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Non Recipes
What is a "non-recipe", you ask? It is an easy way to prepare something that is quite yummy, yet simple to remember and simple to execute.
Chicken-in-a-Pot You can pop a whole chicken into a crockpot with no water, and end up 8 hours later with a juicy "roast" chicken. Here's the scoop: rinse the chicken, remove the neck, etc. from the inside, and cut out the extra fat hanging around the edges. Sprinkle with any spice you want (a great place to use up spice mixes you can't remember why you bought), and optionally insert cut up onions or citrus in the cavity. Turn the crockpot on LOW for 6-8 hours. Be prepared to scoop the chicken out in pieces, because it will fall off the bone. Surprisingly, you will also have 1-2 cups of rich chicken broth. Don't throw it away! Store it in the fridge overnight to skim off the fat, then use it for gravy, soup stock, mashed potato water, etc.
Butter, just Better I learned this trick from Pamela Smith, Registered Dietitian, in 1992 when I was pregnant with #1. If you love the taste of real butter, but wish it was easier to spread and had less saturated fat, read on. Mix it half and half with canola oil !! Simply bring 2 sticks of butter to room temp on the counter, pour 1 cup of canola oil in the blender, using the markings on the blender (so you don't dirty a measuring cup), then drop in the 2 sticks of butter. Whiz it up and pour it into a clean recycled margarine tub. I usually make a double batch, then after pouring out half for "butter", I add some honey to the blender, blend again, and pour into a second container....Honey Butter....yum!
Italian Rolls Open up a can of crescent rolls. Open all the rolls so they are flat on a cutting board or counter. Heavily sprinkle Italian seasoning all over the top surface, then roll up each roll individually as you normally would. Bake as normal too.
Dessert Rolls Open a can of crescent rolls. Open all the rolls, sprinkle with cinnamon, insert one large marshmallow and roll the crescent roll around the marshmallow, sealing the edges as best you can. Bake as normal. Might want to bake on parchment paper, since the marshmallow might leak out and make a mess.
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