Fireless Cooking

RECIPES

I expect to continually be adding more recipes, so please check back.

POTATOES AND RICE
Two of the easiest things to make in the fireless cooker are rice and potatoes. They're a good way to get acquainted wiht your cooker.
RICE
Use 1-1/2 times water to rice. For example, 3 cups of water for 2 cups of dry rice. Cooked the conventional way, the rule is to use twice as much water as rice. The fireless cooker requires less water because less water will be lost as steam. You can vary this according to how much rice you need. For example:
Bring 3 c. of water to a boil, stir in 2 c. regular white rice. You may add salt and a little cooking oil, if desired. Cover with tight fitting lid and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Don't peek or you'll lose the steam! Quickly put pan in your cooker. Leave in cooker for at least one hour.
You can turn this into a flavored rice dish by adding bouillion and spices to the boiling water or sauteed onion and celery, etc.

POTATOES
In a heavy pan, place potatoes. Cover with water. Bring to a simmer, put lid on tight, simmer for 2 minutes then put pan in the cooker for an hour minimum.
I use potatoes boiled this way for home fries, potato salad, and "riced" potatoes. If you plan on mashing them, you can peel and cut as you normally would, bring to boil for 1-2 minutes with the lid on tight, and place pan in the cooker for 30 minutes. Drain and mash the normal way.

GRAINS

CORN MEAL MUSH AKA POLENTA
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 c. of cornmeal with 1 c. cold water. Using a whisk to blend helps. Bring 2-1/2 c. of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp. salt. Gradually stir the cornmeal-cold water mixture into the boiling water. Bring back to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1 minute then put in the cooker for at least 1 hour.
Serve with milk, margarine, butter, honey or sugar as corn meal mush. For fried mush, chill in a loaf pan. Slice and fry in margarine or butter. Serve with honey or maple syrup.
For Polenta:
You may add 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese to hot cornmeal when you remove it from the fireless cooker. This is optional. Cool or chill polenta. Slice and fry polenta in butter or margarine. Serve covered with your favorite pasta sauce.

GRITS, OATMEAL, CREAM OF WHEAT, Etc.
Prepare using amount of water to cereal recommended on the box. Bring water to a boil, add cereal and return to a simmer for 1 minute, then put in fireless cooker for one hour minimum. This is most useful for old fashioned oatmeal which requires long cooking time when cooked on stove top. Put cereal in the fireless cooker before going to bed and you'll have hot cereal ready in the morning.

WHEAT BERRIES
Whole wheat grains make a good breakfast. It's also good mixed with hot rice. Many people store wheat, so I wanted to offer this method of cooking it.
1 c. wheat berries 4c. water
butter or margarine salt
If you have time, combine the wheat and water in the pan and let it soak over night or all day. Simmer 15 minutes without lifting pan lid, then place in cooker for at least 4 hrs.

BARLEY
3 c.water 1-1/2 c. pearl barley 1 tsp. salt
Bring water to boil with salt, stir in barley, cover and simmer for 1 minute. Put in cooker for 1-1/2 hrs. This recipe can be varied by using bouillion in the boiling water--but use less salt. Also, other spices could be used as well as sauteed onion.

SOUPS AND STEWS

The base of many soups is stock; beef, chicken or vegetable.
BEEF STOCK
3 lbs of beef shortribs or 2-3 lb chuck roast
use whatever beef is the best buy
2 carrots, cut in thirds
2 onions, cut in half
2-3 stalks of celery with leaves, cut in half
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of dried parsley
a couple cloves of garlic, if desired
cooking oil or shortening

Cut chuck roast into chunks or cut ribs apart. Heat oil in stock pot. Add meat to hot oil and brown meat. Add vegetables to pot for the last bit of cooking, long enough to cook them a little bit. Add a couple of cups of hot water. Stir, getting any browned bits loosened up from bottom of pan. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam. Add water to make pot 2/3 full. Add seasonings. Bring to boil again. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Quickly, without moving the lid and letting any steam escape, put in cooker for at least 3 hrs. All day is fine. When removed from the cooker, bring to a simmer again for 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning by adding salt to taste and pepper. Strain through a collander. Save meat for hash, tamale pie, etc. Put broth in refrigerator and let fat congeal on top for easy removal, if desired.

(It Ain't Kosher) BORSCHT
4 c. beef stock
2 c. of peeled, diced raw beets or 1 can beets
1 small onion, chopped
half a small head of cabbage, chopped
2 Tablespoon cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream

Put beets, cabbage and onion in pot with stock. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Put in cooker for at least 1 hr. Add vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a spoonful of sour cream. Left over boiled potatoes added to this is good, too.

BEEF NOODLE SOUP

beef stock with meat, as above
2 beef bouillion cubes
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables or 1-2 cups of fresh veggies of your choice
1 c. egg noodles

Bring stock to simmer. Add bouillion cubes and dissolve. Add vegetables. Return to simmer. Add noodles, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Place in cooker for at least 30 min.

BARLEY BEEF SOUP

beef stock with meat, as above
2 beef bouillion cubes, if desired
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves or a bit of garlic powder (not salt)
pinch of dried oregano, crumbled
1 bay leaf
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables or 1 c. diced fresh veggies of choice
1 c. potatoes, cubed
1/4 c. barley
small amt. vegetable oil
1 tsp. Worsteshire Sauce

Sautee onion in vegetable oil for a few minutes. Add stock with meat, bouillion, oregano, garlic, bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Add veggies, potato and barley. Bring to a simmer again. Simmer 2 minutes and place in cooker for at least an hour. Stir in Worsteshire, remove bay leaf and season to taste.

HAMBURGER SOUP
1 lbs. hamburger
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic or garlic powder to taste
1/2 head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
a 15 oz. can whole or stewed tomatoes
a 16 oz.pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
2 bouillion cubes, optional
1 tsp. dry parsley, crumbled
1/2 tsp. dry thyme leaves, crumbled
pinch of oregano, crumbled
fresh ground pepper

Cook hamburger until pink is gone but not yet brown. Drain off fat. Add celery, onion and garlic to pot. Cook for a minute. Add cabbage, cook til cabbage is a bit limp. Add all other ingredients. Add enough water to fill pot 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 3 minutes. Place in cooker for at least 1 hr.

RECIPES

CHICKEN STOCK
2 lbs. chicken parts...could be a whole chicken, or other parts according to your taste and budget
1 onion, cut in 1/2
2 stalks celery with leaves, cut in 1/2
1/2 tsp. dry parsley, crumbled
1/2 tsp thyme leaves, crumbled
1 garlic clove or garlic powder to taste

Put all ingredients in soup pot. Add about 2 qts. water. Bring to a boil, boil for about 5 minutes and skim off any foam. Reduce heat and simmer with cover on for 10 minutes more. Put in cooker for at least 3 hours. Remove from cooker and adjust seasoning of salt and pepper to taste. Strain stock. Set meat aside to use in soup or other meal. Cool broth and refrigerate. When chilled, skim layer of fat off broth. Save chicken fat for cooking, if desired.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
6 c. chicken stock
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
cooked chicken meat
1 c. dry noodles
2 chicken bouillion cubes, if desired

Bring stock to a boil, add other ingredients. Simmer for 2 minutes. Place in cooker for 1 hr. Adjust seasonings.

CHICKEN RICE SOUP
Same as chicken noodle recipe with the substitution of 1/3 c. regular rice in place of noodles.

BEEF STEW
1-2 lbs. beef cut in cubes
cooking oil or shortening
1-2 cloves garlic or garlic powder to taste
1 large onion, cubed
2 c. potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 c. catsup
pinch of thyme, crumbled
pinch of parsley, crumbled
1/2 c. frozen green peas
2 Tab. flour dissolved in 1/3-1/2 c. cold water
salt and pepper
1 tsp. Worsteshire sauce

Heat about 2 Tablespoons of cooking oil or shortening in soup pot. Add cubes of beef. Before totally browned, add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes more. Add 3 c, hot water, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pot. bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, catsup, thyme, and parsley. Add water to fill pot 2/3 full. Bring to boil again and simmer 5 minutes more. Put in cooker for 3 hrs. minimum. Remove from cooker, bring to simmer. Add frozen peas, Worsteshire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. May add a couple of bouillion cubes if broth doesn't seem rich enough. Stir in flour and water mixture to thicken. If not thick enough, mix a little more water and flour to add in. Stir until thickened.

Beans and Legumes

DRIED BEANS

I almost always sort and rinse dried beans the night before. I cover the beans with cold water and let them soak over night. The best way to cook beans in the slow cooker is to simmer them for 15 minutes, put pot in the cooker for 4-8 hours, then simmer again for 15 minutes and return the pot to the cooker for another 3-8 hours. I seldom manage to do it this way so I do the next best thing which is to simmer the soaked beans for 30 minutes, then leave in the cooker for 8 hrs, take the beans out of the cooker and bring to a boil on the stove. I test for doneness and may need to let them simmer for 20 minutes or so. This still is a considerable savings on propane when camping.

Using this technique you can make bean soup, cook kidney beans for chili or pinto beans for Mexican dishes. You can use whatever recipe you're fond of and just change the technique to use the fireless cooker.

For those who don't have a favorite recipe:

BEAN SOUP

2c. great northern beans or navy beans
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
salt and pepper
parsley
optional ingredients: ham hocks, sausage, bacon, bay leaf, paprika, chicken bouillion, left over ham scraps.

Soak the beans overnight. I throw away the water and rinse the beans again, adding fresh cold water. My theory is the beans won't cause as much gas if fresh water is used. This isn't scientific; just my theory. I've been told that it will help keep the beans from getting tough if you use cold water only before cooking and if water needs to be added to beans which are cooking, to use boiling water. Supposedly, change in temp makes them tough. Again, only opinion! I'm also told not to add salt until towards the end of cooking as the salt can make the beans tough. On with the recipe!

Cover soaked beans with fresh cold water, add parsley, celery and onion. Add a bay leaf if you like. I add whatever meat I happen to have. I occasionally have hamhocks but usually it's a left-over piece of ham which I dice up and add. If I have sausage, I fry the sausage up enough to get rid of the extra grease, then add it. Bacon you could either fry till halfway done, then chop and add or fry till crisp and either add or use as garnish when the soup is done. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes without peeking, lid on tight. Quickly put simmering pot into your cooker, being careful not to jostle the lid and let steam escape. After 8 hours return soup pot to the stove
and bring to a simmer. Taste and test beans for doneness. Add a pinch of paprika if you like. Salt and pepper to taste. If I didn't have any meat I add a couple of chicken bouillion cubes and a teaspoon of cooking oil to give it a richer flavor. If you want a thicker soup, you can mash some of the beans to thicken it.

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