A slow cooker or crock pot is a great way of making meals and soups whilst you get on with other things.

It is a fantastic tool in the kitchen for the busy lifestyle that many people lead these days.

There is often time in the day to prepare food, but standing over a hot stove, stirring soup is not a productive use of your time.

This is where the slow cooker comes into its own.

You simply prepare the ingredients, put them into the crock pot and walk away. You can get on with other things, leaving the slow cooker to do its job.

Fish cooks quickly so you don’t need as long as meat dishes.

You can use any mixture of fish you like in this recipe – smoked or plain – oily fish is not suitable though, so don’t use salmon, mackerel or similar.

You need to soften the potatoes and onion – if you were cooking a meat dish, then it would take longer, but with a seafood soup, the cooking time is shorter, so the vegetables need to be cooked a little.

This quantity will serve four people. Most crock pots will be big enough for this amount of liquid.

Try to resist the urge to lift the lid during the cooking time as it will affect the timings because it lowers the temperature.

You’re working on very low temperatures here, so lifting the lid could add 30 minutes or so to the cooking time.

Seafood Chowder

1 lb (450g) fish fillets

4 oz (125g) bacon – diced

1 onion – peeled and diced

1 lb (450g) potatoes – peeled and diced

1 pint (600 ml) milk

1 pint (600 ml) water

1 bay leaf

1 tbspn worcester sauce

Heat the slow cooker to Low while you’re preparing the ingredients.

Fry the bacon bits in a pan until the fat runs – then add the potato and fry for 5 mins or so until it begins to soften. Add the onions and fry a further 5 mins – add a little oil if the mixture dries out.

Transfer these to the crock pot.

Cut the fish into chunks, add it to the pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Cook on low for about 5 hours.

If you like a thicker chowder, then you can use arrowroot or cornflour to thicken – just stir in about 4 hours into the cooking time and leave the chowder for a futher 30 minutes or so.

Serve with crusty bread for a lovely hearty seafood chowder.

There are many other seafood dishes you can cook in the slow cooker – jambalaya, fish stews, fish in wine and soused herrings – the links in the resource box take you to my seafood recipe website where you will find hundreds of seafood recipes.

Liz Alderson is the webmaster of http://find-a-seafood-recipe.com which is a free fish and seafood recipe site giving advice on buying, preparing and cooking fish and seafood.

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line — the above resource paragraph — is kept intact)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_Alderson

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If you’re making the beans to use for the soup or the sausages, be sure to save the cooking liquid.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cannellini-Beans-with-Garlic-and-Sage-355216#ixzz0jgyarOgh

As a result of Cablevision’s decision not to negotiate new distribution agreements, Food Network and HGTV were dropped from the cable operator’s channel lineup.

Brooke Johnson, president of Food Network, noted that Scripps Networks invest distribution fees it receives from Cablevision and other cable and satellite companies in developing on-air hosts and in creating the relevant and entertaining programs that keep viewers coming back to watch Food Network and HGTV.

“It’s hard to maintain delivery of programming that viewers rate among their favorite shows when we’re getting short changed – and I mean significantly underpaid in the case of Cablevision – when compared to what this cable company is paying other, comparable networks for programming,” Johnson said. “We’re hoping the viewers can convince Cablevision to get Food Network back on the air so that they won’t miss the great shows coming up in the New Year, including Worst Cooks In America and the huge Super Chef Battle: An Iron Chef Event.”

Lansing stressed that Scripps Networks Interactive remains open to negotiating new distribution agreements with Cablevision.

By Shelly Hill

When it comes to hosting a party, we are often at a loss as to what we can serve as the party appetizer.

What is an Appetizer? An Appetizer is a food or beverage that is served before the start of a meal, at a special party or at a business event. The purpose of an Appetizer is to stimulate your appetite, hence the name Appetizer.

When it comes to serving appetizers, they don’t need to be fancy. They can be spreads, dips, cheese balls, seafood, caviar, party breads and other small foods to wet your appetite.

Listed below are quick appetizers that can be served anytime with crackers, thinly sliced toasted bread, a variety of party breads or potato chips. A few of them can even be served alone.

1. Caviar

2. Lobster tail moistened with lemon juice.

3. Lobster tail dipped in butter sauce.

4. Shrimp and crap meat spread serve with taco chips.

5. Cream cheese with chopped pickles.

6. Chicken livers minced and moistened with mayonnaise.

7. Cheese squares with olive attached by toothpick.

8. Sardines with caviar paste.

9. Flavored cream cheese spread.

10. Cream cheese and anchovy paste with grated onion.

11. Deviled ham with chopped onions and olives.

12. Shrimp served with cocktail sauce.

13. Sardine slices topped with chopped olives.

14. Pimento cheese mixed with a dash of horseradish.

15. Cream cheese with dash of Worcestershire sauce and chives.

16. Melba Toast spread with cream cheese and chives.

17. Party Rye bread served with grated cheese and onions.

18. Dry beef spread served with crackers.

19. Artichoke Spread served with Party Rye Bread or crackers.

20. Cheese ball served with your favorite crackers.

21. Meat and Cheese Roll served with crackers.

22. Salmon Cheese Ball served with crackers.

23. Chicken wings.

24. Sausage stuffed mushrooms.

25. Salsa served with Nacho’s or Taco chips.

I hope this guide will help you when it comes to planning your next party. Just remember, your Appetizers don’t have to be fancy, they just have to taste good!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shelly_Hill

http://EzineArticles.com/?25-Easy-Appetizer-Ideas-For-Your-Next-Party&id=2289550

yield: Makes 8 servings
Golden Delicious apples hold their shape even when baked at a hot temperature and wrapped in puff pastry. Their honeyed flavor adds just the…

1 pound Mostaccioli, Ziti or other medium pasta shape, uncooked
5 1/2 cups tangerine or orange juice, divided
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 tbsp. minced, seeded jalapeño pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. minced garlic, divided
1 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup diced Brie cheese (about 4 oz.)
2 tbsp. thinly sliced basil leaves
1 cup tangerine or orange segments
1/3 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Combine 5 cups of the tangerine or orange juice, the yellow onion, jalapeño, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is reduced by two-thirds. Remove the bay leaves. Allow to cool. Transfer juice mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, add the oil, red onion and shrimp to a medium skillet. Saute 1 minute. Add the remaining 1/2 cup tangerine or orange juice to the skillet and cook over low heat.

Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and add the reserved orange sauce and the shrimp mixture. Cook over low heat 1 minute. Stir in the Brie and basil. Stir until the Brie is melted. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with orange segments and toasted almonds. Serve immediately.

source:National Pasta Association

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 12 egg whites from large eggs ( enough for 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and beat at high speed until egg whites are frothy, approximately 1 minute.

Add cream of tartar, salt and vanilla to egg whites. Mix at high speed until egg whites are almost stiff, approximately 4 minutes.

Add 1 cup of sugar gradually while mixing on low speed. Scrape bowl.

Mix flour and remaining 1/2 cup sugar together and spoon 1/4 of mixture over egg whites, folding gently between each addition.

Pour batter into cupcake liners until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown and cracks are very dry.

Cool cupcakes completely before removing from pan.

If you would like more cupcake recipes visit Jazmin Espina’s blog at
gourmet cupcake recipes