Slow Cooker: Chicken Carnitas Tacos

Happy Spring to everyone! Yesterday, on the official first day of spring, our weather started out with heavy rain and gray skies. Then, the wind kicked up and blew the clouds and rain away to reveal beautiful blue skies and sunshine! The pops of color from the spring flowers, amidst the lush green landscape we are so accustomed to in Seattle, is so much more astounding when the sunlight hits it just right.

Oh, spring! We are ready for you…flowers, longer days, warmer weather cocktails (I’m craving a Dark and Stormy badly these days!), grilling, Easter egg hunts, and basketball!!! Who else is excited for the official start of March Madness today??! My loyalty lies with two teams. First and foremost, my alma mater, the Davidson Wildcats who play Marquette this afternoon (Go Cats!!!) and despite being such a small school nearly always score a spot in the Big Dance! And, the Florida Gators who play their first game on Friday evening…Go Gators!!!

Today is quite the perfect day for the slow cooker to cook your meal and to have it ready to be eaten right when you get home from work, when you’re ready to sit for several hours on the sofa watching all the madness of the games and updating your brackets! This chicken is really good! I prepped it the night before, cutting the onions and peppers and rubbing on the spices, then placed all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and popped it right into the refrigerator until the next morning. I started the slow cooker right before I left for work and when I got home the chicken was fragrant and very tender- I shredded it with a fork. And, it makes enough to have this same meal twice or to use the leftover chicken in a salad or on nachos! If you double the batch,you could even freeze half, which I love to do. A freezer full of stacked ziplocs filled with sauces or shredded meats makes my heart happy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas Tacos
adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

for spice rub—

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

for serving—

corn tortillas

avocado slices

shredded sharp cheddar cheese

your favorite salsa

limes

Directions:

Mix together all spices in a small bowl. Rub the spices all over the chicken. Then, place the chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Cover the chicken with the chopped onions, pepper, jalapeño pepper, and garlic. If you are prepping ahead, place in the refrigerator until the next morning. When you are ready to start cooking, turn heat on LOW and cook for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, remove meat from crock pot and shred with a fork. It should be incredibly easy to shred.

To serve, heat your corn tortillas in a skillet on the stove or in a toaster oven on 200 degrees. Spoon some carnitas on a tortilla then top with salsa, avocado, cheese, and a squeeze of lime.

Read Full Post »

Italian Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Soup

David spent the day snowboarding two Sundays ago, which inspired me to cook a big pot of soup. What better dinner to come home to after a frosty day on the slopes? A house smelling of simmering sausage and vegetables in chicken broth, fresh bread warming in the oven…

I had been thinking of this pot of soup for a while, just waiting for an afternoon at home when I could put it together. I was inspired by a recipe I found in a 2011 issue of Sunset Magazine, which happens to be my favorite magazine for all things Northwest- restaurants, shopping, planting tips, travel ideas, etc.- and knew I wanted it to have chicken sausage, chard, and artichoke hearts, but I also wanted to add some more earthy elements to round out the flavors and to make it more hearty. I decided on potatoes because I have so many sitting around right now waiting to be used and mushrooms, both of which provided the earthiness and hearty element I was hoping for. The sour dough bread paired with the soup quite well and we were actually all wishing for a bit bigger of a loaf to sop up our broth with!

This was a very good bowl of soup, and quite pretty to look at too! It would be worthy of a shared meal, but also perfect for a casual Sunday supper or a quick weeknight meal with just your family. You can choose to simmer the broth with the sausage and potatoes for the afternoon or just enough time for the potatoes to soften- depends on how much time you have on your hands. The soup is yummy, versatile, and easy to make. I hope you try it.

Italian Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Soup
adapted from Sunset Magazine

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian chicken sausage, cut into small pieces
32 ounces reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 small russet potatoes, cut into small chunks
32 ounces free range chicken broth
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
14 ounce can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 pound chard, chopped

Warm sour dough bread

Directions
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook sausage until browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add 32 ounces of broth and the potatoes and simmer for 30 minutes, or longer if you have the luxury of time.
Add the remaining 32 ounces of broth along with the mushrooms and artichokes and continue to simmer.
Right before you are ready to eat, add chard and cook, covered, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with warm sour dough bread and unsalted butter.

Read Full Post »

Slow Cooker Night: Kale and Mixed Bean and Barley Tostadas

I’m pretty sure that I don’t have to tell you how much I LOVE kale. I mean, I really LOVE it. Like I could eat it twice a day, every day for the rest of my life kind of love. Admittedly, the love is not exclusive to kale, it applies to all leafy greens really. There’s just something about their bitterness and versatility that seems to make every meal complete for me.

Kale appears a lot on this blog in vegetable pies, sweet potato quesadillas, minestrone soup, mixed greens and chickpeas, green smoothies, and tomato Florentine soup. It’s also the star ingredient in what appears to be one of my most popular recipes- the one I hear the most about from all of you dear readers- marinated citrusy kale and black bean tostadas . This is one of my most favorite dinners and this particular recipe has inspired many more dinners of a similar sort featuring kale and beans and tortillas.

The meal is so easy to put together and it tastes a bit different every time, depending on what you have on hand to use. For tonight’s kale and bean topped tortilla, I used:
1 pound mixed beans and barley
10 ounces kale, roughly chopped
5 flour tortillas
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 jalapeños, minced
salsa verde
lime

I slow cooked the beans for 8 hours on the low heat setting of my slow cooker. This time, I used a bag of 18 bean and barley mix from Trader Joe’s which was quite good. I cooked it in the slow cooker with 4 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of water and a few minced garlic cloves. (More slow cooked bean recipes can be found here and here).

Once the beans are finished cooking, here’s how I assembled the dinner, it’s not so much of a recipe as a method:
Sauté a few cloves of minced garlic in a large skillet with a good glug of olive oil. Once garlic is fragrant, add minced fresh jalapeño (about 2 medium with seeds removed) and kale (about 10 ounces) and sauté until wilted- about 4 or 5 minutes.
Brush tortillas lightly with olive oil and place in toaster oven or oven, on 200 degrees for about 5 minutes or until browned.
Put tortillas on plates and top with kale, a large spoonful of beans and barley from the slow cookers, a drizzle of salsa verde, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Squeeze the juice from a lime wedge atop the mixture and eat with a fork and knife.

Read Full Post »

Enchiladas

Sometimes, you just want a tasty, spicy, cheesy dinner. Something warm, something familiar. Well, this is that dish. It’s really good. Really, really good. And, the leftovers might even be better than what is eaten the day it’s cooked.
I usually make these enchiladas with shredded chicken, but I think the ground turkey wins hands down! We just had them with chips and salsa and avocado slices, but I think they might be a enough on their own (or maybe I just filled up on too many chips when cooking dinner!).

Easy Ground Turkey Enchiladas

Ingredients:
6 flour tortillas
8 oz Enchilada Sauce- we used Trader Joe’s which is nice and spicy
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
3 cups Pepper Jack cheese
salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and cumin to taste
salsa
avocado slices

Brown ground turkey on medium-high heat. Add salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and cumin to taste. Add onion and red pepper and cook until softened- about 10 minutes.

Pour 4 oz of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.

To assemble enchiladas, lay out the flour tortilla and put just under 1/2 cup of the turkey and veggies down the middle. Add 3 tablespoons of cheese on top. Roll the tortilla by folding in the ends first, and place in the baking dish seam side down. Continue until you have finished using all of the meat. We made our enchiladas on the bigger side, so this amount of filling only made 6 enchiladas with a small amount leftover for a plain Jack- sized burrito. If you like them skinnier, you may need 10-12 tortillas.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas. Then, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is a golden brown. Serve with salsa and avocado slices.

Read Full Post »

(My Most Favorite Chili…Ever) Edamame Green Chili

This chili is nothing to look at. I’ve made it many times and have been wanting to share, just waiting to get a good picture of it, but I’ve never been successful! Finally, I threw my hands up and decided you deserve to have the recipe despite having a good picture to go along with it.

The chili is green and dreary, but trust me what it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in taste! It has a nice spice from the peppers, jalapeños, and green chiles, yet it is not overly spicy- even Jack likes it and he only has a preference for mildly spiced foods. The edamame provides a unique twist from the typical chili recipe and also some good crunchy texture. The addition of spinach, avocado, and lime at the end is important. These ingredients are essential to balancing the chili and providing a freshness that other bowls of chili seem to lack.

I’ve served this chili with whole grain couscous, brown rice, and orzo pasta and all have been good. But, our preference is to eat a big scoop of it poured over cheese grits. I use stone ground grits from Logan Turnpike Mill, which is about an hour outside of Atlanta, Georgia. There is just no substitution for real southern grits, so I still have family or friends bring them to me when they come to visit! We stir in freshly shredded white sharp cheddar cheese when the grits have about 5 minutes left to cook. The combination of green chili and cheese grits is really amazing, but if grits aren’t your thing, any grain will do!

Edamame Green Chili
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, October 2011

a large glug of olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 large red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chile powder
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 12-oz bags shelled frozen edamame
2 5-oz cans chopped green chiles
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups salsa verde
6 cups fresh spinach
avocados, peeled, pitted, and chopped
sour cream
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
lime wedges

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the green onions and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the peppers and celery, and cook 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Stir in the garlic, cumin, chile powder, and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until fragrant about one minute. Add the edamame and green chiles and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and salsa verde, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until you are ready for dinner but at least 15 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Ladle into bowls on too of grain of your choice, and top with avocado, sour cream, and/or cheese. Serve with lime wedges.

Read Full Post »

Dating My Husband: Even When It’s Just Eggs

A date night wasn’t part of tonight’s plan. But it’s been part of our weekly plan since the beginning of January and it hasn’t ever really happened…work excuses, colds to heal, late bedtimes for Jack, and on and on…so, tonight seemed as good as any to make it happen. It actually seemed a bit more than necessary after seeing Jack kick and scream in David’s arms when being hauled off for bedtime and then hearing him loudly protest to David about not wanting him to read bedtime books.

As I was making dinner, I kept hearing our beloved three year old scream from upstairs, “I don’t want you to come home anymore”…”I only want to see Mama”…”I don’t like you”. That’s when I knew that we needed a little respite. The night called for a proper dinner…with candles and wine and even a bite of chocolate. With linen napkins and matching silverware…with our places set at the table. So, our easy dinner of egg and arugula sandwiches turned into what I think we would claim as our first official casual at-home date night of the year. And, it was good. We sipped our white wine, talked about David’s day of snowboarding, of our plans for the year…we enjoyed our food and our berries and our dark chocolate peanut butter caramel truffle. We enjoyed the peace the meal brought to the end of our day and realized that it’s not exactly all about what’s eaten, but how it is served that might matter most of all…

Egg, Cheddar, Maple Turkey, and Arugula Sandwiches

Lightly toast bread of your choice. Then, cover with slices of a good, sharp cheddar cheese and broil until bubbly and browned.
Add a few slices of maple roasted turkey to the cheese toast and warm.
Cover turkey with a large handful of arugula.
Place fried egg on top and serve immediately.

Read Full Post »

Slow Cooker Night: Sweet Potato Chili

I am always searching for alternative chili recipes. I love the idea of a warming bowl of beans and spices, but truth be told, standard red chili is not my favorite thing to eat. I once blamed my dislike of chili on the chili powder, but I have come to realize that it is the combination of tomato paste and kidney bean that I do not love (and this coming from a lover of beans!).

When I stumbled upon a recipe for chili in Real Simple using sweet potatoes and no tomato paste, I knew I had to try it with a few adaptations of my own. And, boy, am I glad that I did! This chili will warm your chilled body and make your taste buds happy! The notes of cocoa and cinnamon combine so perfectly with the sweet potato, yet the sweetness does not overpower. Instead, the sweetness mellows out the intensity of heat from the fire roasted tomatoes. All the ingredients play on one another to make a perfectly harmonious dish that will greet you comfortably as you come home from work. It pairs nicely with a winter beer like Snow Day from Fat Tire Brewery.

Let me know how you like it, if you give it a try in your kitchen.

Sweet Potato Chili

INGREDIENTS
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
kosher salt
1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
1/2 cup. beef broth
sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes, shredded sharp cheddar, and tortilla chips, for serving

DIRECTIONS
In a slow cooker, combine the onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potato, beef broth, and 1 cup water.
Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours.
Serve the chili with the sour cream, scallions, radishes, cheese, and tortilla chips.

Read Full Post »

Slow Cooker Night: Balsamic Roast Beef

I think I’ve been upfront with my love of the slow cooker. I try to use it frequently, especially in the winter, for rich, hearty meals that are warm as soon as you are ready to eat them.

This recipe for tender roast beef beautifully seasoned with a balsamic vinegar gravy will most certainly be added to the slow cooker weekly rotation. I love it when I cook a meal, especially one that is simple to prepare, and my family loves it. This is one of those meals- David went back for seconds (and thirds and maybe even fourths!) and, after some convincing that he would be big and strong like Superman if he ate his protein, Jack even seemed to like it (and he doesn’t usually like meat).

This recipe doesn’t even require you to brown the roast before putting it in the slow cooker. All you do is put the roast and the combined liquid ingredients and garlic into the slow cooker…It really is that simple!

I hope your family enjoys it as much as we did!

Balsamic Roast Beef
adapted from Add a Pinch

INGREDIENTS
2 pound boneless beef round roast
1 cup beef broth
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 cloves minced garlic

DIRECTIONS
Place roast beef into your slow cooker. In a 2-cup measuring pitcher, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour over roast beef and then start your slow cooker- cook 7 hours on low heat.

Once roast beef has cooked, remove from slow cooker with tongs onto a serving dish. Shred the meat using two forks and then ladle ¼ – ½ cup of gravy over the roast beef.

Store remaining gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for another use. I plan to use it for a dinner of portobello mushrooms stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese…mmmmm!

Read Full Post »

Veggie and Grain Night: Quinoa Veggie “Fried Rice”

Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve shared a recipe here. I’ve been cooking (promise.)!

Lately, I’ve had been using a self-made template to create our weekly dinner menu. Instead of having a free-for-all with each day, I’ve decided to incorporate certain menu themes weekly. So, each week we have a slow cooker night, an egg night, pizza night, salad night, and a veggie and grain night. I leave two nights open for going out, leftovers, or recipe inspirations. And, with this type of template, I have direction in the menu planning, but can also be as creative as I want to be.

Last week, for our veggie and grain night, I made quinoa “fried rice”.
I love fried rice- it’s usually one of my choices when we order out for Chinese food- there’s just something about the way the flavors meld together to create a perfectly satisfying dish, but, I don’t often make it because it doesn’t seem that healthy. Using quinoa instead of rice, however, boasted the protein and reduced the carbohydrates, creating a perfectly satisfying AND healthy dish.

Quinoa Veggie “Fried Rice”
adapted from Damn Delicious

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion, diced
8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cups cooked quinoa
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 green onions, sliced
Sriracha, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over low heat. Pour in eggs and fry until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side, flipping only once. Let cool before dicing into small pieces.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring often, until onions become translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, and peas. Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Add cooked quinoa. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 2-3 minutes.

Add ginger and soy sauce, and gently toss to combine. Cook, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in green onions and eggs.

Serve immediately, drizzled with Sriracha hot sauce, if you like it spicy.

Read Full Post »

Slow Cooker Pork Chili Verde

Tonight’s Menu: Pork Chili Verde in Flour Tortillas, Tomato and Avocado Salad

I’ve blogged about this dish before, but it’s a staple in our home and as the days get cooler and shorter, we will be turning to meals like this more and more to warm us instantly as we come home from school and work. It doesn’t hurt that it makes the whole house smell marvelously of garlicky, meaty goodness…and, it’s the easy dinner meal you’ve ever prepared! The leftovers keep well and go nicely atop mixed greens for work lunch salads.

Ingredients:
1-2 lb. boneless pork loin
1 jar of salsa verde
4-6 medium sized garlic cloves, pureed

Directions:

Put the pork loin in the slow cooker and pour 1 jar of green salsa over the meat (we always use Trader Joe’s salsa verde, but any green salsa will work). Then, crush 4 – 6 cloves of garlic over the meat. Walk away and let it cook 8 hours over low heat.

The meat will fall apart with the touch of a fork. Shred and place on warmed flour tortillas, topped with creme fraiche. Serve alongside a tomato and avocado salad.

Read Full Post »