As warm weather approaches, I am eagerly anticipating time outside working in the yard and garden, playing with the kids and cooking meals on the grill. Not all meals have to be grilled during the warm months however. Just like any other time of the year, we're busy people who do not have time to wait for food to cook. So, just like any other time of the year, I use my slow cooker to make dinner-time easier.
APPETIZERS / ANTIPASTI: Try the Bruschetta, $6.75, which is Italian bread with tomatoes, red onions, olives, and basil; Baked Clams, $7.25, baked with garlic and an herb and butter breading; Roasted Red Peppers with Fresh Mozzarella, $6.95, with garlic and basil with fresh cheese; many people's favorite Sausage and Peppers, $8.25, which is a great spicy sausage stew with sweet peppers; Fried Calamari, $10.75, an exotic deep-fried baby squid dish with your choice of sauce; Stuffed Mushrooms, $8.25, they're jumbo mushroom caps with a great stuffing made with bread crumbs, butter, garlic, and herbs.
If you're looking to see if your food is ready in a dutch oven, don't get too careless, be cautious or you will sprinkle your meal with some natural salt and pepper. This yummy kind of salt sausage and stew pepper is actually ash that falls off the lid of the dutch oven as it is being removed from the dutch oven stove. Don't worry too much about it though because it really doesn't taste terrible and it isn't a health concern. Although it does leave a nice texture.
I usually take a couple of slow cooker sausage casserole and coffee cake or muffin recipes along that can be made there. Also, think about cereals, juices and bagels. It all depends on the preferences of the group. Oh, and do not forget the coffee!
But here's the thing: being able to make a good, hearty, delicious stew is important. It's an essential skill you need to master because for the bit of time that's required to make a big batch you slow cooker sausage casserole get a huge return on your effort in terms of satiety nutrients and time-saved.
Spaghetti - a jar of sauce, 1/2 pound of hamburger and spaghetti paired with bread and butter....looking at about $3.27 and that is considering that you are not going to use an entire loaf of bread or an entire tub of butter, plus leftovers for lunch. I also like to have fried potatoes with spaghetti...sounds weird but I'm telling you it's really good.
Take a peek at it after about 50 minutes. It shouldn't be ready to pull until it's puffed up a bit and just starting to get golden brown (you don't want it too brown).