Marinated Cucumbers

I love cucumbers! I love them straight out of the refrigerator sliced up all by themselves. I love them in salads. And I especially love them as pickles! My grandma has made this as a side dish before and I love it because it involves dill so it comes out nice and tangy. I had never made it before until last night and I can't figure out why. It was so simple to make and oh so good.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper

Directions:

1. Combine sliced cucumbers with all other ingredients; cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours before serving.
   

Marinated cucumbers recipe serves 4-6.

I used just plain white vinegar since the recipe didn't specify what kind to use and I used dried dill weed instead of freshly chopped. Also, I peeled the cumber before slicing it--normally I like to eat the skin but when I've had this made for me the cucumbers have been peeled. Also, I combined everything but the cucumbers first and then poured it over the cucumbers before stirring it all around.

Autumn Harvest Pork Loin

Makes: 4-6 servings

Prep. Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 5-6 hours

Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 5-quart

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cider or apple juice
• 1 1/2 to 2-lb. pork loin
• salt
• pepper
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 1/2 whole butternut squashes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried sage

Directions:

1. Heat cider in hot skillet. Sear pork loin on all sides in cider.
2. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper on all sides. Place in slow cooker, along with juices.
3. Combine apples and squash. Sprinkle with sugar and herbs. Stir. Place around pork loin.
4. Cover. Cook on Low 5-6 hours.
5. Remove pork from cooker. Let stand 10-15 minutes. Slice into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
6. Serve topped with apples and squash.

This turned out okay. Rocky said that I could make it again. I love that I can put stuff in the crock pot when I come home on my lunch break and have dinner ready when I get home! I served this with rice that I put in the cooker once I got home.

I didn't have any sage so I didn't use that and instead of butternut squash I substituted some other member of the gourd family that a customer at work brought me. The pork turned out moist and I liked the flavor that the apple juice mixed with the flavors of the brown sugar and apples added to it. This is definitely an autumn-y type dish and was super fragrant. I wasn't a huge fan of the apples as they got super mushy from being cooked down and I think that even just 1/4 tsp of cinnamon was too much. All in all, though, not bad.

How to Cook Everything

I am so excited to use this App! I saw this cookbook at Home Goods a few months ago but it was kind of pricey at $30 and I already have so many other cookbooks that I wasn't sure. However, I flipped through the cookbook and it fell open to a corn fritters recipe. Oh my gosh! I haven't had corn fritters in years but was so excited to find the recipe that I almost bought the book right then and there. I'm glad that I didn't, though, because what I found for the iPhone is even better! It's the book in App form on special for $1.99 with all the same recipes and awesome interactive features!

Fettuccine with Butter and Cheese

Source: Joy of Cooking (All About Pasta and Noodles)
Makes: 8 first-course servings; 4 main-course servings

Bring to a rolling boil in a large pot:

6 quarts water

2 tablespoons salt

Add and cook until tender but firm:

1 1/4 pounds fresh fettuccine, or 1 pound dried

Drain and toss the hot pasta with:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, or 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Season with:

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Serve immediately.

I added a little bit of garlic powder to the mix and I prefer to use thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta so this wasn't true fettuccine, but it was very easy and not too bad.

Sesame Asparagus

Source: Karen Gillett--Tasty Food I Love

Ingredients:

• 1 lb asparagus, ends snapped off
• 2 Tbs dark sesame oil
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, sesame seeds, water, salt and pepper.
2. Place asparagus in a skillet and pour sauce over the asparagus.
3. Heat to boiling.
4. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

I have been looking for another asparagus recipe to make besides the grilled asparagus recipe I usually make. I had never eaten asparagus before I met Rocky and now I can't seem to get enough of it. This recipe is especially yummy and the smell of sesame oil in the house is great!

Fried Rice--A Basic Recipe

From: About.com: Chinese Food
Servings: 4-6 
This is a basic recipe for fried rice that you can add to as desired.  If adding other ingredients, increase the number of eggs to 3.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 green onions, as desired
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
• 4 cups cold cooked rice
• 1-2 tablespoons light soy sauce or oyster sauce, as desired

Directions:

1. Wash and finely chop the green onion.  Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper.
2. Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil.  When the oil is hot, add the eggs.  Cook, stirring, until they are lightly scrambled but not too dry.  Remove the eggs and clean out the pan.
3. Add 2 tablespoons oil.  Add the rice.  Stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart.  Stir in the soy sauce or oyster sauce as desired.
4. When the rice is heated through, add the scrambled egg back into the pan.  Mix thoroughly.  Stir in the green onion.  Serve hot.

I feel so pathetic that every time I want to eat fried rice that I have to Google how to do it.  Seriously!  How sad is that?  Well, regardless of how pathetic I am, I really like this recipe for its simplicity.  Once the rice is cooked it takes less than 10 minutes to cook.  I like to add in vegetables to the fried rice and I've only ever used soy sauce--I don't know that I've ever even eaten oyster sauce.

Molasses Cookies

From Audrey Iverson

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Mix first four ingredients.
2. Add other (sifted together) ingredients.
3. Roll into balls.
4. Flatten with wet fork.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
6. Frost if desired.

I haven't had molasses cookies in years! I used to make them with my grandma and she would only make them at certain times of the year. I asked her for the recipe a few years back and still hadn't made them until today! Her 80th birthday was today and I couldn't think of what to give her. It wasn't until late last night that I decided to pull out the recipe for these cookies. They are so easy--I had no idea! Eight ingredients (all of which I already had in my cupboards and fridge) and 20 minutes in the kitchen at 6:00 this morning and I had yummy cookies to give to my grandma for her birthday as a reminder of happy memories as Rocky and I wished her many more years of good health (hmm ... maybe cookies aren't the best way to wish this on a person!) and happiness. And FYI--they were just as good as I remembered them being! =)

Corned Beef Dinner

From the Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-11 hours
Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 5-quart
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 potatoes, pared and quartered
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small head cabbage, cut into 4 wedges
• 3-4-lb. corned beef brisket
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. prepared mustard
• dash of ground cloves

Directions:

1. Layer onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, and cabbage in slow cooker.
2. Place brisket on top.
3. Add water.
4. Cover. Cook on Low 10-11 hours.
5. During last hour of cooking, combine brown sugar, mustard, and cloves. Spread over beef.
6. Discard bay leaves. Slice meat and arrange on platter of vegetables.

One word: Delicious! I overfilled the slow cooker a little bit because I like red potatoes so much so I added about 1 1/2 cup extra water because I was afraid that the one cup wouldn't be enough to cook everything through. I also used 1/2 the seasoning packet that came with the corned beef brisket. If I make it again, I think that I will use less brown sugar. For us it seemed like there was too much to caramelize properly over the beef.

North Carolina Barbecue

From the Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook
Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-8 hours
Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 4-5-quart
Makes: 8-12 servings

Ingredients:

• 3-4-lb. pork loin, roast or shoulder
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup, plus 1 Tbsp., prepared mustard
• 1/4 cup, plus 1 Tbsp., Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Trim fat from pork. Place in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients together. Spoon over meat.
3. Cover and cook on High 5 hours, or on Low 8 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Slice, or break meat apart, and serve drizzled with the cooking juices. If you use the meat for sandwiches, you'll have enough for 8-12 sandwiches.

This one was super good! I didn't have red pepper flakes, though, so I added a few shakes of hot sauce in with the Worcestershire sauce and it seemed to work out okay. I served this with rice and steamed asparagus.

Chicken Pot Roast

From the Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook
Prep: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-4 hours
Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 4-5-quart
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4-6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups lima beans, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper chicken breasts. Use garlic salt if you wish. Place chicken in slow cooker and start cooking on High.
2. Prepare carrots and place on top of chicken. Add limas on top. Pour water over all.
3. Cover and cook on Low 3-4 hours, or until chicken and vegetables are tender but not dry or mushy.
4. This is good served over rice.

After I followed this recipe and poured the water in, I realized that this recipe would probably be much more flavorful if it called for chicken broth so if I make this again, I'm going to try that. I also put other vegetables in besides carrots and lima beans. I like lima beans all right, but how can you call this "pot roast" without potatoes and onions and any of the other things that you would normally put in with a beef pot roast?

Hearty Baked Beans and Chops

From the Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-6 hours
Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 5-quart
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 16 1/2-oz. cans baked beans
• 6 rib pork chops, 1/2-inch thick
• 1 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 6 onion slices, 1/4-inch thick

Directions:

1. Pour baked beans into bottom of greased slow cooker.
2. Layer pork chops over beans.
3. Spread mustard over pork chops. Sprinkle with brown sugar and drizzle with ketchup.
4. Top with onion slices.
5. Cover. Cook on High 4-6 hours.

This was pretty good. I didn't use rib pork chops only because I only like the boneless center loin cut and so that's pretty much all that I buy. I forgot to grease the bottom of the slow cooker, but the beans luckily didn't burn or stick to the bottom. Just to be safe, though, I'm making sure to grease it next time.