NEW FEATURE: Jocks With Crocks Cooking Segment Episode 1
The life of a radio jock is sometimes not all it’s cracked up to be. Long hours. Odd hours. Moving from job to job around the country. Sometimes the only home-cooked meal a radio hack gets is at the local diner. However, here at the Jersey Shore, we DJ’s are survivors! Most of us learned to cook and fend for ourselves long ago. A few, like our own illustrious Rockyn Robyn Lane, have become quite the self-taught gourmet chefs. While others, like Morning Man East Side Dave, consider Doritos, Kraft slices, a jar of salsa, and a microwave all that is needed for a gourmet meal.
The rest of us? Well we fall somewhere in between. However one thing bonds all of us, and most American families as well. The All American slow cooker!
(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The Crock Pot, to use the commercial term. I must say, I’ve never felt like it was real cooking, which I happen to love to do. I love to cook indoors and grill outside, both as a hobby and a necessity. You see in my house, everyone can cook to some degree, however I’M the family cook. So, just like any good housewife, I utilize my crock pot at least once every couple of weeks. I have gathered some pretty good recipes as well. So it got me thinking, I bet my fellow Jersey Shore Rats have some go to slow cooker recipes they’d love to share with the Rat Rock Nation! Thus the idea was born…Jocks (as in radio Disc Jockeys) With Crocks (as in Crock Pots)! So I went out and bought a brand new Crock Pot for the station and for this new video series!
Before we get to the inaugural video of the series, let’s have a little history of the slow cooker.
According to Wikipedia, Slow cookers achieved popularity in the US during the 1940s, when many women began to work outside the home. They could start dinner cooking in the morning before going to work and finish preparing the meal in the evening when they came home. Moreover, cheaper cuts of meat with connective tissue and lean muscle fibers are suitable for stewing, and produce tastier stews than those using expensive cuts, as long slow cooking softens connective tissue without toughening the muscle.
The low temperature of slow-cooking makes it almost impossible to burn; even food that has been cooked too long. However, some meats and most vegetables become nearly tasteless or “raggy” if overcooked. Of course one of the major advantages of using a slow cooker (especially here in the office, where we have no space and no dishwasher) is cooking the meal in a single pot reduces water waste resulting from cleaning multiple dishes, and the low cooking temperature and glazed pot make cleaning easier than conventional high-heat pots.
Finally, it is now time to unveil the first video recipe in the series Jocks With Crocks: Jimmy’s Holiday Buffalo Chicken Dip!
The recipe is below the video for your convenience.
Holiday Buffalo Chicken Dip
*Mix:
1 pound Velveeta
Add 1/2 pound cream cheese
Pour in 1 bottle Ken’s Steakhouse Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
Add 1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s (preferred) Creamy Buffalo Dip, or 1 bottle of their Buffalo Sauce as seen here.
1 packet ranch seasoning
Mix in 2-3 finely chopped celery hearts
Add 2 diced green onion or 3-4 diced chives
Finish with 1 pound to 1 1/2 pounds of fresh shredded chicken (preferred: Costco packet)
*Combine in crock, mixing well to incorporate.
*Cover, heat on HIGH for one hour.
*Uncover, mix well, taste, add your favorite hot sauce to taste.
*Cover and heat another hour on LOW.
*Uncover, set to WARM, stir, and serve with hearty chips, as it will be thick and heavy, just like you after you eat it. ENJOY!
