# Salvaging My Dinner



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

I don't normally visit this part of HT because I'm a terrible cook, but I was hoping somebody can help me salvage the mess I made in my crock pot last night. What can I add to make it edible? I ate some for lunch today and it tastes very bland and not very good at all. Here is what I added to the crock pot last night. :help:

1. Pork loins

2. Carrots

3. Celery

4. Beans (butter beans, great northern, navy)

5. Cabbage

6. Salt & Pepper

7. Beef Broth


Any suggestions??????


Farmer Dave


----------



## katheh (Jul 21, 2012)

Put in some soy sauce, some hot pepper flake or tabasco, and a can of mandarin oranges with the juice. Allow to cook for another couple hours to meld together. If you have any garlic and ginger, put that in, too.

If you want thicker liquid, gravy-ish, stir in a mashed-up potato. Or cook up some rice and add it in, it will absorb some of that juice.


----------



## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Well...
You could add diced tomatoes and some tomato juice/V-8 and turn it into a soup.
I would go for thyme and a bit of salt too.
With the beans in it, it could almost be pasta fagioli or something..


----------



## momagoat61 (Mar 30, 2008)

Well Farmer Dave I think if you would have put a cut up whole onion in it your would have had some fine eaten there:


----------



## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

To me, everything that comes out of the crock pot tastes bland. I always have to add extra seasoning when I use the crock pot.

I would add onion, tomatoes, garlic and worcestershire sauce. Maybe a pinch of sugar.


----------



## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

It should be fine with what you have. Maybe add more salt and pepper, and some sage.


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

I was planning on adding an onion but forgot. I have zapped an onion in the microwave and added it to the crock pot fiasco along with garlic powder (love garlic), red pepper flakes and a little thyme. I'm letting it cook in for an hour or so and give it another try tonight.

I guess I'll keep adding seasonings until the taste is bearable. Thanks for everybody's input.


----------



## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

You're definitely missing the seasonings. Hopefully what you added will help!


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Farmer Dave said:


> I was planning on adding an onion but forgot. I have zapped an onion in the microwave and added it to the crock pot fiasco along with garlic powder (love garlic), red pepper flakes and a little thyme. I'm letting it cook in for an hour or so and give it another try tonight.
> 
> I guess I'll keep adding seasonings until the taste is bearable. Thanks for everybody's input.


I would have sauteed the onion with a couple tablespoons of mince garlic, and tossed in a teaspoon of crushed red pepper.... but it sounds like you may end up with something palatable the way you did it. good luck!


----------



## joshp (Aug 9, 2007)

For future reference... when cooking pork loin try adding 10 whole peppercorns, 10 whole allspice berries and 2 or 3 bay leaves for your seasonings. It does amazing things to a pork roast.

Mrs. Josh


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

I just had two bowls of the concoction and it does taste better than it did. I also added three bay leaves in the last round. My problem is I never know what kind of seasonings to use. I still need to add a little more garlic I believe, other than that I think I can live with the taste.

Thanks to everybody for your help.


----------



## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

Get yourself some Mrs. Dash seasoning blend. It works on pretty much everything and contains a variety of spices such as onion, garlic & pepper. Next time you cook meat in the crockpot, sprinkle the meat liberally with the Mrs. Dash and rub the spice in. Throw in whatever veggies you want, then dump a couple cans of broth on top. Let 'er rip!


----------



## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

I find that if you pan sear meats and brown onions and garlic before putting into the crockpot, you get more flavor.


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

Thanks for all the great tips!


----------



## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

What I probably would have done with those ingredients:

1. Pork loins - I'm not sure exactly how the meat was cut (chops, chunks, whole loin??) but I'd probably have cooked a little bacon, removed it then put the pork into the pan to sear. 

2. Carrots 3. Celery - saute in the same pan along with onion and garlic. This is called mirepoix and is a common mixture for many dishes. Put in with the meat in the crock.

4. Beans (butter beans, great northern, navy) - add them in (hopefully they were already cooked)

5. Cabbage - I would have sauteed this later in a little butter with a sliced onion, salt and pepper to serve on the side.

6. Salt & Pepper - in both the crock and the cabbage

7. Beef Broth - good addition

Then I would have added some tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, the bacon and bay leaves. I'd serve it as a stew or a main dish over/aside the cabbage.


----------



## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

With pork or chicken you can always add a little rosemary.

Sounds like you may need to get yourself a little herb garden going!

Mon


----------



## Txsteader (Aug 22, 2005)

lathermaker said:


> Get yourself some Mrs. Dash seasoning blend. It works on pretty much everything and contains a variety of spices such as onion, garlic & pepper. Next time you cook meat in the crockpot, sprinkle the meat liberally with the Mrs. Dash and rub the spice in. Throw in whatever veggies you want, then dump a couple cans of broth on top. Let 'er rip!


I couldn't believe the selection of Mrs. Dash blends when I had to replace my bottle of Original. Oh my gosh, the Southwest Chipotle and Tomato/Basil/Garlic are awesome!


----------



## Txsteader (Aug 22, 2005)

FarmerDave, in case you didn't this time, next time you might brown the pork loin on all sides in a bit of oil first. That always adds extra flavor. And if you're able to plan ahead, you could marinate the loin in a brine or even Worcestershire sauce for a few hours before cooking.


----------



## DarleneJ (Jan 29, 2012)

We add horseradish to a lot of our dishes, sometimes once we have dished them up - 1/2 tsp at a time and mix well. Sometimes right to the pot. When horseradish cooks it adds flavor but seems to lose its "heat." Add more to taste. Catsup never seems to hurt. Sour cream or heavy cream often is good. I use Italian Seasonings a lot. Sprinkle cheese on top. Oh, sometimes we've added those crunchy chinese noodles too. They can help with texture.

Experiment. It will make you a better cook the next time. Works for us!


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

I'm learnin' alot...great ideas everyone! I need to print this thread out to keep as reference for the next time.


----------



## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

I did an experiment tonight based on this photo










The description is "Beef Osa Buco style burger - slow cooked topped with rich brown gravy, Carmelized onions and blue cheese crumbles" It's from our local pizza place. 

SOOOOO, I made nice big thick burgers, fried them in the cast iron pan to sear the outside and put them in a baking dish. I added a tablespoon of butter to the cast iron pan and cooked 4 onions and an 8 oz. container of sliced mushrooms until the onions were carmelized - about 8 minutes. Then I added a 1/2 cup of red wine, 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1/2 tsp. thyme to the pan and cooked it until most of the liquid was gone. I poured all that on top of the burgers and then opened a jar of store brand gravy and poured it over the top of that. I put it in the oven at 350 degrees. I cooked it for too long because the burgers ended up being well done when we still like pink so I need to adjust the cooking time. But I cooked it for 30 minutes. Then I pulled it out and put 4 oz. of gorgonzola cheese crumbles over the top and popped it back into the lower part of the oven while I cooked some Texas Toast.

To serve, I put the Texas Toast (I used the Pepperidge Farm one) on the plate and put a burger on top. I scooped a bunch of the sauce over it all and served it with a veggie on the side.

I get my family to rate my dishes from 1-10, 10 being the best. 10s are reserved for the best dishes I make and nothing below an 8 gets made again. This got a 12.

So just to give you an idea of how I created something tonight and I used a LOT of seasoning additions to it with the onions, wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, butter and Gorgonzola. 

Forgot MY photo


----------



## Mooselover (May 4, 2009)

FD.....i've learned A LOT from the HT'er cooks. keep visiting, it's worth it. i also subscibe to thrifty fun via email. they send thrifty ideas (including lots of recipes). and, since i'm a recipe collector, i open a word document (labeled as recipes) and do a copy/paste that way i don't have to waste paper on printing the recipe. happy cooking~ML


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

Mooselover said:


> FD.....i've learned A LOT from the HT'er cooks. keep visiting, it's worth it. i also subscibe to thrifty fun via email. they send thrifty ideas (including lots of recipes). and, since i'm a recipe collector, i open a word document (labeled as recipes) and do a copy/paste that way i don't have to waste paper on printing the recipe. happy cooking~ML



*Moose...I need to have the recipe in front of me in the kitchen when I try to cook. I don't have a laptop computer which is why I print out the recipes.*


*****


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

*Well...I finished off the big pot of crock on Saturday. It's funny how it got better tasting with age...after one week it was pretty good eatin'. That was such a good experience that I started a new batch yesterday and slow cooked it overnight. This time I used a pork roast and pretty much the same veggie ingredients as before but only used great northern beans this time. I also added a slab of jowel bacon for added flavor.

Well...it's almost lunch time...time to try out the new crock experiment. I'll let ya'll know how it turned out.*


*****


----------



## doozie (May 21, 2005)

I read somewhere not to add too much liquid, I would figure about 1/4 cup if anything with your reicpe.it isnt needed if you have plenty of vegies cooking down/ and extra spices are added at the end of cooking time with a crock pot. (oh, and always extra onion, always! LOL)


----------



## Mooselover (May 4, 2009)

Farmer Dave said:


> *Moose...I need to have the recipe in front of me in the kitchen when I try to cook. I don't have a laptop computer which is why I print out the recipes.*
> 
> 
> *****


 
yep...i used to do the same thang so i get it. i think i'm getting better at the cooking thang. i'm now at the point i make notes on scratch paper and go from there. i think the spices and veggies makes a HUGE difference, as does homemade stock. this is what i've noticed in my cooking. i go really heavy on the garlic, pepper, and onion in almost all of my foods but ultimately, i thiink that the homemade stock does amazing things that i cook. happy cooking...it gets really fun when YOU make YOU the most incrediable home cooked meal. that's when ya get bit in the butt by the cooking bug:nanner::nanner:


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

doozie said:


> I read somewhere not to add too much liquid, I would figure about 1/4 cup if anything with your reicpe.it isnt needed if you have plenty of vegies cooking down/ and extra spices are added at the end of cooking time with a crock pot. (oh, and always extra onion, always! LOL)



*Really? I thought I had to fill the crock up to the top with liquid to keep everything above the liquid from drying out. My next batch I'll try with just 1/4 cup of liquid and see how it turns out.*


*****


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

*I'm happy to report that my second attempt at crock pot cooking has been a success. It tastes pretty good even though I forgot to add beef broth like I did the last time. I think adding the slab of jowel bacon really helped.

Off Topic question for you all: I've noticed in the stores that you can buy chicken or beef bullion and broth but I've NEVER seen ham bullion or broth. Why is that?*


*****


----------



## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Farmer Dave said:


> *Really? I thought I had to fill the crock up to the top with liquid to keep everything above the liquid from drying out. My next batch I'll try with just 1/4 cup of liquid and see how it turns out.*
> 
> 
> *****


Actually, you have to put in less liquid in the crockpot because none of it evaporates as it cooks. You can put a dry whole chicken in the crockpot and cook it only to find that there is a ton of liquid that has been cooked off of the meat. If I take a crockpot recipe to the stove (I didn't put it in the crock in time), I know I have to put in a lot more liquid than if I had it in the crockpot. 



Farmer Dave said:


> *Off Topic question for you all: I've noticed in the stores that you can buy chicken or beef bullion and broth but I've NEVER seen ham bullion or broth. Why is that?*
> 
> 
> *****


I think it's because there isn't a lot of call for it.


----------



## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

you can find ham bullion in little packets. i finally found it in the hispanic / ethnic aisle.


----------



## Mountain Mick (Sep 10, 2005)

Hi Dave
I love good and I'm not to bad at it. with what your got inculding the onions I can see a freast in the making, What I would do is a all=in=one roast Pork Loins , first brown the pork in a little butter or oil, and lightly brown the chopped onions , now coursely cut up all the other Veggies, now use a deep sided baking dish, now speard all the veggies inculding the onions now add salt & pepper a little garlic if you got some, now place the pork Loin on top of these veggie, pour the pint of stock on (a little red wine would be nice) and cover with tin foil and bake in the oven at 180C for 2 & 1/2 hours them remove the foil and cook for 20 minutes longer and then rest the meat for 10 minutes , during that time I would make gravy with the stock juices in the baking pan, pour of into a saucepan and thicken with some cornflour paste ( 2 table spoons cornflour & 1/4 cup of water) bring the stock up to the boil remove for heat whisk in the cornflour paste return to heat stir and cook for 2 minutes until ther floury taste disappears. cut up loin sevre on a bed of the veggies and cover with some of your pan juice gravy. good Luck MM 


































Farmer Dave said:


> I don't normally visit this part of HT because I'm a terrible cook, but I was hoping somebody can help me salvage the mess I made in my crock pot last night. What can I add to make it edible? I ate some for lunch today and it tastes very bland and not very good at all. Here is what I added to the crock pot last night. :help:
> 
> 1. Pork loins
> 
> ...


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

bama said:


> you can find ham bullion in little packets. i finally found it in the hispanic / ethnic aisle.



Great...I'll have to check that area of the store the next time. Thanks! :thumb:


*****


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

Mountain Mick said:


> Hi Dave
> I love good and I'm not to bad at it. with what your got inculding the onions I can see a freast in the making, What I would do is a all=in=one roast Pork Loins , first brown the pork in a little butter or oil, and lightly brown the chopped onions , now coursely cut up all the other Veggies, now use a deep sided baking dish, now speard all the veggies inculding the onions now add salt & pepper a little garlic if you got some, now place the pork Loin on top of these veggie, pour the pint of stock on (a little red wine would be nice) and cover with tin foil and bake in the oven at 180C for 2 & 1/2 hours them remove the foil and cook for 20 minutes longer and then rest the meat for 10 minutes , during that time I would make gravy with the stock juices in the baking pan, pour of into a saucepan and thicken with some cornflour paste ( 2 table spoons cornflour & 1/4 cup of water) bring the stock up to the boil remove for heat whisk in the cornflour paste return to heat stir and cook for 2 minutes until ther floury taste disappears. cut up loin sevre on a bed of the veggies and cover with some of your pan juice gravy. good Luck MM



*Thanks MM, Your photos looked so delicious I started drooling and licking my computer monitor...*


*****


----------



## Dale Alan (Sep 26, 2012)

FD,

Minors makes very good bases,just add water to make broth . It tastes like the real thing,not salt and chemicals . I am never without Chicken and beef base .

http://www.nestleprofessional.com/united-states/en/BrandsAndProducts/Brands/MINORS/Pages/11003452.aspx?UrlReferrer=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2f


----------



## Farmer Dave (Jan 1, 2003)

Dale Alan said:


> FD,
> 
> Minors makes very good bases,just add water to make broth . It tastes like the real thing,not salt and chemicals . I am never without Chicken and beef base .
> 
> http://www.nestleprofessional.com/united-states/en/BrandsAndProducts/Brands/MINORS/Pages/11003452.aspx?UrlReferrer=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2f



*I will need to look for that product the next time I'm at the grocery. I wonder if Walmart carries it.*


*****


----------



## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Farmer Dave...you can get ham flavored soup base, like this: 

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...3D0AC809561E1A3946EEB4C876028&selectedIndex=0

This is just one brand. There are others. Just look in the soup isle of the grocers, or ask a clerk. They'll be glad to help.

There is also a brand called, "Better Than Bouillon" that has all kinds of soup bases. I'm sure they have beef.


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I admire you for cooking your own meals..also for eating them!

My favorite method to deter any "bland" taste is to heat up a large frying pan with a tiny bit of oil in it (favorite is peanut oil, coconut oil and olive oil). Then "sear" (brown) all sides of the meat "cubes/chunks" I'm using before adding it to the crock pot.

Softer foods (onions, peppers, garlic, etc) need to be done in a similar manner in a "clean" (not the grease you seared meat in) fry pan. This helps preserve their individual taste; then only add to your crock pot about an hour or so before the meat will be done.

I've learned any type of bean cooked with meat any length of time in a crockpot will encourage those to blend too much into each other...contributing to a "bland" taste.

I never use store-bought boullion cubes as the ones I've found have waaaay too much sodium; and sodium slowly builds up in ones body causing health problems down the road (example: burning feet). Only a lot of hard physical labor (or a sauna) gets it out of the body.

I make my own boullion cubes by "roasting" whatever meat I want to use, deboning it and smashing up the cooked meat into a patea (mispelled). Then I add the liquid left from roasting it and a tiny bit of sea salt to a large stock pan with plenty of water to more than cover it...even double cover it. Then I slow boil this until more than half that liquid is gone. Cool it and place in ice trays to freeze. Then those frozen bits of goodies I put in zip locks and into the freezer for later use all year long. (You can do this with any type of meat you want...if pork, I'ld probably leave out the sea salt....oh goodness. On second thought I would NOT do this with store-bought meat products as too much junk has been added to those!)


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

If you like the taste of barbeque use a bottle of your favorite sauce on top of the pork only. Cook and shred the pork to make sandwiches. 

If you want pork and gravy, add a pack of dry onion soup mix, a can of cream soup, and a soup can of water. Cover and cook until tender.

If you want a pork roast and veggies, first rub the pork with spices of choice, brown in a skillet and transfer to crockpot. Layer on veggies of choice and lightly sprinkle seasoning as you layer these. Add enough broth to come up even with the meat but not cover it over. Cover and keep check to not go dry. You want enough liquid to steam everything but not drown it in broth. 

If you want pork and bean soup, rub down pork in Kitchen Bouquet which is a liquid smoke flavoring. Brown the pork on all sides in skillet and transfer to crockpot. Add the beans that have been soaked all night and drained. Add any other veggies you want. Onions and garlic provide a lot of flavor. Finish by adding enough vegetable broth to cover the veggies. Cover and cook until tender. If you want a thickened soup broth, make certain you cook sliced potatoes with it so these can be mashed up to help thicken the soup. 

Any of these work equally well with beef as the meat instead of pork.


----------

