Friday, October 15, 2010

Vanstead Cooking Method 1

Today we went to visit Michael's 91 year old granny.  We had a wonderful visit!  She grew up on a Georgia farm with 13 brothers and sisters.  Her mom taught her to make the family biscuits when she was 12 years old because another baby was on the way.  She (and all her siblings) also worked in the fields.  We'll be visiting again tomorrow and I'm looking forward to learning more about life on the family farm in the 1920's. 
Granny with her siblings, her mother, and her grandmother.
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Life in a vanstead can be much easier than it was for a large family on a farm in the 1920's... much easier indeed!  When I want to make chicken and dumplings I turn to the crockette.


I keep the crockette in the sink where I can use it while we're driving.  All I have to do is put a boneless-skinless chicken breast in the crockette and let it cook until it easily falls apart (several hours).  Add a little chicken bullion and Bisquick dumplings to the crockette and let them cook another hour.


When we're ready to stop driving for the evening, dinner is waiting to be served! 

I also use the crockette for doing dishes.  It heats water very quickly.  I've used it for many casseroles, heating soups,  making coffee and teas with reusable tea bags... and more.

We got our crockette at Walgreens and it runs off 110.  We're going to switch to the 12v version very soon.  I had one before and it was great!

You can find the 12v model here: 12v Slow Cooker

11 comments:

  1. Good stuff, Heidi! Any idea how many amps one the 12 volt crockpots draw?

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  2. This is a great way of cooking for a VanStead :)

    Do you have more recipes to share with a slow cooker that is good for one or two people?

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  3. Merci Heidi, I was literally just wondering about getting a 12v crock pot, lol. I posted it in a reply about 10 minutes ago.I hadn't thought about putting in the sink to cook while driving... Great tip as there are a lot fo slow cooked meals I like to make.

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  4. Glenn, it has a low power draw of 6.5 amps... if using it while driving, it shouldn't deplete your battery bank at all - the alternator will compensate.

    Kylie, this slow cooker has many names... I used "crockette" because that's how I find recipes designed to fit this little crock pot. I do have some of my own... and I'll be posting them here.

    Remi, that's been happening a lot lately... posting at the same time as others on the same topic - I've been saying it all week: great minds think alike! lol

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  5. C'est vrai Heidi cher... Happened to me a few times and I've seen several others. Syncronysity or coincidence, you be the judge ;) *chuckle* once I get the 12v crock pot jr type thingy and figure out new proportions, I'll start listing receipes. Since a few of my first jobs were in gourmet restaurants thought, I mostly season on the fly and always have to make a dish and write down the actual recipe in order to share it. You'd think afte years of this I would have started saving them, but non, lol.

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  6. I've done that quite a few times. I happened into a Beef Stroganoff while throwing things together, it wasn't that long ago, but I think I've lost another one. lol

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  7. The good thing about learning to cook by instinct and taste that way is you can almost walys make something tasty out of available odds and ends. Maybe not what you wish you were cooking at that moment, but you know it will taste good when done, lol.

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  8. I will have to give your chicken and dumplings a try. We love em. Stay safe.

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  9. Has anyone tried the hot pot thermos method of cooking on the road? From what I've read, you get your food hot 1st then the heat retained does the cooking over the next x hours in a special thermos container. The attraction is no power needed after the initial heating.

    I like to sear meat & saute onions for flavor before putting into the crockpot anyway. I just wonder if they really work. 6+ amps adds up if not driving.

    Mary

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  10. Thanks for the comments!

    Mary, Yes. I took pictures of the method a few days ago (with a friend) and I'll try to do that post tomorrow.

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  11. Mary,

    I have used my Thermal Cooker in my Class C as a Fulltimer. Since I consider cooking to be whatever I can prepare in one pot it has worked out very well for me. Most slow cooker meals can also be prepared in a Thermal Cooker it just takes some experimentation.

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