We love our rice cookers. Well, I love mine at least.  I use the Miracle Stainless Steel Rice cooker, no chemicals to worry about like the plastic ones - it is an all stainless steel bowl.  Anyway, there is so much you can do with these bad boys.  Aside from just cooking up the perfect batch of rice, you could use it as a steamer to steam potatoes, shrimp, crab legs, vegetables.  I make soups, sauces and stews.  Your imagination is your limit.  Here are some of our favorite recipes.  Give them a try…tell us what you think…please please post a response.  I’m lonely on here…

RICE COOKER JAMBALAYA

1 1/2 c. uncooked rice
1 lb. shrimp or crawfish
1 stick butter, melted
1 lg. onion
1 c. bell pepper
3 ribs celery
2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning
2 cans beef broth
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Accent

Combine all ingredients in the rice cooker and cook on regular cycle.

SLOW COOKER SWEET AND SOUR PORK

2-3 pounds cubed pork
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine or cider vinegar
1 large onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into slices
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons water or apple juice
1 1/2-inch square cube ginger, freshly grated
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 green peppers, cored and cut into quarters

Spray crock-pot liner with olive oil spray. Combine soy sauce, water, and cornstarch with brown sugar. Put washed and dried pork into crock-pot and stir in remaining ingredients except green pepper and tomatoes.

Cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in green pepper and tomatoes.

Cook on high for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve on a bed of rice.

Variations: To make Polynesian pork, eliminate tomatoes and stir in cubes of pineapple and cashews during the final hour.

SHRIMP PILAF

1 med. onion, chopped
1 chopped bell pepper
1 1/2 c. rice (rice cooker measuring cup)
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms & liquid
1 can beef broth
1/4 lb. butter
Salt & pepper
1 lb. shrimp

Combine everything together and pour into the rice cooker and turn cooker on. When done, the cooker will go off.

SPICY BLACK BEANS AND RICE

Black beans are high in protein, magnesium, manganese, folate, potassium, calcium and iron. They are economical and can be purchased in bulk and stored in airtight containers (like the Oliso Vacuum Sealer) for at least one year.

1 lb dry black beans
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 shallot, minced (optional)
2 bell peppers (red or green), chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 packet Goya Sazon (seasoning)
1/4 cup white wine (or wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon Frank’s Hot Sauce

Pick over beans to remove imperfect beans and any foreign matter. Rinse well in cold running water.

In a pan, bring beans to a boil in 6-8 cups water. Boil over high heat for 3-4 minutes, then cover and set aside for an hour. Alternatively, boiling can be omitted if beans are soaked overnight.

Drain and rinse beans. In a large saucepan, soak beans in 8 cups fresh water. (This time, do not drain.)

In a skillet, sauté onion and pepper over medium heat until onions are tender and translucent. Add garlic and oregano when onions begin to color (about 5 minutes). Do not allow garlic to brown. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.

Stir mixture into beans in saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low.

Simmer until beans are tender. Serve over steamed white rice while still hot.

Can be prepared in a Crock-Pot. Just soak beans overnight and put everything into the Crock-Pot in the morning. Set on low and cook for 8 hours, or until beans are tender.

If you own a small (2.5-4 quart) pressure cooker, these can be prepared in less than thirty minutes. Sauté onions then add pre-soaked beans to pressure cooker; cover with water or broth and remaining ingredients. Cover and cook at 10 lbs pressure for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow sitting 10 minutes, then reducing pressure; seasoning to taste and serving.

Can be frozen in smaller portions for up to 6 months. If preparing larger quantities just for freezing, omit the seasonings and add them in while reheating, instead.

Recipes donated by www.cooks.com

We borrowed some great recipes from our friends at welikitraw.com (with their permission of course!) thinking that you could really get some use out of them too. We actually tried a few in the office and they were a total hit. Nothing but tasty rawness. Try ‘em - and post a comment and let us know what you think!

Watermelon Mini Cake Delights

This was a Memorial Day inspired treat I took to a pool party yesterday. They were all gobbled up by rawies and non-rawies alike! Yummy! This is a super Memorial Day or Fourth of July treat, or for just any ol’ time!

Ingredients

• 1 Watermelon, cut into squares
• 2 cups Cashews, soaked for two hours
• 1 cup Agave
• Vanilla, to taste
• Water, to taste
• Blueberries

Preparation

Place cashews, agave, and vanilla in food processor and process. Add water slowly, little by little to achieve a smoothe frosting-like consistency. Place on a ziplock bag and cut a small section of the bottom corner. Use this as your frosting instrument. Squeeze frosting on each watermelon, then top with a blueberry! You can also include little flags on each one for decoration and serving purposes. Or, shape them all into a flag shape for a lovely, festive presentation! Enjoy!

Kale Chips

Kale chips are sooo easy to make & delicious. They were so good that when we opened the dehydrater to try them, they almost all got eaten immediately!! I had to hold everyone off to get them on a plate to take a picture to post (what dedication! ; )

Easy, easy, easy.. Cut out the center tough stem part of the kale.
I used 2 big bunches of beautiful organic dark kale that we bought at the market.
Then cut each piece in 4 - You can layer & cut them all together so it it super quick.

In a mixing bowl pour a couple Tablespoons of olive oil, some (1/2t or less) of garlic, onion and chili powder, some cayenne, 1t of salt.. & I think I put 1 t of basil… & maybe a bit of cumin. Mix all together and then put the kale in the bowl and mix it into the oil mixture - I used my hands.
Spread out on dehydrator trays (I got my Mom to do this ; ) -Mom’s been great!! Check it after 4 hours, but I think we left it in for about 6 - it should be crispy.

It’s so good - I thought much better than chips - & you’re eating kale - how amazing is this!?!
Incredible!!

Blueberry Rawffins

• 1 cup Brazil nuts, ground into flour
• ½-2/3 cup almond meal leftover from making almond milk
• ¼ cup golden flaxseed, finely ground
• a few dashes of sea salt
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. agave nectar
• Fresh almond milk (I made mine with ½ cup soaked almonds and 2 cups water)
• 1 cup frozen blueberries (yields ½ cup thawed berries)
• Streusel topping: a couple dates and a handful of nuts processed into a crumb
• a few more drizzles of agave nectar

In a colander, thaw the frozen blueberries by rinsing them under warm water and allowing them to drain while you prepare the batter. You can also use fresh, but I didn’t have any at the time.

In a medium size bowl, mix together the ground Brazil nuts, almond meal (still damp from making your “milk”), ground flax and sea salt. Add the vanilla, oil, agave and a couple tablespoons of almond milk and stir to combine. Add a little more almond milk based on the consistency of your batter (not too crumbly, but not too wet either). I only used a total of 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) in mine.

Fold in the thawed blueberries, and add batter to six muffin cups or silicon liners. Sprinkle with streusel topping and a drizzle of agave.

“Bake” in your dehydrator for about an hour until firm enough to remove from muffin cups or liners. Continue to “bake” until the centers are no longer a doughy consistency. I tried mine after a couple of hours and opted to leave them in the dehydrator for brunch the next day. Serve with sweetened almond milk.

Recipes from www.welikeitraw.com