Testing out the Betty Crocker Cookbook

I've decided to try out most of the recipes of the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  Why not all you may wonder?  Cause I HATE mushrooms and I know there will be some of those vial things in the recipes.  I will swap them with something else if I can, but just in cause.  Also you never know what else there may be that I don't like.


So far I have tried the following:


Chili - very good and will make again!

Chicken Jambalaya - So good!  And Mark took my leftovers that I was saving for my lunch!  Yes, it was that good. So I have to rub it in.(sorry, no photo)

Stuffed Peppers - These were easy and good.  I did add a few extra things to it.  Like some taco sauce on the top and used pepper jack cheese in the filling and extra sharp cheddar on the top. (sorry, no photo of this either)







Old-Fashioned Beef Stew - I have made stews before, but this one was really good. Normally I do it in the crockpot, but this time I did it on the stove and it worked out very well I think.


What have I been thinking, I keep forgetting to take a photo.  So here is a photo from the left overs.  FYI, they are also just as good.  Maybe better even.

I even tried out Swedish Meatballs - I liked them.  Mark thought they needed something more.  But there are kind of a subtle flavor to them. The recipe called for Allspice or Nutmeg.  I used Allspice, but I think Nutmeg would be better.  I also used Milk.  The recipe stated to use Milk, Half-and-Half or Light Cream, so maybe the Cream or Half-and-Half would do more.  Also I baked the meatballs, so I didn't have as much pan drippings, so next time I will just fry them so I have more drippings.  Over all, I think it was a success. And of course, I forgot a photo.  But at least I had left overs for it.

Up next is one that intrigued me.  Winter Pot Roast.  Since it is winter and pot roast sounded so good, I figured why not try it. Normally I just through stuff in the crockpot, but this isn't a crockpot recipe and I want to make it with the recipe to see how it is supposed to taste. But I will prep some stuff early, so I don't have to do it all at once.

In the morning I prepared the veggies and items that needed some chopping or other prep.

First I chopped up some carrots and parsnips.  The recipes called to use either, but I figured that I would do a half and half thing with them.  Cause I love them both.  If you haven't had parsnips before, to me they are a little sweeter than carrots. 

 (if you want to mess with family and friends for dinner, try cooking a bunch of parsnips in boiling water and then drain and mash.  Just like mashed potatoes, only sweeter.  Just need a little butter.  Mark didn't care for them, but I also didn't tell him what they were until after he tasted them.  Yes, I can be evil.)

Next I did the garlic. I have three gadgets that make using garlic a breeze.  First is the peeler.  It is the tube thing in the photo.  All you do is but the clove of garlic in it and roll it back and forth for a few seconds and the skins come right off.

Look at that!  Way to easy really.  The silver item is used to mince the garlic.  This is the best tool ever for mincing garlic.  Plus when you wash it, rub it over your hands.  It actually takes the smell out.  I use it when I do onions and garlic.  So when I'm done, takes both the smells out.

It called for one large onion cut into wedges, so I used two small ones and just chopped them largely.  

 Next up, I halved the apricots and prunes. No cool tools for this.  Just a knife.






That was all the prep I was able to do. Cooking time is 2 1/4 hours. So I started about at about 3:30 p.m. so that dinner would be done around 6.


After the first hour and 45 minutes, I added all the veggies and cooked for 40 more minutes.

The results were really good.  Mark of course wasn't a fan of the parsnips, but did like the meat and the gravy.  I like the whole thing and next time, no Parsnips.  Maybe I will throw in a rutabaga or turnip.  :)

Coming up next, Cashew Pork and Pea Pods and Scalloped Potatoes.

Sorry about not posting last night, but What's for dinner tonight?

I was going to make some Asian meat ball recipe, but that got postponed as did the blog post:

Last night we ended up going to dinner with a friend.  We went to Fat Tuesday.  One of our favorite places to eat.  The special was a Steak and Cheese Po-Boy.  It was very good.  I got it with just onions and the special hot sauce and added a little extra Frank's Hot Sauce. I had the sweet potatoes for the side.  Tough choice since I also love the collard greens there.  I have yet to be disappointed going there.  I've tried most everything and liked it all.  Most of the time I need to add a little extra hot sauce, but I'm good with that.

For tonight, I needed to make something for dinner that could be made ahead but also sit for a while in case I was going to be eating later.  So I decided something in the crock pot would be best of course.  I didn't have a recipe ready, so I searched the internet.  I found a few recipes that sounded good.  Many would have required me to run to the store for items I didn't have.  Then I came across a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Stew.  It sounded good, but again didn't have everything.  So I kept looking for other Chicken Pot Pie Stew recipes.After what felt like hundreds of  recipes (more like 4 or 5) I decided, I will just create my own.  Since many of the recipes had similar ingredients, I just used stuff I had on hand and decided to just wing a recipe.  Here is what I had:

Oh, I forgot the broccoli bits in the photo.  Sorry about that broccoli  since I also forgot about you in the freezer for so long.

1lbs Chicken, cut up into bite-size pieces

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Milk

7-8 Potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup Carrots chopped

1 can Green Beans, french cut

1 cup Corn

1 cup Broccoli bits

6 teaspoons Chicken base

Few cloves Garlic to taste

1/2 Tbls Onion Powder

1/2 Tbls Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Celery Salt

dash Salt

dash Pepper

While preparing, I was watching the Food Network.  I know that isn't a shock to those that know me.  I watched Rachael Ray.  She made a comment that she dirties a ton of dishes when she cooks and it was a good thing she doesn't do the dishes.  She was making Hot 'N Sweet Shrimp Lettuce Wraps and Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki Whole-Wheat Noodles.  They looked great!  I going to have to try this out sometime.

Back to the recipe.  I started out pealing, washing and chopping the carrots and potatoes and throwing them in the crock pot.  And thanks to Rachael Ray, I used a garbage bowl to through all my peels and scraps into so that I didn't make a mess.

Then added the cream of chicken soup and milk.  I mixed it up a little.  Added the chicken base and spices.  Mixed it up again.  

The added the corn, broccoli and green beans. I then cut up the chicken, 

added it to the crock pot.  The broccoli had a little bit of ice crystals on it, okay a lot, but I figured it would just add some moisture to it.  And I only have a cup of it anyway.

Cooked on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8.  Heck, if it is bubbly  the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are done, eat up!  :)

***For a cheesy chicken pot pie, add some sharp cheddar cheese and cook on high until it is melted.  I would recommend 1-2 cups depending on how much cheese you want.  Or just though a little on top of you bowl before serving.

***Turkey would also be good instead of chicken.

*** For beef, I would use beef base for the chicken base and cream of mushroom or cream of celery for the cream of chicken.  And water instead of milk.