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Crockpot Response Rivals Some Of Our Best

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By JEFF HOUCK, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2008

What kind of people read the Recipes Lost & Found column?

You could describe them as "collectors." Others might use the words "culinary pack rats."

In last week's column, Tatiana Snedd of Tampa was in search of a recipe with ground beef, beans and Liquid Smoke from an old Rival Crock-Pot cookbook.

Judith Terrell of Land O' Lakes sent a Rival cookbook recipe called Hamburger and Tomatoes With Black Beans and Rice.

"I've never tried making this recipe, but it may be the one she's looking for," Terrell writes.

Sheila Bregg of Riverview writes, "I still have my little crockpot booklet from the '70s." She shared a "one pot" dinner recipe.

Sue Vastine, a retired University of South Florida librarian from Forest Hills, says she and her husband, Jim, have the same recipe book as Bregg. She found the one-pot recipe on Page 29.

"Our cover is missing, and I can find no date inside, but ours would date to the early 1970s," Vastine writes.

Louise Scannell of Valrico, Sylvia Dockx of Lakeland, Jean Plowden of Tampa, Marilyn Wilder of Tampa and Nancy McDougall of Zephyrhills also kept their Rival cookbooks. Diana Boggs of Tampa sent a photocopy of her Kmart Crockery Kettle cookbook with the recipe in it.

Elizabeth Hanley of Tampa also mailed in the recipe as well as a color copy of the Rival cookbook.

"I still have my crockpot and cookbook given to me for Christmas by my daughter Susan when she was a teenager," Hanley wrote. "She is deceased at age 23 in 1980. I'm sending these copies in her memory."

Laurie Oates of Largo sent a Hickory Smoked Brisket recipe from her 1982 Rival cookbook.

"This may not be the recipe, but I thought I would forward it anyway," she wrote.

Recipe Requests

Carole Deighan wrote to ask, "Does anyone have the corn bread recipe from Remington's Steakhouse?"

Gretchen Murphy is still looking for a recipe that was printed in the Tribune in the '70s or '80s for an oatmeal cake.

"Part of the instructions for this cake involved pouring boiling water on the oats and letting this stand before adding to the other ingredients," she says. The cake was baked in an oblong pan (13 by 9 inches) and was "so delicious that it needed no topping," she writes. "It was perfect for taking on picnics and could be cut into squares. It did come with a recipe for icing, however, that contained brown sugar."

"Sometime in December I saw a Paula Deen cooking show where she made tomato soup that sounded delicious," writes Rosemary Conley of Zephyrhills. "I remember she used canned crushed tomatoes and cannellini beans. I should have written it down but didn't, thinking I would just go online and get it. But I don't remember what episode it was! I have used the form on foodnetwork.com a few times requesting the recipe but never get a response."

We looked high and low for you, Rosemary, but came up empty. Deen makes a BLT Soup and a Taco Soup, but they don't match the ingredients you listed.

We did, however, find a spicy tomato soup by Giada De Laurentiis that comes close to what you're looking for. We hope you can make do with Giada over Paula.

If not, maybe someone out there has the recipe in question.

Art Fuxan of Tampa wants a recipe that ran in Flavor late last year that had crabmeat and artichoke hearts. We looked through our archive, to no avail. Anyone clip anything that we might have missed?

HAMBURGER AND TOMATOES WITH BLACK BEANS AND RICE
For the black beans and rice:

1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups converted rice

4 cups water

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

1 teaspoon jalapeno, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the hamburger and tomatoes:

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients for the black beans and rice together in large section of Crock-Pot Duet. Cover; cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or high for 3 to 4 hours).

For the hamburger and tomatoes: Combine ground beef, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Pour into small section of Crock-Pot Duet. Cover, cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or high for 3 to 4 hours). Serve with beans and rice.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

"ONE POT" DINNER

1/2 to 1 pound ground beef

3/4 pound bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup chopped onion

2 cans (1-pound, 15-ounce size) pork and beans

1 can (1 pound) kidney beans, drained

1 can (1 pound) butter limas, drained

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Brown ground beef in skillet; drain off fat, and put beef in crockpot. Brown bacon and onions; drain off fat. Add bacon, onions and remaining ingredients to crockpot. Stir together well. Cover and cook on low 4 to 9 hours.

If using 2-quart crockpot, reduce recipe by half. Most of the recipes in the cookbook are intended for a family of four to six and comfortably fill the 3 1/2-quart models.

HICKORY SMOKED BRISKET

1 beef brisket, between 4 and 5 pounds

1/4 cup Liquid Smoke
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

Place beef brisket on large piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle generously with Liquid Smoke, celery seeds, onion powder and garlic salt. Wrap well and put into crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours (or on high for 4 to 6 hours). Serve warm with juices over each slice. Or, refrigerate overnight and then slice thinly, place in crockpot and pour barbecue sauce over meat. Cook 2 to 3 hours on high.

QUICK AND SPICY TOMATO SOUP

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce (recommended: San Marzano brand)

2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion and garlic, and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the marinara sauce, chicken broth, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Looking for a recipe? Have one to share? Write to Jeff Houck, The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 191, Tampa FL 33601, or jhouck@tampatrib.com. Recipes are not tested. Also, be sure to check out the recipe archive at keyword: Recipes. You can search for previous

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