Guinness Glazed Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Guinness Glazed Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Beef Crockpot Food Low-carb Main Course Recipe Slow Cooker St Patricks Day The Best of Closet Cooking 2013

Unknown 05:00 Add Comment

With St Patrick's Day coming up I have been planning my menu and the main course almost always has to be corned beef; it's just so easy to make, it's always tasty and there there are so many different ways to make it! A slow cooker or crock-pot makes cooking corned beef a sinch, you simply put the corned beef into the slow cooker in the morning and then at night you pull it out and it's ready to go. Of course you can change things up by changing what else goes into the slow cooker with the corned beef like the liquid that it is cooked in. Sure you could just use water, but why not add some flavour by using another liquid? This year I was dead set to combine another St Pat's Day favourite, Guinness, an Irish stout, with my corned beef and the first step was to cook the corned beef in Guinness in the slow cooker to infuse it with it's flavour throughout the day long slow cooking. I certainly couldn't let all of that Guinness go to waste after the corned beef was done cooking in it, I mean not only was it Guinness but now there was also all of those tasty corned beef juices mixed in! The solution was easy and while I let the corned beef rest before slicing into it I turned the Guinness and corned beef juices into a tasty glaze by adding some brown sugar, grainy mustard and Worcestershire sauce and then simmering to reduce and thicken it into a glaze. Once the glaze was ready, finishing the corned beef is as easy as removing the layer of fat, glazing and then baking until the glaze is a bubbling and caramelizing and good! With this Guinness glazed slow cooker corned beef, this years St Patrick's Day is going to be one of the tastiest yet!

Feel free to throw your veggies into the slow cooker to cook with the corned beef but if you would prefer that they not taste like Guinness you can make them separately, which is the way I went.

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Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Food Gluten-free Main Course Pasta Pizza Recipe The Best of Closet Cooking 2013

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When I know that I am going to have a busy week coming up I like to try to make one or two big meals on the weekend that are guaranteed to leave enough leftovers for a second quick meal during the week and casseroles are a great way to accomplish this. One of my favourite casseroles is a pizza casserole, I mean you really cannot go wrong with an ooey gooey melted cheesy casserole with all of the flavours of a pizza! This pizza casserole is a pasta based casserole with pizza sauce or marinara sauce, a cheese mixture of mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan along with your favourite pizza toppings. I often like a nice simple pepperoni, sausage and olive topping in my pizza casserole but you could use any pizza topping combination that you can think of and don't be afraid to change the pizza sauce up with a different kind of pizza sauce. No matter how you top it, this pizza casserole is going to be tasty!

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust (with BBQ Chicken Pizza)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust (with BBQ Chicken Pizza)

6 Ingredients Cauliflower Chicken Food Main Course Pizza Recipe The Best of Closet Cooking 2013

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I have been wanting to try making a pizza with a cauliflower crust ever since I came across the idea on Recipe Girl; I mean what's not to like about a cauliflower crust for a pizza? I actually got a chance to try a cauliflower crust a couple of months ago but I ran into a problem, the crust stuck so badly to the parchment paper that I could't get it off. What bits that I could get off tasted great though so I was determined to get it right! After hours of going through comments on various cauliflower pizza crust recipes the secret seems to be that you need to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible from the cooked cauliflower before baking it. As sometimes happens this project fell through the cracks and I forgot about it until the holidays when I picked up a silicon baking mat and it practically had the cauliflower crusts name written on it. I tried the recipe again, this time squeezing out the excess liquid and using the silicon baking mat, and the crust came out beautifully and just as tasty as expected! This crust is seriously good! I could easily eat the crust all by itself as a snack or maybe with a dipping sauce not to mention all of the tasty pizza topping options!

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Shrimp Etouffee

Shrimp Etouffee

Cajun and Creole Crockpot Food Low-carb Main Course Recipe Seafood Shrimp Slow Cooker Stew The Best of Closet Cooking 2013

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It is hard to talk about cajun and creole cuisine without mentioning etouffee and with good reason given how easy it is to make and how tasty it is! Etouffee is a thick stew that is made with a roux that is cooked until deep brown to ensure that it is full of flavour. The meat in etouffee is typically shellfish with crawfish and shrimp being two good choices and it is generally served over rice. The key to a good etouffee is definitely the roux and you want to cook the butter and flour for a good long time until it turns a deep golden brown before adding the veggies. Once the roux is done the rest of the recipe is nice and easy and absolutely worth the effort to make!

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French Onion Soup Dip

French Onion Soup Dip

Appetizer Dip Food Gluten-free Recipe The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 Vegetable Vegetarian

Unknown 14:56 Add Comment

With the big game coming up I have been going over my parties menu and reviewing my favourite recipes including the hot caramelized onion dip which I wanted to add but I thought I would do something a little different this time. Although I am totally addicted to hot melted cheese dips, I wanted some variety so I decided to do a room temperature version inspired by the flavours of French onion soup. At the base of French onion soup is of course the caramelized onions and that means spending some time caramelizing the onions. To slowly caramelize the onions at a low temperature can take more than 3 hours but you can also do it at a higher temperature but it requires more hands on time as you have to stir the onions every couple of minutes. When you caramelize the onions at a higher temperature brown bits build up on the bottom of you pan and since you do not want them to burn it is a good idea to deglaze the pan frequently. Though I normally just use water to deglaze the pan this time I used wine and beef stock since they form the broth of French onion soup. Up next is a bit of garlic and thyme to finish off the onions. The base of the dip is made with sour cream and mayonnaise with a hit of lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and gruyere for flavour. French onion soup is typically topped with toast, covered in cheese and then baked until the cheese is all melted and good and I incorporated that aspect into the French onion soup dip by serving it with crostini covered in melted gruyere.

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Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Dip

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Dip

Appetizer Cauliflower Crockpot Dip Food Gluten-free Low-carb Mushroom Recipe Slow Cooker The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 Vegetable Vegetarian

Unknown 16:47 Add Comment

I have really been into cauliflower lately and in particular I have been enjoying a lot of bowls of the roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup which have been keeping me warm on these cold winter days. With the big game coming up I have had snacks on my mind a lot and one of my favourite snacks for for any kind of party has to be hot melted cheese dips like the spinach and artichoke dip. The other day while I was enjoying a bowl of the roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup I was thinking about dips and I had a crazy idea, why not combine the two ideas and make a hot melted cheesy cauliflower dip? The recipe for the dip is pretty easy, you just need to roast the cauliflower, puree it, mix in the cheese and then bake it until the cheese is all melted, bubbling and golden brown. I have to say that this dip is another reason to love cauliflower!

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Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Appetizer Cauliflower Food Gluten-free Recipe The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 Vegetable Vegetarian

Unknown 14:55 Add Comment

If you are a fan of buffalo chicken wings and you like cauliflower then you just have to try this buffalo roasted cauliflower! Roasted cauliflower has to be one of the most addictive healthy snacks around and it only gets better when coated in buffalo hot sauce! This spicy treat would be a perfect option for a lighter and healthier snack for your party for the big game! Not only does it taste great but it is as easy to make as roasting the cauliflower and tossing it in the buffalo hot sauce so you can be licking your fingers clean in as little as 30 minutes! Just like buffalo chicken wing, this buffalo roasted cauliflower goes great with a tangy blue cheese sauce for dipping and some crunchy celery sticks to help tame the heat!

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