Food - Crock Pot - Blah Healthy Chicken

I had my second crock pot failure yesterday.  The first one was in 2009.  I don't remember what recipe it was, but I do remember that it was from the same cookbook that I used yesterday.  


At least I did learn a lesson from it that served me well this time.  Back then I had made recipe that completely filled my crock pot, and it hurt me to have to throw the entire thing away.    So, when I tried this "Healthy Chicken" recipe from Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly by Phyllis Pellman Good, I decided to cut the recipe in half and use the smaller crock pot.  And it was a good thing I did.  I would have hated throwing away four pounds of chicken.  


For starters, the chicken was overcooked.  But it called for 3 1/2 to 4 hours on high, and I had it on high for 2 hours and then I turned it to low since we were leaving the house for a while.  So it was only in there for a total of 3 1/2 hours.  What I was surprised to see was how much liquid was in the pot considering I didn't add any in the first place.  It literally sucked the juice from the chicken thighs and left them really dry.  We ate it, but it wasn't a very appetizing meal.  


I suspect I need to learn a bit more about how crock pots cook food.  


I just got The gourmet vegetarian slow cooker : simple and sophisticated meals from around the world by Lynn Alley out of the library.  Lot's of choices for my next slow cooker experiment.

Knitting - Toe Up - 2 at a time socks - First Pair

Since I can't knit at the moment due to hand eczema (yuck) I thought I'd share my latest completed project.  A couple of years ago I found this book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.  I was thrilled.  I had a number of single socks floating around that I never finished the second sock.



I actually unraveled the socks and started each pair over.  I fell in love with the technique, but I still hated doing the Kitchener stitch to sew the toes together.

Then last year, while on vacation in Solvang, I found this book by Wendy D. Johnson



Of course, I couldn't be satisfied with just starting with the toes, I wanted to start toe-up AND do two at a time.  I somehow managed to get the first pair figured out on my own, but it was very difficult to get the first two rows done.  So I did a little more research and found this book, again by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.



What more could I ask for.  I was in heaven.  And, of course, I immediately started on another pair of socks.

Here they are in progress and completed.

Lessons learned - read the instructions completely.  I didn't quite get the toes correct because I didn't read the part about knitting in the back of the stitch to prevent twisting.  Which leads me to how I got hand eczema in the first place.

Since I really wanted to learn the technique, I immediately started on another pair of socks, which made three pair of "wool" socks in a row, and I'm also working on a sweater with wool yarn.  So, the dermatologist figures I've developed a sensitivity to the yarn.   After this clears up, I'll try knitting something with some wonderful cotton yarn I have.

Food - Crock Pots - Chili

Heading back to work soon.  Being out of work for two years, I've been doing all of the cooking.  But my work schedule is going to be 9-5, and KR is working 6-3ish.  Which really changes our schedules a bit.   I decided to get a new 7 quart Crock Pot so I can do the cooking in the morning instead of when I get home at night.  I had to get one with timers I can set so it shuts off or goes to warm when it's done.  My little 4-Qt one needs to rely on me deciding when to turn it off.

Due to the fact that we won't have our new fridge till Saturday, I haven't been able to experiment with the crock pot.  But I like it already because I can make a double recipe of my chili in it.  Chili freezes very well, and I can use the small canning jars for lunch time servings that we can grab in the morning and it'll be defrosted by lunch time.

Here's my chili recipe.

      Title: Slow-cooked Chili

 Categories: Main dish, Legumes, Crockpot

      Yield: 10 Servings

      2 lb Extra-lean ground beef

      2    16 oz. cans Kidney beans,

           Rinsed and drained

      2    14 1/2-oz cans tomatoes

           Low-sodium, undrained

      1    8-oz. can low-sodium tomato

           Sauce

      2    Onions medium-size chopped

      1    Green bell pepper, chopped

      2    Garlic cloves, minced

      2 T  Chili powder

      2 ts Salt, optional

      1 ts Black pepper

           Shredded low-fat cheddar

           Cheese, optional

           Sour cream - optional

  1. Brown beef in nonstick skillet (or microwave strainer).

  2. Place in slow cooker

  3. Add all ingredients, except cheese.

  4. Cover.  Cook on high 4 hours or on low 8-10 hours.

  5. Garnish individual servings with cheese and/or sour cream if

  desired.

 

  Note:  Serve as a soup, or as a topping for rice or potatoes.

 

  Per Serving:  270 Calories (80 calories from fat), 9g total fat
  (3.5g saturated, 9g trans), 35mg cholesterol, 1220mg sodium, 
  22g total carbohydrage (6g fiber, 6g sugar), 25g protein, 25%DV 
  vitamin A, 20%DV vitamin C, 10% DV calcium, 20% DV iron.

 

  By:  Bernice A. Esau - North Newton, KS and Carol Sherwood - 
  Batavia  NY

  From: Fix-it and Forget-it Lightly by Phyllis Pellman Good