Date I made these recipes:
February 7, 2016 – Super Bowl Sunday
Rival® Crock Pot
Cooking
Published by: Golden
Press
© 1975
Purchased at Goodwill
Recipe: Beef Tacos with Mexican Sauce – p. 45
Culinary Arts
Institute Crockery Cooking (part of Adventures
in Cooking Series)
Published by the Culinary Arts Institute
© 1976
Recipe: Spanish Rice – p. 38
There is no perfect time to pull out a crock pot or two than
during the Super Bowl because between the commercials and the pre-game and the
game itself, who has time to prepare a meal the old-fashioned way? Not me (even though I have a TV in my
kitchen). Besides, it's still winter out
and that is a crock pot's moment to shine.
Finding the right recipe combination is also essential to
game-time and crock pot enjoyment. Think
Goldilocks: not too basic, not too fancy, just right.
And this is how I ended up reviewing endless recipes for
things like frank and beans, brats and beans, beans, hamburger and beans,
hamburgers in the crock pot, chili verde, chile with meat, chili with beans,
killer chili, hot dips and even mac and cheese.
I mean, there's no rule that says Super Bowl food has to be selected
from one of these recipes groupings, but that tends to be the type of food
people crave and I am all about giving the people what they want.
And by "people," I mean me and my husband. I can count on one hand the number of times
that I've watched a Packers game with friends (it's best if they don't see me
go all full metal jacket during a Packers game) and by the time we get to Super
Bowl Sunday each year, the thrill of football is (nearly) gone and I just want
to hang out, be free without having to entertain.
Besides, as it happened, we went out for dinner with my
mother-in-law for her belated birthday celebration and so making something in
the crock pot to be eaten later was just the thing. As it turned out, we almost ended up back at
our house to eat as several of the restaurants she wanted to dine at were
closed for the Super Bowl. At zero hour,
we found a place that suited and we got home just in time to see the half time
show, our trusty crock pots nearly done slow-cooking our second dinner for the
day. Okay, true confessions: we had it the next day.
The crock pot came into existence in 1970 and I don't think
popularity for this wonder cooker has ever waned. Every year, more and more crock pot (or slow
cooker) books, like the ones I used hit the market, and new and improved
recipes for everything under the sun keep popping up all the time. The few crock pot cookbooks I own are not
fancy-shcmancy but they do the job.
One crock pot cookbook (more like a booklet) that I used to
death is the one that came with my Hamilton Beach
As between the two books, the Rival cookbook had more recipes geared for the "common"
man and I selected a lot more potential recipes from this book than the one
from the Culinary Institute. Some of the recipe names grabbed my attention
until I looked at the ingredient list, for example: "Bologna-Baga Bake" that contained
bologna and rutabaga (ew) p. 64 or "The Babysitter's Favorite" – p.
65 that would not have been my favorite under any circumstances as it contained
frankfurters, apples, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. Are they kidding? What teenage gal or guy wants that kind of
food to eat while watching a bunch of kids?
On the other hand, "Camp-Out Chili Dogs" – p. 65 –
sounded delicious and definitely Super Bowl-worthy. There were a bunch of casserole recipes that
sounded good but not for a football celebration. The last chapter of this book was dedicated to
breads and cakes and again, sounded good but not for tonight's repast.
And then there's the Culinary
Arts Institute cookbook and I have to say that never, ever associated the
term "crock pot" with a culinary arts school. (Do note that the Culinary Arts Institute is not the same as the famed CIA – Culinary Institute of America® –
but the model is somewhat the same).
This cookbook took more of an around-the-world approach, showcasing
dishes from other countries such as "Bouillabaisse" – p. 70 or "Solianka"
from the (former) Soviet Union – p. 54. And while a lot of them sounded tasty, I had
to work hard to find something to fit my football dinner theme and finally
decided on the Spanish Rice recipe –
p. 38. It paired very well with my Beef Tacos with Mexican Sauce and since
I have two crock pots, I put them both to work to make this dish.
Because it needed a longer cooking time, I started the taco
recipe earlier in the day and then refrigerated it until serving time. My only complaint, and it could be my palate,
was that I thought the dish was a little salty and I even used "No Salt
Added" pinto beans. I also made
half the recipe and kept a close eye on the cooking time because I was worried
I might burn it if I left it in for the required 8 to 10 hours (full
recipe). I think I pulled the plug after
6 hours and it was fine. In fact, I'm
not even sure why this dish needed to be made in a crock pot but mine was not
to wonder why.
The Spanish Rice
dish cooked for a shorter time (4-6 hours) but folks, for the first time ever,
ever, ever, the rice did not cook. I
don't know why that is but I wonder if it didn't need more liquid to fully
develop as the recipe is heavy on meat, tomatoes and tomato paste but not really
on water. Since the rice in the crock
pot didn't cook, I made a batch in my rice cooker and it came out great but
then again, the water ratio was dead on accurate. And so if you decide to make this at home,
add maybe ¼ cup of water and see how that works. Aside from the fact that our Spanish Rice had a crunch to it, it was
a pretty good recipe.
Oh—and the game?
Broncos 24, Panthers 10. And by
the way, I read that the NFL will
return to Roman numerals next year and sweet merciful heavens, as if I don't
have enough fun "translating" all the copyrights listed in Roman
numerals in my older cookbooks, now I have to figure this out? Next thing you know, we'll have to do the
same with the score: So let's see, the
Broncos had 24 so that's XXIV and the Panthers had 10 so that's X and so then
add the two, carry the two, divide by two and you get...liftoff?
Enjoy.
Beef Tacos with
Mexican Sauce – makes about 2 ½ quarters, enough to fill 2 to 3 dozen taco
shells
Taco Filling
2 lb. lean ground beef
2 medium onions
1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon leaf oregano (Ann's
Note: I used Mexican oregano)
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup taco sauce (Ann's
Note: since I halved the recipe, I
only needed 1/6 cup and that was not enough to justify buying a bottle of sauce
so I used water. We are not regular taco
eaters in this house.)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can (16 oz) pinto beans or green peas, drained and pureed
in blender
Taco Shells
Mexican Sauce
Mexican Sauce
2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes or 1 can (16 oz.) whole
tomatoes
1 small onion, quartered
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon leaf oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 small jalapeno pepper, fresh or canned (optional)
In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onions; drain well. Place beef and onions in Crock Pot. Stir in remaining ingredients except taco
shells and Mexican Sauce. Cover and cook
on Low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Ann's Note: since I made half the recipe, I cut the time
down to 6 hours for fear of burning the mixture. It's pretty much ready to go as soon as you
mix all the ingredients but this is just a slow way to warm it up. Taste for seasoning. Fill taco shells and serve with sauce.
Spanish Rice – 8 to 10 servings. Ann's Note:
Be warned, the halved recipe still made a lot of Spanish rice.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 green peppers, cleaned and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 pounds ground round steak or chuck
2 cans (28 ounces each) Italian-style tomatoes (undrained)
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 dash Tabasco
(optional)
2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
Few grains cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
2 or 3 whole cloves
2 cups uncooked long grain rice (Ann's Note: As stated above, the rice failed to cook at
all and I have no idea why this happened.
To be on the safe side, make the rice separately and add it to the
ground beef mixture when ready to serve.)
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic; cook
over medium heat until tender and lightly browned. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon to an
electric cooker.
Add meat to oil remaining in skillet. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned,
stirring occasionally. Add to cooker
with tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt,
pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, cloves, and rice; stir thoroughly
to blend well.
Cover and cook on Low 4 to 6 hours.
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