.
When 1 hour remains (40 minutes for dutch oven), add quartered cabbage and cook the remainder of the time. Serve hot with broth on the side for dipping and drizzling. Yum!
For freezer meals, allow the meat and vegetables to cool, place in zippered freezer bags and place in freezer, like this:
Cover and continue cooking
by jphilo | Jan 14, 2015 | Recipes
For most of December and January, I made double batches of slow cooker meals for supper a couple times a week. The Man of Steel and I ate half the food and the other half went into the freezer for later transport to my son and daughter-in-law, who have a new baby this winter.
This recipe comes from Loving My Nest, which features all sorts of freezer meals/slow cooker meals. My version, found below, received the coveted Hiram seal of approval. He liked it so much, there was barely enough left of the double batch to freeze for the new parents!
Slow Cooker Pork and Veggies
1 pound pork roast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 medium carrots, sliced
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Combine ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6–8 hours. Serve over rice or with French bread or baguette. Feeds 6–8.
by jphilo | Jan 13, 2015 | Recipes
Oh my, the weather outside has been frightful…as it should be in January in Iowa. Winter’s not my favorite season by any measure. But cooking comfort food make winter much easier to bear. This post takes a trip through the Gravel Road’s recipe file to compile this top ten comfort food list.
10. Crock Pot Bean Soup
Out of deference to the Man of Steel, who’s not crazy about bean soup, this recipe sits at #10. But for that, it would be higher on the list.
9. Creamed Potatoes 
Creamed potatoes make a delicious side dish for almost any kind of meat or fish.
8. Pumpkin Bread 
Some year, I’m going to remember to stock up on canned pumpkin during Thanksgiving sales so there’s enough on hand to make this tasty treat all winter long.
7. Turkey Hash 
This recipe comes from my late mother-in-law. It’s the second best way I’ve found to use turkey leftovers. And it can be made dairy and gluten-free!
6. Barbeque Meatballs 
Here’s a recipe that comes from the Idaho Family Camp we attend most summers. It makes a big batch, which means some can be frozen for another day.
5. French Stew 
Here’s another crockpot meal that can be doubled and easily frozen. So, so good.
4. Apple Crisp 
There’s just something so wonderful about a taste of summer fruit in the middle of winter.
3. Basic Scones 
Get creative with this recipe and make your own variations: blueberry, lemon, blueberry-lemom, maple-oatmeal, and orange-cranberry are some of our faves. These are perfect served with winter soups and stews.
2. Balkan Meatballs 
I just love these, even made dairy-free. Enough said.
1. Turkey (or chicken) Tetrezinni 
Hands down, this is the top favorite for every member of our family. It’s also the best way to use turkey leftovers in the universe! And yes, there’s a dairy-free version, too.
That’s the Gravel Road’s list of it’s top ten comfort food recipes. What’s your favorite comfort food? Tell about it in the comment box/
