We have had several requests in the past few weeks for slow-cooker dishes. The weather still is cool and the warm food is good when you come in from the rain.

Slow cookers also are convenient for people who are trying to get their yards ready for summer, their gardens planted and flowers in the ground. They would like to have some time to enjoy the sun, which will be here sooner or later, as I keep saying. People along the Mississippi also have been waiting for the big river to get low enough so they can put their boats in.

So, try a couple of slow and easy meals this week while you get ready for summer.

Company pork chops

Serves 8

You won’t find an easier or more delicious dinner. It is elegant, and one of those meals you can put into the pot and walk away. Add a salad and your work is done.

8 to 10 thin pork chops or loins

2 cans french onion soup

1 can beef broth

1 envelope onion soup mix

2 small onions, sliced

White rice

Add the french onion soup, beef broth, and dry soup to the slow cooker. Brown the pork chops until brown on both sides. Saute the onions. Add to the cooker. Cover and simmer for 6 to 7 hours. Serve over white rice.

Slow-cooker Tex-Mex chicken

Servings: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 6 hours, 15 minutes

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch-wide strips

2 tablespoons (1/2 of a 1 1/4-ounce taco seasoning mix package – shake package before measuring)

2 tablespoons flour

1 green and 1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch-wide strips

1 cup frozen corn

1 1/2 cups chunky salsa

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese

Serve over hot cooked rice topped with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

Slow-cooker saucy meatballs

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 8 hours, 25 minutes

Makes: 8 servings

1 (6-ounce) package of stove-top dressing for turkey

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup water

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

2 green peppers, cut into strips

4 cups spaghetti sauce

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked spaghetti

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine stuffing mix, meat, egg and water. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place in slow cooker; top with vegetables and sauce.

Cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or on high 3 to 4 hours. Cook spaghetti as directed on package. Serve meatballs with sauce over spaghetti. Sprinkle with cheese.

Note: Make your slow-cooker preparation even faster: Shape the meatballs and cut-up vegetables the night before. Refrigerate until ready to add to the slow cooker. Top with spaghetti sauce and cook as directed.

Fruit and ham loaf

3/4 cup fruit bits, dried

2 tablespoons apple butter

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound ground cooked ham

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons apple juice

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

In a small bowl, combine fruit bits and apple butter. In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, graham cracker crumbs, pepper, ground ham and ground pork. Crisscross 3 foil sheets atop a sheet of waxed paper to keep counter clean. In center of foil sheets, pat half of the meat mixture into a 7-inch circle. Spread fruit mixture on meat circle to within 1 inch of edges. Top with remaining meat mixture. Press edges of meat to seal well. Bring up foil strips, lift and transfer to any size slow cooker. Press meat away from sides of slow cooker to avoid excess browning. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. Loaf is done when meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, apple juice, and dry mustard. Spread over meat. Cover and cook on low or high heat for 30 minutes more.

Using foil strips, lift ham loaf from slow cooker and transfer to serving plate; discard foil and serve.

Slow-cooker spare ribs

Ready in 8 hours, 15 minutes

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed tomato soup

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 pounds pork spare ribs

1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

1/4 cup cold water (optional)

Place ribs in a large stockpot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, mix together soup, onion, garlic, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. Remove ribs from water, and transfer to a slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs.

Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.

If sauce is too thin when cooking time is done, drain sauce from ribs and pour into a saucepan. Combine 1 teaspoon cornstarch with a small amount of cold water, stir into sauce, and bring sauce to boil. Cook until sauce has reached desired thickness.

Slow-cooker beef stew

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 7 hours

Makes: 12 servings

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup baby carrots

4 large potatoes, cubed

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups boiling water

1 (1-ounce) package dry onion soup mix

3 tablespoons butter

3 onions, sliced

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup warm water

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Place meat in a large plastic bag. Combine 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour into the bag with the meat, shake to coat.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper. In a small bowl, stir 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.

In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened; put into the slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.

Cover, and cook on high for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork-tender. In a small bowl or cup, mix 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water. Stir into stew, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.

Chili-cheese dog crescent casserole

Here’s a quick meal, ready in 30 minutes. If you like chili dogs, you’ll love this.

Makes: 6

2 cans (15 ounces) chili with beans

8 hot dogs, sliced

1 1/2 cups shredded American cheese

1 can (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 tablespoon sesame seed

In 2-quart saucepan, mix chili and hot dogs. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Spoon chili mixture into ungreased 13-by-9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish; sprinkle with cheese. Separate or cut dough into 4 long rectangles (if using crescent rolls, press perforations to seal). Place on top of chili mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seed. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Pot of beans

I was raised on beans – pinto beans. I grew up in New Mexico, right next to the Mexican border, where most everything we ate was highly spiced with the flavor of Mexico. I still love the hot and spicy, as do my children and their families, because that’s what they ate growing up.

We did not have much money, just as the Great Depression was coming to an end, and beans were cheap. We ate a lot of bean meals, but we never tired of them, because my mom was very creative.

The most common meal was pinto beans, fried potatoes, and cornbread, and that meal never was served without fresh onions.

My dad prided himself on his garden, consisting mainly of green onions, radishes and fresh lettuce. Sometimes we had some fried okra with the beans, and that was a real treat. We had fresh sliced tomatoes when they were ripe, and enchiladas with chili and beans.

My favorite now are the small navy beans, cooked about the same way, without the chiles.

Some kind of pork is essential in beans, at least it makes them taste a lot better. Bacon or a good leftover ham bone (with plenty of meat on it), a hunk of salt pork – all will do nicely. Some people use ham hocks, but I do not. I am not even sure what part of the pig they are, but I never liked them.

Salt pork is a thick fatty bacon that has been preserved in salt. It was popular when there was no ice available. It is usually cheaper than bacon or ham.

If you want to make a pot of New Mexico beans, you will need:

2 tablespoons bacon grease or oil (unless you are using bacon)

Pork (ham bone, bacon, or salt pork)

A sliced onion

A pound or so of dried beans

Salt and pepper to taste

About 10 cups of water

A clove or 2 of garlic, minced, or garlic powder

Hot sauce or chili peppers to suit your taste (if you are cooking pintos; for white beans, I don’t use the hot sauce or peppers.)

If you are using bacon or salt pork, saute it with the onions. If you are using a ham bone, just dump it into the water with the other ingredients. Put everything in a large slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or less, or about 6 hours on low. All cookers are different, so just cook them until the meat is falling off the bone and fork-tender, and the beans are soft and creamy. No one likes hard beans. Try to avoid taking the lid off except to check, occasionally, that there still is plenty of water.

Tip of the week

Every time you lift the lid of your slow cooker, precious heat is lost. So, keep the lid on and resist the urge to peek.

Readers corner

I asked for your help last week in finding a good loose-meat sandwich, similar to a Made-Rite, for reader Kate Berry. I believe we have found one.

Tampico reader Dave Beck sent one this week. He said he found the recipe in one of his 1980s cookbooks; it is called "spoon burgers."


Spoon burgers

Makes 16 burgers

2 pounds ground beef                                           

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped green peppers           

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper                                      

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups of water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce                

1/4 cup prepared mustard                           

1 1/2 cups ketchup

16 hamburger buns

Brown ground beef in skillet, stirring until crumbly. Add onion, green pepper, salt and pepper. Cook until onion and green peppers are tender, but not brown. Add flour, mix well. Add 2 1/2 cups water, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and ketchup. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve on buns.

Thanks, Dave. Kate, let us know how this turns out.

Kate still is looking for a recipe for the "Brady," a barbecue sandwich that was sold years ago in a Dixon restaurant, across from the high school.

Thanks,
Grace