Recipe Review | Honey Sesame Chicken (Crock Pot)

This is a new recipe I tried for the first time last week. I had pinned the recipe some time ago and finally got around to testing it. Honey Sesame Chicken was a hit with the family. The flavors are sweet and warm without being sticky. While the sauce was a little thin, the texture of the chicken was tender and the sesame flavor came through nicely.

Honey Sesame Chicken

(via Damn Delicious)

~

What you need:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

1 green onion, thinly sliced (for garnish)

sesame seeds, *toasted (for garnish)

~

What to do:

In a bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, vegetable oil, and red pepper flakes.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in a crock pot.

Pour mixture over the chicken and toss gently to coat.

Cook on LOW for 3 1/2 hours.

Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and shred.

Return chicken to the crock.

Cover and simmer another 30 minutes.

*To toast sesame seeds, place about 1 teaspoon in a non-stick pan and cook, stirring and tossing often, over medium heat until golden and fragrant. Remove to a cool dish. 

I served mine garnished, over steamed rice. Had I thought of it, I would have served it with blanched and sautéed broccoli on the side. However, I failed to plan for that and instead found a bag of our favorite "in a pinch" frozen veggies in the freezer (Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Butter). It may sound like an odd combination--but they actually worked really well with the chicken. :)

Read More

Recipe Review | Mongolian Beef (Crock Pot)

This one is a triple threat: inexpensive, easy, and delicious! I'm not sure where the original recipe came from. This was in one of the "sets" of freeze-ahead meals that my friend Gretchen and I send each other. My family has enjoyed this meal no less than 3 times in the last 3 months and it always delights!

(Crock Pot) Mongolian Beef

~

What you need:

2 pounds stew meat

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, thickly sliced

1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon fresh ginger (you can substitute the grated ginger from the squeeze tube)

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

~

What to do if you're making it for NOW:

1. Place all the ingredients into the crock pot.

2. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

3. Serve over rice with a side of veggies.

~

To freeze-ahead:

1. Write on a gallon-sized freezer bag: "Mongolian Beef, Cook on LOW 6-8 hours, serve over rice with a vegetable side".

2. Place all the ingredients into the bag.

3. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.

Read More

Prepping Crock Pot Freezer Meals

One of the best ideas I've come across and put into our family routine is to shop, prep, and freeze-ahead crock pot meals for those busy nights when I know I just won't have time to get a good meal on the table. I find that Fall is an especially great time to bust out the crock pot because the days are cooler (and often wet) and a nice hot plate of comfort food always sounds especially pleasing. 

I try to prep between 3-6 meals at a time. Depending on your chopping skills and ambition, this task can take between 1-2 hours (usually) but when you're finished you'll have several meals at your fingertips and ready to cook when you need them.

Start by getting your groceries, spices, and kitchen gear (measuring cups and spoons, cutting boards/knives, pan for browning, etc.) ready.

Next, label and make the necessary notations on your gallon FREEZER bags. I would suggest printing your recipes and having them readily accessible as you assemble your meals. When you're working between several recipes at a time, it's easier to get "lost" along the way--so pay attention. 

After the bags are labeled, I like to get all of my proteins in their bags before adding additional ingredients. Having this weight in the bottom keeps the bag from tipping over. In addition, once the meat is in the bag, you can change out your knife and cutting board and get your hands clean again--knowing you'll only be working with veggies past this point. Once your protein-filled bags are lined up on the counter, you can add ingredients in a more efficient way (for example: chop all the onions at once and then portion them out between the meals). 

When you go to place your meals in the freezer, be sure to lay them as flat as possible. Not only will this save you freezer space, it will also facilitate the thawing process later.

To get you started, here is a recipe for Cranberry Pork Roast that works well as a "freeze-ahead" meal. 

Tips that will save you time without sacrificing flavor:

1. Don't use jarred garlic. I know mincing garlic can be a sticky, messy process but processed and jarred garlic does not come close to the delicious flavor that fresh garlic provides. Instead, simply smash the garlic cloves with the side of the knife, peel the paper off and toss the whole clove in the recipe. Because you're cooking in the crock pot, the flavor has lots of time to mellow and harmonize with the rest of the ingredients. Just be sure you fish out the whole garlic cloves before serving!
2. The same goes for fresh grated ginger. Have you tried grating ginger lately? It's time-consuming and difficult and what's left over in your hand is typically way more abundant than what you've managed to grate (or juice). The tubed ginger will do in a pinch if you can't find ginger root (it's not nearly as offensive as jarred garlic). A cheaper and more flavorful option is to peel the root using the edge of a spoon (just face the spoon toward the root and scrape it gently along the outside of the root until the skin is removed) and then to slice the root into disks. Add these to your recipe but again, remember to remove them before serving. 
   

If any of YOU have a tip for ME, I'd LOVE to hear it. Particularly, I'd be so grateful if someone could let me know how to chop onions without this happening. I swear it's gotten 10 times worse since my LASIK surgery. I'm always a MESS after prepping onions (even innocent little green onions and shallots!). 

Read More

Recipe Review | Cranberry Pork Roast (CrockPot)

My girlfriend and I have been on a kick sharing and trying new crock pot recipes lately. We usually collect between 5-7 recipes, make one master shopping list, and then email the lot to one another. Then we each (on separate coasts) prep all the meals in one afternoon/evening into Ziplock Freezer bags and store them in the freezer until we cook them for our families. Upon doing so, we report back to one another which meals were "flips" and which were "flops." 

Cranberry Pork Roast is a definite "flip," as in: EVERYONE flipped out over how delicious it was. This is a crock pot meal I would serve at a dinner party. Really. 

(CrockPot) Cranberry Pork Roast

~

What you need:

2.5-3 lb pork loin or rib roast (I used 2 smallish loins = 2.5 lbs)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup cranberry juice
1/2 small lemon, thinly sliced (my lemon was small so I used the whole thing)

~

What to do:

Put the meat in a plastic zipper bag, add the ginger, mustard, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Shake to coat.

Put the contents in the crock pot. 

Add cranberry sauce, cranberries and sugar. Put in raisins and garlic. Pour in cranberry juice, and top with lemon slices. 

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for about 4. 

The slower and lower you cook the meat, the more tender it will be so I recommend using the low setting.

Serve over rice or pasta. (I've served it over Orzo and rice; it's always delicious!)

~

What to do if you are FREEZING for future use:

Put the meat in a freezer bag and add the ginger, mustard, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Shake to coat. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the bag.

Write on the bag: "Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Serve with rice or pasta."

The result is smokey, tender meat that literally falls apart with a fork. The flavor is tart from the cranberries and lemon but also sweet from the sugar and raisins. Shredded and served over orzo with some of the juices (+ a green salad) made for an easy and delicious weeknight meal. I hope you give it a try!

Read More

Recipe Review: Crockpot Fiesta Stew

The pinspiration for this meal came from this photo and the fact that I had all of the ingredients on-hand and I could whip it up for a busy-day-meal.

{Melissa Genovese}

Melissa's recipe (which I named, Fiesta Stew and EDITED) is simple:

Stew Ingredients

1 can of rotel

1 can of corn, (not drained)

1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)

8 ounces cream cheese

1 packet dry ranch dressing

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

2-4 cups chicken broth (Depending on the size of your chicken breasts and how "soupy" you want your stew to turn out, use more or less broth. You can always add more at the end.)

2 frozen chicken breasts

Garnishes

Cilantro

Green onions

Avocado

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all the stew ingredients (except the chicken).

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray and place the chicken breasts in the bottom.

Pour the mixture over the chicken.

Cook 6-8 hours. 

Shred chicken, and enjoy!

If your family is sensitive to spiciness,
substitute "MILD" Rotel

 This actually my second attempt at the original recipe. The first time, I followed the instructions to the letter and the result was less of a soup and more like a taco or enchilada filling. Rather than having a broth (as pictured at the top of this post), the dish was mostly wet meat. That sounds gross--it wasn't! It was very tasty but not the right consistency.

Because it tasted so good, I decided to tweak the recipe to try and make more of a soup of it (hence the RED adjustments listed in the recipe section). 

Post-cooking, Post-shredding.
I added MORE broth after this point.

 Plated and garnished:

Don't skip the fresh garnishes! 

For and even brighter flavor next time, I think I'll add fresh lime juice to the list of garnishes (just a squeeze!). 

We will definitely have this again as a stew (or minus the extra liquids, as a taco filling).

!Ole'!

Read More

Recipe Review: Crockpot Korean Beef Tacos with Cucumber Slaw

I found this amazing-looking taco recipe on Pinterest (no surprise) and couldn't wait to try it for my taco-loving family.

{Confections of a Foodie Bride}

The recipe provided by FoodieBride is a hybrid of two other recipes. I added my own (small) adjustments in blue.

Ingredients

• For the Korean beef:
• ~5 lbs beef short ribs (can also use chuck roast or back ribs)
• 1 bottle (10 oz) low sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp ginger, grated (I just sliced mine into thin disks that I fished out later)
• 6 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 2 Tbsp sriracha
• 1 cup water (optional) (I did not add any water)
• For the Cucumber Slaw:
• 1 cucumber (seedless recommended)
• Thinly sliced red onion rounds 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• For the tacos:
• 16 small wheat (flour) tortillas
• cilantro
• bean sprouts
• Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• sriracha

Instructions

1. To make the cucumber slaw, slice the cucumber very thinly and sprinkle with salt. Place in a colander and let sit for up to an hour over a bowl or in the sink. (I skipped this step.)
2. Shake additional water from the colander or pat with paper towels.
3. Transfer to a bowl and toss with red onions, rice vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Refrigerate until ready to use (leftovers get less and less crunchy as they sit but it can be made ahead, just pour off any accumulated liquid and toss with an additional 1-2 tsp vinegar to taste, if necessary).
4. To make the Korean beef for the tacos, spray your slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking spray and add the ribs (boneless chuck roast).
5. Whisk soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar with the garlic, ginger, sriracha, and oils.
6. Pour over the ribs in the crockpot. (I thought the liquid level looked a little low so I added ~ 1 1/2 cups of water.) Again, I did not add any water.
7. Cook on low for 8 hours.
8. (optional) Remove 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid and skim the fat from the top. Pour the liquid into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while separating the meat from the bones. Reduce the liquid by about half and pour over the shredded meat. I highly recommend this step!
9. To assemble, serve the shredded meat on warmed tortillas topped a spoon of cucumber slaw, cilantro, bean sprouts, sriracha and a dollop of yogurt (we used sour cream).

I used two roasts to equal approximately 5 pounds of beef.

I pulled out some cucumber slaw BEFORE adding the
onion and red pepper flakes (for the girls).

I had help shredding the meat.

Don't skip this step! 

I suggest cooking your meat a full 8 hours for this recipe.

Garnishes
The bean sprouts added a nice crunch; the cilantro,
a nice fresh flavor.

She ate two.
Her little sister ate one and a half.
Greg had four.
Papa Mike (visiting from CA) ate four.
I'm not telling how many I consumed!

So pretty too!

 This recipe is going on the "short list" of family favorites!

It's definitely salty--even with the low-sodium soy sauce.

I would use the chuck roast over the ribs again (it's less expensive and you don't have to bother with the bones.

This one's a keeper!

Let me know if you try it.

Read More