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!)

 

The Wall Street Journal posted an article today about crockery cooker, Mable Hoffman. She wrote a fantastic cookbook for simple crock pot meals.  I like the note in the article that tells us how her book, Crockery Cookery, surpassed The Joy of Sex as the best selling book of 1975.  Mable passed away at the age of 88, on February 9, 2010.

Thank you Mable, for providing us with direction and recipes in an easy to follow cookbook.  I have the article today about crockery cooker, Mable Hoffman. She wrote a fantastic cookbook for simple crock pot meals. I like the note in the article that tells us how her book, Crockery Cookery cookbook in my collection and I love thumbing through it for inspiration.

Last night I used my foodie knowledge to help a friend through a stressful moment. I described my love affair with Trader Joe’s grocery store in such detail that she learned about my secret ongoing shopping list, what each item is that I crave and how I use one dish, three ways. By the end of my “foodologue” I think I had actually BORED her out of her anxiety attack.

It made me start thinking about comfort foods. For many people, it’s what our mommies used to make for us or maybe what we had at favorite holidays. I wonder what my boys will recall as their favorite foods, twenty years from now. Today’s recipe might top the list. The last time I made my beef stew, my boys and my husband all were members of the clean plate club. Definitely a recipe to repeat often! It’s also easy to throw half of the finished product into tupperware and freeze it for another dinner, another time.

1 to 1 and 1/2 lbs beef stew meat, cubed
8 oz. baby carrots
5 stalks celery, cleaned and cut
6-7 red potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
8 oz. frozen green beans
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 bay leaves
1/2 t. rosemary
1 cup beef bouillion
3/4 cup leftover red wine
1 can condensed tomato soup (don’t add any water)
salt and pepper
(1 T. corn starch and 1/2 c. water to finish it off)

Dump everything into the crockpot. Set on low and cook for 8-9 hours until meat and vegetables are soft. Remove the meat and veggies and then mix in 1 T. corn starch that has been dissolved into 1/2 cup water. When the gravy thickens up, dump the meat and veggies back into the crockpot, mix it all together and serve.

This is already in the pot for dinner tonight! It helps to cook the cabbage the night before so you don’t scald your hands trying to peel off the perfect leaves.

1 head cabbage
1 lb ground meat (I’m pretty sure anything will work, I’ve used beef and turkey)
1/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 egg, beaten
1 onion, diced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup Catalina dressing

1. Put cabbage in boiling water. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Let cool completely before handling.
2. Mix meat, rice, egg, onion, salt and pepper.
3. In another bowl mix vinegar, sugar, soup and dressing.
4. Remove 12 large cabbage leaves from head and then chop remaining cabbage and put it in bottom of crock pot.
5. Put 2-4 T. of meat mixture in center of cabbage leave. Roll up, envelope style and place in crock pot, seam side down. (you can use toothpicks to hold the rolls together if you need to)
6. Pour tomato mixture over all of it.
7. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

(recipe is adapted from one on www.recipezaar.com)