Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Au Gratin

Leftover ham after the Thanksgiving holiday? Here's one of my favorite recipes that can use some of the ham you had leftover. I've never tried substituting cooked turkey, but I bet it is just as good! I might try that this coming weekend after the holiday, if there's any leftover!

Being a county Extension agent allows for some night meetings in order to meet the needs of our clientele. I tend to use quick slow cooker recipes like the Ham and Potato Au Gratin recipe on nights when I only get to come home for a short amount of time before I'm out the door to a night meeting with 4-H youth, diabetes education classes, or the county fair association. Just simply layer the ingredients in the slow cooker and set on low for a long meeting (4 hours or longer) or high for a short meeting (about 2 hours). When you get home dinner is ready for the table. Serve with some hot rolls and a side salad or green vegetable or fruit and you will have a healthy warm and comforting meal for your family. What a great meal to satisfy a famished family after a short Christmas shopping trip!

If you and your family are tried of ham after Thanksgiving, simply cut/slice the leftover ham and place in freezer bags or containers for later date. Remember to come back to our healthy living videos during the holiday season for more ideas that can add variety to your dinner time meal planning.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy holiday season!
Dee Lee

Altering Recipes

Here recently our family has been trying to cut back on the calories and fat in our diet. I took our favorite creamy chicken enchilada recipe and worked on it until we created this recipe. It is really not hard to change recipes so they are lower in fat and calories. Listed are some tips on altering recipes to be healthy.

Make a large pot of homemade beef, chicken or vegetable stock and freeze the broth in ice cube trays. Pop out only as many cubes as you need to add wonderful flavor to your food, especially on busy days when you don't have much time to cook. Cook your rice and pasta in the stock for added flavor and not added fat.

Thicken soups with prepared instant mashed potatoes (or pureed cooked potatoes) instead of heavy cream. Evaporated skim milk can take the place of heavy cream as well.

Replace the mayonnaise and sour cream in recipes with pureed, seasoned silken tofu or plain low-fat yogurt, dressed up with your favorite diced vegetables and seasonings.

Happy Cooking

Pumpkin Soup

Nothing reminds us more of fall and cool weather than pumpkins…however, have you ever thought of making pumpkin soup for your dinner tonight? I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. Here are several reasons: pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotene, an important antioxidant. Current research tells us a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, protects us against heart disease, as well as some degenerative aspects of aging.

Notice this pumpkin soup recipe also “sneaks in” some mashed carrots to add even more nutrition to this soup. The beans (your choice – either white or black beans) add some all important fiber to the diet. You don’t have to tell your family how good this soup is for you, just make it and you will be pleasantly surprised!

Happy Cooking,

Donna

Savory Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Growing up in a family with two working parents, meals were sometimes prepared and cooked while we were away or busy with other activities. Savory Slow Cooker Pot Roast is a meal that can be prepared and left, while you are busy taking care of every day life.

I make this yummy recipe on a regular basis and it has become one of my favorites to make for friends or to take for potluck dinners. I hope you enjoy the simplicity of making this tasty dish. I serve it with traditional foods such as: mashed lowfat cream cheese potatoes (using the gravy from the pot roast), steamed carrots or green beans, and a piece of seasonal fruit.

Here are some important food safety reminders when using a slow cooker:

Clean
Always begin with handwashing, before, during and after preparing food. Make sure all utensils, equipment, and cooking areas are clean prior to handling food.
Refrigerate
Chill all foods before preparation in the refrigerator. To save on preparation time, I wash and cut up all my meats and vegetables for separate storage in the refrigerator prior to the time for cooking.
Never add raw frozen meat or poultry to a slow cooker. Because of the slow cooking process and thawing time, food could potentially remain in the temperature danger zone 40 to 140 degrees for more than 2 hours. Foods with high moisture content, such as chili, soup, stew, spaghetti sauce or others with sauce, tend to do well in slow cookers. If using a commercially frozen slow cooker meal, prepare according to manufacturer's instructions.
Filling the Cooker
A slow cooker should be filled no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full to allow for optimum cooking. Vegetables cook slower than meat and poultry in a slow cooker so if using them, put the vegetables in first. Then add the meat and desired amount of liquid such as broth, water or barbecue sauce. Keep the lid in place, removing only to stir the food or check for doneness. Every time you open the lid, you are increasing the amount of cooking time and lowering the temperature in the slow cooker.
Cooker Setting
Most cookers have two or more settings. Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, for all-day cooking or for less-tender cuts, you may want to use the low setting.

If possible, turn the cooker on the highest setting for the first hour of cooking time and then to low or the setting called for in your recipe. However, it's safe to cook foods on low the entire time — if you're leaving for work, for example, and preparation time is limited.

While food is cooking and once it's done, food will stay safe as long as the cooker is operating.
Power Outage
If you are not at home during the entire slow-cooking process and the power goes out, throw away the food even if it looks done.

If you are at home, finish cooking the ingredients immediately by some other means: on a gas stove, on the outdoor grill or at a house where the power is on.

When you are at home, and if the food was completely cooked before the power went out, the food should remain safe up to two hours in the cooker with the power off.
Leftover storage
Store leftovers in shallow covered containers and refrigerate within two hours after cooking is finished. Reheating leftovers in a slow cooker is not recommended. Cooked food should be reheated on the stove, in a microwave, or in a conventional oven until it reaches 165 °F. Then the hot food can be placed in a preheated slow cooker to keep it hot for serving—at least 140 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Refer to the April 5th blog: “Tips for Slow Cooking by Emily” for more information.

Safe & Happy Slow Cooking!
Dee Lee