How to clean a burnt slow cooker

Burnt up the bottom of your slow cooker?  Not looking forward to spending hours scrubbing it clean?  Expensive cleaning solutions not getting the food off?

Those of us who have enjoyed the wonders of slow cooking have also on occasion fallen prey to its perils, such as burnt cruddy food when we leave the cooker alone for too long.  The next time you have a burnt cooker, fill it with soap and water and cook the soap-water mix on low for several hours.  The grime disappears right away!

The after shot.  Most of the crud is gone, and it came off really easily. You can still see that this slow-cooker has gotten a lot of loving use!  To remove some stains/yellowing, repeat the process, this time with lemon water.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Yogurt

This is a grown-up version of the childhood favorite.  It kills a pb&j craving really quickly, and it's much higher in protein than the original.  You'll need:

• 1 container of yogurt of choice (I used fat free Greek)
• Peanut butter and jelly to taste (sugar free jelly is okay here!)

1. Mix everything together.
2. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Muffin Flats

I made these yummy muffin flats today when I found myself with a handful of chickpeas.  Yes, chickpeas!  These muffin flats are healthy, vegan treats, inspired by the adventures of Chocolate Covered Katie.  I didn't have quite enough chickpeas to follow a recipe, so I devised my own.  Fortunately with experimental vegan baking it's safe to taste the batter and adjust the ingredients, etc. until things seem about right.  The imprecision of this process is strangely liberating.  Try it some time!  If you fiddle around with this recipe, let me know how it goes!  To follow suit you will need:

• 1 cup of cooked chickpeas (mine had been accidentally overcooked - great for baking!)
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter, approximately (or more or less depending on how strong of a pb-taste you prefer)
• spoonful of baking powder
• 1/4-1/2 cup of flour of choice (I used whole wheat, but you could easily use oat for a g-f version)
• 1/2 cup or so of nut milk (or real milk, for a non-vegan version)
• salt, sweetener, and cinnamon to taste (I used a dash of salt and cinnamon and 5 stevia packets)
• a few drops of vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put dry ingredients and vanilla in a blender, then add nut milk until there is enough liquid in the mix for the blender to do its thing without burning up (I have a simple hand blender).
3. Blend everything until smooth.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning.  The batter should be fairly thick; if it appears too thin, add more flour, and if it's too thick, add more milk.
5. Pour into lined muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
6. Enjoy!

This recipe makes 6 muffin flats.

Moist Cake Brownies

These moist, delicious brownies just might be healthy!  Well, they're almost healthy.  They're made with black beans(!) instead of white flour, so they have more fiber and protein and fewer carbohydrates than your average brownie.  You don't taste the black beans, though, I swear!  The brownies taste like a nice rich slice of cake.  They are so easy to make!  I found this wonderful recipe on the wonderful site Chocolate and Carrots, and I made only simple changes-I used brown sugar instead of white, and less of it than in the orginal recipe, I omitted chocolate chips (I didn't have any around, but I'm sure they would have been divine sprinkled on top!), and I added instant coffee granules for espresso/mocha flavor.  To bake a batch today, you will need:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained black beans (I had freshly cooked beans ready, but a 19oz can will do)
• 1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark, but a fancy brand like Valhrona would work really well here!)
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 egg white
• 3 tablespoons of oil
• a few drops of vanilla extract
• a spoonful or so of instant coffee powder
• sweetener to taste - if you are using table sugar, use between 1/2 and 2/3 cup

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Blend all of the ingredients together.  
3. Pour into greased 8x8 pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
4. Let cool a bit, and enjoy!

The brownie stack.

The view from above.

Coffee Ice Cream BuzzBuzzBuzz

 I recently got to try the Ben & Jerry's flavor "Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz" while waiting for a flight and another chance to enjoy my membership in the Mile High Coffee Club.  The ice cream provided a nice alternative to a daily mocha.  The caffeine buzz felt fairly signficant and coffee-like, but the coffee taste was not overpowering either.  Recommended!  (Available in stores only).

Note: this is an excuse to practice food photography, not a paid or sponsored post.  :D

Real recipes return tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, for some awesome recipe that combine coffee and chocolate, check out our Easy Mocha Pudding and our Oreo Muffins!

Easy Peasy Pea Soup

There is something innately comforting about a warm bowl of split pea soup in the winter.  Split pea soup is also really easy to make in the slow-cooker.  Following is a very basic split pea soup recipe.  This is how I prefer to eat split pea soup - without ham or lots of spices. 

You will need:

• Dried green split peas
• Spices: salt, garlic, black pepper

1. Sort through and rinse your split peas, and then place them in the slow cooker.
2. Add approximately 4 parts water for every 1 part split peas.  Ensure that your cooker is filled 2/3 to 4/5 full with peas and water.
3. Cook the peas in the slow cooker until they are soft.
4. Add spices to taste.
5. Enjoy!

Chunky Peanut Butter Pudding

This pudding really tastes like a dessert, and it's very satisfying.  The pudding has a decent amount of fat from the peanuts, but it's a healthy fat, and you can control the sugar content and the sweetness with your choice of sweetener.  You will need:

• 1 container plain yogurt (I recommend fat free Greek yogurt here for the extra protein)
•  1-3 tablespoons of peanut butter of choice (I used a chunky pb), or to taste
• Vanilla, sweetener, and cinnamon (optional) to taste.

1. Stir everything together.  You can do this right in the yogurt container!
2. Enjoy!

Very rich and satisfying!

If you liked this post, check out Magic Mocha Pudding, DIY Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, and Peanut Butter Muffin Flats!