Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Have I mentioned that I LURVE my crock pot? :) Well I do, a lot. Tossing everything inside the pot, turning it on and going to work is so simple.

I made this recipe and had a couple girlfriends come over. They both ranted and raved about it and even had second bowls. So I think it was a hit. :)

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped (optional)
1 16 oz can chili beans (I used kidney)
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup of chicken stock
2 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 packet taco seasoning (I used hot, it gives it just a little spice)
1 packet ranch seasoning (ranch dip is another name)
1/2 tbs of cumin powder
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used a package of thighs)
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Chicken Long Rice Soup

I have been trying to figure out what other dishes I can use my 1lb of Hawaiian salt for. When I bought the salt that was the smallest bag they had and I didn't know many recipes except for the Kalua Pig & Cabbage that used that kind of salt. So I searched and found this recipe on Allrecipes.com (love that site). My step-mom makes this a few times during the year and when she askes what I want her to make it's always this soup or her Filipino sour soup ::mouth waters::. This was a easy soup to make and so delicious. I love the bok choy in it. You can find the long rice noodles in the asian section or go to the asian market.

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken leg quarters
3 (32 ounce) cartons low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Hawaiian sea salt
1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, sliced

1 large Maui sweet onion, cubed
1 (8 ounce) package long rice noodles (rice vermicelli)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 small head bok choy, chopped

Directions:

Place chicken, chicken broth, salt, and ginger into a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is tender and no longer pink, about 35 minutes. Remove chicken, and strain broth into a new pot. Discard the solids.

Fill a bowl with hot tap water. Add the long rice noodles, and let sit for 30 minutes to soften.

Stir onion into the broth, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Meanwhile, remove the skin and bones from the chicken and discard. Roughly chop the meat and set aside. Add the noodles, chicken meat, green onion and bok choy; simmer until noodles are tender.

After the noodles have sat for 30 minutes, stir in the chicken meat, green onion, and bok choy. Reheat and serve.

Peanut sauce

You know that stuff in the jar called Peanut Sauce right? Well this recipe tastes much better than that and it's fresh. I added a little more sesame oil than it said, but I LOVE sesame oil a lot. I mean A.LOT. I can't help myself...

Ingredients
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter (optional)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 teaspoons of Sarach (optional)

Directions
Stir together the honey, peanut butters, soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Snow Ice Cream

Yes, you heard right... SNOW Ice Cream. I remember when I was a little kid and the neighbor friend's mom made it one year, I was hooked. It doesn't snow that much on this side of Washington, but we got a lot last week and I forgot to set out some bowls. Dangit! Make sure you use fresh snow.... yellow snow is not considered fresh. Just in case you didn't know. =P You may want to set out a couple big or wide bowls/pans in order to collect it.

Ingredients:

8 - 9 cups freshly fallen snow
1 - (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk or milk
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract
Whatever toppings you would like

Directions:

Place snow into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Slowly mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.

Shepherd's Pie

I have finally decided to make this dish. It's been a few years and it always looks so good on the screen but it's not really what I thought it would be. There wasn't a whole lot of flavor so I think I'm going to play around with ingredients and re-edit this post at a later time. I already know some of the changes, like adding 1/2lb of ground lamb, some more seasoning and maybe chopped garlic and milk to the potatoes. I'll let you know how the next batch goes.

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
5 carrots, chopped
1 cup of peas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pounds lean ground beef
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, finely chopped onion and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, worcestershire and beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of mashed carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chicken and Dumplins

Picture by Monica H.

It's Fall here in Washington, the leaves are falling, the air is cooler and it's... raining of course. The colds days and nights require some warm comfort food in order to warm the soul. One of my favorite soups is Chicken and Dumplins, but the one from Rachel Ray has more of a brothy base than the thick stew like soup I am used to. But I found this recipe on Lick the Bowl Good (my new fav food blog). M and I loved this stew, it was delish and had a lot of flavor. I did find that I needed to add an extra 2 cups of water at the end because it was so thick.

Ingredients:

Stew:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 whole chicken fryer or cut up chicken(about 4 lbs.)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
6 cups chicken broth or water (possibly 2 more at the end)
salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings:

2 cups flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dried basil (optional)
2 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
3/4 -1 cup buttermilk or milk

Directions:

In a large pot over high heat, saute onions, celery and bouillon cubes in butter til tender. Add whole chicken fryer to pot and cover with 6 cups water or chicken stock. Cook over medium heat til chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is cooked through, pull out and place on a cutting board. Once cool enough to handle, take off all the meat and shred into bite sided pieces. Add chicken back to pot and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Bring to boil.

While the chicken stew is coming to a boil, make the dumplings: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and dried basil. Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening with a fork or a pastry cutter. Stir dough while adding buttermilk. Start with 3/4 cup and add more til completely moistened and biscuit like but not wet.

Drop by the spoon full onto the boiling stew. Do not stir dumplings. Reduce heat to low and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Allow dumplings to steam for 15 minutes. Once dumplings are cooked through, stir dumplings into the stew and serve. The flour from the dumplings will thicken the stew.

Candy-Corn Sugar Cookies

I can't believe it's already Halloween. This year at work we had a cookie exchange. It was fun, I made these Martha Stewart cookies. They are quick, simple and tasty. But I think next time I am going to make my snicker-doodles. The only thing about this recipe I don't like is the cookies are VERY small. Bite size for little kids small, so I say this recipe makes a dozen normal size cookies.


Ingredients:
Makes about 36.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
About 36 candy corns

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour, and mix until a dough forms.

Scoop out level teaspoons of dough, and roll into balls (chill dough briefly if it becomes too soft to handle). Place balls on baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch (do not let cookies color), 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from oven; gently press a candy corn into center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

::in best Al Pacino voice:: Say "hello" to my little friend.

I know, I know, you think I'm cheating but I wanted to introduce you to one of my little friends the "Seasoning Packets". Technically I am not making a homemade dish. But what can I say, Noh is my little helper in a time of need and once you try their Teri-Burgers, you won't go back. Noh is one of my favorite and you mostly find them in the Asian or Hawaiian stores. I still haven't found many in the Asian section of a regular grocery store. .



Ingredients:

1 pkg. NOH Hawaiian Style Teri-Burger Seasoning Mix
1/2 cups of water (use this ONLY if you choose beef, makes turkey to runny)
1 lb. of ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon cooking oil

Directions:

Combine contents of package with 1/2 cup water in a large mixing bowl and blend well. Add 1 lb. ground beef or turkey and mix thoroughly. Shape into patties. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and pan fry patties a few minutes on each side or until done. Patties can also be barbecued or broiled.

Top this little baby with your favorite toppings and side dishes. Mmm a little Teriyaki heaven in your mouth.

Michelle's Crock Pot Chili

Now don't get me wrong, I do like the Jaime's Chili, but I felt there was some flavor missing. I took that recipe and ran with it, "doctoring" it up with more seasoning. I really enjoyed this batch and I hope you do too. Oh btw, it's spicy. :)

Ingredients:

2 pounds mixed ground beef and sausage, browned and drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper diced
2 cups chopped celery
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can of tomatoe paste
1-2 cubes beef bouillon
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 (14 1/2 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chili beans with spicy sauce
1 (14 1/2 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 package chili seasoning mix
smoked applewood salt to taste(it's something we own but table salt is fine)
ground black pepper to taste

Shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions, for garnish
Fritos (optional)

Directions:

In a skillet brown ground beef and sausage, drain and set aside. Add the onion, green pepper,celery, beans, seasonings and meat into the crock pot. Stir in the diced, tomatoe paste and whole tomatoes. Turn your crock pot to low and let simmer for 6-8 hours stirring occasionally.

Serve with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions.

Crock pot BBQ Pork

M and I have tried a few different BBQ chicken or pork recipes in the crock pot and have found them to taste disgusting. Something about having the meat cook in the BBQ for hours does something gross to the sauce or maybe it's just the crock pot that does that. I came across this recipe on one of my new favorite foodie blogs, I thought I would give it a try and we LOVE it. It has better flavor and the sauce is added at the very end so no weird taste.I picked up KFC cole slaw for a side dish they worked well together.


adapted from Lick the Bowl Good

Ingredients:

Spice Rub:

1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 (2-3lb) Pork Shoulder (butt)
1-2 tsp of liquid smoke (optional)
1-2 cups barbecue sauce (use as much as you like)

Directions:
Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

Place shoulder in a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Massage spice rub into meat. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the pork can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Unwrap and place pork in slow cooker liner. Add ¼ cup water and liquid smoke. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

Transfer meat to cutting board. “Pull” by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers (be careful it's HOT).

Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner. Stir in 1 cup barbecue sauce. Add more if desired. Heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot.

Makes about 8 pulled pork sandwiches.