Recipe Help!

RollingHome

Well-known member
Poor Patti, I'm cooking diner to surprise her ! That stuff I made in the crock pot was so bland and she was so kind... YUCK ! Anyway, As you may know, I'm off work now as in retired and my want to do is "learn to cook" in my opinion, this is my first big YUCK ! I made Butternut Squash & Cauliflower Curry. It sounded good, I did what they said (woman's Day Cookbook - no smart butt responses please) it was bland, as in NO taste !

I am asking for suggestions to jazz up a meal in the crock pot that is cooked and kinda has no taste ? At this point, I can't wreck it further ! In reality, I'm thinking of next time. I know as a new cook I'm gonna mess up, but there must be "tricks" as in save a meal you guys know. So, help a kitchen neophyte out and boost my ego ! Any suggestions or secrets, or is that just the way it is ?

Looking at the bright side, at least no one was injured eating my cooking ! They really ought to make guys go through 'Home Ec.' in school.

Tom
 

Rrloren

Well-known member
Re: Help !

You used a couple tough ingredients to make taste good in a Crock Pot. As a suggestion on the Butternut we split them brush with butter ,salt and pepper then roast in the oven till tender and lightly brown, they are quite tasty. The Califlower you might try steaming or boiling till tender then salt and pepper and drizzle with some Balsamic vinegar.
Califlower is also very good if you break apart the flowets and coat with seasoned flour and fry in a bit of oil till nicely browned then salt.
Good luck. You'll get better as you continue to practice and experiment.
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Re: Help !

Thanks for your input, one would think the THAI Red Curry Paste and Coconut Milk that I put in is so strong that my meal would not have been bland... Oh well, BBQ sauce and garlic oughta do it :) ...
 

GETnBYE

Well-known member
Re: Help !

A few questions first: Do you have any special food do's or don't's? ie. low salt or fat free? do you only want to do crock pot cooking?
My suggestion is to start off simple, find a meat and learn to cook it in different ways, add a simple can of corn and/or green beans and some garlic bread.
I use only olive oil now days and very little of it and use tons of garlic&parsley salt. Boneless chicken or pork chops are great if cut thin and quick fried in the olive oil and just a few drizzles of it (not much). I server it like that, but sometime add a can of cream of celery soup and half a can of milk over the meat, it makes a great and easy gravy.
The Idahoian instant potatoes are great and come in a garlic flavor.
Take it slow, get the meat of the meal cooked well and the sides are easy.
As for crockpot meals, I have always thought you have to season the meat in the dish like crazy before you start, but I'm not a big fan of crock pot meals, so I can't help with that much.
Watch Rachel Ray's show every morning and get some great tips, just don't try to do it just like she does,,,,,,simplify it to your lifestyle.
Nita
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Re: Help !

Thanks Nita, maybe I should try "regular" cooking more. I was trying to have a tasty meal ready for us both. Crock pot type of cooking let's me play (opps, 'work') while it's doing it's thing... This time it's thing (Butternut Squash & Cauliflower Curry) wasn't at all tasty in spite of it's name. I am having great success using an Orion Cooker outside for meats and veggies, but that's a weekend thing. We watch fat's and low salt since my heart attack. I'll tell ya one thing, learning and doing has given me even a greater appreciation for what Patti has been doing all these years, she makes it look so easy and it always taste good too !
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Re: Help !

Thanks for the hotlink Nita, Pete and Linda also gave me the same link, it's a keeper so I bookmarked it ! I looked at several of the recipes and I know I can do at least the ones I saw. Patti just walked in the door and was looking over my shoulder. She spied the cherries and pork... guess I know the first one I'll try. There are enough recipes there I know I'll have many edible winner meals. Thanks again :)

iforget, Don't put me too high on your scale, my cooking ain't that great YET ! I hope Duane likes pancakes made from a mix... that's about my breakfast limit - for now... but next year's another story, one meal at a time ! 36+ years, Wow that's great !
 
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goodtruck

Well-known member
Re: Help !

I am surprised that the curry dish was bland.I make a real fast shrimp curry dish that will lite your fire.Did you season to taste or just follow the recipe.I have found that if you use a generic curry powder it generally takes 2-3 times what a recipe says it will.I have found the best curry powder is made by McCormick The hot Madras blend works great without using the hole bottle.If you would like the recipe for the shrimp curry just let me know.


PS I am a guy that loves to cook and will try anything
 
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RollingHome

Well-known member
Re: Help !

GoodTruck, Your curried shrimp is right up my alley ! I would like to have the recipe. Why not post it in the forum so others can try it too, just an idea ! Patti and I really like middle eastern cuisine. In my opinion the folks from India are the masters of spice. However don't be fooled by the curryied spice recipe I tried. This recipe used Red Curry Paste. It's a whole different animal then the yellow curry powder you are familiar with. It comes from the orient and it is not dominant in flavor. It is located in your food store in the oriental isle. I too thought it would be strong and flavorable - it ain't ! It's more like tomato paste with a kick. This stuff is in a small jar, must be refrigerated and has the consistency of toothpaste. I was able to put some on a spoon and eat it out of the jar, that tells you how feeble it is. Sometimes the maker even puts creamed shrimp in it. In my opinion, it's a waste. I'll probably use what's left in some recipe yet to be decided just to get rid of the stuff. I really like the website Pete & Deb and Nita gave me, have you checked it out yet ? There are some mouth watering recipes on it that even I can handle... Tom
 

ScubaSteve

Full Timer
Re: Help !

Other than adding lots of herbs and spices, my favorite way to flavor up the slow cooker is to use something other than water. Red wine for red meats and white for chicken. Don't use your favorite bottle of red, get the cheap stuff for cooking. I look for the liter-a-wine bottle that is the cheapest but still has a cork (only because I save the bottles for bottling homemade wine). I also discovered this winter that using red wine in the pressure cooker for making a roast adds lots of great flavor to the dish.

The second step is to use fresh herbs. Fresh herbs are significantly more flavorful than dried.

The best way to learn is copy someone else or keep experimenting. I learn something new every day :)

Steve
 

Garry & Bev

travel bug
Re: Help !

Just a quick mention a good place to find recipes that usually turn out is at www.tasteofhome.com. You will be able to find crockpot/onepot recipes and all have been tried and tested. Any recipe I have tried from taste of home has been excellent.
 

bachj123

Member
Re: Help !

I love the site - allrecipes.com - they have just about anything you could want. You can change the # of servings and the site re-calculates the amounts of ingredients. What I also love is you get opinions of those who have made the receipe. They give tips on personal changes they made and star ratings for the receipes.
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Re: Help !

Man this forum is useful... It can help a complete dope in the kitchen like me to become a person who can eat what they make, thanks guys (n gals) I really appreciate your input. Turns out this cooking stuff ain't as impossible as I thought. I especially like the wine cooking ideas in a crock pot, instantly made me salivate... gross but... oh well... nothing is more ego pleasing then seeing my honey smile after she bites into a dish that I made - and was eatible... Thanks again.

Tom
 
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