December craziness...

We took last week off due to extra long December to do lists.  This week... who knows what day it is, right?  Well it's Wednesday and I realized as I headed off to bed, "It's Wednesday and I'm making minestrone soup in my crock pot!"  So the good news is that by using my crock pot regularly over the last two months I now use it without planning to use it.  It's no longer an event... it's cooking!

When I wake up tomorrow morning a big batch of Herby Minestrone (from Art of the Slow Cooker) will be waiting.  I'll refrigerate it and we'll enjoy it over the next few days.  Hopefully the rain will let up but if it doesn't at least we'll have some delicious homemade soup.

Week 8: Moroccan Chicken

Liz chose this week... Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken from allrecipes.com.    I usually try to follow the directions exactly the first the time I prepare a recipe.  However I only had the time and energy to go to one grocery store on Tuesday night.  I opted for Henry's even though Liz had texted me that Ralph's had fresh peaches.  Of course Henry's didn't have fresh peaches.  No slivered almonds either.  So I was uneasy from the start.  I bought canned peaches (organic) and used less apricots since canned peaches are sweeter than fresh.

Then today on my way to a meeting I realized I hadn't asked my mom to pull the crock pot out of the fridge and turn it on.  Hmm... it was 11 am so I had two hours to either reach her or get home.  Luckily she called me back just after noon and got the crock pot started.  But I forgot to tell her to add the chicken broth!  I had layered all the ingredients the night before but decided to add the chicken broth just before cooking.  I didn't realize this until much later though, in fact I didn't realize I forgot until after dinner.

So no surprise here - I skipped the cornstarch and water step because it didn't seem to need thickening.  Hmm I wonder why?  Because I left out 2 cups of liquid?  I still didn't realize I forgot the broth.  

Andrew chopped some almonds for me to substitute for "toasted slivered almonds".  We served it into bowls... we reached for the camera to take a picture... the batteries were dead.  So I used my phone which will explain the quality of this picture.

How was Murphy's Law Moroccan Chicken?  It got mixed reviews.  The kids didn't like it - "too spicy". Andrew gave it a thumbs up.  He had seconds and will have more in his lunch tomorrow.  I thought it was ok.  Actually, I did like it but I don't know that I'll make it again.  Although Andrew wants to try it again.  If I do make it again, it will be in the summer time with fresh peaches!

Week 7: Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans

Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans

Wow! I really can't believe we've kept this up for seven weeks (with a week off for Thanksgiving). Heather's turn to pick this week.  Another good one!  This recipe was very tasty AND really easy.  It didn't make as much as I thought it would so I might double it next time for a crowd or leftovers.

Here's the link to the original recipe on Everyday Food.  Heather read the comments and suggested we soak the beans overnight. I did this and it worked perfectly.

Ingredients:
1 cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight
most of 1 jar of Frontera Medium Salsa (Andrew loves Rick Bayless)
2 tablespoons of canned chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (about 1.25 pounds) organic chicken breast from Costco
Maldon sea salt flakes and fresh ground pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth (the original recipe calls for water)

Garnish on top: a bit of sour cream and lots of chopped cilantro

Directions:
In crock pot, layer beans, salsa, chiles, flour and 1 cup chicken broth.  Arrange chicken on top of bean mixture, season with salt and pepper.  Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

Cook on LOW for 8 hours.  Do not open lid or stir.

With two forks shred chicken by pulling it apart.  Serve with sour cream and cilantro.

I will definitely make this again.  Let me know if you want to come for dinner!