Crock Pot Wednesday: Cavatini

Crock Pot Wednesday: Cavatini

by | Sep 12, 2013

Getting ready to assemble my Crock Pot Cavatini and put it in the crock for the next day’s lunch

I hesitate to share the “recipe” for my crock pot cavatini since it is not exactly a recipe. However, if my scrambled instructions and plan here cause other moms to “think outside the box” and see how you can literally throw a semi-healthy meal together in a very little time; how to use your freezer to help you with meal preps; how to feed a lot of people in a short time; how to use your crock pot even more; etc., then I am happy to share my “recipe.”

If you have followed Crock Pot Wednesday for long then you are probably aware that I like to assemble a crock pot full of food on Tuesday morning (before my editing and writing work in the afternoon), stick it in the fridge, then pull it out and “crock” it on Wednesday morning for my sons and a couple of kids who stay with us overnight during our “cottage classes” on Wednesday to have for lunch. If we have any leftovers for Thursday  night’s leftover night, that is even better! 😉

So here is what I did this week to assemble our Crock Pot Cavatini:

Ingredients (estimates)

1 to 2 lbs of precooked hamburger* 
1 lb of precooked ground sausage (also in the freezer bagged up)
1 to 2 lbs of pepperoni
1 lb of smoked sausage, sliced in rounds
1/2 to 1 lb of cheddar jack shredded cheese
1/2 to 1 lb of mozzarella cheese
tons of pasta (I used 24 oz of shells)
lots of pasta sauce (I used one huge warehouse store jar of sauce and a smaller can)
onions, green peppers, red peppers (also frozen from our garden)
mushrooms (optional)

1. In huge stock pot, boil pasta until al dente. (It is important that it not be fully cooked since it will get mushy in the crock pot as it is heating if it is fully done to begin with.)

2. While pasta is boiling, stir fry onions and both kinds of peppers in olive oil in small skillet.

3. Drain pasta and mix all ingredients together in a huge bowl until all is well-mixed.

4. Fold mixture into eight quart crock pot.

5. Place in refrigerator until ready to use it (covered).

6. Take from fridge to crock pot base and cook on low for a couple of hours until heated through and bubbly. (Time will vary based on your crock pot; mine is super hot, so I had to turn it down to keep warm after only two hours on low.)




*Notice in the picture that this ground beef came from my freezer; if I don’t have hamburger in the freezer, I put ten pounds in my eight quart crock pot before I go to bed, turn it on low, and let it cook all night; then the next morning, I drain it and crumble it with an old “potato masher,” bag some of it up to freeze, and use some of it in the recipe for the day.

Ten Freezer Foods I Don’t Like to Be Without

Ten Freezer Foods I Don’t Like to Be Without

by | Sep 7, 2013

Ten Freezer Foods I Don’t Like to Be Without
           +Recipe link in Comments
                 *Must haves!



                
11.     Soup Starter+—the beginnings of chili, vegetable soup, chicken rice soup, potato soup, and more.

22.     Any kind of breaded chicken breasts*+ to pull out and use for main entrĂ©e, sandwiches, chicken parmesan, chicken cordon bleu (sort of!), chicken and gravy, etc.

33.     Sloppy joes+—One of my favorite sandwich fillings and so much healthier than cold meat sandwiches. I really like to have quart bags of these in the freezer.

44.     Master beef cube mix*+–I started with this twenty-three years ago and still use it today! I don’t think my freezer has been without bags of this for two decades! Used for homemade beef stew, stroganoff over noodles, homemade pot pies, and  more!

55.     Cheesy potato casseroles*+–I am sure my freezer hasn’t been without these in twenty years! I have had a number of recipes for this (some with sour cream, shredded cheeses, etc.), but for some reason, this has become my favorite, despite the fact that I hate cottage cheese! You absolutely can’t taste the cottage cheese, and that with the cream and Velveeta truly make the creamiest potato casserole! I take these to every potluck I go to it seems! (It’s actually a little too rich and a little too expensive to have for daily fare at home, so we usually only have this for special occasions (and potlucks, new mom meals, etc.), but I always keep some in the freezer for those times.)

66.     Shredded meats+—I like to put shredded chicken, beef, and pork in freezer bags with broth (or even gravy) to keep them moist. They are ready for anything—soups, stews, Mexican, Oriental, sandwiches, etc.

77.     Taco meat*—Talk about versatile—taco soup, Mexican pizzas, taco salad, tacos, nachos, hot Mexican dip, even chili in a pinch—this meat is my go to freezer meat!

88.     Lasagna*—Okay, I admit it. I actually tear up when I pull the last lasagna out of my freezer!! It is such a sad day! While taco meat and potato casseroles are musts in my freezer, nothing beats a meal-in-one-pan!

99.     Meatloaves—I have used Ray’s grandmother’s recipe (“Grandma’s Meatloaf”) for our entire married life. I love to pull out two meatloaves, bake them (with a sauce on top!), precook some little red potatoes in a fourth a cup or so of broth in the micro, and arrange the potatoes around the meatloaf the last thirty minutes or so in the oven. I also like to take meatloaves to new moms with cheesy potato casserole!

110.                         Marinated chicken breast pieces+--I have one recipe that we call “Don Pablo’s Chicken” because it is sweet and tastes similar to the fajita chicken at our favorite Mexican recipe. Anyway, I freeze this chicken both ways—in the marinade (marked RAW on the bag) and already stir fried (after marinating in the fridge for a while). I love having both kinds to pull out and use in Mexican and oriental dishes (fajitas; stir fries; and various skillets I make with veggies, rice, etc.)



LINKS for recipes from our blog:

My favorite way to cook meats for shredding is the crock pot in oven bags: https://characterinkblog.com/crock-pot-wednesday-beef-and-pork-roasts-in-the-crock-pot/
Crock Pot Wednesday– Crock Pot Lasagna

Crock Pot Wednesday– Crock Pot Lasagna

by | Sep 5, 2013

Two crocks filled with lasagna!

I recently got a new recipe off of Pinterest for crock pot lasagna. (Unfortunately, there wasn’t a link–just a recipe on what looks like a cell phone face, so I can’t give credit.)

Anyway, I made up two large crock pot inserts of the tasty recipe given below–and stuck them both in the refrigerator to cook (1) on Sunday while we were at church; and (2) for my “Crock Pot Wednesday” lunch that I make for my kids and teachers at our house on our “cottage class” teaching day (Wednesdays). 

First, the good news. This recipe was super easy. My teenage assistant and I whipped two crocks full in fifteen minutes (with precooked ground beef from my freezer). It feels easier than regular lasagna (even though I do not precook the noodles in either recipe). I think it was just a mental thing though–I felt like it didn’t matter if it was neatly layered in the crock pot whereas when I make them in pans for the freezer, it feels more structured and time consuming. (Again, it was probably all in my head!)

I love assembling crock pot entrees, sticking the crocks in my fridge and having them ready to use in the next few days. It is similar to freezer cooking except it is in the fridge and ready to turn on the slow cooker and go. 

I have two identical crock pots–this one with three sizes of “crocks.” Thus, I have six removable crocks in three sizes (two of each size) to do this multiple-crock cooking I am describing in this post.

Now the bad news: both times I cooked this dish, the lasagna noodles became very soft, almost dissolving type of soft. I like my pasta al dente, so I wasn’t thrilled with the texture. Also, it is much soupier than traditional lasagna. However, my guys liked it (not as well as traditional), but enough for me to keep it in my repertoire and use it again for “Crock Pot Wednesday”! 

(I have wondered if refrigerating the crocks of lasagna and keeping them for a while before cooking them might have added to the soft noodles. I will update this after trying this recipe again with cooking it as soon as it is made as opposed to storing it and cooking it later. However, I have frozen pans of lasagna for twenty-three years now, and it has never affected the texture of the noodles.)


I did this recipe four times for two huge crock inserts. (Each crock fed eight to ten people.) As it is given below, I think the recipe would fit in a six or possibly even four quart crock pot and would likely feed four or five people. Be sure you keep it on low. (My kids turned it on high for an hour to rush it along, and it burned the sides and bottom. However, my slow cooker is extremely hot. My high is more like super high; my low is like high; and my warm is like low!) 


Ingredients–

1 lb ground beef
Lasagna noodles
1 regular jar spaghetti sauce 
1 1/2 cup cottage cheese (or ricotta)
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 4 eggs (I like to stick extra eggs in everything!)


1. Mix ground beef and sauce in large bowl, reserving 1/2 cup or so of sauce by itself.

2. Mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and eggs in large bowl.

3. Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Pour the reserved 1/2 to one cup of sauce in bottom of crock.

4. Place two uncooked lasagna noodles (broken in half to fit in the crock) over the sauce.

5. Spread 1/3 of meat mixture over noodles.

6. Spread 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture over meat mixture.

7. Spread 1/3 of mozzarella cheese over cottage cheese.

8. Add another layer of uncooked lasagna noodles (two again, broken in half).

9. Pour the other half of the cottage cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles in this layer.

10. Add 1/3 of mozzarella cheese.

11. Add another layer of uncooked lasagna noodles (two again, broken in half).

12. Add remaining meat mixture.

13. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.

14. Cook on low for four hours; do not overcook.


I get very confused about the order and amounts in lasagna recipes, so here is a quick recap of the order:

a. 1/2 cup to 1 cup sauce alone
b. Two uncooked lasagna noodles
c. 1/3 of the meat mixture
d. 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture
e. Two uncooked lasagna noodles
f. 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture
g. 1/3 of the mozzarella
h. Two uncooked lasagna noodles
i. Rest of meat mixture
j. Rest of mozzarella

Berry Ice Cream Treat

by | Jul 19, 2013

1 c. Frozen berries
2/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 packets of Splenda (you can use 1/4 c. sugar if you want)
Blended for 20-30 seconds. DONE. DELICIOUS! :) the whole thing took about 2 minutes. Amazing.
(I ate some right away, but put the rest in the freezer — the recipe promised a harder, more ice cream-ish texture if frozen for an hour or so.)

Ninja Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe–Gonna Make Low Carb!

by | Jul 19, 2013

Ninja Master Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream, heavy
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup strawberry, frozen
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine 11/2 c of the milk, whipping cream and sugar, and then stir to dissolve sugar. Fill one 16 cube ice cube tray with the mixture. Freeze for at leate 3 hours, or until frozen solid.
Place ice cream cubes in the Master Prep Pitcher and then add frozen strawberries, strawberry syrup, vanilla extract and the remaining 1/2 c of milk over top. Secure the Pitcher’s top and pulse for 10-15 seconds, until smooth and creamy.
Serve granished with a drizzle of strawberry syrup or fresh strawberries.
Power Hour: Introducing Our “Four to Six Freezer Foods in an Hour” Program

Power Hour: Introducing Our “Four to Six Freezer Foods in an Hour” Program

by | May 29, 2013

Watch our blog (and FB page) for our new summer series, “Power Hour,” in which we will share recipes (with varying amounts and numbers of servings) that you can make in an hour (or less with some young helpers!) and make four to six (or more if making for three or four people) freezer entrees.

If you have always wanted to try freezer cooking, but an entire program of one whole day (or week!) of cooking feels overwhelming to you, our “Power Hour” might be just the thing to get you over the fear of freezer cooking!

Think your family won’t like the foods? I have been freezer cooking for twenty-three years this summer, and while I have definitely evolved as a freezer cook, I have hundreds of recipes that my family loves–and not just layered or bagged casseroles either! Some of our favorites that I will be sharing with you include potato casserole, braised beef cube mix, meatloaves, meatballs, sausage rice stir fry, parmesan chicken breasts, poor man’s steak, spaghetti pie, meats for stir fries and fajitas, and much more. And you can do each one in under an hour!

We’ll post our first one the week of June 9th, so stay “posted”! 🙂 And share with your friends!

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