Slow Cooking Recipes – Prepare Meals While You Work in the Office

Slow Cooking Recipes – Prepare Meals While You Work in the Office

Your wish to just have to push a button and have your meals be prepared for you are about to come true. We have all experienced times when we have been too tired to even think of cooking a meal when we get home. It is good to have a life partner who shares the cooking chores equally, but for those of us whose partners can’t cook or don’t want to. Fantasies like having to purchase the vegetables and ingredients from the market and some how have a magic genie prepare the meals for us are not uncommon.

Technology has done its part to get this part of the dream come true, well to some extent at least. Dutch ovens and crock pots have made cooking easier for many of us. They are easy to use, economical and fast too. Get yourself one and then search around for some ‘slow cooking recipes’.

These very useful kitchen tools permit the cook to just place the ingredients in them and throw a switch. The crock pot or Dutch oven will do the rest, cooking your food all day long as you work in the office. When you get home you will have a superb meal waiting to be served.

So, where do you find slow cooking recipes? A good place to start is the book store. The Internet is another very resourceful place as well as the grocery store and the rear of packaged ingredients. If you subscribe to some cooking publication you are likely to find a few good slow cooking recipes tucked away in the pages. However, if you already know some ideas, you are already on your way to experiencing your cooking assistant and the magic of crock pot cooking.

There are many slow and they come in all forms and flavors. It is possible to prepare main course meals, casseroles, soups and what not with your crock pot or Dutch oven. If you follow some television cooking program you will be given some very delicious slow cooking recipes and a lot of tips and tricks of how to best utilize your crock pot and Dutch oven. A good place to start your practice with them is to begin with the Internet, some of the recipes are very easy for beginners and once you have a little practice with a few ,meals you will be on your way planning your day for all the time you have free from cooking.

If you are the kind that likes to attend classes, then there is nothing like it. You can get hands on tutorials on slow cooking recipes. This will save you time and give you a jumpstart in slow cooking techniques.

Campfire Cooking Recipes – Lasagna

Campfire Cooking Recipes – Lasagna

Have you considered having lasagna on a camping trip? Before you leave on your trip, combine mozzarella cheese, eggs and cottage cheese. Put the mixture in an airtight container and store in a chilled cooler. This will prevent the cheeses and eggs from going bad as you travel. If you want meat in your lasagna, cook fully and also place in a container to be put in the cooler. When you are ready to cook the meal, make sure the dutch oven is completely cleaned and dry. Layer the noodles, meat and cheese/egg mixture until the oven is nearly full. Add the spaghetti sauce over the top and put the remaining cheese mixture on the very top. Place the dutch oven lid on tightly and put over hot coals. Place additional hot coals on top of the oven to cook from the top simultaneously. Check the lasagna from time to time and after 45 minutes the meal should be ready to serve. Consider adding chopped peppers and onions to the cooked meat for more flavor.

For a yummy pizza alternative while camping, try stromboli. Purchase pre-made dough and the toppings you will want. Roll the dough out so it almost fills the bottom of the dutch oven. Oil the dough so it will not stick and put the toppings on top. Try adding different meats and vegetables. When you have added everything you want, roll the dough over and pinch the sides to close. Poke holes in the top with a fork or utensil and place the top tightly on the dutch oven. Put over hot coals and place some on top of the oven for even cooking. Cook time is only 15 minutes and the finished stromboli is delicious.

To cater to a sweet tooth on a camping trip, make this wonderful cherry cobbler. Before you put anything in the dutch oven, place tin foil in the bottom to prevent burning. Layer pre-made biscuit dough on top of the foil and use enough to create a sturdy dessert bottom. Pour a can of cherry filling in and add another layer of biscuit dough. Continue alternating the fruit and dough layers until you almost fill the oven. Be sure to leave a few inches of room so the biscuits have room to expand. Place the top of the dutch oven on and place over hot coals. Add some coals to the top as well since there are several layers of biscuits. Take extra care not to burn the biscuits on the bottom. They are closest to the heat and will cook quickly. Keep checking the cobbler until it is fully cooked. If you have any ice cream in your cooler, this would be a perfect time to use it up!

Campfire Cooking Recipes – Dutch Oven

Campfire Cooking Recipes – Dutch Oven

Campfire cooking can be easy, tasty, and healthy. You can adapt almost any stove top recipe to suit fire cooking with just a little preparation and imagination. Campfires can be hard to regulate; depending on how hot the coals are will determine the cooking time of many dishes. Remember to check your dish often; campfire cooking recipes require more hands-on than traditional recipes, but the great taste of the outdoors is worth it.

The easiest and healthiest dishes can be done in foil packs. Line a foil pack with cabbage leaves to retain moisture, and add a turkey burger, salt and pepper, and fresh vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, or celery and carrots. Use a variety of spices, or use a powdered marinade for a different and delicious taste.

Chicken, fish, and lean meats can also be cooked in foil packets, and the addition of cabbage leaves to the packets retains moisture and taste during cooking. Add spices and reduce fat when cooking with this method. Experiment with low fat dressings, marinades and sauces. Campfire cooking recipes are often only a matter of modifying and experimentation.

Other dishes can be modified for cast iron cooking over a fire. Try this recipe:

Easy Low Fat Dutch Oven Chicken

Chicken quarters, no skin

Green peppers, sliced

Onions, sliced

Zucchini, sliced

1 small jar honey mustard

2 tsp oil

Warm a Dutch oven over a fire. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add chicken quarters, about an inch of water, and a small bottle of honey mustard. Cover and place back on coals. Cook 20 minutes before adding sliced peppers, onions, and zucchini. Cook an additional 40-45 minutes, or until chicken is done and the vegetables are tender.

You don’t need a complicated campfire cooking recipe for a side dish. Corn on the cob is very simple; soak in water, husk and all, up to an hour before dinner. Place on hot coals, turning frequently, for 20-25 minutes, or until the corn is hot. Another simple option is to mist spears of asparagus with water; season with salt and pepper and throw on a grill for 3-5 minutes, turning often. Simple, tasty, and healthy.

Toss an assortment of sliced vegetables in low-fat Italian dressing: squash, onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Place on a piece of aluminum foil and fold up; place on the coals for 15-20 minutes, turning frequently for another tasty side dish.

Potatoes are both easy and healthy when cooked campfire-style. Wrap in foil first; both sweet potatoes and regular white potatoes can be done this way. Just remember to keep a close eye when campfire cooking; recipes can be modified in many ways but they do require close attention.

Cooking in a Cast Iron Combo Cooker

Cooking in a Cast Iron Combo Cooker

I recently received a fabulous gift from my sister for Christmas. It is a 3 quart cast iron combo cooker made by Lodge Logic. I’ve had a large 12″ cast iron skillet for years, but I hadn’t tried cooking in any other type of cast iron cookware. After some experimenting, I’m sold on my combo cooker.

You may wonder what a combo cooker is. It’s very similar to a dutch oven, except the lid is flat on top. It is made so the lid can be turned over and used as a handy 10″ skillet. I’ve also found out that the lid is also great to bake homemade biscuits in.

The bottom of my combo cooker hold 3 quarts of whatever I want to put in it. So far I’ve used it as bakeware. I baked a whole chicken in it, which turned out just fabulous. I left the lid on the cooker until about halfway through cooking, then removed it so the chicken could brown. It was moist and delicious.

I have also used it as a saucepan and I whipped up a very tasty chili in the cooker. I put the lid on and let it cook slowly, which let all the flavors blend together very well.

I’ve had no issues with rust at all, even though my combo cooker is cast iron. It came from the factory pre-seasoned. I was skeptical about this, but it turned out that they were correct. I was very pleased that I didn’t have to season the cooker myself. Seasoning my skillet, when it was new, turned out to be a lengthy job.

In case you don’t know what seasoning cast iron cookware is, I’ll explain. All cast iron cookware needs to be coated with oil or fat and heated in a hot oven. It’s best to coat it both inside and out. It is beneficial to do this process a few times. The seasoning process lets the oil get into the pores of the cookware, and gives it a rust preventive coating. If cast iron cookware doesn’t come pre-seasoned, this is a step you will have to do yourself. It’s a mandatory step, or your cookware will rust, no matter how you try to prevent it.

Seasoning cast iron also makes it nearly impossible for food to stick to it. It is basically the first version of non-stick cookware.

I had been wanting this cast iron combo cooker so I could use it at my cabin. I can’t wait to cook a pot of beans in it. I want to cook with it over the coals in the fire pit. I also have visions of cooking up a nice bacon and eggs breakfast, using the lid as a skillet over the same fire pit.

One of the perks of cooking with cast iron is the small amount of iron that transfers to our food. Using cast iron cookware helps us get the iron our bodies need without taking supplements.

The only drawback I can find with my combo cooker is the weight. It is heavy. With the lid on, it is very heavy. Fortunately, it has a helper handle on it, so this hasn’t been much of an issue so far.

All in all, the fact that it is nearly non-stick, can double as a dutch oven or a skillet, and is thick enough to cook in hot coals with, far surpasses the weight factor for me.

If you have been considering cooking with cast iron cookware, I do recommend that you give it a try. It may soon be your favorite cookware.

Campfire Cooking Can Be A Tasty Challenge

Campfire Cooking Can Be A Tasty Challenge

There is no reason to skimp on food or flavor when you are communing with the great outdoors during a camping trip. Campfire cooking can be a challenge but with a bit of preparation and the proper tools, you can create easy, tasty concoctions sure to satisfy most appetites. The key word is challenge because you are likely going to have a few misses as you practice cooking over an open fire!

Roasting Options

Roasting is the easiest of all campfire cooking options as takes just a few implements to cook your food over the flame. Long forks are used for cooking hot dogs, marshmallows and anything else that can be skewered as well. Kabobs are popular and easy to make and almost any type of meat can be seasoned and skewered like shrimp, chicken, pork and beef along with vegetable favorites like potatoes, carrots, peppers and cherry tomatoes.

There are even these cast iron molds with long handles in which you can cook food over the fire as well. You can create sandwich pockets in them as well as cook biscuits, eggs and even mini-pies.

Grilling Ideas

One of the most popular campfire cooking methods is grilling food and using a grill over a flame to heat other food as well. Hamburgers, steaks, chicken breast and pork chops all do well over an open-flamed grill and you can even create vegetable pockets from aluminum foil to place on the grill as well. All you need is a good fire, a wire grill sheet and a stand of some sort to hold the grill sheet in place over the fire.

Dutch Oven Ideas

Many boy scouts and girl scouts are familiar with the Dutch oven style of campfire cooking as it is virtually a tradition with their troops. You can literally cook almost anything in a cast iron Dutch oven pot over a nice warm fire or hot coals. For easy clean-up, you will want to line the cast iron Dutch oven with aluminum foil although many true blue campfire cooking enthusiasts say that “seasoning” the cast iron pot is the best way to go.

You can cook lasagna, cobblers, casseroles and more using the Dutch oven campfire cooking methods. The secret to cooking the food in a consistent, even manner is keeping the hot coals hot without losing any heat. It takes some mastering and you cannot wander off too far during the cooking process but the rewards are quite tasty!

Campfire cooking has become a chore that many people look forward to during their camping trips because they often fix tasty foods they normally would not at home. Plus, there is something about eating dinner out in the fresh air with the accompanying flickering lights of the campfire that enhances the experience.

Cast Iron Cooking Equipment – Discover Its Benefits

Cast Iron Cooking Equipment – Discover Its Benefits

You don’t have to be a lover of the outdoors to appreciate the beauty of cast iron cooking equipment. You do have to love the idea that your oven is strong, durable and high quality. If you are serious about the outdoors then you should investigate the variety of fantastic cast iron cooking equipment that can be bought. Anyone who likes to go camping will definitely be enthusiastic about a cast iron double burner propane stove. You can cook virtually anything on this stove ranging from water for your coffee to steak for your dinner. It is a really economical way to cook and only needs so little to power it. So if you keen on the great outdoors this is an essential.

For those who love to cook outside or on camping trips then the Dutch oven is the perfect choice. Wherever you are, if its outside, then Dutch oven can be used to cook a whole variety of delicious meals. You don’t have to be limited to just grilled meats you can really achieve quite a spread including meatloaf, turkey, corn bread and even pineapple upside down cake, the list is endless, and the results are great. The beauty of cooking on a Dutch oven is that it is simple and fast and is ideally suited to cooking for many.

There are two very good reasons why cast iron cooking equipment works so well. First of all it is durable and made of the best quality material, therefore its not likely to break easily, if ever. Secondly, the results achieved from cooking food on cast iron equipment are amazing. Though the stove takes time to reach the required temperature,but once it has it stays at that heat so all your food is cooked evenly. Because the Dutch oven retains its maximum temperature you can use it to keep any prepared food for later, for example when preparing in advance for a dinner party or if you need to keep food warm for any member of the household who is working late and you want them to enjoy a hot meal without it being overcooked.

The Dutch Oven and the cast iron double burner propane stoves are just two types of cast iron cooking equipment. There are lots to choose from. One piece of equipment you can use both indoors and outside is the cast iron reversible griddle. As its name suggests you can use both sides. One side is smooth and the other side is ridged. You can use it by placing it directly onto the oven burners. It really is worthwhile to consider making the cast iron reversible griddle part of your cast iron cooking equipment.

A Scrumptious Feast Over The Camp – Cooking Brisket Dutch Oven

A Scrumptious Feast Over The Camp – Cooking Brisket Dutch Oven

You can become a star cook among your camping friends with a camp cooking brisket dutch oven. With the help of a camp cooking brisket dutch oven, you can prepare a finger- licking feast for a large gathering. After a long day of camping outdoors, brisket cooked over the campfire, with its smoky flavor is sure to be a treat for your senses. Making a brisket dish that is large enough will also provide you with the added advantage of being able to use the leftovers to prepare tasty sandwiches for breakfast the next day.

Let us now help you, by giving you a camp cooking brisket dutch oven recipe to serve a large number of people. For your convenience, most of the preparation of this dish can be done at home, in your kitchen before leaving for your camping trip. This will ensure that it will be much easier for you to cook this dish at the camp.

- Blend 6 minced garlics, some salt and pepper as well as 3 tablespoons liquid smoke. Hand rub this blend on both sides of a fresh brisket that is around 6 pounds. Slice two onions and place them over the brisket. Let this concoction marinade for a least of 24 hours.

- To prepare the sauce, put 1/2 cup each of barbecue sauce, brown sugar and beer. Also add 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce alongwith 2 tablespoons liquid smoke. Let this mixture simmer in a camp cooking brisket dutch oven, till the sugar completely dissolves.

- Put the marinated brisket in the oven and pour the sauce on top of it in a way that it entirely covers the brisket.

- Put about 6-8 hot coals under the oven and 10-12 of them on top it in order to let the brisket cook slowly. It will take around 5 hours for the dish to get ready.

You need to buy a camp cooking brisket dutch oven that is deep and large enough to hold an entire rack of ribs. You can choose from amongst an extensive range of sizes and styles of the dutch oven ideal for cooking brisket.

Your best bet would be to buy a dutch oven that made of cast iron. This is because not only is cast iron very durable and will make sure that your dutch oven lasts years if you maintain it properly, but also because dutch ovens made of cast iron add a distinct flavor to the food. Another option is to go in for an aluminium camp cooking brisket dutch oven. This oven is much lighter than the cast iron one, is easier to clean and take care of and can heat up as well as cool down quickly. However the downside is that these aluminium ovens rust quite easily and can even melt under high temperatures.

Dutch Oven Cooking Recipes – Quick And Easy Way To Cook

Dutch Oven Cooking Recipes – Quick And Easy Way To Cook

As people get busier keeping up with the times and the demands of family life as well as trying to fight inflation finding a faster way to cook in becoming very important. The cost of living is not going down and it is becoming imperative for working parents to find quicker and more convenient ways as well as cost effective ways to cook for their families. For most of them Dutch oven recipes is the answer.

Dutch oven recipes are just the thing you have been wanting and looking out for. These are the most convenient cooking recipes that are easy to prepare with the least amount of supervision and economical too not to mention healthy. You can cook a main course meal, soups and even deserts in your Dutch oven.

The internet is the best place to begin your search for Dutch oven recipes. You will find plenty of quality recipes and fast too. Finding Dutch oven recipes on the internet is not the problem many people think it is, choosing the ones that make your mouth water the most is what will prove to be the biggest problem. There are so many Dutch oven recipes on the internet that you may just be making a new dish for each day of the year. Now isn’t that a savory thought?

Once the internet has got your saliva glands working overtime it is time you got your creative juices flowing. The ingredients are so common and easy to get that you can try your hand at experimenting with newer dishes. When you try out these new dishes you can post them on the internet as well and share them with the others there. However this is just one of the advantages off Dutch oven recipes.

The beauty of Dutch oven recipes is in the way it is cooked. There are recipes that can be put up to cook and set on medium heat when you leave for work in the morning and when you return home in the evening you do not have to worry about cooking especially when you are tired and drained out. Your supper will be ready in your Dutch oven and ready to be served.

This is a good way to cook when you are planning a get-together with family and friends. You can cook a simple meal in your Dutch oven or a sumptuous meal whatever you choose. And while the Dutch oven prepares the food you can spend some quality time mingling with your guests instead of being stuck in the kitchen all the time.

Dutch oven recipes are not only convenient and fast but they are healthy too and all this while saving you a lot of time and effort while you take time off to relax or do some other chore.

Dutch Oven Cooking – Tips For Beginners

Dutch Oven Cooking – Tips For Beginners

Dutch oven cooking use to be the favorite way of preparing meals by American colonists, back in the day. Did you know that dutch ovens are the official cooking pot of Utah? Originally made in Netherlands, they have been around for hundreds of years. A dutch oven is a large, thick pot with a tight-fitting lid and a handle.

Oven cooking is one of the most splendid activities on a camping trip. It may seem mysterious if you have never cooked in one outdoors. Most of the information gathered here is targeted toward the first time

user.

Cooking techniques such as roasting, baking simmering, stewing, frying, boiling, steaming, and many others are easily prepared on the campfire with only a single utensil, the dutch oven. Cooking in a properly seasoned cast iron oven will produce evenly cooked food which does not stick to the pan.

It is recommended the use charcoal for cooking as opposed to cooking over an open fire because temperatures can be easily regulated with briquettes whereas an open fire is riddled with hot spots that can lead to burned food if your ovens are not watched carefully.

Usually, when cooking outdoors, the ovens are hanged over the fire or placed in the coals of fire. There are also ovens that have three legs and a cover with a rim. These are called camp ovens because they are used over a camp fire. The modern ovens have a smooth bottom and can be used indoors on the cook top or in the oven.

Durability and versatility are one of their best qualities. You can cook about anything in them and can last forever, being passed over from generation to generation. Also it heats evenly and retains its temperature for a long period of time. Another cooking benefit is that it can go from a hot burner on the stove or from inside the oven directly to the table.That is why dutch ovens are so great for slow cooking casseroles, stews, roasts.

Dutch Oven Cooking Camping Recipes – 4 Steps To Prepare Dump Cake

Dutch Oven Cooking Camping Recipes – 4 Steps To Prepare Dump Cake

If you want to prepare tasty camping meals with ease on your next camping trip then Dutch oven recipes for camping is the answer to all your questions. Egg bakes, roats or stews, cobbler or other sweet desserts and various other dishes are some of the delicacies you can prepare with your dutch oven. Now you can cook and eat those dishes that were only your desires in previous camping trips.

Whether you are outdoors or on a camping trip, dutch oven would enable you to prepare the delicious dishes at your campground. This opens a new world of entertainment for you at your camping trip and makes it a success. Now you can enjoy many such dishes around your campfire and impress your fellow campers. All you need to do is to build a campfire and carry a camping oven with you to cook all these recipes.

Gone are the days when campers used to miss their fresh and warm desserts after meals. Now with dutch oven, you can easily prepare some dinner treats for your friends or family. Dump cake is one of the favorite camping recipes nowadays.

You need two ingredients and your camping oven to prepare this delicious dump cake. All you need to do is to follow these steps:

1) Put one can of fruit or peaches in your dutch oven.

2) Add one box of white cake mix on the fruit in the oven.

3) Place your dutch camping oven on hot coals. Also place some coals on the top lid of oven.

4) Bake the cake in dutch oven until it is golden brown and a crust is formed.

You need to practice the dish to ensure that you heat the dutch oven at proper temperature. Moreover, you would learn new techniques and have an idea of number of hot coals to use. Most important is to carefully monitor the progress of the baking process.

Many a times people burn the bottom of the dump cake that spoils its taste. You can alter the baking temperature by adding or removing the hot coals from dutch camping oven. If you are referring some cooking recipe book then number of hot coals to use is also mentioned in the recipe to ensure that you do not end up burning your dish.

Campers like dishes that can be altered with the type of ingredients available with them as there are no extra supplies on a camping trip. Only the available ingredients have to be used. You can add various types of meat or vegetables in dutch oven stew that makes it very easy for you to prepare it. You may also add some roast, sausage or hamburger with your vegetables. Celery, onion, potatoes, carrots, cabbages etc. are some of the vegetables that you can add up in stew with ease.

You may use canned vegetables or cut and store them with you for your camping trip. Remember, that you need to brown meat first of all and then add vegetables and some water. You may also add some seasoning of your choice. Stew may be left for stimmering whole day. So, whenever you return to the camping site, your dish would be ready to eat.