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| Cooking outdoors with my slow cooker. |
The recipe was simple and required few ingredients.
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| 1 cup of brown rice and 2 cups of "tomato water." |
Tomato water is what I call the water I save from defrosting frozen tomatoes for canning. Because I'm cooking them down to make pizza sauce, I drain the tomatoes to save cooking time. My frugal genes won't let me throw that tomato water away, so I save it for making rice, gravy, or soup.
After the rice was started, I heated up some frozen meatballs to add.
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| Slow cooker is set on high. |
Rice and meatballs don't have the same slow-cooker cooking time, so the meatballs needed to be cooked before adding. After that, I could just forget about it until it was time to eat.
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| Total cooking time was a little over 2 and a half hours. |
I served it with a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden and my ricotta ranch salad dressing. We had homegrown watermelon for dessert. It's nice to have a simple meal after a busy day.
Outdoor Cooking: Rice and Meatballs © Sept 2020
So simple, and looks so delicious! Home grown watermelon!! I can only dream of doing that!
ReplyDeleteWith this brutally hot summer we have had, (pretty much over now, thankfully), I set up a kitchen on our big, screened in porch, and cooked out there to keep the heat out of the house. I have two dehydrators out there now, which are going steadily...its apple time!
A cook after my own heart. I save water from steaming vegetables for soup, whey from making yogurt cheese, too.
ReplyDeleteRosalea, isn't a screened porch a blessing? I wish my back porch kitchen was screened instead of just screened windows. It's harder to keep the heat out that way, which is why the slow cooker and dehydrator end up on the outside backporch!
ReplyDeleteBoud, me too! As a last resort, I use these saved waters for watering plants. But most of the time they end up being used for cooking something else. :)
Love your frugality! What a great way to make comfort food. I use the garage for my crock pot station when I make bone broth. Works like a charm!
ReplyDeleteDaisy, garage is another good idea for outdoor cooking. Makes me wish we had electricity in our carport!
ReplyDeleteSlow cooking outside. Why didn't I think of that.
ReplyDeleteRT, well, I have to confess that it was something of a "why didn't I think of this before" epiphanies, lol. Every little bit helps.
ReplyDeleteLiving I a small 800 square ft house I also use my back deck it's only 6x6 but it fits a table and small plastic storage closet. I use a counter top convection oven a small grill and my instant pot and don't turn on my inside oven from May until end of September. It really helps keep the house cooler.
ReplyDeleteI've done cooking outside in the summer to prevent heating up the house but I'm not sure why I never thought to let my tomatoes drain a bit after removing the skins to save cooking down time.
ReplyDeleteNan, sounds like a really good set-up. I hadn't thought of a countertop convection oven; I keep my toaster oven on the back porch though. Porch cooking definitely helps keep the house cooler.
ReplyDeleteEd, you're usually the one passing good ideas on to me, glad I have one to share back!
Is that some of your home grown rice?
ReplyDeleteJo, it didn't make it. Too hot for too long with no rain. The upland rice doesn't need flooding, but it still needs moisture. Plus, I think my seed was largely immature and likely had poor germination. This is a project I'll have to start all over again.
ReplyDeleteCooking hot stuff outside in the heat. That right there is genius!
ReplyDeleteI'll send our hungry bears right over. No, wait! I'M coming over for that scrumptious looking meal! I love rice and my husband loves meatballs. :o)
ReplyDeleteTB, when you put it like that, it almost sounds a little crazy, lol. Maybe I should forego the cooking and just serve salads!
ReplyDeleteMama Pea, it's a tasty combination. :)
The old saying "waste not want not" comes to mind when I saw your tomato water. It looks like a great meal and so much from your own garden. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAnother great idea, Leigh! That never even crossed my mind! Wish I would have done that last week with the pork roast we did in the crock! Great to keep that heat outside! We are headed for some cooler temps...of which I am ready! Looking forward to the garden slowing down. How about you? Have a terrific holiday weekend!
ReplyDeleteSam, yes! That's it! Waste nothing!
ReplyDeleteWyomingheart, I wish I'd thought of it sooner as well, because I like to use my slow cooker a lot. I have a large one that I use to cook down my tomato sauce, although I usually do pizza sauce in winter.
It's funny, but Sept. 1st seemed to bring an abrupt halt to the intensity of picking and preserving, as though everything knew that was quitting date. I'm working on a blog post for the garden right now. Such a relief to have the never-ending busyness of July and August behind now. I'm glad for the change of pace.
Delicious and healthy! I like that idea of using the tomato water.
ReplyDeleteM.K. I have a hard time throwing out any cooking water, even for pasta! That's especially when I miss having pigs.
ReplyDeleteLooks yummy. Although, we've got snow for the next two days...brr! I made a pot of veggie soup (with frozen veggies from the freezer). It was yummy.
ReplyDeleteSnow! And here I am trying to keep the heat out of the house, lol. Renee, no outdoor cooking for you. Soup sounds perfect though.
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