Apparently I make corned beef in the crock pot every year and I’ve already posted multiple recipes, so here’s a summary of past years and what I did for 2016. This attempt might be the easiest and my favorite!!

Quick summation of leprechauns past…

First recipe for Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage is a full Saint Patrick’s Day dinner in a pot. It includes the cabbage and the potatoes right in with the meat, making it an easy one-pot meal.

The next Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe is the easiest with very minimal ingredients, but still a great flavor. You can vary the taste by using different beers.

TODAY’S recipe is the most favorite yet, but still only uses three ingredients. You will need to make the Crock Pot Caramelized Onions in advance, but they are delicious to have on hand and use in so many different meals!

I used my Crock Pot Casserole Cooker and it was the perfect shape for the beef– sometimes it’s so frustrating to get a big corned beef and then not have it fit into an oval pot!! This one was exactly the right fit.

Hope you have a fabulous Saint Patrick’s Day celebration this week. No matter if you were born with the luck of the Irish, married into the apostrophe, or are just enjoying being green…. maybe it be a delicious day for all!

 

 

Crock Pot Corned Beef with Guinness

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 7-8 hours

1 5-lb. Corned Beef Brisket

1 pint Guinness beer

1/2 c. Crock Pot Caramelized Onions

Rinse meat before putting into the crock pot to remove the goo. Throw away the seasoning packet, if it was included. Put meat in, fat side up. Pour beer directly onto meat and then put caramelized onions into the liquid and onto the meat. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Remove from liquid and let sit for 5 minutes, then remove top layer of fat and discard it.  Slice meat against the grain and serve.

If you have leftovers, this meat makes great corned beef hash or reuben sandwiches, too! Enjoy!

I don’t usually put specific tags in the titles of my posts, but I think it’s really important on this one. It should really say… Crock Pot Split Pea Soup  #noham but still #tastesyummy! Haha. I made those up. So this soup is hearty and delicious and still has a great smoky flavor, but doesn’t include the typical ham hock that you throw into the pot to add flavor to the broth.

This soup will also freeze and/or reheat really well. Keep this recipe tagged if you are going to bring a dinner to friends (great meal for someone ill, new baby, new home, etc.). Note to self– you might think, oh I’ll just double it so I have some for me and some for someone else or later. But you are better off making two batches. You can’t really fit 8 cups of broth in most crock pots and the ratio in this recipe makes it the right thickness without crowding the pot. YES- this does give you permission to buy a new crock pot so you can double the batch easier! 🙂

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5-6 hours on low

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

1 c. dried split green peas

2 carrots, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)

4 parsnips, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)

2 leafy stalks celery, diced (about a cup)

1/2 sweet onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

4 c. vegetable broth

1/2 t. each: dill weed, ground celery seed, smoked paprika

1 t. dried parsley

2 bay leaves

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. ground white pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all ingredients in crock pot.
2. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
3. Remove bay leaves.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree, if desired.
5. Turn off crock pot and remove lid. Let cool and thicken in pot.

 

Looking for something easy? This one is fabulous! Hot and sultry and moist. (Why do those three words sounds so naughty together?!?!) It’s a baked apple, people. Calm down.

No need for a grand story or explanation. Baked apples are a great choice because the fruit is easy to find and consistent in taste all year round. I made this batch with opal apples— they are sort of the color of a golden delicious with the texture of a gala. But they cooked up really nicely and held their shape. You can try it with green apples for a more tart finish, macintosh for a sweet crisp taste or any other variety that you want to experiment with for dessert.

Crock Pot Baked Apples

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 4 hours

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6 apples

3/4 c. golden raisins

3/4 c. dried pineapple chunks (this brand is allergen-free, too!!)

1/2 c. steel cut oats

3 T. brown sugar

1 T. white sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground allspice

1/4 t. white pepper grounds

1/2 c. water

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and core the apple; core it twice to make a big enough opening for filling
2. Mix all of the dried fruit and dry filling ingredients together in a separate bowl.
3. Stand all of the apples up in the crock pot (oval or casserole sized works best).
4. Carefully fill all of the apples with the filling. Press the filling down into each open core and let the filling mound on top, too.
5. Pour the water into the crock pot around— not on— the apples.
6. Cook on low for 4 hours. Serve with vanilla greek yogurt or ice cream. Crock Pot Dulce de Leche is also an excellent topping!

I am pleased to present the new Dinner Is A Crock kitchen! It’s been months of hard work, intense labor, and intricate planning, but I am thrilled to welcome you to my home and get back to creating new and exciting recipes to share.

Week NINE– let’s break it down and see how the transition unfolded…

Tuesday: Carolina Custom Surfaces did a beautiful job installing my new countertops on a very cold day. The guys were courteous and skilled. I love it when people show up to work but take a minute to just step back and admire the progress before they begin. This isn’t just an office, this is my home, too.  I appreciated that the guys asked me my opinion, like on faucet preferences, and even had great recommendations for counter cleaners (they totally recommended THIS and THIS to keep my quartz clean and pretty.)

My counters were installed perfectly, my house was kept clean, and my kitchen is one step closer to complete. They did such a good job that I’m starting to think about using Carolina Custom Surfaces to update the bathrooms and get a few custom cutting boards!  (TACOS FOR DINNER USING MY LAST BATCH OF FROZEN COOKED TACO MEAT)

 

Wednesday: My cabinet installer came by this morning to finish up some last little details. Any man that wants to bring me a crown is fine by me… even if it’s just the molding to go up against the ceiling. 🙂

This afternoon, the tile backsplash was installed under cabinets behind where the hood will go. The subway has never looked this good.

What a difference in the dimensions of the room with the refraction of sunlight from the tile and countertop! I feel shiny and pretty. (BOLOGNA SANDWICHES AND CROCK POT TOMATO SOUP FOR DINNER.)

 

Thursday: Today was all about regaining functionality. After nine weeks, I think I am most excited to have running water in the kitchen again! Yes, I realize that I had it in other places in the house, but I am so done with washing dishes in the basement bathroom! (SHOUT OUT TO MY HUBBY SINCE HE DID MOST OF THE DISHWASHING!!) My sink and dishwasher are up and running. And– so are my electrical outlets! I can plug it to a gazillion different places now, so you can anticipate seeing crockpots lining the kitchen at some point in the near future. Haha! (GRILLED CHICKEN AND KALE BURGERS AND FRESH ZUCCHINI TONIGHT…AND A FEW OTHER THINGS IN PREPARATION FOR THE SNOW TOMORROW!)

 

Friday: Oh snow, you ruined my perfect finale. But we made it so close! Kudos to Piedmont Natural Gas  for braving the roads and still coming to install my range today. I’m super impressed with your commitment to deliver and follow-through for your patient (and slightly crazy) customers. It’s in! I’m good! Just one more thing to go. (CROCK POT POTATO SOUP FOR DINNER AND A GARDEN SALAD. NOTHING TOO EXCITING.)

I also want to give a shout to to Primo Water— I actually designed the cabinets around my refrigerator to house the bottom-loading water cooler. I love it for easy access to clean water! I use it for hot tea at least once a day. My boys go to it all day for cold water (or room temperature, depending what your teeth prefer!). I also feel good cooking with it. With all the crazy stories on the news right now about tainted water, I feel really good about getting big jugs of Primo for my family instead of tap water. (The bottles are easy to exchange at places like Harris Teeter, Kroger, Lowe’s Home Improvements, etc.)

 

Monday: (I’m playing Pomp and Circumstance music as I type this…) The hood has been installed and it’s like fireworks going off in here. Not like electric short-circuiting or anything like that, but like we’ve reached the culmination of this project and the applause is going wild. Unicorns are seen jumping in the backyard and leprechauns are scurrying around stocking my fridge. Ok… maybe not quite. But when my LG oven reaches full temperature, it does actually play a cute little ditty, so that will have to do for now. (DINNER TONIGHT: ROASTED CHICKEN AND ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS! ROASTED, PEOPLE! LIKE, IN AN OVEN!!)

There are some small details to still finish (like painting the bay window), but overall, I could not be more thrilled with THIS:

 

Thank you for staying with me on this adventure! I hope it’s helped provide some guidance and guilty pleasure of commiserating with me through these 10 weeks. I can’t wait to share new recipes with you very soon! #nokitchennoproblem… it’s time to save time and cook slower. Welcome to the new and improved Dinner Is A Crock!

 

Let’s break this week’s renovation update down day by day. I updated my four-week menu plan to carry us through the rest of the project, the installations are still on schedule, and it’s remarkably nice weather still outside. I want you to understand that while my posts may make this whole process appear to be coated in sugary fairy dust, let me be clear… I’m stressed. I’m hungry. I ran out of coffee filters. And I really hate snakes.

MONDAY: Dinner– french onion soup in the crock pot. Crock Pot Caramelized Onions are the best and easiest thing you should be making once a month, at least. I had two great electricians and a city inspector in the house today. We’ve got a gazillion new outlets installed in order to pass county code and now I can plug my crock pots in anywhere and everywhere. Very cool. What is uncool?? The crazy freaking snake that the electrician met in my crawl space and killed with a crow bar. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t in the contract, but I could not be more grateful to him for taking care of it!

TUESDAY: Dinner– Microwaveable tacos that my kids can heat up themselves. Why? Because I spent the afternoon with the pest control company checking my house for undesirable creatures. Want to know something terrifying?? If you have snake(s) in your crawl space, the first place they check for snakes is the ATTIC. If you have a rodent problem in the attic, there is a potential likelihood that the snakes enter through the crawl space and then wiggle through your walls to get to the attic for the mouse buffet. (I may never sleep again if they ever find something up there!) Luckily, no mice were found. No snakes either. After a full house inspection, the only culprit was the one in the crawl space. After all the anxiety over slithery slimy snakes, this mama had a crazy migraine and went straight to bed before dinner. Hence the reason that the kids made their own dinners!

WEDNESDAY: Dinner– Macaroni and cheese, fresh blueberries, grape tomatoes. Ramen noodles and steamed sticky buns for the grown ups. No workers today in the house so I used my time to get out and run errands, get groceries, etc. I feel a little guilty for feeding my kids so much processed stuff during the renovation, so I combat that concern by trying to include fresh produce as much as possible.

By the way, about the sticky buns… I buy them at the asian market’s freezer section. Then, they go in my rice cooker on “STEAM” for about 10 minutes. Makes a great quick lunch or dinner. I highly recommend using your small appliances for more than just their primary purpose, I love using my rice cooker as a steamer as well!

THURSDAY: Dinner– Stuffed zucchini in the crock pot. This dish takes my favorite pork meatball recipe and puts it inside a vegetable… clearly meaning that this is good for me, right?! Probably need to include a little more of that fresh fruit into dinner tonight, just to be sure it all cancels out. Ha! Electricians are here today finishing up the wiring so that hopefully the inspector comes tomorrow to sign off on everything so far.

Here’s the recipe for tonight’s dinner.

It’s so quick, I’m not even going to write it up in a separate post: 

1 lb ground pork or pork sausage for more flavor.  1 c. pancake mix. 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese.  Mix all three ingredients. Take two zucchini, cut lengthwise and scoop out the insides. Fill the “boats” with the sausage mixture. Cook on low in the crock pot for 4 hours.  

(To do these as just meatballs, roll into golf balls and then bake in the oven– they get a really nice crispiness to the outside.)

FRIDAY: Dinner– sushi rolls. Back to the rice cooker I go.  I’m keeping it simple and just doing spicy tuna rolls tonight (drained canned tuna, a little mayo, and enough sriracha to make the mixture orange). The kids will eat the rice, some steamed edamame, and cut-up mango.  Sometimes simple is just so good.  Have you tried making sushi before? Once you learn to roll, it’s really easy, and you can use a crazy variety of fillings! First you need these mats. I keep mine clean by putting them in a gallon-sized ziplock baggie before rolling. Then just spread the rice thin, lay the toppings in the first 1/3 of the seaweed sheet and then roll it tight! Once my kitchen it back together, I’ll make a video for you on making sushi rolls.

Oh, and the kitchen work?? The electric inspection was passed! And cabinets started going in! (insert happy dance here!)

Welcome to the Renovation Dance. Please, find a partner and a tool. Take two steps forward and then slide to the left. Take another step forward and then jump back. The Renovation Dance is a new way of jigging about in your kitchen– there’s no sink, no appliances, not even a cabinet to be seen. Time for a party… just hurry up and wait for the music to begin. 

I was super excited to report that our cabinets arrived last week– three weeks ahead of schedule! What?! That never happens with a renovation! Jump up and down two times. The boxes filled my family room from wall to wall to ceiling. My poor dogs had to travel a labyrinth in order to get outside (which was pretty entertaining to watch!).

Count three days and then the install team joined in the dance. By now, the cabinets are all unboxed and counted. Ooooh… look at those pretty doors. Take one step right as the electrician shows up. Check out the old layout and realize that the current wiring set up will no longer pass code. Grab your partner and take a full turn backwards. 

I bowed out and decided to focus on food instead- clearly a better project for me to manage. I was thankful for friends that hosted us for dinners this past weekend. I loved the company and the delicious meals. My kids even complained that we haven’t had friends over for dinners in the last few weeks. Ummm yeah?! We don’t have a kitchen! But it’s reassuring to know that they like entertaining just as much I do. (Remind me to add my boys to my dance card.)

Meals have been pretty basic recently. I used the side burner on the grill to boil up a pound of pasta one night. We had home-rolled sushi the next with edamame and pomegranate seeds. I’m so glad my kids like fresh produce. I’ve been trying to have something fresh at each meal… sometimes something like pomegranate seeds or sometimes as simple as baby carrots and ranch dip.

Hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, and lunchmeat have become great go-to snacks at all hours of the day.

I have a newfound appreciation for all of those frozen veggies that you cook in the bag. At first, I was skeptical about cooking IN a plastic bag, but it saves me so much effort if I don’t have to wash a separate container out in the basement sink.

I’ve worked through my first four week meal plan pretty well, so starting next week, I will write a new plan that will carry us through the beginning of January. I’m *very hopeful* that the kitchen will come together by then and I can get back to real cooking. I miss it, but this plan has saved me time and money, so I don’t mind a little legwork.

 

While most of you are probably brining your turkeys, whipping your cream, or stuffing that bird, we’re being a little non-traditional with our family time this holiday season.  Yes– we will still eat a full Thanksgiving dinner, but no… the renovation is not complete. No kitchen? No problem!

The goal this holiday weekend is to install about 600 square feet of hardwood floors in the kitchen (and throughout the family room).  Last week, in Week One, we stripped everything down to the subfloors. We received great news about our cabinets being ready ahead of schedule, but we need to get the wood down first!

At this point, most people think I’m crazy for doing so much of the work ourselves, but it’s been really therapeutic. Haven’t you ever wanted to take a crow bar to some part of your own house?! The floors though– this was legit remodeling work. Lucky for me, my husband has a masters degree in pure awesomeness and together, with a little help from friends and family, we were able to get the job done.

But let’s focus on what is important– what we are eating! Again– I have NO KITCHEN. I’ve got a workable sink in the basement, a stack of paper/plastic everything from Costco, and some prepped foods in the freezer.

Here’s how Week Two panned out in our bellies.  Thanksgiving dinner was the big challenge. I was all set to do Crock Pot Turkey Legs— it’s a family favorite. But after checking three grocery stores for turkey legs with no success, I gave in a just bought cooked turkey meat.  I did manage to make Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole and reheated some mashed potatoes. My boys wouldn’t call it Thanksgiving dinner though if I didn’t have the “secret” cranberry sauce. You know, the one that has the ridges on the sides from the shape of the can. I did find organic cranberry sauce this year that didn’t have high fructose corn syrup in it, so that seemed like a win-win to me.

On Friday and Saturday, we worked on THX dinner leftovers. I also made Crock Pot Chili– it’s the easiest recipe ever.  You might have also seen my Crock Pot Tortellini Soup on social media, that was a huge hit.I used this recipe, but also added a can of white beans to add more protein. It’s so easy and there was no prep work and no clean up. The ingredients for both of these meals are easy to keep on hand in the pantry and freezer and I recommend adding them to your next shopping trip.

You might not be remodeling this holiday season, but I’m guessing you too will have crazy days, impromptu gatherings and festive celebrations. You don’t need a demolition to save yourself time and energy in the kitchen.  Save time, cook slower. Savor the flavors and the moments.

 

Today was the first day that actually felt like fall.  I don’t mean like a specialty coffee… I mean hooded sweatshirts, warm blankets, steamy bowls of soup and the sound of rustling leaves. And if you are lucky, you can enjoy all of those things at the same time.

Tonight’s Crock Pot Creamy Potato Soup made me think of Friday night football games in high school. And cold walks on first dates. And craving ice cream on a cold winter’s night. It’s like everything that it supposed to feel cold on the outside, but makes you feel warm on the inside. That’s how satisfying this soup tastes.

So I’ve already posted another version of Crock Pot Potato Soup already, but I like this one because it includes more vegetables. I’ve also posted Crock Pot Parsnip and Potato Soup because parsnip is my second favorite root vegetable. (Bonus points if you know what my favorite is!) I also have Crock Pot Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder, if you prefer the orange to the white. I’m sensing a theme here! I do love potato soup and each recipe is tweaked a little different. I feel like tonight’s Crock Pot Creamy Potato Soup is actually a culmination of my favorite things from each of these recipes… but I encourage you to mess around and figure out what your palate prefers with your potatoes.

 

Crock Pot Creamy Potato Soup

Serves 6-8

6 redskin potatoes, cubed but not peeled

3 parsnips, peeled and cubed

1 c. shredded carrots

4 stalks celery, sliced

1/2 sweet onion, diced

1 12 oz. can cream corn

4 cups vegetable broth

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. dried dill weed

1 t. dried basil leaves

up to 1 t. salt (can be added at the end, a little at a time, for flavor)

————

1 c. cold milk

2 rounded T. corn starch

Clean and prep all vegetables and add to the pot. Add broth and seasonings and give it all a good stir. Do not add milk or corn starch yet. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add corn starch to milk and dissolve, then add to the pot. Cook on high for one additional hour. Remove lid and let soup thicken a little bit before serving.

OK fans, THIS should be your new favorite holiday dish. I don’t care what you celebrate, we all celebrate deliciousness. There’s a little prep work involved, but it is worth every juicy morsel. I am making this dish for the upcoming Jewish New Year… and perhaps Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. And an early happy Valentine’s Day to me.

Since the beef is the focal point of the entire meal, I wanted to make sure I had quality beef and plenty of it. I bought six short ribs equally just over three pounds. That sounds like a lot, but you have to take into account the bones. We each ate two ribs at dinner. You can adjust the serving size as needed. I served my meat with green beans tonight and that’s eat. I mean, it. I’m still thinking about eating those short ribs!

Marinating the meat is essential to get the flavors going and the apples to break down and tenderize the beef. I soaked mine for 24 hours– you could do as little as 6-8 hours, but I wouldn’t go much more than a full day.

I first tried to fit everything into a gallon size bag, but that was a futile effort. You could use a bowl or storage container. I like to keep these HUGE bags on hand exactly for this type of need. Whatever you use needs to fit back into the refrigerator, don’t forget that detail!

Crock Pot Short Ribs is one of the only recipes where I braise the meat before I put it into the crockpot. The flash of heat helps caramelize the flavors quickly and seal in the juices. It’s worth the extra step, trust me! It’s also necessary in my house to open the windows or disarm the smoke detector when braising. Something about that quick heat and sugar causes some excess “fog” in the air— that’s what my kids call it, cooking “fog”!

When you are braising the meat, make sure you save the juices and marinate from the bag or container– that goodness goes straight into the crock pot. Do not dump it out! Once the meat is done braising, you just gently place the meat on top of the sauciness and let it continue its cooking all together.

Yes, there are more steps to this dish, but the end result is soft and juicy and smiles all around. And isn’t that the point of holiday meals?!

 

Happy everything to you. I hope you enjoy this dish and everything you celebrate throughout the year.

 

Crock Pot Short Ribs

Serves 3 (Double or triple the recipe as needed!)

 

3 lbs beef short ribs, bone IN

1 c. shredded sweet onion

2 medium gala apples, shredded (skin on)

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and then shredded

8 cloves garlic, whole

5 stalks green onion, cut the greens only into 2 inch strips

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. Mirin or rice wine

3 T. sesame oil

3 T. honey

1/4 c. sugar

Begin by shredding onions, apples and ginger and put into large bag or bowl. Add garlic cloves and green onions. Add remaining ingredients (except ribs) and combine well. Add beef short ribs and massage marinate onto all sides of meat. Cover bowl tightly or seal bag and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to proceed, remove ribs from marinate and put everything else into the crock pot. Heat pan on high and then braise all sides of short ribs quickly, but do not cook through. Add ribs to mixture already in crock pot, cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours.

The meat will pull away from bones when it is soft and ready. Serve bone-in with extra juice. The whole cloves of garlic will taste amazing- do not throw them out- spread them on bread or eat like candy!

It felt like a hangover to wake up today. I rolled over and closed my eyes, groaning. It was barely 8 am and to do lists were already swirling in my head. This wasn’t an alcohol-induced situation, it was the effect of knowing today was the last day of vacation.

So I took a deep breath and hopped out of bed. The optimistic side of me kicked in (probably because I could already smell coffee!) and I wasn’t going to have a pity party for myself when there was a full day ahead. BAM. Back at it. Maybe it’s just that I stayed up a little too late reading Stir, by Jessica Fechtor, sitting on the top balcony porch last night.

Since it’s the last day, I did not have a plan to crock pot anything, but instead it was a feast of leftovers. I had planned well on quantities for meals and snack foods, but there was still enough to cover today’s meals. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the deliciousness of this week (CLICK ON EACH LINK FOR FULL POSTS):

Day One: Menu and Shopping List

Day Two: Crock Pot Steamed Summer Vegetables

Day Three: Crock Pot Low Country Boil

Day Four: Crock Pot Peach Crumble and Crock Pot Grits

Day Five: Crock Pot White Ratatouille

Day Six: Crock Pot Seafood Paella

If this week of meals hasn’t inspired you to travel with your crock pot, or at least buy a crock pot, then I’m disappointed. Maybe you don’t want to cook every night when you are on vacation, but there is a reason you stay at a beach house and not a hotel– because you want the comforts of home, just in a different location. Next time you go on vacation, try cooking a few dinners all together, then sample the local fare at the restaurants the other days. If you want a maid and room service, you won’t find it here. But the blessings and freedom of beach house vacations promises adventure and whim instead of turned down sheets and sample-sized soaps. It’s a worthy trade off!

This has been an amazing journey with you, fans. While I certainly got more of tan than you did, and probably a little more rest and relaxation, I hope you have enjoyed the adventure. The beach house we stayed at in the Outer Banks, known as Ooh La La, is available for rental– with spaces still available this year and already booking for next! I cannot stress enough the ease of staying at this location. We’ve vacationed at other places on the coast and this is by far my favorite so far. I would like to publicly say thank you to the owners for letting Dinner Is a Crock share Ooh La La with the world!

(SHAMELESS PLUG: IF YOU HAVE A RENTAL PROPERTY AND WOULD LIKE ME TO STAY THERE FOR A VACATION SERIES, I AM OPEN TO OPPORTUNITY! PLEASE EMAIL ME AT DINNERISACROCK@GMAIL.COM!)