Crockpot Carnitas

I am always looking for new crockpot recipes. I've tried so many at this point I feel like there's nothing "new" to try anymore.  I came across this recipe that just spoke to me, and I felt like I had to try it. I am so so glad I did as it was so moist and tasty and I can see it being transformed into different meals other than just Carnitas.
It's almost too simple, 4 ingredients in the crockpot for the most amazing carnitas. That's it, 4!


Crockpot Carnitas
2 lb pork roast
5 slices bacon
2 bay leaves
salt

Line the bottom of your crockpot with 3 slices of bacon
Place the 2 bay leaves on top
Sprinkle salt on your pork roast and place on top of bacon and bay leaves
Place the last 2 slices of bacon over the top of the pork.
Turn slow cooker on low, cook 4-6 hours (could go 8 and still be moist)
Remove meat from slow cooker and shred with two forks
Place back into crockpot juices and stir up.

Serve with corn tortillas, cilantro, green onion, guacamole, salsa, sour cream....your favorite taco toppings.

Artichoke Barigoule

This recipe may seem intimidating but it really makes an amazing soup, especially if you like artichokes. If you've never prepared an artichoke you'll quickly learn once you have done one artichoke the others are easy. 

Artichoke Barigoule

2 cups water

2 cups dry white wine

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup olive oil

6 artichokes (small artichokes are best)

2 lemons (halved)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped fennel

2 cups chopped onion

3 tbsp minced shallots

2 tbsp minced garlic

3/4 tsp salt

bouquet garni: parsley, thyme, bay leaf tied up in cheesecloth

1 salt packed anchovy filet (optional)

In large bowl put aside water, wine, stock & 1/2 cup olive oil

Prepare artichokes: Peel the outer leaves from artichokes, peel stem to remove outer fibrous layer. Cut off spiny tips from leaves, cut artichokes lengthwise and remove chokes (the hairy part you see inside the heart of the artichoke).
Immediately put in water with a squeeze of lemon juice.

In a large stock pot, heat 1/2 cup olive oil with carrots for 2-2 1/2 minutes then add fennel, cook another 2-2 1/2 minutes

Add onion, shallots & garlic cook 4 additional minutes

Add artichokes (heart down)

Sprinkle with salt cover and cook for 10 minutes

Add bouquet garni & bowl of water, wine, chicken stock & olive oil

Cook on a low simmer for 15 minutes

Chop anchovy and add to soup

Cook another 15 minutes or until there is no resistance to artichoke heart

Prosciutto, Asparagus and Parmesan Spaghetti

I love a good pasta, a hearty, rich pasta, and this is one of them for sure.  You really can't go wrong when you mix prosciutto, asparagus and Parmesan.  This recipe goes together very quickly and doesn't take much prep work either which is nice on a night you don't have a lot of time.

Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmesan Spaghetti
4 oz of prosciutto, cut into strips
1 lb of asparagus, trimmed and cut into pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small onion, diced
1 package spaghetti

In large pan heat oil over medium high heat.
Cook onion, garlic and mushrooms until fragrant and semi done
Add prosciutto and asparagus, cook until asparagus is bright green (about 3 minutes)
Add cream and Parmesan cheese
Reduce heat to simmer and cook until sauce has thickened (about 4 minutes)
Cook pasta according to package directions
Once pasta is cooked add to pan and mix thoroughly.
Enjoy!

Easy Shortbread Cookies

Easy Shortbread Cookies
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cold, cut into pieces
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp sprinkles, nonpareils or baking bits (red & green for Christmas time, orange & black for Halloween)

Preheat oven to 325
In food processor pulse flour and sugar until combined.
Add butter and vanilla, pulse until dough comes together
Place in medium bowl and with your hand gently knead in sprinkles, nonpareils or baking bits until a ball forms.
Pat dough out onto a floured wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Place in freezer for 10 minutes
Cut dough into 1/2 inch squares
Place on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake for 10-12 minutes
Cool on baking rack
Enjoy!!
Mine did have sprinkles in them but they were white (all I had in house) so you can't see them. Excited to try this with red & green nonpareils though.
****I highly recommend at least a double batch as these were devoured quickly.

Crockpot Butternut squash, sausage & spinach soup

Crockpot Butternut Squash, Sausage & Spinach Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb sausage

1 lg onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups chicken broth (I use my homemade bone broth)

2 cups butternut squashed, diced into squares

1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes

1 cup rough chopped spinach

1 bay leaf

Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat

Add onion, garlic and sausage (removed from casing)
Cook sausage until browned, and onion is translucent

In crockpot add chicken broth, butternut squash, bay leaf, and can of diced tomatoes

Add sausage to crockpot when done

Cook on low 6-8 hours

10 minutes prior to eating turn temperature to high and add spinach

Good topped with shredded parmesan 

Enjoy!

***Can add pasta if you would like (just cook pasta per instructions on box and add to crockpot with spinach), I cooked up a loaf of fresh rosemary bread to go with mine. 

Fish Bowls

Sharing a easy all time favorite recipe. My family loves fish tacos, one night I had all the ingredients we typically use but didn't have any tortillas and seeing I try sticking to my "one grocery shopping trip a week" motto, I improvised and we used rice instead.  Renaming our fish tacos to "Fish bowls," and we haven't looked back since. It's a favorite, I usually get a request every week for it. So here it is, I'll share.

Fish Bowls
1 lb white fish (have used mahi mahi, cod, swai...etc)
1 jar green salsa (we love Trader Joes, salsa verde because its got great flavor but isn't too spicy for the tiny mouths in our house)
Shredded Cabbage
Shredded cheese
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Green onions
White rice (could use brown too, we just prefer white)

The fish I buy is frozen so I defrost in cold water for about 10-20 minutes
Cook in pan with 1/2-3/4 jar of green sauce (save some to add to fish bowl before eating)
Once cooked serve over rice, add toppings of cabbage, green onions, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and green sauce.
Enjoy!

Whole Chicken

I've finally mastered cooking a whole chicken. Now that it's Fall and we use our bone broth almost weekly in meals, we quickly run out of bone broth. In order to get the bones for bone broth, I need to cook a whole chicken.  This recipe took some work to perfect, but the last 3 times it's turned out perfect. So now it's time to share my secret.

Whole Chicken
2-5 lb whole chicken (I love the Organic, pre-brined chicken from Trader Joes)
4 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
5 red potatoes chopped (I sometimes substitute, sliced butternut squash, acorn squash or delicata squash)
1 whole onion (red or yellow) cut into quarters
1 large rosemary sprig
1 large thyme sprig
1 garlic head (peel each clove individually)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Turn on oven to 275 degrees
Place Whole Chicken in cooking pan large enough for chicken and the vegetables
Put potatoes (or squash), celery, carrots, onion and whole garlic cloves around the chicken
Pull some rosemary and thyme off the sprigs and sprinkle around the vegetables
Drizzle top of chicken with olive oil, garlic powder, salt & pepper
Place in oven (no foil necessary) @ 275 until chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit
We then save the bones and that same night make our own bone broth (you can find that recipe in my archives on September 29, 2013). That broth I use for the base of all my soup recipes.
****Mix it up a little bit by substituting the potatoes for a squash, either sliced butternut, sliced acorn, or delicata squash.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Beef with Broccoli

I've been wanting beef with broccoli for a few weeks now, but haven't gotten around to making it. By the time dinner came around we needed to do something a little bit faster in preparation. Today I was planning on it for dinner again and was thinking about timing, especially with the time change. Then I realized that I could probably manipulate my current recipe to be a crock pot recipe. So I gave it a shot. It turned out really good, simple and the meat melted in your mouth. So now I share with you.

Crock pot Beef with Broccoli
1 lb beef (I used flank steak), cut into bite size pieces
1 onion sliced into quarters (I used red because that's what I had you could use yellow)
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup slightly packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp garlic minced
3 Tbsp chopped ginger
2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups broccoli florets
Green onions, to garnish
Sesame seeds, to garnish

Add beef and onion quarters to crock pot
In a bowl mix together, beef broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic & ginger.
Pour mixture over beef and onions in crock pot
Cover with lid and cook on low 4-6 hours
Ladle out 1/4 of broth from crock pot into a bowl, add cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
Remove onion quarters from crock pot
Return cornstarch mixture to crock pot and stir gently
Add in broccoli pieces (if you would like them to stay bright green you'll want to steam them first and then add right before you want to eat.)  To make things simple I prefer just adding the broccoli to the crock pot and turning on high for 20 minutes, or until broccoli has your desired tenderness and the sauce has thickened.
Serve over rice and sprinkle with sesame and green onions.

Mozzarella stuffed Turkey meatballs

I had ground turkey in the fridge and wasn't sure what to do with it. I wanted to try something new in the crockpot. I've never done a tomato sauce in the crockpot, so I thought of meatballs. I didn't want to have to run to the store so I had to use what was in the house, and somehow it came together perfectly.


Mozzarella stuffed Turkey Meatballs

Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 finely chopped parsley
1 egg
garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste
20 pieces of Mozzarella, (I used cheese sticks...again didn't want to go to the store) chopped into 2 cm chunks

Sauce
8 garlic cloves crushed
28 oz can pureed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp chopped rosemary & thyme

In large bowl combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and Parmesan.
Mix well with hands and form into meatballs, I like small golf ball size meatballs.
Use your finger to create a hole in meatball and put a piece of Mozzarella in the meatball and close meatball completely
Place meatballs on cookie sheet and cook in 350degree oven for 7 minutes, flip and cook another 7 minutes.
While meatballs cook, place all sauce ingredients in crockpot and stir
When meatballs are done place in sauce inside the crockpot
Cook on low 4-5 hours.
Serve over pasta
Enjoy!

Lettuce Wraps

I was searching for a recipe to change up our weekly meal plans, and seeing that the weather has been so summer like, high 70's for a few days I wanted something light and refreshing for dinner. I came across a Lettuce Wrap recipe, and made a few tweaks to make it my own (because I find if I just get a basic recipe I can add the things I know we love to make it that much better) and ended up making one of the most delicious lettuce wraps I've ever had. So let me share the recipe with you...


Lettuce Wraps
1 1/2 lb ground turkey (of course you can chicken too)
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1 can bamboo shoots, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (more for garnish)
1/4 cup sliced green onion (more for garnish)
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
Juice of two limes

Add sesame oil to wok and brown meat in it
While meat is browning mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce and lime juice together in a bowl
Add ginger, garlic, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, green onion and cilantro.
Pour on sauce mixture
Cook until done

Serve in iceberg lettuce shells, with additional green onion and cilantro for garnish.

Enjoy!!!!!

Crock Pot Minestrone

I've tried many Crock Pot Minestrone recipes, and I have a "go-to" but this is my new favorite and will replace my old one for sure.

Crock pot Minestrone
1 lb sausage
2 cups vegetable/chicken stock
2 cups water
1 lg can diced tomatoes
chopped celery
chopped carrots
chopped onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
chopped zucchini
garlic minced
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup pasta (I used Stelline) cooked
Finely shredded Parmesan

Cook sausage in skillet on stove until brown, add to crock pot
Add stock, water, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, herbs and sugar to crock pot.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
An hour before ready to eat add zucchini and kidney beans.
5 minutes before ready to eat add cooked pasta and spinach
Serve warm topped with Parmesan cheese

As much as I love a "throw everything in" and be done recipe, slowly adding the ingredients like zucchini, kidney beans and spinach gives a great texture to the soup.  Remember I don't give "amounts" for the vegetables/garlic etc, because every family likes things differently. You may want to add more carrots than celery, this way you can customize your minestrone yourself.
Enjoy!

Coffee Cake

I was trying to find a different "special" breakfast for Christmas morning. Growing up we always had Dutch Babies and although I do enjoy them I wanted to find something different. This year I found it. Coffee Cake, and seriously the best Coffee Cake I've ever had. I loved that I could fix it and throw it in the oven and serve, no "extras" no need for syrup, or powdered sugar.  Next time you're looking for something different for breakfast, doesn't even need to be a special occasion give this a try. I promise you'll love it

Coffee Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 butter (softened)
1 egg
3/4 cup milk or buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Topping
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 350
Grease a 9X13 pan
In a bowl mix (topping ingredients) add all dry ingredients and then cut in butter until crumbly
In a separate bowl mix cake ingredients. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cut in butter.
Mix should be coarse crumbles
In a small bowl mix egg, milk and vanilla together
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. This batter will be VERY thick.
Spread batter into pan and top with crumble topping
Cook 25-30 minutes
Enjoy!!!
I even think this would be amazing around Halloween and Thanksgiving with some canned pumpkin in the cake batter part. I can only eat pumpkin flavor in the Fall, so I won't be able to try it until next year.

Shrimp Ceviche

It's been a while since I posted, with Christmas and New Year's it's just hard to find the time to post. But that doesn't mean I haven't been finding amazing recipes, with all the cooking, baking and eating that occur this time of year I was bound to find some great recipes to share and I did. We celebrate Christmas Eve with 13 dishes, and we always like to try to find something new we haven't tried before. This year we tried a shrimp ceviche, and it was out of this world. We had 14 guests who all raved about how good it was and the nice thing was it was so easy. Not to mention we were able to prepare almost all of it the day before and then right before eating just adding a few last minute ingredients. You can substitute the shrimp for a white fish like cod, we stuck with the shrimp since we also had "fish" in one of our other dishes that night. Trust me try it, you'll like it and remember it's not raw, the acid in the lime juice actually "cooks" the fish so the texture is that of cooked shrimp/fish. 


Shrimp Ceviche
1 lb fresh shrimp (or white fish)
8-10 limes
1 jalapeno or Serrano chili
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
2-3 cucumbers chopped
2 avocado chopped
salt to taste

Chop shrimp into small pieces and place in bowl
Slice limes in half and squeeze all juice onto the fish
Add 1/2 cup of cilantro, 1/4 cup of the green onion, the entire amount of chili you want to add and a touch of salt.
Cover your dish and refrigerate for several hours or overnight
Before serving add all the rest of the ingredients: chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, remaining cilantro, remaining green onion, avocado, and additional salt if needed.
Serve with chips
Enjoy!!!