Crockpot Coffee Cake

Crockpot Coffee Cake

Batter:

1 ½ cups flour

2 ½ cups baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 egg

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

½ cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ cup butter, softened

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.  Beat eggs until frothy. Beat in the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended. Add the milk and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients slowly; do not over mix or it will be dry. Pour into a well greased crockpot. (I rub butter along the bottom and sides.

Mix together the topping ingredients and pour over the batter, spreading evenly, but do not mix it in with the batter.

Cover the crock pot for two hours turning it on low. Check after 1 ½ hours.  It is done with the sides are crisp and it is not longer gooey in the middle. Try not to lift the lid too often or it will not cook evenly. 

Chocolate Covered Bananas

I was bugging Chris one night  to find us a snack. I usually have only one rule when it comes to snacks: it must always involve chocolate. One night we were almost completely out of chocolate (yes, my world was coming to an end) and Chris came up with this quick and simple snack.

1 banana
2 tablespoons of Nestquick chocolate milk powder

1. Split the banana in half long ways and place it on a plate
2. Sprinkle the banana with the chocolate powder
3. Place the banana in the freezer for 15 minutes until chilled. 

The first time we made this we froze the banana competly and it was to hard to bite into. We have also tried it without putting it in the freezer and came to the conclution that 15 minutes is just enough to chill it.

Enjoy. This is a quick, simple and not too unhealthy snack.

Skillet Spaghetti

Spaghetti is one of the easier items to make while you are in Korea. I found all of the ingredients at Lotte Mart. Here are some tips to save money. First decided which sauce you want to use. I didn't care for the flavor of the Korean spaghetti sauce so I bought the American one. The difference is about 3,000 won. So try the Korean sauce and see if you like it. I also tried Hines Original Spaghetti sauce in a packet and it was very plain. I tried it because it was only 1,000 won. I like the Rinaldi Sauce the best. I find it ironic that it is what I use in Korea, because I used to buy it in America and it was the cheapest jar. Now it is the most expensive. Another way so save money on sauce is to buy the Costco giant-sized plastic container of Prego Sauce. It is large enough for about three meals. This works if you have the freezer space for the left overs.

You can make your spaghetti right from the jar. Sometimes I use the jar and add some of my own seasonings like oregano and fennel. You can also make your own spaghetti sauce in the Crock pot. I will post a link when I decide to make that version of it. I only recently found canned tomatoes. They don't have them at Lotte Mart but I found them at Home Plus. I will have to check out the prices and see if it is worth making your own.

For the meat you can buy the hamburger at LotteMart or you can get it at Costco. It is cheaper to buy it at Costco. We buy a large pack sperate it into 1/2 lb servings, place them in individul zip lock bags, put all the smaller bags in a larger freezer zip lock and place them in the freezer.



1 jar of Spaghetti Sauce
1 package of spaghetti noodles
1/2 lb of hamburger
1 tbs oregano (optional)
1 tbs fennel (optional)
1 onion diced (optional)
1 tbs garlic minced (optional)
1/2 tbs salt (optional)
1 tbs olive oil (optional)

1.  Brown the hamburger until it is no longer pink
2. Add the onion and cook until soft
3. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and the remaining ingredients. 
4. You can serve it right away over noodles or let it simmer for a whole day. The longer you let it simmer the better it will taste. If you don't add your own seasonings don't worry about simmering it.
5. To cook the pasta bring a large pot of water to a boil. 
6. Add the desired amount of noodles. You can break them in half to help them fit in your pan.
7. Cook until desired doneness. About 10 minutes.
8. You can add olive oil to the pot to keep the noodles from sticking. 
9. When the noodles are done serve them with the spaghetti sauce over it. 

Skillet Fried Rice

I love fried rice. This is one of those dishes where you open up your refrigerator and pantry and see what you can throw into the pan. It is great if you have left over white rice.

2 cups of cooked white rice

2 Tbs of butter

2 eggs

The following items are optional:

1 can of corn

1 can of spam, ham, cubed chicken or bacon

Mushrooms of your choice

1/4 cup of white or green onions

Any left over vegatables you might have

Sea salt or salt

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet on medium heat
2. Add the rice and fry
3. Add all other ingreadents except the egg and cook until soft
4. Beat the eggs in a bowl
5. When all other items are cooked create a well in the middle of your skilllet and scramble the eggs.
6. When the eggs are cooked mix them with the rest of the mixture. 
7. For flavoring you can add a little soy sauce or season salt. 

You can make this for any meal or use it as a side dish

Skillet Salmon (Quick)

When I first started making salmon I tried all kind of recipes from different cook books. I added different spices and tried it BBQed and even in foil packets. Finally not long after we were married Chris admitted that he just preferred his salmon cooked plain. So here is the world's simplest salmon recipe.

We try to eat salmon once a week. When we were in America we bought indually frozen packets of Atlantic salmon from Costco. Unforutally due to import taxes the price is doubled at the Costco in Korea and we could no longer justify purchasing it. Not long after this disappointment I found the seafood section at Lottemart. They have fresh salmon steaks for reasonable prices.

2 large fresh salmon steaks
Season salt

1. Sprinkle an unheated skillet with season salt
2. Place salmon steaks on top of the season salt
3. Turn the burner on medium
4. Sprinkle season salt on the top side of the steaks
5. Cook for 5 to 7 minites until the salmon is cooked 3/4 of the way on the edge then turn it
6. Cook on second side for about 4 to 6 minutes
7. Serve with rice. We sometimes sprinkle the leftover salmon juice on white rice. 

This is great served with Green Beans and Mushrooms click here for the recipe.

Skillet Ramen Noodles with Steak

Growing up I often enjoyed packages of ramen noodles for lunch. When I went away to college I started to learn all kinds of variations and ways to fancy up this bacholor meal. Ramen noodles are very popular in Korea. I am amazed at the large selection of different types of ramen packages that you can find in Korea. My husband created the following recipe. Why? Well if any recipe does not have meat in it Chris finds a way to add it.

2 packages of instant Ramen noodles of your choose
2 slices of steak or cut up beef in cubes
Salt or season salt
2 Tbs of butter

1. Open the ramen package and set aside the season and dried vegetable packets.
2. Cook the noodles for about 7 minutes or until the desired doneness. Do not overcook them or they will be soggy.
3. While the noodles are cooking heat a large skillet.
4. Add the cubed beef to the skillet and sprinkle with season salt or regular salt
5. Cook stiring constantly until the meat is brown and no longer pink inside. 
6. When the noodles are done drain the water from them. 
7. Toss the noodles with butter and the seasoning packet in a bowl. 
8. Add the meat to the noodle mixture and enjoy. 

We have made this recipe with several variations. Sometimes we do not buy cubed steak. Instead we buy regular steaks cook them and eat the noodles with butter as a side dish. When we were in America we made a similar dish and also added frozen vegetables.

We do not use the extra dried vegetables packages that come with Korean ramen. Since we drain the water they do not get soft enough. I save them to put in soups later.

Chris likes the spicy noodles and I like the mild ones. To solve this problem we boil the two packs of noodles together and them mix them with the spice packets separately.

Skillet Brownies

We were given several boxes of brownie mix in one of our first care packages from America. We struggled with how we could cook them since we don't have an oven. At first we tried using our toaster oven. All I can say is that it was a disaster. So Chris came up with the idea of cooking the brownies in a skillet. Yes, at this point we were desperate to eat brownies.

1 box of brownie mix
Eggs (amount the box calls for)
Oil (Also the amount called for on the box)

1. Mix all of the ingredients as listed on the back of the brownie box, except omit the water. 
2. Heat a large skillet on low heat
3. Place spoon fulls of brownie mix in the pan in the shape of cookie.
4. Treat them like pancakes. Cook them for a long time on low heat on the first side. Then when they look done flip them over and cook them for only a few minutes on the other side. 

If you are not able to get brownie mixes from the states don't buy them in Korea. They are about 9,000 won which is equivilant to 8 or 9 American dollars. On the same isle as the brownie mixes you can find almost all the ingredients that you need to make your own mix.

For a gluten-free brownie recipe try Gluten-Free Almond Flour Brownies

Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes

One thing that we can find a lot of in South Korea are potatoes. I had to get used to vegetables that still had dirt on them though. Tonight when my husband went to wash the potatoes his hands turned black with dirt.

5 potatoes, rinsed and chopped. Don't peel them.
1 whole large onion, diced
1/2 cube of butter (I used a whole cube and it was too much)
2 sliced green onions
Lots of mushrooms of your choice, there are plenty in Korea (I used 3 different kinds)
Garlic, minced
Season salt, or regular salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup diced ham or tenderloin (optional)
1/4 cup colby jack cheese (optional)
1/4 cup chedder cheese (optional)
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (optional)

1. Mix the onions, green onions, mushrooms, garlic and meat together in a bowl. I was going to layer these items like a lasagna, but didn't have time and it turned out great like this. 
2. Layer your mixtures in the following order potatoes first, then add a dash of salt or season salt
3. Next add the veggie/meat mixture. 
4. Place a pat or two of butter on the next layer.
5. Sprinkle with cheese. You can mix all three cheeses together. I choose one cheese for each layer.
6. Continue placing the layers in the above order until the pot is full. 
7. Pour the 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk over the top. 
8. Cooking on high for at least 3 hours or until the potatoes or soft. You can also cook it on low for eight hours. 

When I made this recipe it was very delicious. I let it cook all day on low. You can use it as a classic potato side dish or add the meat and cheese to make it a one dish meal.

We think this meal might work well without the cheese, but have yet to try it that way. I have found that cheese is very expensive in Korea, so I am trying to reduce my use of it. The original recipe that I based my recipe on did not call for cheese.

Time Saving Tips:

Prepare your vegetable and meat mixture ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready for use. You can pull it out of the freezer the night before you make the dish.

I buy my cheese in 2 lb blocks from Costco. When we first open it my husband grates all of the cheese and then places it in gallon sized freezer bags and put them in the freezer. Whenever we want cheese we just reach in and grab what we want.

 Here are some of the ingredients. Right after I took this picture I looked in the fridge and found several other items that I wanted to add.

This is what the pot looked like after I filled it up and before cooking it.

Crockpot Lasagna

16 oz Prego spaghetti sauce

4 lasagna noodles *

½ lb hamburger

Mushrooms

Mozzarella cheese shredded

Cheddar cheese shredded

Fennel seed

1 onion chopped

1 tsp of sugar

2 bay leaves

Salt

Garlic

1. Brown hamburger in a frying pan. Add onion and garlic.

2. Cook until hamburger is no long pink.

3. Mix the sauce and hamburger mixture.

4. Pour a small layer spaghetti sauce in the Crockpot.

5. Add a layer of noodles. You will have to break them to make them fit.

6. Add a layer of cheese.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 until you run out of ingredients.

8. The top layer should be Cheese or sauce.

9. Cook on high for 1 hour (you can skip this step if you won’t be home)

10. Cook on low for 3 to 8 hours. The longer you cook it the better it will taste, but you really only need to cook it long enough to melt the cheese and cook the noodles.

I had lasagna noodles mailed to me from the U.S. Some on them broke in transit, but that is OK for this recipe since you have to break them to make them fit in the Crockpot.

I found my spaghetti sauce at Costco. I always add other ingredients to give it more flavor. I cooked it for 8 hours the week before and used some of the sauce for spaghetti and froze the rest to save for my lasagna. I added fennel seed, 1 onion chopped, 1 tsp of sugar, 2 bay leaves, salt, and garlic.

Skillet Fried Potatoes

This is one of the first recipies that we made in Korea. Why did we choose it? It had simple ingredients and it reminded us of home. Plus when we went shopping we were able to find the ingredients with out reading Korean.

5 baking potatoes sliced or diced

2 tbs. olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 table spoon minced garlic

Salt or Season Salt

Ketchup

Cheese (optional)

1. Wash the potatoes. Don't peel them. Then cut them.

2. Heat the oil in the frying pan.

3. Add the poatoes, onions and garlic.

4. Season to taste.

5. Cook on a medium temperature until the potatoes are soft, about 20 to 30 minutes.

6. Top with Ketchup and Cheese.

Sometimes to make this a more filling meal we add what ever meat we have available. Usually bacon or ham.