HEA has teamed up with the American red Cross to sponsor a Blood Drive at the Robinson Community Center on April 15. The drive is from 1 – 6 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to come out and GIVE blood!

Slow cookers have been a staple of many kitchens since the 1970's. Foods that take several hours to cook can be prepared and cooked slowly while the family is away or busy. Slow cookers have also been one way for us to take less tender cuts of meat, cook them slowly, and end up with a tender, flavorful, moist food.

Today's slow cooker has changed a little from the original one. The basics of the cookers have remained the same – a glazed ceramic crock that is housed in an outer heating element casing. First of all, you can find them in various sizes and shapes. Choose the one that suits your family size best.

Newer slow cookers have a removable crock – that makes cleanup a lot easier. Controls can be anywhere from the simple two to three temperature settings to more complicated settings that you can program to cook food.

Slow cookers are used for a variety of reasons:

• Convenience and saves time
• Saves money
• Nutritional content is high
• Great for less tender cuts of meat
• Long cooking time develops flavors
• You can prepare family meals "from scratch"

Are they safe? Slow cookers should cook food slowly enough that they can be left unattended yet fast enough to make sure food is not in the food safety danger zone (between 40 and 140 degrees F). You can make sure that your slow cooker gets hot enough by doing a simple test:

1. Fill the slow cooker one-half to two-thirds full of water.
2. Heat by setting the controls on high for 8 hours and leave the lid on.
3. Check the water temperature at the end of the 8 hours – it should be at least 185 degrees F. If it is lower than this, replace your slow cooker.

Cooking Safely:

• Start with a clean cooker, utensils and kitchen.
• Wash your hands before and during food preparation.
• Keep perishables refrigerated until it is time to put them in the cooker.
• Thaw meats before putting them in a slow cooker. Cut meats into pieces.
• Vegetables should go in first, on the bottom and around the sides because they take longer to cook.
• Fill the cooker no less than half-full but no more than two-thirds full.
• Cover the food with liquid.
• Keep the lid in place.
• If possible start the food on high and shift to low after an hour of cooking.

If the power goes out while you are using your slow cooker, finish the cooking process immediately using some other heat source such as a gas stove or outdoor grill. If the food was completely cooked before the power went out, it should be safe for up to two hours in the cooker.

Leftovers should be placed in shallow containers and refrigerated within two hours after the end of the cooking time. Do not reheat leftovers in a slow cooker – instead reheat them rapidly in a microwave oven or conventional cooking until the temperature reaches 165 degrees F. You can then safely place the food in a preheated slow cooker but make sure the food stays at 140 degrees F. or higher.

Fill in the blanks:

1. The food safety danger zone is _______ degrees F to ________ degrees F.
2. _______________ should be placed in the bottom and around the sides of the cooker.
3. The slow cooker should be filled _______ to _________ full.
4. Leftovers should be heated to __________ degrees F. and then placed in the slow cooker.
5. Keep the _________ in place during cooking.

Answers to the fill-in the blanks:

1. 40, 140
2. Vegetables
3. 1/2, 2/3
4. 165
5. Lid

- Shirley Camp, Extension Educator

You may have noticed that your grocery bill is higher than ever before. That means making good use of the food we buy and eliminating throwing food away.

One way to save money is to have a plan. Try to plan menus for a week at a time and note how you will use your "planned-over" food. Check the newspaper ads and buy the most economical cuts of meat and other foods available for that week. If pork roast is on sale, buy a small roast and cook it for your Sunday dinner. On Monday, you can make some pork barbecue for a sandwich. Add some pineapple tidbits, green pepper, onion, and cornstarch on Tuesday for sweet and sour pork.

Make sure you have the ingredients you need for your recipes. When you run out of a staple like flour, write it down on a list. Then, when you plan your meals for the week, add the ingredients you need to make those recipes to that list.

You can reduce some of your favorite recipes. Here are some tips to help you when reducing family-size down to empty-nest size:

• Choose a recipe that is easily divided
• When a recipe calls for a "can" of something, use half of the can and freeze the rest for later
• Add the seasonings gradually – you may need to use more or less than half what the recipe calls for depending on the strength of the seasoning
• Some recipes may cook more quickly – check for doneness 5 to 10 minutes earlier than the original recipe called for
• Make notes of what you have done so you can repeat your successes again!

Vegetable Scramble - Unscramble the following vegetables – remember vegetables add color and nutrients to your winter meals!

Nirput ________________

Cihzucin ________________

Alpgegtn ________________

Nachips ________________

Lorbakih ________________

Macija ________________

Wailelorufc ________________

Hasqus ________________

Answers to Vegetable Scramble: turnip, zucchini, eggplant, spinach, kohlrabi, jicama, cauliflower, squash

- Shirley Camp, Extension Educator

If you are like me, when it comes time to prepare the food for a meal, you stand in front of your cupboard and think – what can I eat, I don't have the ingredients I need. You can avoid this by keeping a few staples on hand:

1. baking supplies like flour, sugar, brown sugar
2. a variety of herbs and spices
3. several kinds of pasta and rice
4. a variety of dry beans and lentils
5. canned foods like tomatoes, tomato sauce, fruits, vegetables, etc.

There are other foods that are "staples" for your personal cooking tastes – make sure to keep those handy also. A variety of frozen vegetables is handy for making casseroles and soups quickly.

- Shirley Camp, Extension Educator