Cooking on the Go
By Janet Groene, F47166
August 2003
These easy-to-make and delicious dishes will keep you out of the galley as summer really heats up.
Chinese Crockpot Chicken
This recipe from Wendy Louise’s The Complete Crockpot Cookbook ($16, Champion Press) is a festival of flavor that requires little work. If you don’t have a slow cooker, put it in a roasting bag in the oven (see label directions, which call for the addition of a tablespoon of flour) or follow the directions for a three-pound chicken when using your microwave-convection oven in the combination mode.
One 3-pound chicken
1/4-cup soy sauce
1/4-cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons ketchup
6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 onion, sliced
Salt, pepper to taste
Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Mix together the soy sauce, marmalade, and ketchup and pour it over the chicken. Add the garlic, onion, very little salt (soy sauce is salty), and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours. The chicken will be falling-apart tender and infused with sweet, garlicky goodness. Serve with rice. Complete the menu with leafy salad tossed with mandarin oranges and citrus dressing. A cold, tangy, lemon or lime meringue pie makes a good dessert.
Microwave-convection recipe of the month
Enjoy the mouthwatering taste of ribs without firing up the grill.
Janet Sadlack’s Ribs And Potatoes
Many FMCA members probably know Janet Sadlack, who presents seminars on microwave-convection cooking at the association’s international conventions. Her newsletter, “Microwave Connection,” is published bimonthly for $18 a year, and her book, Easy Microwave-Convection Cooking, is a must for anyone who is mystified by combination cooking. The book is available for $9 plus $2.50 shipping (Minnesota residents add 59 cents tax). Book and newsletter subscription orders may be sent to 12125 16th Ave. S., Burnsville, MN 55337; or call (800) 784-0573 to place a credit card order. Here is a delicious, one-dish recipe from the book.
8 ounces boneless, country-style ribs
2 medium baking potatoes
1/2-cup barbecue sauce
2 thick onion slices
Arrange the ribs on opposite sides of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Top with the onion slices and add the potatoes in open areas of the plate. Place the meat and potatoes in the oven on the low rack and combo-roast on the high-mix setting at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the meat and potatoes over, sliding the onion slices under the ribs; brush the ribs with approximately half the sauce; and continue to combo-roast on the high-mix setting at 350 degrees for another 10 minutes or until the ribs and potatoes are tender. Serve with the remaining sauce. Janet says you can add sauerkraut to the meal by placing it in a separate casserole dish in the oven next to the ribs and potatoes.
Italian Beef Sandwiches
One 3-pound rump roast, fat trimmed
2 medium onions, sliced into rings
2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 small can tomato paste
1 packet dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 can beef broth
Put the roast in a heavy kettle and add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on high just until the liquid comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low and cook for approximately 3 hours or until the meat is tender, turning the roast once or twice. Remove the meat and let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Place meat slices in crusty buns and spoon on some of the sauce that formed in the kettle.
Janet Sadlack’s Dilly Crumb-Coated Fish Fillets
This recipe is from Janet’s “Microwave Connection” newsletter and can be made in any microwave. It does not require the convection feature.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4-teaspoon dill weed
8 ounces tilapia, perch, catfish, or other whitefish fillets
1 tablespoon dried bread crumbs
Paprika
Combine the oil, mustard, and dill weed in a small dish and mix well. Place the fish in a shallow, microwavable dish and brush with the mustard mixture. Sprinkle the fish with the bread crumbs and paprika; cover loosely; and microwave at 60 to 70 percent power for 3 to 4 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. This recipe serves one or two.
Confetti Corn
This colorful, delicious corn dish is perfect for campground potlucks, because it can be multiplied many times. To make sure the dish has bright, confetti colors, cook the peppers just until they are crisp-tender. Overcooking fades them.
2 cans (15 or 16 ounces each) whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet red pepper, diced
1 large sweet green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
4-ounce package feta cheese with sun-dried tomato
Salt, pepper
16-ounce package fully cooked meatballs (optional)
Drain the corn. In a roomy kettle, heat the oil and stir-fry the peppers and onion until they are crisp-tender. Stir in the corn to heat through. Fold in the feta cheese. Season to taste (feta is salty) and serve hot as a side dish. To make this into a main dish, add thawed meatballs with the corn and heat thoroughly, then add the feta cheese and seasonings.
Cheapskate Pizza
It’s less expensive to start with a low-priced frozen cheese pizza than with a prepackaged pizza shell. Then add your own ingredients to create a gourmet pizza with a crisp, thin crust. This recipe serves two and easily can be varied by using different vegetables, meats, or cheeses each time.
10-inch cheese pizza, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup zucchini, yellow squash, or sweet pepper, diced
1 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms
1 cup leftover meat or fish, cut into small bits
Dried basil
4 ounces shredded or crumbled cheese
Place the pizza in a pizza pan or on a cookie sheet. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the vegetables until they are just tender. Scatter the vegetables and meat atop the pizza. Sprinkle lightly with dried basil and shredded cheese. Bake at 425 degrees until the crust is brown around the edges and the cheese is melted.
Creamy Chicken Casserole
3 cups instant rice
1 can chicken broth plus water
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cans (about 15 ounces each) chunk chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup (8-ounce carton) sour cream
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
Spray a 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole with nonstick coating and add the dry rice. In a pan, combine the chicken broth, the juices from the canned chicken, and enough water to measure 3 cups. Bring the liquid to a boil; pour over the rice; cover with foil; and let stand. Stir-fry the onion, celery, and mushrooms in the hot oil in a nonstick skillet until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Break up the chicken with a fork. Scatter the chicken and vegetables over the rice, pressing them in, and dot evenly with tablespoons of the chicken soup and sour cream. In the same skillet used to cook the vegetables, melt the butter and stir in the bread crumbs. Spoon the crumb mixture over the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown. This recipe serves six.
Mashed Potato Pie
Nobody will know this dish began as instant potatoes and, because it is cut into wedges, it’s an easy way to serve mashed potatoes without gravy.
6 servings instant mashed potatoes, made according to package directions
Salt, pepper
8-ounce carton sour cream
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 eggs, beaten
Make the mashed potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the sour cream and cheese, then the beaten eggs. Spread the mixture in a buttered pie plate and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. The top should be golden. Let the pie stand for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
Feedback Forum recipe
Thanks to Harry Pischke and Becky Barber-Pischke, F85867, for sharing this recipe. They love it with fresh, hot, homemade bread from a bread machine. Becky calls for a “large” can of tomatoes, so I used a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes with their juice. It makes a luscious, soupy stew to sop up with crusty rolls or bread. Additional time can be shaved by cooking the ground meat, onion, celery, and garlic in advance. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze it.
Schoolhouse Stew
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 pound ground meat, browned and drained
1 large can tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/4-teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
16-ounce bag frozen peas
Stir-fry the onion, celery, and garlic with the meat. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and pepper and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Discard the bay leaf. Add salt to taste, then stir in the peas and heat through. Ladle the stew into soup plates. This recipe serves four to six.
E-mail your favorite shortcut recipes or suggestions to janetgroene@yahoo.com or write to Janet Groene, Family Motor Coaching, 8291 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45244.