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Cooking Questions; Crock Pots, Spaghetti Squash Etc.
Topic Started: Sep 30 2007, 05:39 AM (383 Views)
Sannois
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I will be the first to admit I am no cook. Sure I can do the basics but the basics are all fattening and believe you me I don't need fattening.
I like squashes and its fall and they are all over at the farm stands. so I picked up a Spaghetti squash. Do you half it and bake it?? I know the innerds come out like spaghetti and its yummy, but not sure how.
And Crock pots. I have one and EVERY time in the past that I have cooked a roast in it, it is DRY. sure its sitting in lots of juice but unless you mkae gravy you could choke on it. I use water, and veggies and seasoning. its sure tender but man its dry. Any ideas?? :brickwall:
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Trialbyfire
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How funny - I picked up a spaghetti squash this week and planned on cooking it today too! I *think* you cook them whole, but it's possible you can do either. I was wondering exactly what to do with it also.....so I'll see what I can find and report back later.

As far as roasts in the crockpot....yes, you're doing something wrong. :huh: I will say the first time I did a crockpot roast I put in way too much liquid and overall it was just disgusting....I think it was nearly floating in liquid so it was like a very weak soup with big chunk of tough meat in it. You really don't need a lot of liquid -- e.g. 1/2 cup to 1 cup max, in fact I just did a seasoned turkey breast the other day (it had been marinated in the wrapping) and didn't put any liquid in the crock pot. Do you have a good crockpot cookbook? I have one and I'll take a look.....what are you cooking and I'll find a good recipe for you.

Love my crockpot but rarely use it. Requires a plan which I never have. And I don't eat a lot of meat.....tough to find good veggie crockpot meals because they don't take as long....but I'm still looking! :)
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Melliebay
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As far as the roast goes, do you brown the meat before putting it in the crockpot? My mom always taught me to brown the outsides well in a skillet first, and then slow cook it. Also, you don't want to use too much juice. It should not COVER the meat. The other thing that can affect it is the cut of meat you use. You want to choose a cut with a little fat on it. The fat is where the flavor and the juiciness comes from.

Here is a way to cook spaghetti squash, I found it on the food network website (which is a WONDERFUL resource)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice squash in half and place fleshside down in a baking dish.

Add 1/4-inch of water. Bake for 40 minutes, or until tender and remove. Rake squash with a fork, creating "spaghetti" strands. Spoon on sauce, mozzarella, and basil. Place back in oven and bake until cheese begins to bubble. Serve warm
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Melliebay
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For the crockpot, you could do vegetarian chili (or use ground turkey). Here is a recipe for vegetarian (except for the chicken broth :P ) minestone soup...


3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, drained
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 bay leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
2 cups cooked ditalini pasta
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen spinach, defrosted
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Basil sprigs, garnish, optional

In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Thirty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add ditalini, zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top. Garnish with basil, if desired.
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Chezzie
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Hubby loves spaghetti squash, so I end up making it often this time of year. I do it just like the recipe Melliebay posted, except when its done I add salt, fresh ground pepper and a little butter. If you're in a hurry, you can also microwave it...just add a little water, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and microwave until tender when you poke it with a fork.

I LOVE to cook, and spend way too much time planning menus. www.foodnetwork.com. www.epicurious.com, and www.cookinglight.com are my favorite places to get recipes. If you can't find it on one of those three sites, it's probably not worth cooking! :P
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stephjm
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I <3 my crock pot. :clap: In fact, I just started a pot of chili in it for dinner tonight. :) I tried to do roast beef once too, and it came out dry. But I'm not very good at roast beef in any form for some reason. :huh: But I love my crock pot for the boneless turkey breasts, chili, split pea soup, lentil soup, and I have a crock pot cookbook that I consult every now and then. I often adjust "regular" recipes for the crock pot - just don't add as much liquid.

I just love that, if I think ahead, I can throw dinner in the crock pot in the morning, and by dinner time, barely any work to be done, unless we need a side dish! :)

As far as spaghetti squash, I have no idea. My family doesn't really like squash much, other than the baby. But I did cook an acorn squash yesterday for the baby and I to share. <3

I do have a great recipe from the Food Network for an italian chicken and zucchini soup, I haven't made it yet, but it sounds great, very easy, and very low fat. :)
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Trialbyfire
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So my spaghetti squash actually came with a "how to" label on it!

It says:

Microwave on high until skin feels soft for 5 or 6 minutes per pound. Or bake it oven at 350 degrees until tender. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut in half, remove seeds, twist out strands and serve with sauces or chill for salads.

As far as roasts, I have made this in my crock pot and it was actually very good (from Betty Crocker Slowcooker Book):

Mediterranean Pot Roast
3 lb beef boneless chuck roast
1 tsp salt
1 Tb dried italian seasoning
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained & chopped
1/2 cup sliced pitted Kalamata or ripe olives
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup frozen pearl onions

Spray 12-inch skillet w/ cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook beef in skillet about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown. Sprinkle with salt, seasoning & garlic.

Remove from skillet and place beef (seasoned side up), in a 4-5 quart slow cooker. Spread tomatoes and olives over roast; add broth & onions.

Cover and cookon low for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender.

Remove and let stand 15 minutes. Slice beef, serve with beef juice and onions from slow cooker. (And spaghetti squash) :P

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Delia
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I've never tried to do a roast in a crock pot so don't have any advice, but I use it all the time to make braised short ribs, chili, curries, spaghetti sauce, etc. Do a Google search for crock pot recipes and you'll find a bunch that are pretty fool proof. I love it b/c I can throw it all together in the crockpot before I leave for work in the morning, and when we come home dinner is ready.
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Sannois
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A bunch of cooks on here I see. I figured the crock pot was a no brainer. IT came with directions and recipes, I cant understand how someting sitting in its own fat could be dry, but it was. I would love to do Chicken in it but nothing worse than dry chicken. I guess I better scower the net. I know thier are wonderful websites for all sorts of things. No sense in buying a cookbook. As for the squash. I would be afraid to Microwave it. CAnt you just see that thing exploding?? :jaw: I just want to eat it with Butter and salt and pepper, I will try the oven method. I know whith acorn squash my mother always halved them put butter and brown sugar in them and baked open side up in a baking dish. they were yummy. Same with Butternut squash. Keep the ideas coming folks! :one:
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Trialbyfire
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Melliebay
Sep 30 2007, 08:59 AM
For the crockpot, you could do vegetarian chili (or use ground turkey). Here is a recipe for vegetarian (except for the chicken broth :P ) minestone soup...


PS Thanks for this recipe, Mellibay! I'll give it a try. Of course even though I don't work outside the house (I'm a full time mom, dog owner, horse owner...so I *work*....but you know....) I rarely have all the veggies I need at any given time. I'm a very good cook but a horrible planner. Hate to plan meals and hate to shop. Then I complain miserably that I *have* to cook (with kids you usually have no choice) but nothing quick to make (because it's 4:30 and I'm just thinking about it.)

I need to change that! I'll give this a try - maybe for next Wed or Thursday because both days have after school activities and I'll probably feed the kids early then eat later....

Thanks!
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jn4jenny
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Microwave is DEFINITELY the way to go for the spaghetti squash. That's one of the great things about squash: it is very, very microwave-friendly, unlike some other veggies.

As for the pot roast, I dunno what to tell you. I am a crock pot fiend and make a pot roast every week. I do it a little differently every time depending on what's sitting around, but here's my general technique:

2-3 lb chuck roast, brush lightly with olive oil and then brown in a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat until caramelized on all sides.

Browned roast goes in the bottom of the crock pot. I then return to the skillet where I browned it. Drain any oil or obvious fat from the pan, but leave the sticky goodies on the bottom of the pan. Return the drippings to low heat and add about 1-1.5 cups of water. Use a spatula or tongs to scrape up that good stuff on the bottom of the pan. Let sit while you complete the next step. If you prefer to omit this step you can just add pre-canned beef broth, but I don't see the point in wasting the drippings if they're right there and will make better beef broth than the canned stuff!

Sprinkle a packet of onion soup (about 50 cents for two packs at any grocery store) on top of the roast. Then pour a can of concentrated cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup on top. If there's still room left in there, line/top the roast with any combination of onion quarters, baby carrots, carrot chunks from full-sized carrots, pearl onions, and celery. Pour your makeshift beef broth from the skillet into the crock pot.

Cook on low at least 6-8 hours. 10 hours is better, and 12 hours is the holy grail. If you're in a hurry, do the first two hours on high and then switch to low--one hour on high is roughly equivalent to two hours on low, but using the High setting won't yield that meat tenderness that the Low setting yields. To facilitate 10-12 hour cooking time, I often prepare the above steps the night before so that all I have to do in the a.m. is fetch it from the fridge, turn it on, and go.

The gravy will be a bit runny, but if you prefer to thicken it, just take a heaping spoonful of flour, add a splash of water, and use a fork to mix into a paste. Add this paste to your pot roast and let it keep cooking (either on low or high) for another half-hour or so. It'll thicken the gravy right up.

Once you master pot roast, you can move on to chili. I can make enough chili for 3 meals with about $4 worth of ingredients. Awesome!
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buryinghill2
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<3 my slow cooker. I use it 3-4 days a week in the winter, almost never in the summer.
Do a search, there are thousands of recipes online. Also, I use the crock pot liners that Reynolds makes, clean up is nonexistent. Just pull the liner out and you're done!
Cooking cannot be easier than with a crock pot. I do roasts, chili, dips, pork chops, I even made a lasagna once and it came out great.
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thetoothpick&oliveshow
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One suggestion for good, healthy food: beef fajitas! They can be adjusted to spicy or mild, and are really good. Choose your favorite marinade, marinate the beef, add cheese, lettuce, whatever you'd like, and you have a delicous and good for you meal!
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OTF
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buryinghill2
Sep 30 2007, 05:04 PM
Also,  I use the crock pot liners that Reynolds makes, clean up is nonexistent.  Just pull the liner out and you're done!


Ok, I really need to get out more. I didn't know such a thing exists. :o Great idea!
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snaffle
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I just made spaghetti squash last week. Yep, microwave is the way to go.

Poke it all over with a fork...like you would with a baked potato. I microwaved mine for about 15 minutes. It should be pretty soft when you're done.

Cut it in half length-wise, but slightly offset. That way, you can use the stem as a little handle. Scoop out the seeds, then 'rake' out the squash with a fork.

I like mine with a TON of butter, a little salt, a tiny bit of spaghetti sauce, and lots of shredded or shaved parmesan cheese.
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