Beef and Barley Stew (Slow Cooker)

I thought spring was finally here. On Saturday I was sitting outside soaking in the sun, drinking a beer, and rocking sandals. I thought winter had finally said her goodbyes. But no, I was wrong. Apparently we might get snow tonight. Really? Really? Really?

A ray of sunshine from behind the snow clouds-- I can share this beef and barley stew with you. It is a hearty delicious meal that is perfect for winter days... no matter if it is January or April.

Beef and Barley Stew
Ingredients:
1 lb chuck steak, fat trimmed and cut into about 1/2 inch pieces
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
10 oz baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
14.5 oz can petite cut diced tomatoes
3/4 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup pearl barley, rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan. Add the carrots and onion to the pan and cook until browned about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Dump into slow cooker. Add the meat, broth, tomatoes, and thyme. Cook on high about 3 hours (or low 6 1/2 hours). Stir in the barley and cook for 1 hour on high. Stir in salt/pepper and serve.

Serves about 6.

Shortcut Week Day 1: Chicken Salsa Casserole (Slow Cooker)

Are you ready for another theme week?

You know those days when you are just crazy busy. Those times when you just need a shortcut. You must use pre-canned, pre-packaged, pre-cooked things to make your "home-cooked" meals. Otherwise there is no way you will get dinner on the table before 9 pm. It could be that you aren't running from one place to another but you are just feeling lazy. Maybe you don't want to wait for the yeast to rise, or maybe you don't feel like making your own stock, or maybe the thought of standing over the stove stirring risotto makes you want to cry.

Everyone has those days. And it is those days that we are celebrating this week. These dishes are meant to be the ones that you can turn to in a pinch. They promise to bring you the flavor and finesse without the time or work. All you'll have to do is recruit someone to wash the dishes and you will be in the clear.

We'll start the week off using my favorite kitchen appliance, the slow cooker. This chicken salsa casserole has actually been in my recipe box since college. My sister found it in a book (or maybe got it from a friend) and passed it on to me so I'm not really sure where it originated. If you have some diced chicken leftover from a night earlier in the week, this is super easy. Choose your spice level by varying the salsa. This was a hit among my college friends and I'm sure it will be a hit for your friends and family. Just don't tell them how simple it is!

Chicken Salsa Casserole in the Slow Cooker
Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups salsa (I used medium)
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
6 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
1 tsp dried parsley
For topping: diced tomato, sour cream, lettuce

Directions:
Combine the soup, salsa, cheese, tortillas, chicken, and parsley in your slow cooker. Mix to combine. Cook on low 6-8 hours (it can potentially go for 9 hours but I wouldn't let it go much longer unless you can change it to warm after the 6 hour mark).

Serve garnished with tomato, sour cream and lettuce.

Serves 4.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Boy it is getting hot out there.

Today we had a high of 22 F!! That is practically Caribbean weather, right? Well, at least relative to the high of -11 F with a windchill of -45 F on Monday. Yeah, it was really cold.

And when you are really cold, you need a chili to warm you up. Here is one of my favorites. It is a white chicken chili packed full of flavor after cooking all day in your slow cooker. The leftovers are perfect reheated or repurposed into nachos or a salad, so make the whole batch, ok?

Now I'm off to resume my comfy place on my couch with my slippers, blanket, and a mug of steaming hot cocoa. I'm not leaving until the weather warms to at least freezing.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili (adapted from Fix-it and Forget-it)
Ingredients:
1 lb dried great northern beans
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 cups diced bell peppers (I used a combination of red, yellow, and green)
2 jalapeno peppers, diced (I seeded one and left the other with seeds, but adjust for your desired spice)
1 medium onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
4 cups chicken broth (homemade or low sodium store-bought. If using store-bought, omit salt)
2 cups water

Directions:
The night before, rinse and pick over the northern beans. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Let soak overnight.

The morning of, drain the beans. Place them back in the saucepan and cover again with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the water.

Mix together the beans, chicken, peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, broth and water in the crock of your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high 4-5 hours). Stir and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.

Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheese, Greek yogurt or sour cream, or additional garnishes as desired.

Makes 8 servings.

Chicken Tikka Masala (Slow Cooker)

Probably at least 7 out of 10 people who you ask their go-to Indian dish will answer chicken tikka masala. In my opinion, it is the gateway Indian food. No matter where you get it, you know it will be yummy. There is just something about that creamy, spicy (although not too hot) tomato sauce that is perfect to lap up with naan. I had been wanting to make this at home for awhile and when I stumbled across a version for the slow cooker, I knew this would a great place to start. Since it is in the slow cooker, the chicken basically falls apart so, as you can see below, it resembles a pulled chicken more than the typical chopped chicken. But don't let that scare you away. It is exactly what you were dreaming of... or at least what I was dreaming of.

I served it with some cooked rice and naan bread. My only regret- I didn't have time to make my homemade naan. Ah well, next time, for sure.

Chicken Tikka Masala (adapted from Table for Two)
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken (combination of breast and thigh or whichever you prefer)
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
29 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups fat free plain yogurt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp paprika
pinch of kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup half and half
3 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:
Combine the onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, yogurt, oil, garam masala, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and CRP in the crock of a slow cooker. Nestle the chicken into the sauce and make sure it is completely covered. Place the bay leaves on top of the sauce.

Cook on low for 8-9 hours, turning to warm after that time if you aren't ready to eat. 30 minutes before the meal, whisk the cornstarch into the half and half and mix into the crockpot. As you mix, gently shred the chicken with the spoon. Cook on high for about 20 minutes.

Serve hot with cooked rice and/or accompanied by naan (homemade if you have time!).

Serves 4-6.

Summer Vegetable Minestrone (Slow Cooker)

This recipe is for my friend Bob. He asked me the other weekend for a good summer crockpot recipe. My go-to recipe is pulled pork because it is so easy and works anytime of the year. However, I had recently made this minestrone chalked full of summer produce that practically screams summertime.

Maybe not the best for the crazy 100 degree weather we've been having this week, but as long as you've got air conditioning, it'll be a great choice. Feel free to substitute any fresh vegetables that you desire... I was actually inspired by a springtime minestrone soup (follow the link below if you want it) but subbed in perfect summer vegetables like zucchini and corn.

Summer Vegetable Minestrone (adapted from HowSweetEats)
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, chopped
kernels from one ear of corn
28 oz can diced tomatoes
16 oz can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups vegetable broth (homemade or low-sodium storebought)
3 cups water
8 oz uncooked small pasta (like mini penne)
6 oz fresh spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions:
In the crock of your slow cooker, combine the onion, carrot, garlic, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth and water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Stir in the pasta and spinach and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Season with salt and pepper to your liking

Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Serves 6-8.

Chicken Week- Day 1- Lemon Pepper Chicken in the Crockpot

Hello and welcome to my second theme week on the blog! We're talking chicken this week. First we're going to cook a whole chicken* and then make a lot of yummy things with the leftovers. How about it?

When you are in grad school, you learn a lot of things... You learn the subject you are studying (chemistry!). You learn that research is a roller coaster ride that can make or break your happiness on a daily basis. You learn how to deal with people, including bosses. You learn how to write papers and theses and scientific documents.

You also learn important things. Like never ever cook bone-in chicken for a significant other if you don't know they like it. My good friends and lab mate had this boyfriend that cooked her bone-in chicken for her birthday one year and it did not go over very well. You see, she just doesn't like eating chicken off of the bone. From then on, I'm also careful to make sure that I understand who I'm cooking for and what they like whenever I invite someone for dinner. I don't want anyone to leave my house grossed out by what I'm serving.

So for everyone except Leigh, here's a delicious recipe for a whole chicken in the crockpot. It is simply seasoned with lemon and pepper. After cooking all day, it literally falls apart when you remove it from the crock. Cook it up, serve it with some roasted potatoes and a spinach salad. Then make sure to pick off the rest of the meat, we'll be using it later this week. Save the bones to make some chicken stock as well.

Lemon Pepper Chicken (adapted from The Little Kitchen)
Ingredients:
4-5 lb whole chicken, gizzards removed
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 lemons-- 1 quartered, 1 zested and halfed
2 carrots
3 celery stalks
3 garlic cloves

Directions:
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Stuff the quartered lemon into the cavity of the chicken.

Mix together the white pepper, kosher salt, paprika, onion powder, freshly ground pepper and lemon zest. Rub into the skin of the chicken.

Place the carrots, celery and garlic in the bottom of your crockpot. Place the rubbed chicken on top of the vegetables. Squeeze the juice of the halved lemon over the chicken.

Cook on low for 8-12 hours.

Pull chicken out of crockpot carefully and remove meat from the bones. Make sure to save extra chicken meat for leftovers!

*If you feel even lazier than throwing this whole chicken into the crockpot for the day, pick up a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store.

Slow Cooker Hoisin Pork Tenderloin

Here's the deal. My friend Teresa is trying to kick my butt into shape. Somehow she has convinced me to ride a bike to work with her. She does this a lot in the spring/summer... me? I've accompanied her twice in the past two weeks and plan on trying to kick it up to twice or three times a week. Until she convinced me to do this, I could not remember the last time I had been on a bike (well besides the stationary ones at the gym). I thought back and I really think it was the summer after my first semester in college when I biked over to my friend Jennifer's house. That was like 10 years ago!?!

I'm beginning to really appreciate the saying "just like riding a bike". Somehow, I had not forgotten how to peddle, shift gears, or stop from moving. My leg muscles, on the other hand, forgot how to function the day following a bike ride. Wow-sers! Ow-sers! And my bottom... I had to tenderly sit down for the next few days.

But truthfully, it felt good to be outside and stretching my muscles. I had been to complacent lately with working long hours and not getting myself to work out. This really helping me out. You know the best thing about riding a bike to work? You have to bike home too. No take backs, sheets, or give-ups. You gotta get back on it at the end of the day and push through.

For all this bike riding, I need some extra protein to feed my muscles. This pork tenderloin in the slow cooker is great. The Asian flavor of hoisin sauce and chili paste is great. The pork is tender and ready when you get back to the apartment. Serve it up with a baked potato and broccoli and you will have a filling and nutritious meal to refuel you for the next ride.

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin (adapted from Rachael Ray)
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tbsp chili paste (like Sambal Oelek)
1/2 tbsp dry sherry
1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Directions:
Coat crockpot with cooking spray.

Whisk together the garlic, hoisin, ginger, chili paste, sherry, soy sauce and sesame oil. Place the pork in crockpot and pour the sauce over it. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high 4-5 hours).

Remove the pork from the crockpot and let rest until ready to slice.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Turn the crockpot to high and whisk in the cornstarch solution. Heat until thick.

Serve the pork topped with the hoisin sauce.

Serves 3-4.

Pork Zuppa (Slow Cooker)

Today I have been rocking my bright reddish orange spring jacket. It is my way of showing Mother Nature that I'm enjoying the sun and the slightly warmed weather. And hopefully expressing my opinion that we can move on to spring, forget about the foot of snow that stormed into town last week and never look back.

The soup I'm sharing with you today could work for the winter or the spring no matter what the weather is doing. It is light but chalked full of good nutrients from the potatoes and kale. The original recipe called for a full pound of ground pork but I had a quarter pound in my freezer so I used that. I don't think it needed more meat but if you are looking for a meat and potato-type of a soup, feel free to step it up. Additionally, you could certainly skip the pork altogether for a vegetarian option. And as I say with many crockpot recipes, this hearty and delicious meal will welcome you home gladly after a hard day at work.

Pork Zuppa (adapted from Diabetic Living Online)
Ingredients:
1/4 lb ground pork
1 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (homemade or low sodium store bought)
12 oz red new potatoes, quartered
12 oz can fat free evaporated milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups kale, torn into pieces and stems removed
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Combine the pork, onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until the meat is brown, about 5-7 minutes. Drain fat. Add the oregano and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Combine the meat, broth and potatoes in a slow cooker.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high 4-5 hours).

Turn to high heat. Stir the cornstarch into the evaporated milk and add to the slow cooker. Mix in kale. Cover and cook for another 30-60 minutes until bubbly.

Serves 4.

Beef and Black Bean Chili (Slow Cooker)

Seriously busy time in my life right now, y'all! Hence the lack of posts. Luckily, I've been able to make some yummy food that I cannot wait to share with you; unfortunately, I haven't had time to type up the recipes, come up with witty stories, and post them.

So here's a post-- very bare bones in terms of an introduction but yummy food nonetheless. This is an alternative to your "normal" chili that I would certainly suggest if you are a black bean lover. The beans and meat soak up a lot of the liquid so be prepared for a thick chili. Perfect for a cold windy day... especially since it will be cooking all day in the crockpot!

Beef and Black Bean Chili (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Ingredients:
1/3 lb top loin steak, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (or beef stew meat would work as well)
1 1/2 cups tomato juice (low or no sodium)
2 cups water
1 cup dried black beans, rinsed
1/2 large red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp kosher salt (more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
sour cream, for serving

Directions:
Combine the steak, tomato juice, water, black beans, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-9 hours (or high for 5-6 hours). Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Serve garnished with sour cream.

Serves 3-4.

Refried Beans in the Slow Cooker

I was all prepared to deem this recipe "refried" beans because they are not fried and by no means are they RE-fried.


But then I looked up refried beans on Wikipedia and I learned that frijoles refritos actually means "well-fried beans" not re-fried beans. And they are typically baked and not always fried. The misnomer is just in the English translation. So there you go.

In all honesty though, these were great. I made them on a Monday and used them for multiple meals throughout the week because I can never eat too much Mexican. The first night I just did some bean tacos, later I ate them as a side to a taco salad, and just wait until tomorrow to see the winning recipe of the week. :) If you are making them for a large family and want to have extra for leftovers, you could double the beans and seasoning without any issues. Alternatively, if you are anti-pinto beans, I could imagine you could substitute black beans and they would be just as excellent.

Slow Cooker Refried Beans (adapted from Chef in Training)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed and drained
cold water
1 chicken bouillon cube (or vegetable bouillon for vegetarian version)
1/2 tbsp garlic salt
1 small onion, skin removed and chopped in half
1-2 tbsp butter, optional*
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Place the rinsed and drained pinto beans in your slow cooker. Fill almost to the top with cold water. Add the bouillon cube, garlic salt and onion. Cook on low for 10-12 hours (or high for 5-6 hours). Test to make sure the beans are soft.

Strain the beans, reserving some of the liquid. Place the beans and onion in a large bowl, add the butter, and mash with a potato masher or fork until the desired consistency is reached. Add some of the cooking liquid if they begin to dry out. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 6 cups. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*For a non-fat version, do not add butter.

Chili in the Crockpot

What do you do when the weather turns from high of 80 to high of 50 within 24 hours?

1. Wear a scarf. Obvi.

2. Make some chili. Probably in the crockpot if you are working all day and don't have time for a long simmer.

It's inevitable that I'll make chili multiple times during the fall and winter. When it comes to a bean-laden thick stew, I just can't say no. I like a traditional red chili or a white chicken chili or a vegetarian chili. This fall I'm thinking I'm going to try a pumpkin chili. I told you once that I have this one slow cooker cookbook that I enjoy because it has about 25 variations for each dish. I typically don't follow just one recipe but instead adapt things from multiple and go from there. Here's a look at my chili recipe page from the cookbook. Yes, I do defile my cookbooks by writing down my adaptions, folding down corners and even noting whether or not I liked the recipe. You may even be able to see some food stains if you look closely. :)

I'm pretty certain every time I make chili, it turns out a little different. That's because I use the ingredients I have on hand in my fridge and pantry. So I'm sharing with you what I did this time around. But as always, be creative and use what you have (is this becoming my cooking mantra?). Also, you can definitely double the chili recipe and it should fit in a normal sized crockpot. I made a little less this time around because it was just for me (lasted for 2 lunches and 2 dinners) but when I would make it for Scott and me, I always upped the ingredients.

Chili in the Crockpot (heavily adapted from Fix-It and Forget-It)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground turkey, browned and grease drained

1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bell pepper, diced (I used half of a red pepper and half of a yellow pepper)

1 jalapeno pepper, diced (with or without seeds depending on your heat tolerance)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder 

salt and pepper, to taste

shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

sliced jalapeno, for garnish

Directions:

To help the flavors meld, brown the meat and cut up the veggies the night before you are going to cook the chili. Combine everything, except the salt and pepper, in the crock of your slow cooker. Cover and refrigerate over night. (It is not essential to follow this step... just my recommendation).

In the morning, remove the crock from the fridge and place in the slow cooker. Turn heat to low and cook for 8-12 hours. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve hot garnished with cheddar cheese and sliced jalapeno. 

Serves 3-4.

Chicken Shawarma in the Slow Cooker

I must warn you that this is not really "traditional" chicken shawarma. If you look up shawarma on the trusty Wikipedia, you learn that it is an Arabic preparation of meat that requires long grilling times on a spit. Contrary to what you might think, I do not not have a spit in my apartment, so there was no way I was going to be able to pull that off. Instead I turned to my beloved slow cooker to cook the chicken in a variety of spices for the length of a day. I think the resultant dinner was quite delicious, but I'm not really sure how it compares to the Arabic preparation...

My only other experience with chicken shawarma was a wrap at one of the campus dining establishments at Duke; it was seriously garlicky and peppery chicken coated with a creamy sauce. This dish is nothing like that. Although I must admit, I like them both. This recipe will allow to stand close to someone and even kiss them after the meal (the one from the dining hall not so much).

So for authenticity I'm turning to my sister. I'm hoping she will read this (hi Lisa!) and make the dish. She lived for two years in northern Africa so she's had some "real" shawarma. Let's hope she makes this and likes it (and that it has some resemblance of what she had over there).

For this dish, I would definitely encourage making the sauce to go with it and topping with the cucumber and tomato. It cools the spices and gives a little crunch. And if you have leftovers, I would suggest keeping the sauce separate from the chicken and bringing them in little tupperwares to assemble during your lunch break. That's what I did and it tasted just as good the second (and third) day.

And for certain, if you have the time, make yourself some homemade pita to serve this with; it's worth it :)

Chicken Shawarma (adapted from The Homestyle)
Ingredients:
For chicken:
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp seasoning salt
5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

For sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/8 cup tahini
2 tbsp diced onion
juice from 1/2 lemon

Diced tomatoes and cucumbers, for assembly
Pita bread (homemade or store bought)

Directions:
Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add in the broth, olive oil and lemon juice. Top with all of the seasonings and garlic. Stir to mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients and mixing completely. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When the chicken is cooked through, use two forks to shred it in the crockpot. It should soak up the sauce.

To assemble, spread about 1-2 tbsp sauce on the inside of each pita. Top with the shredded chicken and diced tomatoes and cucumbers.

Serves 4-6.

Slow Cooker Pork Roast

I've mentioned before that I really enjoy using my crockpot to prepare meals. The major advantage is that you come home to a prepared (or almost prepared) meal. Plus, there is no need to turn on the oven so your house doesn't get extra heated (especially beneficial in the summertime).

I would definitely encourage you to invest in a slow cooker and to start trying out some recipes. I have this cookbook and I would recommend it as a good place to start; there are a lot of different options for each type of dish so you can pick out something that suits you and your loved ones. Or if you are anything like me, it allows you to grab ideas from about 25 of them and combine some things from each of them to make your own recipe.

Before you jump in, I want to share a few of my slow cooker life lessons to help prepare you.

1. Depending on the amount of time you have in a given morning, plan on prepping much of your meal the evening before. Brown meat (if using) and cut up vegetables. Place them along with everything else (unless you are putting in raw meat... add that in the morning) in the crock of your slow cooker, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Then you can just pull it out of the fridge, plop it in your cooker and turn on the heat.

2. If you are cutting onions, garlic or jalapenos in the AM, make sure to PUT YOUR CONTACTS IN FIRST. If you are like me and you plan on doing your prepping before you hop in the shower and get ready for the day, even washing your hands multiple times will most likely not remove all the sulfoxides or capsaicin and if you touch your eyeballs, THEY WILL STING. Take it from someone who knows!

3. Timing for soups and stews are pretty flexible. If you have long work days (8-12 hours), these are typically good choices to go with. Cooking with chicken or something without a lot of liquid may require more stringent timing, so follow those instructions more closely.

4. Do not take the top off of the slow cooker (unless you are adding some else as instructed). Part of the beauty of a slow cooker is that the temperature is fairly low, if you remove the top, you release the heat that has built up and it will take awhile to get back to the right temperature. This can increase your cooking time.

5. Don't forget to turn it on! It can be very frustrating if you come home expecting a hot meal but instead  have raw materials (my suggestion-- call for pizza). Or if you have to make an extra trip back home to turn it on.

6. Make enough for leftovers. Soups and stews are perfect for lunch. Or shredded pork or chicken can be re-purposed into just about anything. You might as well fill up the crock while you're going through the effort and you'll be set for lunches (and maybe another dinner) for the week.


Okay, those are my tips.

Happy crock-potting!



On to the recipe of the day:

This is my favorite pork roast recipe. I know I have already shared with you honey bourbon pulled pork, but this recipe is actually my go-to. It is melt-in-your-mouth, falls-apart-on-the-fork, tender-as-all-get-out pork. I usually serve the pork topped with the sauce alongside some veggies and bread. And I always follow #6 above. I make enough for leftovers. Wait until you see what I did with leftover pork this week.

I need to give credit to my parents for this recipe. I'm not sure from where my mom originally got it, but she passed it along to me. Simple and delicious!

Simple Pork Roast in the Crockpot
Ingredients:
1-3 lb pork roast (depending on how much you want to eat)
1-2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 clove
1 cup of water
chicken bouillon cube
1-2 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:
Preheat the broiler.

Cut small holes into the pork roast with a sharp knife. Stick the slices of garlic into the holes. Broil for 15 minutes to render off some of the fat.

In the bottom of your crock, add the onion, bay leaves, clove and water. Add the pork roast.

Cook on low for 8-12 hours (or high 4-6 hours).

Remove the pork roast and let it rest.

Pour the juices into a small saucepan, removing the bay leaves and the clove. Add the bouillon cube and cornstarch and bring to boil. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce as thickened.

Serve sliced pork topped with sauce.

Sausage and Tortellini Stew (Crockpot)

Y'all know that I love food, right? I mean, you can't be reading this blog and come to any other conclusion, right? But what you might not know is that I love some people almost as much as food. I have a number of really great friends from different stages in my life. People, who I may live halfway across the country from, who are my best friends. We can pick up exactly where we left off and be totally real with each other and have an enjoyable time together.


I was lucky this week to have a visit from one of my dearest friends from college-- Jenny. Her family lives outside of Chicago and she is home visiting for a couple of weeks, so she popped down for an evening of catching up. I was very tempted to skip out of work the next day, just to spend more time with her.

Let me tell you a few things about Jenny. Actually, I sometimes call her Ney because in college I learned that she doesn't like that Forrest Gump calls his Jenny, Jen-ney. So, of course as the wonderful and kind friend I am, I started calling her Je-ney-ney, that got shortened to Ney eventually. Anyway, Jenny is a high school math teacher in NC (she moved there after college when I did!!) and her love and compassion for her students is quite amazing. I admire that she has the patience and strength to deal with teenagers on a daily basis.

We've been friends since we were freshman in college. Since then, there have been way too many wonderful memories to tell you even a small fraction here. However, I think the time that brought Jenny and me the closest was during our month long trip to South Africa.

We stayed crammed in little bedrooms together:

We got to interact with some many wonderful kids together:

We braved the cold, cold, cold nights (who knew it got so cold in Africa?!?) together:

And we strengthened our friendship daily:

I know that she will always be one of my besties. :)

Jenny's trip was too short but luckily I got to cook for her. I chose a crockpot recipe because I didn't want to spend our already limited time in the kitchen. The sausage and tortellini are great and the cabbage and tomatoes really fill it out. It makes gobs (Jenny, you should have eaten more!) and I've been eating leftovers for days. You could easily cut it in half if you wanted to feed only 2 people (and still have a some leftover).

Sausage and Tortellini Stew (adapted from Better Homes and Garden)
Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp molasses
1 cup beef broth
2 tbsp corn starch
2 14.5 oz cans Italian style diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 cups frozen green beans
8 oz fully cooked turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-in slices
2 cups shredded cabbage
9 oz package of refrigerated whole wheat three cheese tortellini
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions:
Combine the onion, olive oil and molasses in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for approximately 6-7 minutes until the onions soften. Dissolve the corn starch in the beef broth and add to the pan. Bring to a boil while stirring until it thickens.

Add the contents of the saucepan to your slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, water, green beans and sausage and stir. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high for 4-5 hours).

Turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the cabbage and tortellini. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Garnish the soup with parmesan cheese.

Honey Bourbon Pulled Pork

Some days you just need a drink.

Normally, I'm a beer or wine gal, but I had bourbon in my house for this recipe, so I thought I would try it on the rocks to conclude my stressful day. However, I took 2 or 3 sips and decided that I cannot get behind drinking straight liquor; I prefer to eat my bourbon, especially when it takes on the form of the DELICIOUS barbecue sauce. 

I won't make you listen to all the details of my day yesterday, but I should have known that it wasn't going to be a great day when I was almost to work and I remembered that I totally forgot to turn on the crockpot before I left my apartment. Here is my sad non-cooked pork after I made the trip back home :(

Maybe because of the extra drive home and back, my little car started to get sick and made some funny noises on my way home. It is a good thing I had this liquor pulled pork waiting to cheer me up.

I think I've mentioned it before, but I love my crockpot. One of my fav things to make is pork loin. I usually pick up a large (3-5 lb) pork loin when they are on sale, cut it into manageable pieces (1 lb), and freeze it. Then I can thaw it, let it cook all day in some seasonings and sauce, come home to a great smelling apartment, and enjoy pork that essentially melts in your mouth. Of course, it is completely necessary to make extra for pulled pork nachos or burritos or salad or really anything your mind imagines. I tried this new recipe yesterday that is a homemade bourbon barbecue sauce. I adapted the recipe a bit; originally the blogger used chicken as the protein of choice. I changed up a few seasonings and went with pork instead. It is definitely a winner!

Honey Bourbon Pulled Pork (sauce recipe adapted from Healthy Delicious)
Ingredients:
1 lb pork loin, thawed
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/2 cup diced onion
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup bourbon (I used
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat broiler.

Using a sharp knife, make 1/2 inch slits in the pork (as many as necessary for your garlic pieces, probably 8-12). Shove the garlic pieces into the slits, making sure that they are at least even with the pork's surface (or they will burn... I speak from experience). Broil the pork for approximately 10 minutes.

In your slow cooker, combine the onion, ketchup, water, bourbon, honey, molasses, vinegar, tomato paste, worcestershire, ginger and CRP. Mix to combine. Place the pork on top of the sauce and scoop some of the sauce to cover it.

Cook on low 8-12 hours (or high 4-5 hours).

Using two forks (or a knife), shred the pork directly in the slow cooker. Mix to allow for the sauce to coat all of the pork.

Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

P.S. Dinner tonight. Barbecue pulled pork quesadillas! YUM!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Bean Soup

Confession: I LOVE my slow cooker. I recognize that it doesn't necessarily take a lot of culinary expertise to chop up some vegetables, brown some meat and throw them in a pot with some sauce and seasonings, but dude is it easy! Plus when you walk into your apartment after work, you can smell the delicious food that is just waiting to jump on your plate. All the work has been done while you've been off at work yourself. Perfection on a lazy night! :)

Another confession: Soup on a 95 degree day is not always the best idea... Summer is out in full force this week in IL and Monday was a hot and humid day. I set up this soup, which is fairly light and summer-y in regards to the flavors, in the morning. When I got home, I added the grilled chicken and tomatoes and let it go for the remaining 30 minutes. While I was waiting for it to be ready for consumption, I went for a walk... outside... wearing jeans... (did I mention it was still like 90 degrees outside at 7:00 pm?). I finished the walk, ate my soup, and sat down to watch some TV. About 5 minutes after sitting on the couch, I was sweating up a storm. I may have stood in front of my fan for 10 minutes just trying to decrease the body temperature.

I probably should have looked at the weather forecast alongside my meal planning this week. I mean, today would have been a great day for this soup. A cooler front has come through, we got a little bit of rain, and the temperature is in the high 60s. Ah well, the lessons you learn. That's why I'm telling you- either make sure you've got some good air conditioning or wait until the temperatures are in the 60-80s to make this soup. It is worth it though. It's great! And the leftovers are perfect for lunch.

My favorite part was probably chopping the fennel. The anise flavor makes you think you're about to eat some black licorice. Don't worry, the soup doesn't taste like licorice. Also, recipe.com suggests using the precooked packaged grilled chicken from the deli section. I chose to grill some myself. Do what you like.

Also, note in the picture, I served the soup in a homemade bread bowl. I made these awhile ago (pre-blog) with whole wheat flour and froze the extras (thawed and rebaked to have with this meal). I don't love these bread bowls, so I'm not going to be sharing the recipe with you. They just turned out a little too fluffy and not quite crusty enough for a bread bowl, in my opinion. I'm going to play around with some more recipes and come up with a fabulous one worthy of sharing on the blog. If you're looking for homemade bread bowls right now, I would suggest buying frozen french bread dough from the grocery store and using that. Or pop over to Panera and buy some bread from them. Or just serve the soup in a regular bowl with some crusty bread on the side. You definitely need that bread for dipping. ;)

Slow Cooker Chicken and Bean Soup (adapted from recipe.com)
Ingredients:
1 cup dry great northern beans
6 cups cold water
1 cup chopped onion (1 small to medium onion)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
4 1/2 cups chicken broth (low sodium, preferred)
1 large chicken breast
1 tsp grill seasoning
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper and the grill seasoning. Grill for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. I used my George Forman for this, but you can use a grill pan or an outside grill as well. Or just sear it off in a pan. Cool and cut into bite sized pieces. Store in refrigerator until ready to add to soup.

The night before you are going to start your slow cooker, combine the dry beans with the 6 cups of cold water in a large pot. Let soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the beans. Combine beans with the onion, fennel, carrots, garlic, parsley, thyme and chicken broth in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high for 4-5 hours).

Turn your slow cooker to high and add the chopped cooked chicken and the diced tomatoes (including liquid from the can). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 30 min on high until everything is heat thoroughly.

Serves 4.