Pineapple Rhubarb Cobbler

Was so excited when I saw that rhubarb was in season. Slave's BFF Charlie loves rhubarb, so a study has been made to come up with something different using the overlooked food-stuff. This combination is rather unique and unexpected but blends well. Hope this will become one of your favorites. Rhubarb has a short season so try several different ways. Always check what is in season and build your weekly meal plan from that.

Around here there are many finicky eaters so slave often does not tell them ahead of time what is in the desert until after they have sampled.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar, divided
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 3¼ cups sliced rhubarb
• 14 ounces pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 tube of croissant dough
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
• 1 egg yolk for an egg wash
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar + extra cinnamon for garnish

Directions

First scrub the rhubarb! It can be a little gross, so use a vegetable brush, after all it grows in the mud. When clean and dry, cut into pieces about the size of the pineapple tidbits you are using.

Place in a large bowl and sprinkle about ½ cup of sugar over all and stir until each piece is coated. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, better if overnight. My great grandmother used to “sugar” fresh strawberries this way and the results were always great.

Pre heat the oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In large bowl measure flour, cinnamon, and remaining sugar, stir.

Add rhubarb and pineapple, stir.

Pour fruit mixture into the sprayed baking dish.

Unwrap the croissants and arrange the triangles out over the fruit. You want steam to escape so don't make a tight seal.

In a small bowl whisk the egg yolk with 2 tbs water. Using a pastry brush brush the egg wash all over the top. Then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to garnish.

Bake on bottom rack for 50 minutes until browned and rhubarb is cooked.

As slave baked this, three different knocks on the door came out of nowhere asking what are you cooking today?

For tonight, how about some Ray Price?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjvV37t5UIU

Serving my Master Indy by serving others with this seasonal cobbler.

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Sausage & Tortellini Stew

On a damp spring night a big slow cooker full of stew can really hit the spot. Even if the day has been spent planting a new garden in moist soil the medicinal effects of a stew is welcome. This one is easy to put together and uses store bought tortellini.

Until they achieve a computer program that emits aromas you will have to just imagine the wonderful effects. Every time the lid is lifted, or a heaping spoonful is raised the heated Tuscan smells will fill your head with joy. Grab some wine and a crusty garlic bread and Arrivederci Worries!

Ingredients:

1 lbs of loose Italian sausage, slave used silsaccia

1 can 28oz. diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano - drained

1 package frozen cut green beans

1 large onion, chopped

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini thaw if frozen

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

Directions:

Wipe out the slow cooker and dry, then spray with cooking spray and set on LOW, cover.

Cut up the onion, slave likes to use Vidalia onions when in season

Place the cut up onion in a large bowl and crumble the sausage onto that.

Drain the tomatoes well and stir them in along with the frozen green beans. Use a short wooden spoon to mix this all together. It doesn't have to be well blended.

Put this mixture in the slow cooker. Cover, and let cook on LOW 6 hours (or 3 hours on HIGH)

When there is 20 minutes remaining, stir in tortellini, oregano and 1 cup water; continue cooking.

This last 20 minutes are a great time to set the table and warm up the crusty bread!

Slave served this to friends. It is a great way to pull together a gathering and make it something special.

Here is some nice mood music!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-a8kLtJSJ4

This kind of fun used to pop up on the television every week! But I would never go back to a day when I wasn't my Master's slave

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

The Devil Made Me Do It Pasta Salad

Slave was given a bag of “Easter” pasta. Each piece made into “Easter” shapes. A decorated egg, a bunny etc. etc. Pasta is pasta and is not going to go bad as long as it is sealed. The question was how to make this different? Well at Easter, a ham is often cooked. Deviled eggs are always present. Slowly a theme came to mind. Deviled Eggs, deviled ham it all goes together, why not a Deviled Pasta Salad?

This important thing here is to let each part get cold before mixing. I'll let you find your own favorite way to hard cook the eggs. Slave is a push over for spring pastels so maybe this can brighten up your table for some weekend or maybe a pot luck or private picnic. Whatever, you will enjoy this filling salad.

Ingredients:

½ thinly diced red onion

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

8 ounces large elbow macaroni

12 hard-cooked eggs

½ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons yellow mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ C sweet pickle relish

1½ cups very thinly sliced celery

1½ cup diced ham

Smoked paprika (optional)

Directions

First start cooking the hard cooked eggs. While that is going, dice the red onion. You might find lately the red onions are a bit harsher than usual, this is because of the drought. Soak it in cold water for about 5 minutes and drain.

Cut up the ham. Be sure to cut off the “skin” or rind.

Slice up the celery.

In a saucepan combine the drained onion, vinegar & sugar. Bring this to a simmer and let go stir occasional for about 5 minutes. This will in effect pickle the onion.
Cook the pasta as directed. Drain and rinse well with cold water; set aside.

Coarsely chop one egg; set aside. Halve remaining eggs; separate yolks from whites. Coarsely chop egg whites; set aside.

For dressing: place yolks in a medium bowl; mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, and the onion & vinegar mixture. Gradually stir in 2 Tbsp. water, salt, paprika, and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the chopped egg whites, pickle relish, celery, macaroni. Stir it well and seal to chill up to overnight.
When ready to serve: Add the stir up the dressing; toss to combine. Top with reserved egg; sprinkle with additional sweet paprika and pepper.
If the sauce is thick, add about ½ cup of milk and stir well. 
 

Here is a special song for tonight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7LhiJaAckE

Striving everyday to serve my Master Indy better.

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White 

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Chicken-ghetti

Sometimes you just have to think out of the pantry! Study what you have and use that as a game or “prompt” to create. This is how “Chicken-ghetti” was born. By using a chicken sausage, skim milk, reduced sodium condensed soup and voila! Great taste and not un-healthy.

This is nice because there are only two pans to clean up! Cooking times are limited so you don't heat up the kitchen!

Ingredients:

1 12oz pkg. Chicken sausage w/apple

1 medium yellow onion

1 can condensed chicken soup

½ soup can of milk

1 pkg frozen broccoli – cauliflower mix (no sauce)

Angel hair or thin spaghetti

Directions:

Start the water boiling for the pasta.

Cut up the onion

Then cut the sausages on an angle.

Heat 2 tbs oil in large frying pan. When water comes to boil add the frozen vegetables. Once they return to a boil set timer for 3 minutes.

While that heats add the onions and cut sausages to the frying pan and stir occasionally. You want the onions to turn transparent and the sausages to start to brown.

When the timer goes off on the vegetables, scoop them out with large slotted spoon and place in frying pan. Add the condensed soup and ½ can of milk. Salt & pepper to taste. Stir that well and reduce to a simmer. Now put the spaghetti in the water and let boil for 5 minutes while the sauce simmers.

Serve the pasta in one bowl and the sauce in another. If you like, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over.

This surprising meal is not only quick but also a healthy alternative to the meat sauce of your grandmother.

How about some music?

Back in the day of the big bands, the jazz singers came up with nonsense words just to express the music. They called it “scat”. Surprisingly Disney found a great way to introduce this form of music to the kids and this song will live as long as kids watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_5BDzntb68

So happy today to be serving my Master Indy

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White  

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Slow Cooked Chinese Sesame Chicken

Here is another “throw in the crock meal” with a different taste. A great way to use up any left over barbecue sauce before the summer season.

It is also fairly inexpensive. Serve it with some rice or noodles and a green vegetable and you have a great meal that will beat any carry out in paper containers. By the way, did you know those were designed to unfold into a plate? Just don't try that with the fried rice. Trust slave, rice takes forever to sweep up.

This can be pulled together easy at lunch time and be ready for a good dinner. The house will smell better than any air freshener can deliver.

Ingredients

• 1 C. Maple Syrup
• ½ C. Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp. creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
• 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. Onion Powder
• ¼ C. Barbecue Sauce of Choice
• 2 ½ lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, chopped
• Sesame seeds, for garnish
  

Directions:

Wipe out the slow cooker and spray it well, cover and set to LOW.

Trim the fat off of the chicken. Any time you cook meat in a slow cooker, you want to trim as much fat off as you can. In just about every other way to cook, the fat would give flavor and tenderize. However in a cooker, that fat just melts and floats to the surface. The harm it does outweighs the good.

Cut up the chicken thighs into 1 – 1½ inch pieces.

Peel and mince the garlic.

In a large bowl whisk together the soy sauce, barbecue sauce, maple syrup, garlic, the onion powder, peanut butter, and the oil. Whisk until well blended.
Stir in the pieces of chicken and toss around with a big spoon.

Pour all this into the cooker and cover.
Let cook for about 4 hours.
To be sure the chicken is done, insert a thermometer into a piece of chicken to see if it registers 165 degrees.
Serve with a side of white rice.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

You can make this more like a sweet and sour chicken by adding diced green pepper and big chunks of pineapple during the last half hour of cooking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAXb1gnxoAg  

Great lyrics on this one.

So lucky to be serving my Master Indy

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White 

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Dump Cake

Slave admits to feeling guilty when fixing a great desert or cookies only to find many friends can not enjoy because of diabetes. Every year more strides are being made against this once deadly disease. Until then we have to modify how and what we eat. No Big Deal. Slave was asked why a “dump” type cake in the slow cooker? Well, it is an option if your oven is busy, it doesn't heat up the house or at least the kitchen, and it is part of our “Rock Around the Crock” features!

You only need a few ingredients and your slow cooker to assemble this sweet treat. I usually don't mention brand names but since this bakes, you will need a sweetener that can handle the heat. Read the labels and find one that you like and can be substituted evenly with normal sugar, or adjust according to the package directions.

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped

¼ C Splenda non sugar sweetener

1 ½ tsp cinnamon, divided

1 box yellow cake mix

½ C quick oats

1 stick butter (or substitute) sliced into ½ pieces

Directions:

Wipe out the slow cooker and spray it well!

Wash, peel, and chop the apples. Placing them in bowl under a damp paper towel to keep from turning brown as you work.

Place apples in bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle with Splenda and ½ tsp cinnamon.

Place cake mix in larger bowl. Add oats and remaining cinnamon. Mix with a fork and break apart any large lumps. Sprinkle over the apples. 

 
Place slices of butter on top.
Do Not Stir!

Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.

 

To serve: Scoop right out of cooker with a large metal serving spoon.

Some sugar-free ice milk goes well with this!

Here is a rare recording of Louie Prima:

“Angelina” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqA4IviTEwQ

So honored to be allowed to be Master Indy's slave and to serve Him

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon