Interest in very easy cooking?

[tdamess]

i like this thread myself.

 

[abbas child]

Phil's Granola

Use a large pan for this. I used the under part of a broiling pan. Oven preheated 275 degrees. I made this every 10 days or so... if you make it a lot, the timing, the heat level you like best is what matters. Phil likes his "crunchy", so it's baked a long time for him. One of my caregivers delivers it every week for him, now.

Heat together (microwave or stove top): I cup frozen apple juice concentrate with 6 Tablespoons brown sugar until warm and sugar melts when stirred.

In the large oven pan, mix together:
6 heaping cups rolled oats
3 level cups sliced or slivered almonds (or broken pecans or walnuts)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Pour hot apple juice mixture over all the oats/nut combination, and stir, trying to get all dry ingredients coated, and no puddles of juice left on the bottom. Bake, stirring every 20 minutes, for at least 40 minutes. For a crunchier granola, use 300 degrees or even 325 and stir every 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup unsweetened coconut, don't stir--just try to sprinkle it on top evenly. Bake 5 minutes. Then, stir it into the rest of the ingredients. Bake 5 more minutes.

Remove from oven. Coconut should be golden in color. When cool, stir in 1 cup dried
cranberries or cherries. Store in air-tight containers. It's fine for at least 2 weeks.

note: unsweetened coconut is found in health food stores or on line.

 

[Sequoia]

This is making me hungry. Thanks Ann! Could you include a pot roast recipe for a crock pot too...I dont have a slow cooker. Any recipes for a small crock pot would make life simpler for me. I am trying to cook more on my own, as the food here is a bit institutional, meaning the veggies are so dead you can hardly tell what they are! lol

 

[LizT]

sharon- i hate it when veggies are "dead" as you say. rubbery. and of course when they are prepared this way, most of the nutrients are gone... not to mention the flavor!
i hate to ask, and maybe i shouldve checked the thread before i ask- but what is the difference between a crock pot and a slow cooker?

 

[abbas child]

Sequoia, it would be simplest to just cut your roast in half, and freeze half, putting the other into the crockpot. I'm thinking using only one pound of roast (shoulder chuck is good, for example). Since the heat is only on the base of the pot, your root veggies, cut up, go in the pot first. Add a cup of water or beef broth (lower sodium is safest), and the beef on top, with slices of onion on the beef. Cook all day on low. Fork tender is the goal, but leave the lid on for several hours before checking doneness.

Liz, a true slow cooker has heat up the sides part way. They're usually shaped differently--lower and broader, and can handle a 7 pound roast. You want a slow cooker to have one third of it not filled. I believe a crock pot can be a good 3/4 full. Sigh, I have had them bubble over...wasting a lot of time, dipping out food, etc. This is only a general guide--I know slow cookers do vary in size, and I have a distant memory that the same is true of a crock pot. Mine are "average size".

 

[LizT]

thanks ann. now i just need to learn how to cook!

 

[Steven B]

this is so cool

 

[sadiemae]

Any one like white country sausage gravy? Fry 1/2 lb sausage with 2 tbsps of butter. Remove from pan. In same pan melt 4 tbsps butter and add about a quarter cup of flour. Stir till blended, add salt and pepper and 4 or 5 cups of milk. Bring to just a boil, stirring often. Then(and this is my secret) add a pkg of country gravy mix mixed with water. Then add the sausage. I serve it on flour tortillas or english muffins rather than biscuits. If swallowing is an issue, you can puree the sausage in a blender before adding to the gravy. It always tastes better the next day. If it is too thick, just add a bit of milk. If it is to thin, just add a bit of roux(melted butter with flour). I also some times add red pepper flakes.

 

[tdamess]

sadiemae - i love it i miss my moms but we did it different my mom used beacon or salt pork fat , sausage also but never put the meat in the gravy always on the side so even as today i can not eat it with the meat broken up in the gravey but sooo good . i want some i will never make it as good as my mom lol if i get it that way it was by accident ... can you tell me what i did wrong when it comes out blan did i put too much flour ?

 

[BarryG]

Back when I could eat I used to make a cheese sauce based on the same butter flour milk base. I would melt in some sharp cheddar and cover everything, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, polenta (grits) with it and it was great and helped stuff go down.

Lori, that recipe sounds fabulous, I wish I'd tried it!

 

[sadiemae]

Ruth, Thats why you should use the pkgd gravy mix, it gives it the kick!

 

[tdamess]

oh good idea thanks

 

[John1]

Well this isn't cooking but it is easy. It is a toasty 90° in the shade here today so for lunch I wanted something cold to eat on on the patio but something that catered to my need to be lazy. I filled a cereal bowl with plain yogurt and added a handful of red seedless grapes. Over this I poured a tablespoon or two of maple syrup (only the real stuff please, preferably light, early-run syrup). The result was a pleasant sweet-and-sour combination that was somewhat healthy and very easy to swallow for those with swallowing problems.

Just realized you might think that Newfoundland is having some mighty unseasonable weather. No, I'm in Arizona at the moment.

 

[BarryG]

That sounds good John and you even managed to make it Canadian with the maple syrup! Glad that you're having such a nice warm time in Tucson, hope you and Chewey are doing ok .

 

[abbas child]

I've been wondering if you'd returned north, John. Do you use whole milk yogurt? I add frozen raspberries to whole milk yogurt, let them thaw and eat after it softens. If the seeds are a problem, just suck and swallow without chewing...the taste is great. And how IS Chewey?