Savory Superfood Soup

Cool fall weather has arrived and this time of year always makes me crave soups & stews - great autumn comfort foods!  I found this recipe from Skinny Ms awhile back on Facebook and pinned it on my Crockpot Recipes board on Pinterest.  The beauty of crockpot cooking when working from home is that I can chop veggies & throw everything in the crockpot at lunch and it's ready just in time for supper!

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced carrots

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2" cubes

1 cup fresh or frozen green beans

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

Kosher or sea salt to taste

2 cups vegetable juice (Skinny Ms used R.W. Knudsen, Organic Very Veggie Juice, no sugar added)

2 cups vegetable broth, low-sodium

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until veggies are tender. Add a tablespoon of reduced fat cheddar cheese, if desired.

NOTE: If you prefer a less subtle onion and garlic taste, saute onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 additional minute. Add to slow cooker along with other ingredients.

To make this even more of a Superfood Soup, add 2 cups coarsely chopped kale the last 5 minutes of cooking, or until wilted.

What we changed (it's what we do):

1. We left out the cilantro (we're just not fans of its flavor).

2. We used Harris Teeter brand Vegetable Juice Cocktail which did not have added sugar...and was lots cheaper than anything organic.

3.  The soup cooked for 6 hrs, 45 minutes and the veggies were plenty tender.

Our thoughts:

The soup was much more savory than expected (which is a good thing)! The spices really complemented the vegetables well and made the broth very hearty.  The consistency probably puts it in between a soup & a stew, but either way, it was tasty and perfectly suited for today's cool weather!

Barbecue Meatloaf

Cool weather has arrived and that means it's time for some comfort food from the slow cooker.  It doesn't get more comfort foodish than meatloaf, so Ed went looking for recipes that could be done in the slow cooker, and this one caught his eye.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (we used 2 lbs ground sirloin - why?  it's leaner & it was on sale at Kroger this week)
• 1 can tomato soup, divided
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, divided
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preparation:

1. Combine ground chuck with half of the tomato soup, egg, crackers, honey, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, onions, salt & pepper.  
2. Mix well and form into a ball/loaf.
3. Place a crinkled length of aluminum foil in the slow cooker so the ends extend an inch or so out of the pot.
4. Place the meatloaf in the pot (the foil will make it easier to lift the meatloaf out & keep it out of the drippings.
5. Combine remaining soup, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, water, mustard, and brown sugar.
6. Whisk together and pour over the meatloaf.
7. Cover & cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. (9 hours worked well in our slow cooker.)
8. Serves 4 to 6.

Our thoughts:

The meatloaf turned out moist with a slightly smoky flavor.  Next time we will probably add some more spicy spices, like chili powder, cayenne, cumin, and maybe some chopped adobo chiles just to give it some kick.

Slow-Cooked Meatball Stew

I subscribe to several recipe distribution emails and have gathered quite a few simple but tasty recipes from these groups.  This meatball stew recipe came from pillsbury.com and we were very pleased by our finished product.  

Ingredients:

1 bag (1 lb) ready-to-eat baby carrots

1 lb small red potatoes (2 1/2 to 3 inch), cut into quarters

1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges

1 bag (16 oz) frozen cooked meatballs (about 32)

1 jar (12 oz) beef gravy

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

Freshly ground black pepper, if desired

Directions:

1. In 4 to 5 quart slow cooker, layer all ingredients in order listed.

2. Cover, cook on low setting 8 to 10 hours.  Before serving, gently stir stew.

Note:  In this recipe, it is important to place ingredients in the cooker in the order listed.  Longer cooking vegetables are on the bottom where they cook more quickly.  Already cooked or faster cooking ingredients are layered on top.

What we changed (it's what we do!):

1.  I cut the red potatoes into smaller pieces to make them more bite-sized when served.

2.  Since I didn't have a real onion on hand, I used 2 teaspoons of minced onion.  Couldn't tell the difference in the finished product.

3.  I used turkey meatballs to be a bit healthier.  Kroger has a 2 lb. resealable bag that worked perfectly, leaving us a pound to use for another meal.

4.  The can of diced tomatoes was a can of Hunt's No Salt Added, with Basil, Garlic & Oregano.  I figured extra spice flavor and no sodium was a win-win!

5.  Besides sprinkling black pepper on the top, I also sprinkled some garlic powder and chipotle chili powder, because we like spice.

6.  At the 8 hour mark, I stirred the stew and sampled for doneness.  It was done, but Ed wasn't home yet, so I turned the slow cooker to warm for another 30 minutes until he arrived which worked nicely.

Our thoughts:

This stew definitely fits the definition of comfort food!  Hearty flavors that blend well, not soupy like some recipes get in the slow cooker, but just the right consistency to be called "stew".  Even though it's about to be summer and you might think of stew as more of a winter meal, this dish makes for a great dinner without heating up the house.  We'll be keeping this recipe in our dinner rotation!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Yeah, I know that we post a lot of chicken recipes here, but there are just so many different ways you can cook a 2.5 lb. bag of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts! And this recipe may be the simplest one yet...!

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless chicken breasts (this is about one 2.5 lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts - and yes, you can use frozen, no thawing required!)

1 bottle Archer Farms Hawaiian Style Barbecue Sauce (from Target)

1-20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray for an easy cleanup (or use one of those handy-dandy liner bags).

2. Place frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker and cover with sauce.

3. Empty can of drained pineapple chunks on top.

4. Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-6 hours.

5. Shred chicken with two forks while still in the slow cooker so the chicken will be well-coated with sauce.

6. Serve over rice.

Our Thoughts:

We were very pleased with how moist and flavorful the chicken turned out. The sweetness in the pineapple along with the orange/mango/pineapple accents in the bottled sauce were nicely balanced by the tangy BBQ flavor. We chose to spoon the chicken-cue over Bisquick drop biscuits (we were out of rice) which gave the dish a Southern feel. Next time I think we will serve the chicken on King's Hawaiian Rolls to bring some additional sweetness to a BBQ chicken sammich.

Possible Additions in the Future:

chopped green/red bell peppers or jalapeno peppers, if you want to be more adventurous & add more kick.

Mexican Lasagna Stack Up

My new guilty pleasure is finding new recipes on Pinterest. The advantage to searching for recipes on boards on Pinterest is that you can see a picture of the finished product and when I see something looking particularly yummy that is also simple to boot, I pin it on my Recipes to Try board. That is how I discovered tonight's tasty dinner for the slow cooker.

Ingredients:

12-14 small corn tortillas

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 tbsp fajita seasoning

28 oz can tomatoes (I used a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with red pepper and a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with garlic to add extra seasoning)

15.5 oz can black beans

15.5 oz can corn (or you can use frozen)

2 cups salsa (any variety will work - I used a black bean & corn salsa this time)

2 cups shredded chicken

1 small onion, chopped

Cooking instructions:

1. Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Lay down layer of tortillas. Each crockpot varies in size. I have a 5 quart one and it took 4 small tortillas to cover the bottom.

2. Spread a layer of tomatoes.

3. Sprinkle some chopped onion on top of the tomatoes.

4. Next spread a layer of black beans.

5. Cover beans with a layer of salsa.

6. Apply a generous amount of fajita seasoning.

7. Next layer on some chicken.

8. Cover chicken with a layer of corn.

9. Top corn with a layer of shredded cheese.

10. Keep layering until you are a couple inches from the top. I was able to repeat the layers 3 times. When you do reach the top, for the final layer, do a layer of tortillas, topped with the rest of your tomatoes and cheese.

11. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Top with sour cream or avocado if desired. Makes 6-8 servings.

Our impressions:

1. The recipe did a good job of combining the lasagna concept with the Mexican flavors. You are able to slice & serve it like a regular lasagna!

2. The recipe as written has a good blend of flavors, but there is room for increased heat. I think next time we may add a layer of jalapenos or green chiles in the middle and/or perhaps use a hot salsa. Using some chipotle chili powder has possibilities too.

Slow Cooker Boston Butt (Non BBQ style)

Harris Teeter had Boston butts for $1.29/lb. so we picked up 2 at 7 lbs each - what a steal! We wanted to try one in the slow cooker as more of a regular pork roast, instead of as pulled pork BBQ (which we will do next). This recipe fit the bill and was very easy to put together on my lunch break.

Ingredients:

Boston Butt (we cut one in half, so approx. 3.5 lb)

Baby red potatoes, quartered (use your best judgement - we used half of a 5 lb bag)

1 onion, quartered (we omitted since we're not big onion folks)

1 pack baby carrots (1 lb)

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 soup can of water

1 stick of butter

salt, pepper & other spices to taste

Cooking:

1. Rinse roast, then place in bottom of slow cooker.

2. Add potatoes, onion, baby carrots & garlic around the roast.

3. Over the roast & veggies, sprinkle onion soup mix, then add soup, can of water, butter & spices.

4. Cook on low 7-8 hours or till done (the meat will fall from the bone when ready).

5. Serve with your favorite side and bread (we ladled over Bisquick drop biscuits).

Thoughts:

Next time we may cut the roast into quarters before cooking to make it easier to shred before serving. Overall, we found it very tasty and the meat drippings mixed nicely with the soups to make a flavorful gravy.

Short Rib Quesadillas

One of our favorite Triangle food trucks is KoKyu BBQ and their signature item is Short Rib Quesadillas made with a Korean BBQ sauce. Seriously, this dish is to die for! So imagine our gleeful giggles when we came across Korean-Style Barbecue slow cooker sauce at the SuperTarget last week! During the week we picked up some beef short ribs at Costco (we just became members this week & are psyched about the stellar meat department!) and today after church we hit Macy's to acquire a quesadilla maker (we hit the jackpot as it was on clearance for $19.99 and we still had a Macy's gift card with a balance left from our wedding gifts).

Ingredients:

3 lb. beef short ribs or pork loin roast

1/2 jar Archer Farms Korean-Style Barbecue slow cooker sauce (full jar is 17.1 oz)

whatever spices strike your fancy to sprinkle on the ribs

10 inch tortillas

shredded cheese

Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce

Cooking Instructions:

1. Place meat in 4 to 6-quart slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle spices of choice over meat (optional step, but we like to spice up our meat)

3. Pour 1/2 jar BBQ sauce over meat.

4. Cover & cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours until meat is very tender (and easily shreds).

5. Shred meat.

6. Place one 10-inch tortilla in quesadilla maker, spoon layer of meat into center of tortilla & spread out.

7. Sprinkle cheese over meat, place another 10-inch tortilla on top, & close quesadilla maker.

8. Cook 3-5 minutes.

9. Remove quesadilla with non-stick spatula & place on plate - cut into triangles.

10. Serve with Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce if you like spicy stuff!

How we made this uniquely our own:

1. We used garlic powder, Old Bay, chipotle chile powder & Worchestershire sauce to season the ribs before pouring the BBQ sauce over them.

2. For our cheese mixture, we used both sharp cheddar & Italian blend shredded cheese.

3. We chose to stick to the Asian theme by dipping in the Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce, but I could definitely see serving with a chipotle salsa as well.

4. Leftover meat mixture will most likely be served over whole wheat hamburger buns with cheese slices on top. Another option would be to serve the meat over rice or noodles too.

Our thoughts:

We were pleased with the results of the grand opening of Ed & Dawn's Quesadilla Kitchen. Next time we will probably add more cheese to the quesadilla to up the cheese quotient. The ribs could probably do with a little more seasoning beforehand (maybe use the spices as more of a rub instead of just sprinkling over the ribs).

Note for our Triangle Peeps:

We definitely recommend paying KoKyu BBQ a visit and sampling their quesadillas or sliders. Amazingly tasty & really reasonably priced for lunch or dinner. To find out where KoKyu is going to be, you can follow them on Twitter: @KoKyuBBQ