A nice, slow way to a very good crockpot roast

Every spring and fall, I check my pantry herbs and spices. Since this time of year many of them go on sale, it’s a good idea to do the “sniff” test and check which ones need replacing.

Check out my blog at Cincinnati.com (Cooking with Rita) for a video on how to buy and store dry herbs and spices. You’ll love my tip about putting an “open” date on the container.

Lottie’s easy crockpot pot roast

Lottie Hilgefort is my daughter-in-law, Jess’, sister and typical of a very busy mom. You may recognize this recipe as I’ve shared my version in the past.
After making Lottie’s today, hers is my new “go to” crockpot roast. It’s that good.

Lottie said: ” I adapted this from different recipes I liked until I came to perfection. It is so delicious and moist. I always serve with mashed potatoes, as you have lots of delicious gravy.”

3-4 lb roast (whatever looks good and is on sale)
1 envelope beefy-onion dry soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can good red wine
3 tablespoons flour
2 beef bouillon cubes

Place roast in sprayed crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Dutch apple pie jam

This would be great with a pork roast, or as a breakfast jam. And I’ll bet you could melt this with some apple cider or apple juice and make a terrific topping for ice cream and cake. Make it while apples are in season.

4 cups prepared fruit (about 1 pound Granny Smith or other tart green apples, 1/2 cup raisins and 1 1/4 cups water)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon or so cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 cups granulated sugar
1 box dry pectin

Peel, core and grind or finely chop fruit. Add raisins and water.

Measure 4 total cups into large pot. Stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice. Stir pectin into fruit. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in both sugars. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and skim off foam. Ladle quickly into sterilized, hot jelly jars and wipe rims and threads. Seal. Process in a water bath for 5 minutes. This makes the jam shelf-stable.

You can also simply cook up the jam without putting in a water bath, and store in the refrigerator up to 3 months or in the freezer up to 9 months.

Tips from readers’ kitchen

Crystal chili update. From Terry, who said the recipe died with the last surviving family member of the restaurant “a few months ago”. Terry said he makes one close to Crystal’s and I hope he’ll be willing to share it with us for Connie, who requested this heirloom favorite.

Thirty-minute veggie soup updated with kale and corn. Marsha Barker made my recipe but substituted kale (added it at the beginning of cooking time) and also some fresh corn from the cob. “Everyone raved,” she said.

Granola bar nutrition. Lois Daley made the granola bar recipe I put in the paper recently and everyone loved them, but she wanted to know if I could provide nutritional information. I don’t have software, or really, the background, to do this.

Paper bag apple pie recipe possibly not suited for some ovens. I got a call from a reader who said she’d made this in her gas oven, but when she baked the pie in her electric oven, the bag caught fire. I have made it in my electric oven with no problem, but ovens and paper varies, and I’m glad she shared this information. To be cautious, make a “bag” out of parchment paper, which is totally oven proof.

Tips from Rita’s kitchen

Homemade produce wash for apples and other hard-skinned fruit. For the reader who called and said she quit eating apples because of the pesticides, etc. on them. I know you can buy produce sprays, but try this easy one: equal amounts of clear vinegar and water in a spray bottle.

Spray apples and let sit a minute. Rinse well. The vinegar helps remove pesticides and toxins.

Can you help?

Zuppa Toscana like Olive Garden’s. Wow, our readers sure like the paper. Steve Braden took his to Chicago and called in while reading it.

“I’d like a recipe similar to Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana,” he said. Now I have one that I’ve developed, but I’d love to share yours, so please be willing to share if you’ve got a good recipe for this.

Rita Nader Heikenfeld is an herbalist, educator and author. [email protected] with “Rita’s kitchen” in the subject line. Call 513-248-7130, ext. 356.

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Crockpot / Slow Cooker with Bill & Sheila