Fixing Beans In The Crock Pot & Ham Sandwiches For Lunch
It snowed much of yesterday. But there’s not much left. It’s kind of rare that snow sticks around here for very long.
Charlie kept warm with the blankets on the couch. Oh, how these babies love their blankets piled up where they can nestle.
Ivy was fascinated by the falling snow. I guess she thought the higher she got the more she could ascertain where the white flakes were coming from.
Silly girl. I sat here and watched her turning her head this way and that in wonder.
I am cooking pinto beans in the crock pot today. Seemed like a good day to cook a hot and hearty meal. I diced up garlic and onion, then added chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper.
Tonight I will have a steaming bowl of flavorful beans with hot cornbread. I’ll save some for burritos. And I’ll probably freeze some for another day in individual baggies. I eat a lot of beans!
Lately for lunch I’ve been fixing a sandwich made up of thin slices of ham and cheese along with tomato and onion slices. Delicious!
I’m thinking about getting a roast and cooking it in the crock pot. Then I can have a meal of it with potatoes and carrots.
And after that I will have roast beef sandwiches and then stew. I love stew this time of year.
Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe for pot roast?
I love cooking while my dog Henry is around! Wonderful writing. I especially love the ham, tomato, and onion sandwiches!
I love slow cooking a pot roast in the dutch oven on top of the stove. I paint the outside of the roast with gravy master and then sear it in a little hot olive oil in the dutch oven. When done searing add onions (I can’t because my husband is allergic to them) and garlic if desired and cover the whole roast with red wine (box wine is fine) and simmer on low 5 – 6 hours. About an hour before finishing I add carrots and potatoes so they will cook in the wine broth. Do not add any water or broth. Delicious! I would imagine you could “roast” this in the oven on low as well.
We always end up making vegetable beef soup rather than a pot roast, because we keep adding vegetables and then decide we want some broth, and next thing you know, it is a soup. To be good, this soup has to have cabbage in it. I also like to cook pork with cabbage. As for bean soup, I’ve always lived in the Ohio River Valley, on the southern Ohio side or Kentucky side, with a year in West Virginia too, so, it’s a given that bean soup will be on the weekly menu in this part of the country! I grew up eating mostly pinto beans or navy beans, but by adulthood I learned about black beans, lentils and split peas. The cornbread of my childhood did not have sugar in it. I didn’t learn about putting sugar in cornbread until I was in my early 50’s, and one of my children gave me a cookbook called Cornbread: A Love Story, by Jeremy Jackson. It’s a great little book with many cornbread recipes and I do like some of the ones that include a sweetener. I always use an old time Warner iron skillet for cornbread, either baking it in the oven or making fried little pancake shapes. If you can get your hands on an old time Warner or Griswold iron skillet for making cornbread, you will be a happy soul.
I don’t have a stove to put a skillet on. But I do add just a bit of sugar to my cornbread.
Nothin’ better than a pot of beans cooking away. My mother (93) prefers making hers from dried beans since that’s how they ALWAYS did it. My sister and I actually prefer the canned one’s but we still use a slow cooker for 6-8 hours depending on when we remember to put the damn thing in. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!! My husband won’t eat (bless his heart, he grew up in the north east) them so I make a batch just for me… and cornbread, ALWAYS cornbread!
One thing the teacher showed us in High School Home Ec was to cut little slits in a roast or thick steak, either to bake or cook on stovetop, and cut a couple of garlic cloves into little slivers and insert in those holes…oh my did that make it taste good…then to sear in a pan first too, of course, to seal in moisture and make a nice dripping if gravy is desired later…really don’t need much else if using good meat. I find grassfed meat to taste far superior to any other (corn doesn’t add to good meat taste to us, and if not grassfed, most cows are fed corn a lot…)
I love slow-cooked beans, especially when cooked with a ham bone or bacon for flavor. And definitely served with cornbread. My mom is from KY and used to make things like this when we were growing up. The southern cornbread is very different from the cornbread we eat here in the north. In the south, it’s a sin to put sugar or honey in your cornbread recipe. They consider that cake! Here in the north, you will find most cornbread recipes have a little bit of sugar or honey in them.
I like making meals in the Crockpot that will get us through a few meals. One of my simple favorites is to throw either boneless chicken breasts or thighs in the pot, sprinkle with some oregano, chili powder and cumin, then smother in red or green salsa. Shred when done. You can serve over rice or quinoa, in a tortilla, or even chilled over a salad.
I have a few good pot roast recipes pinned on my Pinterest page under Slow Cooker if you’re interested. None of them use canned soup or mixes, which are loaded with sodium and artificial ingredients.
Hi Melanie…. My family goes back in KY for generations. My grandmother owned restaurants… my mom is 93. I do remember having the sugar in or out of cornbread being a bit of a touchy subject. The purist in the family liked NO sugar, while some of the younger prefer a bit of sweetness… there always seemed to be an ongoing debate. I think I do remember that kids taste buds develop over time and that’s why they like a bit of sweet in food. I wished I had studied food history to learn about these things that pop up.
I think as we age, cooking some extra so we have leftovers, is simply grand…we also don’t care if it is leftover…sometimes frozen for a time, sometimes not… Tonight we are having some meatloaf and baked potatoes (eating with a bit of Miyoko’s butter and a bit of dairyfree ranch dressing on top)…and maybe some swiss chard…just recently learned to make a simple recipe of swiss chard (rainbow kind)…and it is the yummiest green I ever had I think. I want to try out your beans cooked in crock pot…that sounds great!!
Your Ivy is a silly girl…glad you have some laughter brought by her…our dogs always made us laugh…intentionally at times I think!!
I love crockpot pot roast. I brown the meat first, then lay it on top of some combination of onions/carrots/potatoes/parsnips/mushrooms. A can of Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup and some water – I like a lot of gravy. lol Black pepper. The soup has a lot of salt, so I taste at the end to see if it needs more. Even with a small roast, it’s a lot for one person. I freeze at least a couple portions. The veggies might get a bit mushy, but I don’t care.
This is the time of year I do a lot of crock pot cooking and oven use for casseroles. It warms the kitchen, which tends to be cooler than the rest of the rooms in the house, maybe because of the patio sliding door in the eating area , and fills the house with delicious aromas. I like the convenience of cooking enough for a few servings and freezing the rest to enjoy down the road. I’m with Charlie – I love me my blankets during this season to be able to wrap myself up and snuggle into the sofa cushions. Older bones and thin skin want warmth and comfort. Ham and cheese sandwiches are my favorite, I have one every morning slathered with yellow mustard to get my daily dose of turmeric. I wouldn’t have thought of ever eating a ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast until I travelled to Amsterdam some years ago and the morning breakfast buffet the hotel put out included warm thinly sliced hams, different types of cheeses and breads with butter, different types of cereals, muesli, and hard boiled eggs. Loved it! Ivy is a hoot – that photo of her stretching upward looking at the sky filled with falling snow is priceless.
I’m reading a novel about characters in Amsterdam and they talk in detail about the unusual breakfast foods there.
I love a pot of navy beans and ham hocks! A good roast is my favorite dinner and leftover hot roast beef sandwiches and gravy— yum yum. We are facing another power outage today due to winds today and tomorrow. This will be our 4th since Thanksgiving Day. I already went and bought dry ice for my frig so just maybe I have prevented it!!
I hope you enjoyed your Sunday snow day snuggled up with your fur babies in your cozy home.
I, too enjoy pinto beans with warm cornbread – YUM! I can’t remember the last time I made a a pot of pinto beans much less a pan of corn bread. Think it’s time to add this to my grocery list.
My crock pot gets a work out this time of year as I really enjoying making a variety of things. I especially enjoy making taco soup; beef, vegetable and barley soup; Hungarian goulash (recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook) served over noodles or any pasta; a pork roast with lots of onions cooked in a little water to shred and make burritos – just a handful of ideas. Thank you for letting me share.
I like to cook a chuck roast in the crockpot. You can brown it first or just put it in the crockpot, then add a can of cream of mushroom or any cream soup you like, add a packet of onion soup mix and then I like to add beef broth you can add vegetables and potatoes if you like. Cook for 8-9 hrs on low .
We love Mississippi Roast from Pinterest. However, I had to leave out the Au jus as it’s too salty. We just add the Ranch mix, pepperoncinis, and butter. It also makes good sandwiches with the leftovers and provolone cheese.
Happy Holidays, Brenda. 🎄
Your pinto beans sound yummy….I can almost smell them cooking.😊 I love most any type of bean. Have you tried Mississippi Pot Roast? We all love that, and left overs make great sandwiches, and it freezes well also. Have a wonderful week.
Ivy will be happy that you are going to make cornbread!
You’re so right! She will.