Little League mom shares crockpot skills

  • By Judyrae Kruse Herald Columnist
  • Thursday, April 4, 2013 6:03pm
  • Life

Judyrae Kruse is taking some well-earned time off. Here is an encore column from April 2006.

For starters today, we have a totally terrific letter-recipe combo guaranteed to gladden your heart, put a smile on your face, get dinner to the table fast as a flash and probably bring back some happy memories, too. Wow!

We’re talking Little League baseball here, and here’s what Snohomish cook Kathy Anderson has to say on the subject.

“Ah, the memories!” she writes. “The crack of the bat, the smell of newly mown grass, freezing my buns off in the stands, trying to get grass stains out at 11 at night … .

“With three kids who all played ball, I have 18 years of experience in feeding athletes. For many years, when they were all playing, it was often nine games a week, plus practices.

“They each took weekly music lessons as well, and my sons had to be at school at 7 a.m. for jazz band practice at two different schools!

“We live six miles from Monroe, but in one week, I would put 1,100 miles on my van, racing between fields and other events. This ‘stay at home mom’ seldom saw the inside of the house!

“Now for some advice: crockpot. Preferably a large one with a removable crock. Almost any recipe can be adapted for it, and you always come home to a hot, healthy meal.”

We’ll call her handy how-to:

Kathy Anderson’s crockpot dinners

Two-day beef roast: On the first day (advice is usually to brown meat before putting it in the crock, but I never did and it came out fine), place cut-up potatoes, carrots and celery in the bottom of the crockpot; dump a 6- or 7-pound roast on top. Cover liberally with salsa, cover and cook on low all day. Dinner is served.

Place the crock with leftovers in the fridge after dinner, and wash and sort a bag of 15-bean soup mix, cover with water and soak overnight in a large bowl.

On the second day, drain the beans and dump them into the crock with the leftovers (chop the meat up a bit). Dump in a can of garlic-and-onion diced tomatoes, a couple of cloves of minced garlic and some dried Cajun (or other) seasoning. Fill the crock with water, leaving “bubble” room, cover and cook on low all day. I would usually set up my breadmaker as well, so we would have fresh bread with this. You can see how you can play with this to suit your family’s tastes.

Crockpot pork chops: Layer the chops (I found boneless loin chops worked best) with cream of mushroom and garlic soup between each layer. I liked to throw in a little chopped celery with the soup. Cover and cook all day on low. I used to serve this with quick-cooking rice, but now they have the wonderful 90-second rice for those starving players. Add a salad and you’re there.

Winding up, Kathy adds, “These are just some starting points. The crockpot is truly a savior of the Little League mom! I used to say life would be perfect if I could put a microwave in my van.

“It was nuts, but I really miss it, still find myself checking the ballfields and waxing nostalgic. The ‘kids’ are now 27, 24 and 21. Little League is only a memory and, like giving birth, you remember the good times! Ha!”

The next Forum column will run Monday in the comics pages.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.