Crock Potting: turning Crock Pot into a verb

Chicken Tacos with a Kick...Our Favorite Recipe!

2011-11-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

It's been just over 6 months since I've posted anything...but life's been changing a lot! In the last 6 months, there has been college graduation, relocating 400 miles away from home, starting a new job, traveling, etc! But that's not to say that I haven't been using our beloved Crock Pot. In fact, I have, and almost every weekend ;) We have made this at least every other weekend since I first made it up about 2 months ago! It's delicious and leaves you with tons of easy to make leftovers for the rest of the week!

CHICKEN TACOS

Ingredients
Packet of Taco Seasoning
4 Chicken Breasts
4 Habanero Peppers
Chicken Broth, low sodium
Cheese (optional)
Black beans (optional)
Lettuce (optional)
Taco Kit, including shells and taco sauce (optional)

Directions
Place chicken breasts in the Crock Pot. Make sure they are not overlapping to ensure they all get cooked thoroughly!

Sprinkle half the taco seasoning packet onto the chicken breasts and rub it in. Flip the chicken breasts over and do the same to the other side. Tip: We tried the low sodium taco seasoning because it's healthier but it really does take away from the taste. It was surprising how much more bland it tasted! However, we made up for it by using Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth and Low Sodium Black Beans.

Add in the chicken broth so that it just about covers the breasts. Don't go much higher than that otherwise you'll have soupy chicken!

Dice up the habanero peppers (including the seeds, they carry the heat)! You can add or remove some of the peppers depending on your spice tolerance.

Toss the habanero peppers into the crock pot and mix it around so it's evenly distributed!

Turn the Crock Pot on LOW for 7 hours. After 7 hours, it should look like....

YUM! Not to mention that your kitchen/house/apartment will smell amazing all day! Now take two forks and shred that chicken up! After cooking for 7 hours, it should just fall apart like flourless cookies. You'll notice there is still some liquid in there, so we're going to make the chicken soak up that extra liquid. This will make the chicken even juicier and prevent dripping, messy tacos!

To do this, turn the Crock Pot lid so that the dish is only partly covered. Turn the Crock Pot on HIGH for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, your chicken will be ready to eat!

Jason likes hard shells, so he toasted those and topped it with black beans, cheese and taco sauce.

For a healthier, lower calorie variety, I made lettuce shell tacos! I laid out two pieces of Organic Romaine Lettuce and put in the chicken, black beans, cheese and taco sauce just like I would a normal taco. It wraps nicely (if you have strong pieces of lettuce) and are delicious (and lacking the unnecessary carbs!)

Bon Appetit! Let me know what you think when you make them :)

Beef Enchiladas

2011-05-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

I love this holiday...I love Mexican food, love the Mexican pride, and love the celebrations :) I wrote up a "history & fun facts" about Cinco de Mayo so if you want to read it let me know! Off topic. Anyways, this isn't a Crock Pot blog (sorry) but this is a delicious food blog...and I haven't written in a while! Things have just been so hectic - finishing college, packing, getting ready to graduate and move...basically, I haven't had any time to cook! Good thing my favorite restaurant (Plaza Azteca) is literally right next door to my apartment :) I'll miss them dearly when I leave Williamsburg (and so will J, hehe)!

Instead of celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Williamsburg, I ended up making a celebratory meal for my family. This was my first attempt at enchiladas and I have to say that I'm obsessed! It was so easy and so yummmy.

BEEF ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:

Flour tortillas (small)

1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)

Small white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 can diced green chiles

1 can (at least 20 oz) Enchilada Sauce

2 cups cheese (I used a Mexican variety, but you can use your favorite)

Shredded lettuce (optional)

Tomato, diced (optional)

Side Dishes:

1 box Old El Paso Spanish Rice

1 can black/refried beans

Guacamole

Okay, so it's not as pretty when it's not in a molcajete but it was pretty tasty nonetheless!

So back to making the Enchiladas...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, wrap 8 flour tortillas in aluminum foil and put them in the oven to warm up.

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet. Add in ground beef and brown.

Drain the fat from the ground beef. Add in garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is transparent.

Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the enchilada sauce.

Take the tortillas out of the oven.

On a tortilla, layer cheese, ground beef, and a little enchilada sauce.

Roll the tortilla and place seam-side-down in the pan.

Repeat with all 8 tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the wraps until they are covered.

Layer the cheese on top of the enchiladas.

Bake for 30 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, take a big whiff because it smells delicious!

And when you decorate a plate with all of the sides, you get something that looks like:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, wrap 8 flour tortillas in aluminum foil and put them in the oven to warm up.

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet. Add in ground beef and brown.

Drain the fat from the ground beef. Add in garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is transparent.

Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the enchilada sauce.

Take the tortillas out of the oven.

On a tortilla, layer cheese, ground beef, and a little enchilada sauce. Roll the tortilla and place seam-side-down in the pan.

Repeat with all 8 tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the wraps until they are covered.

Layer cheese on top of the enchiladas.

Bake for 30 minutes.

And if you want to make the dinner even better...here are some of our choice beverages ;)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Chicken & Potatoes Au Gratin

2011-03-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of very few recipes I have tried from pure experimentation. I usually get my inspiration from my Crock Pot recipe book, foodgawker (most amazing food website ever, in my opinion), or allrecipes.com!

Also, just as an aside... I desperately want to get a recipe/photo onto foodgawker but they are so picky about the photos they choose, plus my lack of photography skills or equipment... I keep getting rejected! Any tips/hints/ideas? Or does someone want to be my food photographer? hehe. Also, if you go all the way back in their archives and click on the very first (or last) page...you will see such a huge difference in pictures - it's crazy how photography standards have changed!

My roomie made some delicious au gratin potatoes last weekend and that got me thinking...I should try to Gratin (is that even a verb?) a meal....and better yet, why not in my Crock Pot!

"CHICKEN & POTATOES" AU GRATIN

Ingredients:
4-5 medium Yukon potatoes, chopped into small 0.5-1" cubes
2-3 chicken breasts, chopped into 1" cubes
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
2 cups Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese (or whatever your favorite is!)
1 (12-16oz) can Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup Half & Half (or skim milk for a lower fat version)
1 tablespoon ground red pepper, optional
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
I tried to make this recipe with even parts potato and chicken, but you can alter that ratio to your liking!
1. Chop the potatoes into small 0.5"-1" cubes (they will cook faster if they're smaller).
2. Chop the chicken breasts into 1" cubes.

3. Finely chop the white onion.

4. Mix the potatoes, chicken, and onion in the Crock Pot.

5. In a large bowl, mix together cheese, soup, half & half, and ground red pepper.

6. Pour the liquid over top of the ingredients already in the slow cooker.
7. Make sure the liquid and cheese are evenly distributed throughout chicken and potatoes.

8. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
At this point, my meal was very soup-y and liquidy. I scooped some of the excess juice out and then replaced the Crock Pot lid, but I left the lid cracked about 1". Cracking the lid will allow some of the extra moisture to evaporate! I learned that if any of your recipes are soupier that you'd like it to be, just take off the lid and let it cook for an hour or two; most of the liquid will evaporate.
9. Cook on LOW an additional 2-3 hours (after slightly opening the lid).

You'll be surprised to see a nice, crispy Au Gratin'd meal :)

Salsa Chicken - Only Four Ingredients!

2011-03-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

I've been such a slacker and have been seriously neglecting my blog - sorry! I'm in the middle of finishing up college and studying for an insurance license, so that has been consuming pretty much ALL of my time. But on the bright side, I will soon be up in Vermont with J (hellllo June!), employed, and living the dream!

I spent all of this cold, gray Saturday at my desk studying (boo) but on the bright side, I had a delicious dinner cooking all day in the Crock Pot :) Cooking meat in the slow cooker is so amazing because it has hours to soak up all of the juices and it comes out so incredibly tender and juicy.

(SHREDDED) SALSA CHICKEN

Ingredients:
2 lb Chicken Breasts
1 bottle (16-24oz) Medium Salsa
1 can Diced Green Chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
Mix together salsa, green chiles, and garlic in the slow cooker.
Place chicken breasts in the Crock Pot. Make sure they are evenly distributed and completely covered by the salsa.
Cook on LOW 7-8 hours.

When it's done, you'll probably want to take out some of the liquid, but make sure you save some of it because you may want to put some back in after you shred it.

And then shred it (if you want)...

As you can see in the picture on the right, all of the liquid suddenly seems to vanish. Thankfully, you read my sentence above (about saving some liquid, which is probably full of chiles and other flavorful things). You can put in some more salsa juice so it is juicy to your liking :)

I bought some whole wheat tortillas to wrap the chicken in (can't get away from my obsession with Mexican food), or you can eat it with rice, veggies, or just plain!

You can garnish it with whatever "taco" toppings you like... shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, jalapenos, avocados, onions, cheese (just giving you some ideas).

I hope you enjoy it! It's deliciously "melt-in-your-mouth" juicy, cheap & easy to make!

Couscous Turkey Tetrazzini (or something like it)

2011-03-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

I'm cheating.

This isn't a Crock Pot recipe either (sorry!) but J and I made this the other night and we. are. obsessed. It all started with me pulling up my favorite All Recipes App on the iPad and browsing the slow cooker recipes (I had good intentions!) I saw one for Chicken Tetrazzini and showed it to J, who made me watch this hilarious video (seriously, be prepared to laugh): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RZxbKvD1YQ

Anyways, that brought me to researching other recipes for Turkey Tetrazzini (because we had ground turkey to use instead of chicken) and after reading a few, I was inspired to put together our very own :)

COUSCOUS TURKEY TETRAZZINI

Ingredients:
2 cups Couscous Grande
2 cups frozen peas
1.5 lb ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Shaved Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13" baking dish
2. Brown the ground turkey. Mix in chopped onion and garlic and let it simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Fill a small pan halfway with water and boil the Couscous until it is partly cooked (all the water should be absorbed).
4. In a medium pan, mix olive oil, flour, chicken broth, and milk. Bring to a simmer. Mix in 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese.
5. Once soup mix is simmering, pour in peas and turn heat off.
6. In the baking dish, pour in the turkey meat. Mix in couscous and soup mix.
7. Stir all ingredients together well! Layer the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese evenly across the top.
8. Bake in oven for 40 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it! J and I are obsessed... we have made it twice this week already! Hehe.

The next post will be back to Crock Pot recipes...promise :)

Blueberry Crumb Bars

2011-03-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

So in the last post, when we had Turkey Stuffed Peppers, I also made Blueberry Crumb Bars for dessert. Even though these were made in the oven and not in the Crock Pot (gasp!), they were so good I had to share :)

I'm partial to desserts that are 150% chocolate (and then some), and J is too..but I get the feeling he likes fruity desserts over chocolate ones sometimes. And I know he loves blueberries so when I found this recipe online I knew I had to try it out! My recipe was adapted from Cookin Canuck - great food blog! Although I didn't spike the blueberries with Rum like suggested, they were still great!

Last night, in Northern Vermont, we got hit with one of the biggest storms in history. It been snowing for over 24 hours (and still coming)! We got about 16-20" last night, and they are predicting another 8" or so today... and you know the weather is rough out there because it takes extremely severe weather for J to say it's probably too risky to drive to the mountain to go snowboarding! So it looks like we're snowed in... good thing we have our Blueberry Crumb Bars :)

BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen blueberries but defrosted them and it came out fine)
3 tbsp dark rum or lemon juice (I used lemon juice)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup (8 oz) cold butter
1 egg

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine blueberries and lemon juice (or rum). Stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 4 tsp cornstarch. Set aside.

3. In a separate medium bowl, mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.

4. Cut in chunks of the 1 cup of cold butter using a pastry cutter or a fork and mix well until the consistency is crumbly. Whisk one egg in a small bowl and stir into this mixture.

5. Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom of the greased pan.

6. Spread the blueberry mixture over the crust.

7. Sprinkle the rest of the flour mixture over the blueberries.

8. Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is light brown. Let the bars cool and then place in a fridge to chill (this makes it easier to cut).

And here are the directions without pictures, to make it easier to follow:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine blueberries and lemon juice (or rum). Stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 4 tsp cornstarch. Set aside.

3. In a separate medium bowl, mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.

4. Cut in chunks of the 1 cup of cold butter using a pastry cutter or a fork and mix well until the consistency is crumbly. Whisk one egg in a small bowl and stir into this mixture.

5. Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom of the greased pan.

6. Spread the blueberry mixture over the crust.

7. Sprinkle the rest of the flour mixture over the blueberries.

8. Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is light brown. Let the bars cool and then place in a fridge to chill (this makes it easier to cut).

And as a side note... are you having trouble picturing what a real Vermont winter storm looks like?

the snow piled up on the porch, against the glass door that can't be opened...and the view into the neighborhood from the living room.

And then the "parking lots"...

Yes, I will be spending the next several winters living here...and I can't wait :)

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

2011-03-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

There's something so soothing and relaxing about turning up the music really loud and cooking in the kitchen. The chopping, mixing, and repetition of motion is like meditation for me. J works all day Saturdays so I brought him lunch at Costco and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen :) I love our life.

Recently, I've been fascinated with Women's Health Magazine (online at www.womenshealthmag.com) because they have great articles, extremely useful information, and a huge database of healthy recipes broken up into different dietary needs (such as low sodium, high protein, low fat, etc). That's where I found Saturday night's Crock Pot dinner - Stuffed Green Peppers!

According to Womens Health, the dietary benefits of this dish include: high fiber, high protein, low sodium, low calorie, gluten free, dairy free, amongst others!

CROCK POT STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS
Adapted from: http://recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipe/slow-cooker-stuffed-peppers.aspx

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 cup uncooked grande couscous (delicious high protein, no fat alternative to rice)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno chile pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 large green bell peppers
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (28 oz) can tomato puree, choose one that has less than 50mg sodium per 1/2 cup
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh parsley

Directions:
Combine ground turkey, couscous, cilantro, onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and black pepper into a large bowl.

Cut the tops off the bell peppers and scoop out the seeds.

Stuff each pepper with 1/5 of the turkey meat mixture. Replace the pepper tops and place them into the slow cooker.

Combine the broth, tomato puree, and oregano in a medium bowl.

Pour the liquid over the peppers in the slow cooker. Make sure the peppers are covered by the liquid.

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Garnish with parsley before serving.

TA-DA!

While we ate dinner, we planned our land excursions for our 7 day cruise in May - we're cruising on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas to Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico! In celebration of booking our excursions (and because I was getting really excited about it) I made us Poor Girl's "Mai-Tai" (aka Mai Tais with fewer ingredients) - still YUMMY!

POOR GIRL'S MAI TAI

Ingredients:
Bacardi Light Rum
Pineapple Juice
Orange Juice

Directions:
Mix equal parts pineapple juice and orange juice.
Add in Bacardi Rum until it is at the desired strength.
Garnish with maraschino cherries and pineapple (optional).

And of course I also made dessert for us... I'll save that for the next post, this one is getting a little long ;)

Just Like Mom's - Green Beans, Potato, Pork

2011-02-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend is the annual Colonial Half Marathon and 5k and my parents and grandparents have come into town every year that I've been at William & Mary to run it together.

In honor of my family coming to visit me this weekend, I thought I'd post this meal I made last week. Growing up, one of my favorite meals was a mixture of equal parts green beans, potatoes, and pork, all mixed up and cooked to tenderness in a beef broth and soy sauce mixture (gives it that little extra asian flair). While I will never be able to make it like my mother does, I at least gave it a try!

The biggest mistake I made was the meat I used... I couldn't remember exactly what kind of pork meat my mom would use, but all I remember is small chunks of pork (about 2" pieces) with a bone inside. I don't have access to an asian foods store like we do back home, so I took my chances at bloom and used Pork Neck. I will never use pork neck again - the meat was only okay, and there were so many little chunks of bone that got mixed in and had to be picked out. Lesson learned: don't use pork neck! (what is it used for normally, anyhow??)

GREEN BEANS, POTATO, PORK

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh green beans
1-2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1-2" pieces (or use angus beef cubes)
4 Yukon potatoes, cut into 1-2" chunks
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 (12oz) can beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions:
Pick stems off of the ends of the green beans and break them in 1" pieces. Boil green beans until halfway cooked.
Wash potatoes and chop them into 1-2" cubes, (the smaller the size of the potato, the easier and quicker it cooks!)
In a large bowl, mix together the green beans, potatoes, and onion.
Place the pork pieces into the Crock Pot.
Pour in a little beef broth to make sure the meat doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot once the remaining ingredients are added.
Layer the green beans, potato, and onion mixture on top of the pork.
Pour in the beef broth and soy sauce; distribute as evenly as possible over the food.
Add water if necessary. The Crock Pot should be about 1/2 full of liquid to make sure everything gets cooked well!
Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

This is best served with warm rice (brown or white will do)! And personally, I think the broth is one of the
best parts of this meal.

My mom made a big pot of her version of this meal and is bringing it to me when she comes today :) can't wait!

Three Ingredient Pork Tenderloin

2011-02-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

We've been extraordinarily lucky to have been blessed with BEAUTIFUL (mid 70s) weather the past few days so needless to say, I've been taking every opportunity to "pretend" like its summer already - running outside, shopping at the Outlets, spending time in the sun, and of course margaritas and guacamole and my favorite restaurant in the world, Plaza Azteca! So that's why I haven't been cooking much. But once Sunday rolled around, it was time to hit the books again - which meant time to let my dinner cook all day while I did work!

I loved this recipe because I'm a college student on a budget, so cooking gourmet is hard sometimes! Especially when I am not motivated by preparing a nice romantic meal for J and I :) These pork tenderloins only take three ingredients and it was absolutely delicious.

PORK TENDERLOIN (Only THREE INGREDIENTS!)

Ingredients:
1-2 lb Pork Tenderloin
1 (12 oz) can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Coat the pork tenderloins with Salt and Pepper.
In a small bowl, blend together the Cream of Mushroom soup and the Chicken Broth (and the garlic, if you choose to use it).
Pour half of the soup mixture into the Crock Pot. Place the pork tenderloins into the Crock Pot. Pour the remainder of the soup mixture over top of the pork tenderloins.
Cook on LOW 5-6 hours.

The pork tenderloins were served with Uncle Bens Wild Rice and Green Bean Casserole.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh green beans
1 (12 oz) can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup skim milk
1 (12oz) can French's Fried Onions
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut stems off of the ends of the green beans and break into small, 1 inch pieces. Cook green beans on stove in boiling water until they become tender.
While green beans are boiling, mix Cream of Mushroom soup, milk, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl.
In a casserole dish, mix green beans and soup mix in a casserole dish. Sprinkle French's fried onions over the green bean casserole.
Bake casserole in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until French's fried onions darken with crispiness!

I've been getting great feedback from readers and hearing that you are inspired to use your Crock Pot makes me so happy! Keep it coming :)

Crock Pot for Side Dishes: Potatoes Au Gratin

2011-02-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest things about Crock Pots is the convenience of coming home to a warm entree, ready to serve and no additional cooking necessary. But for those days when you'd like to make something in the oven or on the stove, you can still find uses for your Crock Pot - side dishes!

I love my mom's "fall off the bone" BBQ ribs so I decided to recreate her masterpiece for J and I when we were in Vermont...YUM! I baked the ribs in the oven for four hours, slathered in Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (I swear, the best)...what could make this meal better? Often, ribs are served with a baked potato. I thought I'd treat us to some Potatoes Au Gratin :)

POTATOES AU GRATIN

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup milk

1 can cream of celery soup
6 thinly sliced peeled Idaho potatoes

Preparation:

Mix soup, onion, milk, red pepper, oregano, and cheeses in a large bowl.

Place a layer of potatoes in the Crock Pot. Layer the soup/cheese mix over the potatoes. Repeat until all ingredients are used!

Cook on HIGH 4-6 hours, or until all potatoes are tender.

These potatoes were served with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Ribs and Garlic Roasted Asparagus.

BBQ RIBS

Ingredients:
Rack of Baby Back Ribs
1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
1 stick Butter, softened

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cover an oven sheet with aluminum foil and place the ribs on top. Loosely cover the ribs with another sheet of aluminum foil.
Coat all surfaces of the ribs well with butter.
Cook buttered ribs in oven for 30 minutes.
Take ribs out and coat with BBQ sauce. Layer the sauce on thick! Recover the ribs. Put them back in the oven for one hour.
Take ribs out, recover with BBQ sauce, and flip over to bake in the oven for another hour.
Repeat one more time (at least).

Tuck a napkin bib into your shirt and get messsssy!!

Shredded Chicken Chili

2011-02-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

This was inspired by my roomie who used to be obsessed with making chicken chili in her slow cooker when we lived together freshman and sophomore year. We happened to be talking about it the other night so I got the craving to make it! I went to Bloom, bought my essential chili ingredients, and started it the next morning.

Oh also, the Crock Pot I have been talking about is our 6 quart baby that we got for J's apartment in Vermont. But when I come back down to Williamsburg, I haven't been using one because I don't have one here. And then suddenly, an angel (my mother) pulled out a brand new "extra" Crock Pot she had laying around the house! Yessss. And as an added bonus, the new Crock Pot is 4 quarts, so when I move to Vermont in June, J and I will have not one, but two Crock Pots to use (you know, appetizer and main course...hehe).

So, back to the recipe... I made this very similarly to how I made the White Bean Turkey Chili, but I just love how the meat becomes so tender and juicy, and what starts as a big lump of meat, will just shred apart so easily after being cooked for 8-10 hours. I am still amazed by it.

SHREDDED CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:
1-2 pounds chicken breast (I used about 3 breasts)
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Northern Cannellini Beans, drained
1 can diced green chiles
1 can (12-16 ounce) chicken broth (depending on how soupy you like your chili)
1 packet White Chicken Chili seasoning (optional)

Directions:
Mix onion, garlic, beans, chiles, chicken broth, and seasoning in slow cooker.
Add in the chicken breasts. Make sure the chicken is submersed under the liquid and is covered on all sides by chili mixture.
Cook on LOW 8-10 hours.
Pull chicken apart into shreds with two forks.

Before: Chicken breast before it is completely shredded.

After: Shredded chicken mixed with the rest of the chili.

Three Cheese Lasagna

2011-02-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

I have textbooks and notebooks scattered all around me right now but all I want to do is procrastinate...so what better way to procrastinate than to upload another recipe?

My fiancée J is Italian and needless to say, he has had many different home-made lasagnas in this life. I was THRILLED with he tried this one and said it was one of the best he has ever had!

THREE CHEESE LASAGNA

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef/turkey (we used ground turkey)

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (12 ounce) package oven-ready lasagna noodles (you don't have to cook these beforehand!)

12 ounces ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

In a large skillet over medium heat cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic until meat is browned and onion is translucent.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, and oregano to the skillet. Stir until well incorporated. Cook until heated through (just a few minutes).

In a large bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese. Mix well until all of the cheeses are nice and blended together.

Spoon a layer of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker (about 1/3 of the meat mixture to make a three-layered lasagna).

Add a double layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles. Break to fit noodles into slow cooker if you need to.

Top noodles with a portion of the cheese mixture (again, about 1/3 of the cheese mixture). Repeat the layering of sauce, noodles, and cheese until all the ingredients are used.

Cover, and cook on LOW setting for 3-4 hours, or until noodles are at your desired softness!

I served this with simple GARLIC-ROASTED ASPARAGUS (as pictured).

Ingredients:

Asparagus spears (as many as you want to make!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

I cut the ends (near the root) off of the asparagus before I cook them, but this is just personal preference. On the stove, heat olive oil in a pan. Once heated, add the minced garlic. Immediately add the asparagus spears. (Note: Garlic cooks really fast so you don't want to leave it on for too long!) Make sure to turn the asparagus over so all sides are cooked evenly. I cooked these for about 5 minutes, until they were easy to pierce with a fork but not too soft!

Happy Lasagna-ing!

For Those Cold Days...White Bean Turkey Chili

2011-02-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

At the request of my roommate...

Even though Spring is supposedly here, we all know that we have plenty of cold, miserable days ahead of us (sorry to break the bad news). But! I have a good idea. When you're sitting there trying to decide which of the on-campus dining halls is worth bearing the cold for, after hours of walking around campus and sitting in class, why don't you just go home to the delicious White Turkey Chili waiting in the crock pot for you?

Let me preface this recipe by saying that, when made right, this smells amazing.

WHITE BEAN TURKEY CHILI

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey (or beef, if you prefer)
1-2 cups chicken broth (depending on how soup-y you like your chili)
1 (15 ounce) can Northern Cannellini Beans, not drained
1 (12 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 can green chiles (this is what gives it a little kick...choose mild if you don't want the kick!)
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground red (cayenne) pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pinch ground black pepper
salt, to taste
1 packet white chili mix (optional)
Shredded cheese (to garnish, if desired)

Preparation:
On the stove, brown the ground turkey and drain off excess fat.
Mix in the remainder of the ingredients and stir well.
Cook on LOW 4-5 hours.

Stay Warm! You know that's my number one priority :)

Falling In Love with the Crock Pot: Sloppy Leucks

2011-02-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

In January, my fiancée (J) suggested we get a Crock Pot after having some delicious slow cooked chicken noodle soup at his parents' house. As soon as we got home to Vermont, we went to Bed Bath & Beyond (literally the very first place we drove to after landing at the airport) and bought a 6 Quart Crock Pot:

We brainstormed recipes and made shopping lists and it was LOVE instantly. While I'm definitely no Crock Pot pro...I do love it and I think it's a great addition to any household! It is so convenient to prepare the slow cooker in the morning when you first wake up, go out and do whatever you want all day long, and come home to a delicious smelling apartment AND a warm home-cooked meal :)

One of the best days we had in January included: prepping the slow cooker at 7am, packing up our snowboards and spending the day taking turns at Stowe (which is only about one hour away).

As soon as we got back, we had SLOPPY JOES waiting for us! Although I did "adapt" the recipe to our taste buds so we actually call them "Sloppy Leucks"...needless to say, they were just as good, if not better, than any I had had in the past! Not to mention that neither of us had even had sloppy joes in 10+ years...which only made it that much better!

Here's our recipe - it's EASY and quick (only takes 4 hours!)

SLOPPY LEUCKS

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds lean ground beef/turkey (we used ground turkey)

1 large white onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 (12 ounces) bottle prepared chili sauce (we just used pasta sauce)

1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon ground red (cayenne) pepper (gives it a kick!)

2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 packet of mccormick's "sloppy joe" mix (optional)

Toasted sandwich/hamburger buns

Preparation:
In large deep skillet, brown ground beef/turkey; drain off fat.

Place ground beef mixture in crock pot and stir in all other ingredients.

Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve on toasted buns and enjoy!

Hope you try, enjoy, and LOVE it just like we did! <3