Crockpot Corn on the Cob

I will give a disclaimer:  This is nothing fancy at all.  I don't know if I would even call it a "recipe". But I wanted to share because apparently it is good stuff.

Another disclaimer:  I do not eat cooked corn. I like corn in corn dip but beyond that, I just don't. I try it periodically because it looks good to me. But it doesn't taste good (to me).  However, the people in my family who DO eat corn have loved it this way.  Thus, I am sharing.

Ingredients:
Corn on the cob, husk removed and corn washed (I break mine in half to make it easier to eat, per hubby's request)

Melted butter (2-3 Tbsp)

Salt and pepper (I use sea salt and freshly ground peppercorns)

Directions:
After cleaning the corn, rub with melted butter.

Salt and pepper the corn cob.

Wrap in aluminum foil.

Place in a crockpot (no water added) on low for about 4 hours.

Enjoy!

Like I said, simple but apparently really tasty!

Reba

Sweet Potato Chips

The potatoes, sliced and ready to bake
The end result before I ate them up. All of them. :)

Yes, this is the recipe. The recipe I was attempting a couple of weeks ago when I sliced my thumb on the mandolin I was trying for the first time.

And while I was upset I was hurt, I was even more upset that I had to throw out the sweet potato slices I had cut.

I wanted these chips.

I REALLY wanted them.

They just appealed to all of my senses.

The funny thing is I didn't give sweet potatoes the time of day until the past few years.

And even now, I love sweet potato fries or chips. But I don't want anything sweet with them. I want them salty.

So this recipe (found on Pinterest) was PERFECT for me.

But first I had to buy myself a little safety net.
I started with just one sweet potato to make sure I liked them.

I did.

I now have about three more to cut and cook this week.

EASY recipe and yummy. Well, if you like salty sweet potatoes. :)

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes, thinly sliced (I used my mandolin)
salt
peppercorn (freshly ground)
olive oil (I just used an oil mister)

Directions:
Slice the sweet potatoes

Spread out on a cookie sheet. I think the original recipe suggested a silicone baking mat. I didn't have that. AND I was out of parchment paper which would have been my next choice. So I used aluminum foil.

Spritz with olive oil.

Season liberally with sea salt (freshly ground) and peppercorn (freshly ground).

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Take out and flip. Spritz and season the other side of the chips.

Then bake for another 13 minutes.

Turn off the oven and leave to crisp up.

I didn't follow the time exactly...I got nervous that they would burn. So I turned the oven off a few minutes early.

Mine didn't completely crisp up.

But that didn't stop me from eating all of them.

Yum.

Oh, a friend suggested sprinkling with Parmesan cheese...I imagine that would be pretty tasty too!

Reba

Basic White Sauce

Not long ago, I posted a recipe for spicy bacon wrapped shrimp. I think I mentioned then that we eat potatoes in white sauce with them...it helps tone down the "spicy" part.

Here is the recipe for the basic white sauce; this recipe came from my mom. It is easy and quick...

Basic White Sauce
3 tbsp margarine, melted
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 1/2 cups milk

Stir ingredients together. I just stir them in a large glass measuring cup.

Microwave in 1 minute intervals. After a minute, whisk, then return to microwave. Continue until sauce has thickened.

The first three or four minutes it will still be very runny. You will think it will never thicken. It does. I promise. And it really doesn't take that long.

I cheat on the potatoes. I use canned new potatoes...the sliced are the best. (In the picture, I used whole that I cut apart) I microwave them for a few minutes then pour the sauce over them.

This sauce can be used with other vegetables too.

Very easy. Very quick. And yummy. My favorite combination!

Happy cooking!
Reba

Green Bean Bundles

Ask me at any point what my least favorite vegetable is. It is a toss up between okra and green beans. The thought of both turns my stomach. Ick.

However, one night a friend (I think it was my friend Tara) brought some green beans to a church social...green bean bundles. I can't say that I eat them still. However, I can tolerate the smell, and they ALMOST look good to me. They look very good to my husband, so that is why I make them on occasion. They also work well for a potluck.

Green Bean Bundles
2 cans whole green beans
1 package bacon
1/2cup brown sugar
3/4 stick of butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of pepper

Cut the bacon in half (vertically)

Wrap one half a slice of bacon around five or six green beans (thus the "bundle).

Lay in a glass baking dish.

Melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, the garlic powder, and the dash of pepper.

Pour over the top of the green bean bundles.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

These can easily be made ahead, though if possible, I wouldn't pour the butter mixture until you are ready to cook them, though I have done it the other way too.

So far my hubby is the only one who will touch them.

But with most people (who eat veggies), they are quite popular.

I have seen other recipes that are similar or involve putting bacon on top of the beans but this is definitely my husband's preferred recipe.

Oh, since only one in our family eats them, I often halve the recipe. :)

Enjoy!

Happy cooking!
Reba