What a Croc! Giving the slo-cooker another chance

They want a 2nd chance, after a head bump

So I love the idea of turning on the crock pot when I leave for work and coming back to dinner ready to go--but both times I've tried it the food did not turn out well. Over cooked chicken one time and bitter parsnips and overcooked chicken the second time. Blogs and books sing the praises of the crock pot--and I so want it to work. So I'm going to give it another chance--this time with chili, a dish traditionally cooked for a long time. My plan is to prepare the pot on Sunday and keep it in the fridge to put on Tuesday morning with a timer to start two hours after I leave.So it will cook only 8 and not 10 hours, and then throw the fresh veggies in before I go to a water aerobics class Tuesday night, so when I get back it will be ready!

Chili is one of those dishes where recipes are hard for me to follow--I like it spicy, with lots of veggies and beans. I'm going to use chicken, because I already have it, and black and kidney beans because that is what I have. One of my cookbooks--Robin to the Rescue--has a recipe for a crock pot chili, and while I'm not following it (it is a Cincinnati style with cinnamon and not much spice), she did mention that it could be made two days before and stored in the fridge before cooking.

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz) black beans
1 can (15oz) kidney beans
3 cans (14.5oz) tomatoes (I used fire roasted, with jalapenos, and with chili seasonings)
1 can whole tomatos strained (this was the cherry tomatoes I mistakenly bought for the tomato soup)
1 green bell pepper
2 chicken breasts (about 1.75 lbs)
1 medium onion
1 bag frozen cubed butternut squash
1 pkt chili powder--I used parts of hot and regular
3 cloves garlic
2-3 chipolte in adobo
vegetable stock

This was pretty easy to throw together--lots of cans to open and combine! I drained and rinsed the black and kidney beans, and added them and the three cans of tomatoes to my crock pot. I roughly chopped the green pepper and the onion, and tossed it in with the frozen squash. I chopped the chipolte and tossed it in as well--I have never cooked with it before so I had to try it--SPICY but smokey and yummy! I stirred in the powders and grated the garlic. The chicken was cut in large cubes and added.

Because it was so thick and my pot is so large, I added some broth and some of the drained tomato juice. This should make a TON of chili--it is a good thing I just cleaned out my freezer! I have room in there for some of this yumminess.

So this morning I pulled it out of the fridge, gave it a stir, plugged it in, set it on low for 8 hours, and left for work with some trepidation. I always think I'm going to burn my apartment down when I do this. Fortunately, when I came home some 9.5 hours later my house smelled delicious, and not like smoke (well a little like delicious smoke.) I pulled out the chicken chunks, shredded them, and stirred them back in the pot.

 It smelled so good, but was a little more liquid than I would have thought after all that cooking. I guess the crock pot keeps a lot of the moisture from evaporating, and a lot of liquid must have come out of the veggies and chicken. Interestingly, I had thrown in a package of frozen chopped butternut squash, because I thought it would handle the long cooking well and add some veggies. But it cooked down and completely disappeared into the broth, but it added an important flavor component, so I'm not sad I added it.

As for toppings, I added a scoop of plain Greek yogurt, and some shredded chipolte cheddar. But I think it would be great with some cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, or even corn chips. I just wanted to dig into this chili and enjoy!

The Verdict:

This is a definite win for the crock pot--the end result was spicy, but with smokey and sweet notes from the chipolte and butternut squash. I'd read that the long cooking muted the flavors so I added plenty of chilies, in the tomatoes, in the seasonings, and with the chipoltes. I cut the peppers and onions into pretty big pieces and was surprised at how well they held up to the cooking--I could still get some texture to them. As I noted earlier, the butternut squash flavor was not apparent, besides in some sweetness and in the texture. It made a huge batch--I'll be eating this for the next week--with some spaghetti squash, with eggs, and anything else I can think of. It should also freeze well.

Quinoa Salad--Revisiting a Classic Recipe

My sister invited us over to dinner on Sunday, and I offered to bring a salad. I usually don't have lettuce on hand, so I figured I'd do a chopped salad. This is one of my favorite recipes, though it is mostly my own invention. It started with this recipe from 1994, when quinoa was such a mystery to the American table that you had to go to a health food store. But it has come a long way since then--each time I make the salad it evolves into something a bit different and delectable.
This is an awesome potluck dish--it is best made in advanced and served room temperature, and it is gluten free and can be made vegetarian or even vegan. It can be a full meal, or a side salad, if there are lots of dishes. When I make it for myself I add cooked chicken and cheese--but for this pot luck I'm going vegetarian, not vegan and adding a peppery cheese.

 Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 can black beans
zucchini and summer squash
cherry tomatoes
red and yellow bell peppers
green and red onion chopped
1 can pickled jalapeno peppers
avocado
pepper jack or peppered cheese

Dressing
2 limes
red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
cumin
cilantro
garlic--I used roasted garlic

Rinse the quinoa, and add to a sauce pan with the broth. Cook according to package directions--or until it blooms and the liquid is evaporated. Set aside to
cool. While the quinoa is cooking, drain the beans and rinse them. Pour a little of the liquid of the jalapeno and a little lime juice over the beans and set them aside.

Chop all the squash, bell peppers, avocado and cheese into similar sized pieces, and finely dice the onions. If the cherry tomatoes are pretty big, I'll cut them in half as well.

Once the quinoa has cooled, combine it with the beans, and all of the chopped ingredients. For the dressing, mix lime zest, lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, and garlic. I'd run it through my blender to get it smooth and then pour it over the rest. Serve room temperature, preferably after the salad has had time to marinate the flavors.

The Verdict: Load this salad down with as much chopped fresh veggies as you can imagine, and you have the perfect meal for me! I split this recipe in half--took half to my sister's house and added the last of the leftover turkey, more zucchini, more tomatoes, and more jalapenos to the other half. That made 4 full meals and a little extra. This is really summer in a bowl, and is something I make after the farmer's market--I guess when it is winter this salad makes me think of warmer days!

Butternut and Black Bean Toastadas

One of my favorite ways to figure out what to eat has been to buy some veggies and look for different ways to cook them. This is one of my very favorite recipes that I've invented. I figured if I write it down, then others can enjoy it, and it might be more consistent the next time I make it. The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the butternut squash--so if you are in a hurry buy pre-chopped.

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash,
1 medium/large onion
1 can black beans
taco seasoning packet
chili powder
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
corn tortillas
light cream style cheese (skinny cow is what I use)
salsa or other toppings

When I made this last, I used butternut squash leftover from another recipe, which saved a lot of time chopping! Even though the squash can be time consuming to prepare, this is actually a pretty quick and versatile dish. You could serve it over rice, in burritos, enchiladas, or as a dip. I usually eat it with cheese, but without it could be a vegan, gluten free dish depending on what you serve it with. 

The onion is diced into small pieces, and placed in a medium saucepan sprayed with cooking spray and heated to medium hot. I let them soften a little and then add the butternut squash. That cooks for about 5 minutes, before the drained black beans are added along with about half the taco seasoning packet (use low sodium or just use chili powder and cumin), about 2 tablespoons chili powder, and a dash of cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste. I like quite a bit of heat to balance out the sweetness of the butternut squash, but taste as you cook and adjust.

As this cooks, the onions and butternut really cook down and get almost syrupy with the seasoning, and adding the beans lets them get some of that flavor. I let it cook until the butternut cooks through, and becomes soft.

At this point the mixture could go into lots and lots of things--served on rice, chips, or even folded into scrambled eggs. I like this as a topping for crispy corn tortillas. To save calories and money, I toast my own in the oven. I take corn tortillas, spray them with cooking spray, lightly salt them, and toss them directly on the rack of a preheated oven on broil. I check them often, turn and rotate, until they are crispy and not too dark. They burn quickly if you don't watch carefully, so keep an eye on them. This batch I made had some that were over done--you can really see if your oven has a hot spot if you don't rotate them. Still they are delicious and healthier than buying tostatas pre-made from the store.

 The verdict:
The spicy cayenne and the sweet butternut and onions make a balanced flavor profile that goes well with the creamy cheese, and crunchy toasted tortillas. This is a regular dish on my rotation. I'll make up a big batch and divide it into serving size tupperware and bring to work with tortillas, cheese, and salsa. I've also used it in my morning egg bowls to add some veggies and flavor.