Gluten Free Pork Carnitas in a Slow Cooker/Crock Pot

I’ve never…other than bacon…made pork.  EVER!  No pork chops, tenderloins or anything.  It’s never been appetizing to me or something I wanted to try.  That said, recently, friends of ours (and one of the sous chef’s co-workers) invited us over for dinner.  While they were kind enough to prepare food for my gluten-free diet, they prepared pork as the main dish.  I sat down frightened, as I don’t ever eat it, but thought to myself, “Well, what can it hurt?!  They certainly prepared it well!”  After one bite, I was impressed.

Thus, it intrigued me to see what I could do.  After ordering two cookbooks that tailor to the gluten-free diet, I decide to try this pork carnitas recipe from Carol Fenster’s 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes.  Wait a second.  I take that back.  I was having a hectic day planning for the sous chef’s family coming in town, so I must give credit to the sous chef.  He is actually the one that threw everything in the slow cooker!  He deserves the credit

The family thought it was great, as did I, and we served it with Roasted Broccoli.  Whether you eat gluten free or not, I think you should try this!

Ingredients

1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin or pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat

1/2 cup gluten-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup gluten free salsa

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut the pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch chunks and add to the slow cooker that has been coated with cooking spray.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, pour over the pork and cover.  Cook 6 hours in a slow cooker on low heat.

Serve the pork as a main dish, spooning the sauce over it.  Or shred the pork and serve it as a filling for tacos, using the remaining  liquid as a sauce.

As you can see from the recipe, there’s nothing that makes this blaringly gluten free other than making sure you get gluten free chicken broth (not hard) and gluten free salsa (definitely not hard in Texas). Thus, if you are someone who does not need to eat gluten free, don’t hesitate to use the chicken broth and salsa YOU prefer.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

Gluten-Free Notes at the bottom of this post.

Guests are in town, you sweated and slaved over dinner last night, or you know you’ll sweat and slave over dinner tonight.  Maybe you’ll do so for both meals.  How on Earth will you provide them a decent breakfast, too?!  Easy…pull out the crockpot!

I’d previously tried another version of this recipe that Stephanie with Crockpot 365 suggested, but it was not my favorite at all.  It was good enough for the sous chef, but it was not for me.  Thus, he ate all of it.

This try, however, was certainly tasty!!!  I attribute most of the taste to the fabulous sausage that I purchased specifically for this recipe.  Jimmy Dean’s new All Natural Regular Pork Sausage is absolutely terrific!  It tastes like it came straight from a butcher.  I realize that sounds odd, but, what I mean is, it doesn’t taste like it’s made with other things than just meat and some seasonings.  When you compare the ingredients of this sausage with that of other sausage on the same shelf, above, and below, you’ll see exactly what I mean!  This stuff is amazing, and I buy it 3 at a time now   I love love love the flavor!

Nonetheless, this breakfast dish is incredible because you can put these ingredients in the crockpot the night before, and, the night morning, you have a hashbrown, egg, cheese, sausage, onion, and bell pepper heavenly dish.  I imagine this would be GREAT for kids that have a big test one day; perfect “I have a big test today” breakfast

Below is how I prepared this dish, but click here to see Stephanie’s original recipe.

Ingredients

30 oz package of plain frozen hash brown (shredded) potatoes
1 lb. already-been cooked and cooled sausage (see above note on the HIGHLY suggested Jimmy Dean All Natural Regular Pork Sausage)

1/2 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
12 eggs
1 cup skim or fat free milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Directions.
Use a  6 quart Crockpot for this full recipe.

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray. Dump in the whole package of hash browns. Spread them out with your fingers, and break up any clumps.

In a mixing bowl, mix the dozen eggs with the milk, salt and pepper, cheese, cooked sausage (make sure it’s cooled down), and diced vegetables. Pour everything on top of the hash browns.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4. This is done when the eggs are fully cooked and the edges start to brown a bit. If you want the cheese to brown and get a bit crispy on the sides, cook it longer.

Note that the edges of the dish in the crockpot did brown a bit.  Simply cut those portions off and do not serve them.  Nothing is wrong with the dish, it’s just the way the dish cooks.

Make it Gluten-Free!

• Be sure that the sausage you use is gluten-free.  The suggested sausage above is a gluten-free selection.
• Ensure that your hash browns do not have any additives with gluten.

Crockpot Roast Beef with Mushrooms and Tomatoes

I’ve prepared one other crockpot/slow cooker beef recipe to share with you on Krista Kooks in the past. I haven’t really ever tried another recipe as the previous one was so delicious!  I’ve made it a couple of times since that first post. 

That being said, I wanted to bring you a gluten-free crockpot beef recipe.  Jen (Beantown Baker) did a guest post on the Novice Chef with this terrific Roast Beef!  As Jen mentions, this is an amazingly easy recipe to throw into the crockpot.  I agree with Jen that more tomatoes should be added to this recipe.  I’m constantly looking for recipes that use up some leftover wine, as well.

Ingredients

1 beef roast (about 4lbs)
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup red wine
12 button mushrooms
6 large cherry tomatoes (Krista Kooks suggests using more)
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried thyme

Directions

Place meat in slow cooker (trim or remove any extra fat off the meat). Add mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Add wine and chicken stock. Toss in the dried thyme. Cover and set on to LOW. Cook for at least 8 hours. Remove meat and vegetables and transfer sauce to pan. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce. Add 1 tbsp. cornstarch to 2 tbsp. Cold Water and mix in a bowl. Add mixture to sauce pan. Bring to a boil and let thicken. Carve meat , drizzle with sauce.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Recently, a friend of mine had to make a trip to the hospital after a horrible food poisoning case.  It was no fun for her, for sure.  I thought some chicken soup might help once she was back at home and able to eat little by little.

I took some help from Annie’s Eats recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup which she got from Cooks Illustrated.  I definitely didn’t have the time on hand that day to make her recipe in full, so I did take some shortcuts.  Below is the adapted form of her recipe that I made, although I know, if you have the time, making it Annie’s way will produce and healthy rich-tasting soup :)

Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp. cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
1 cup thinly sliced onion
½ cup celery, cut into ½-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 cup (4 oz.) egg noodles
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp Cumin

Directions
Put 1 Tbsp olive oil and chicken breast in crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours.  When chicken is cooked through, place chicken in medium bowl and shred chicken with 2 forks.

Fill Dutch oven/large pot on the stove with 5 cups of chicken stock.  Heat over medium-high heat.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water; whisk together until a smooth slurry forms.  Stir the mixture into the stock and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook 10-15 minutes.  Add the egg noodles and continue to cook until vegetables are tender and the noodles are cooked, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken and parsley to the soup.  Cook just until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin, and serve.

Whole Chicken with Spice Rub in the Crock Pot

So easy!!!  Anything in a slow cooker is usually easy though :)  I was browsing The Foodie Blogroll for some ideas on crockpot recipes and found The Cooking Husband’s blog.  I’m trying to do more crockpot recipes, perhaps trying one twice or four times a month.  Anyway, I thought The Cooking Husband’s whole chicken approach was quite similar to how I prepare my Mexican flavored chicken that I use for anything I need shredded chicken for; however, his, as I said, uses a whole chicken!  The sous chef and I simply prepared some rice to eat with this.  I prepared the rice similar to the way Chipotle’s rice is done.  Instead of lime and cilantro, I used lemon juice and grated lemon peel.

Source: Whole Chicken with Spice Rub in the Crock Pot

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 onion, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the above minus the onion.

Rub spice rub onto the chicken.  Put chopped onion in bottom of the crock pot.  Add chicken to the crock pot and add no liquid at all! The chicken will make it’s own juices.  Put the lid on the crock pot and cook for 8 hours on LOW.

Salsa Verde Sour Cream Enchiladas in the CrockPot

Check out the remake of this dish at the bottom of this post! A couple of Food Blogs that I see every now and then posted these delicious enchiladas recently, and, as I’m sure yours will, too, my mouth began to water.  These enchiladas looked so delicious!  Check out Jessica’s of The Novice Chef; her post is the one that I followed to make our enchiladas.  Also, Confections of a Foodie Bride made hers while thinking about preparing for her baby’s birth. The chain started, however, with Homesick Texan’s.  I highly suggest checking out each of their links as their photos do much better justice to this absolutely delicious meal :)  I did half The Novice Chef’s recipe, but we ate every bit of it; probably not a good idea healthwise, but they were oh so delectable!  Also, check their posts for freezing instructions to be able to cook these enchiladas for later!

Also, as each of these ladies posts will show, they did their enchiladas a la stovetop and oven.  I chose to go the crockpot route partially to show you all that there are many recipes out there that can be made easier for you. 

That said, I have some adjustments on how I did this recipe as to how you should do this recipe in order to help you with time AND flavor!  First off, Homesick Texan’s recipe will instruct you on cooking the chicken via stovetop.  Anytime I know a recipe is going to need shredded cooked chicken to continue, I use the CrockPot/Slow-Cooker.  Thus, my frozen chicken went into the crockpot over about 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  I then sprinkled all of the chicken liberally with my Mexican spice blend.  Set your chicken to cook, off to work you go :)  Make sure to set it on low low low if you are going to be gone for 6 or more hours.  If you will be home during the chicken process and put the chicken in the crockpot in the afternoon, go ahead and set it it high for the 4 hour or 6 hour setting.  The chicken should cook within about 2 hours.

I also decided to cook these enchiladas in the crockpot once assembled.  I laid foil to line the crockpot, poured some of the sauce on bottom, and preceded to stack my assembled enchiladas.  Once all ingredients were in per the recipe’s instructions, I set the crockpot to high to cook.  As you can see from my pictures above, the crockpot’s cooing process does not crisp up enchiladas much the way an oven would.  We kind of had enchilada casserole, haha!  It didn’t matter to us though.  This recipe was fabulous.  Thus, my recommendation to you would be to proceed with the oven process in cooking the assembled enchiladas.  Just know that, if you want to prolong the cooking process because you have to go somewhere or whatever, you definitely can use the CrockPot/Slow-Cooker to cook the assembled enchiladas.

Here are the ingredients/instructions as used from The Novice Chef and adapted to the Krista Kooks’ Kitchen.

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (See above comments on cooking this chicken.  In one bowl, shred the chicken with 2 forks)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Serrano pepper, diced (seeds-in if you like the heat)
1 Jalapeno, seeded, minced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (Use gluten-free all purpose flour to make this recipe gluten free)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup Low-Fat or Fat-Free sour cream (make sure to use a gluten free sour cream to keep this recipe gluten free, such as Daisy)
8 oz jar of  Salsa Verde (Krista Kooks used San Antonio Farms Medium Roasted Salsa Verde; highly recommend!)
3/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
8 white corn tortillas, small fajita size
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack
1/4 medium onion, diced

Preheat the oven to 350.  Melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute Serrano and Jalapeno until soft  and then add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and let cook 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in the chicken broth until smooth and let cook until bubbly.  Stir in the sour cream, salsa, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cilantro until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.

Spray/grease a 9×13 baking dish.  Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add chicken, cheese, and chopped onion to the center of each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in the dish. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas, top with leftover cheese, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until top is brown and bubbling.

Yields: 6-7 enchiladas

This recipe ranks up there with the Cajun Chicken Pasta.  Both of these recipes should be on a restaurant menu!

June 20, 2011
As promised above, here is a remake of this dish!  After finding out that I have Celiac Disease and need to live gluten-free, I challenged myself to go back and make some of my favorite recipes on Krista Kooks that were gluten-ful yet make them gluten-free.  This was an easy choice!  Also, as you can read above, I wasn't all that impressed with making these in the crockpot last time.  Thus, these enchiladas went in the oven this time.

Luckily, this is an easy recipe to make gluten free by using gluten free all purpose flour and ensuring that the chicken broth, tortillas and sour cream are gluten free.  This is all generally very easily done; it's just wise to double check.


If you didn't jump to make this recipe when I originally posted it, you should definitely do so now!

CrockPot Chicken Mole

Let me start by saying that the sous chef LOVED this recipe.  He had 2 servings.  His recommendation was to make it again.  I on the other hand hated this recipe.  So why post it?  Just because I dislike it doesn’t mean everyone else will hate it also.  After all, the sous chef liked it!  For that reason, I decided to share it.

There is some slight prep in getting this recipe into the slow-cooker, but, as with other recipes from this cookbook, it’s not too bad at all.  The hardest part for me was cutting up an ear of corn!

Ingredients:

1 medium sized yellow or white onion, sliced

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Krista Kooks just bought organic thighs, cut off the skin, but left the bones in )
1 teaspoon Mexican seasoning blend (Check here for more info on that)
Pinch of salt
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large ear of corn on the cob (optional), shucked and cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth, canned or homemade
2 tablespoons prepared mole sauce (such as Rogelio Bueno Autentico Mole or Dona Maria brands)
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup (such as Hershey’s)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden, for garnish

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of the crock with nonstick cooking spray and lay the onion in the bottom (it will be the bed for the chicken). Sprinkle the chicken with the Mexican seasoning and the salt.

2. In a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil and add the chicken pieces in a single layer, with the smooth side down.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, to form a nice browned surface; turn the chicken and brown the second side.  Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, smooth side up.  Add the corn sections around the chicken, if using.

3. In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, mole sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, chocolate syrup, and red pepper flakes; stir with a fork.  Place in the microwave to warm the sauce and melt the peanut butter a little, but don’t worry; the sauce will melt together during the slow cooking.  Pour the mole sauce over the chicken in the crock.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours (or on LOW for 6 hours). 4. Remove the chicken and corn with a large spoon.  Serve 2 thighs and 2 pieces of corn per person, sprinkled with the sesame seeds.

Chicken Ropa Vieja

I know a lot of you that follow my blog (or check it every so often) are going to LOVE this one!!!  Gina at Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes posted this recipe earlier this year in January.  Henry and I got to try it earlier this month.  Since it’s a slow cooker/CrockPot recipe, I got to smell this one in the house most of the afternoon, and man it was tantalizing. 

Once the chicken was ready, I shredded it with two forks.  I also prepared some canned black beans with some latin spice as well as the Chipotle Rice to serve the chicken on.  Similar to Gina, I wanted some Chipotle type dinner right at home :)  I, too, love me some Chipotle!

Ingredients
Servings: 4


3 chicken breast halves
1 small onion, quartered
1 tomato, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup tomato sauce
reserved broth
1 tsp cumin, or more to taste (I like a lot)
garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Place chicken, onion, tomato, carrot, and 2 cloves of garlic into crock pot. Add water to cover, and set to high for 4 hours until the chicken is tender. If cooking on the stove, cook on medium-low, and simmer until the chicken is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the chicken into a bowl and shred it into strips using a fork; set aside. Reserve the liquid.


In a large deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in chicken, tomato sauce, white wine, and about 3/4 cup of the reserved broth to create a nice sauce. Season with cumin, garlic powder salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes more adding more broth and seasoning if needed. Makes 4 cups.
So easy for those of you who are gone most of the day working :)  Your family/spouse will love you!

Crock Pot Tamale Pie

I must have bookmarked this recipe MONTHS ago, and I finally remembered to buy all the necessary ingredients at the grocery store. How fabulous does it sound to have a tamale pie in your mouth that no less comes from a ...dare I say it...crockpot?! I rarely find anything that tastes bad from a crock pot/slow cooker, so why not?!

Beantown Baker was fabulous enough to have tried Stephanie O'dea's recipe, and you can find BB's recipe and take here. Note, per Stephanie, this vegetarian meal can easily be made into a meal with meat if you so desire (aka my sous chef's desire).

Ingredients

Cornbread topping
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder

Filling

1 can drained and rinsed black beans
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can drained corn
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spray your crockpot with cooking spray. Dump in the filling ingredients--cheese, too!-- and stir well to distribute the spices. You will not be able to stir this again, so please check to see that the spices aren't in a clump anywhere.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cornbread topping. When finished, pour evenly over the filling, spreading with a spatula if needed.

Cover and cook on low for 4-7 hours or on high for 2-4. (Krista Kooks was able to have this cooked on High in about 2-3 hours)

I really think adding a small can of green chilies would be great for this recipe. Additionally, the sous chef and I felt that the topping was a little bland. Perhaps some added sugar and slight tweaking of the topping would be better. All in all, this was a good dinner, but it’s not overrated in our household. It’s impressive enough to me though that there’s hardly any fuss, and you can just come home and serve this up :)

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Mmmmm, orange chicken at home. Chinese takeout at home! If you haven't visited Stephanie O'dea's slow-cooking blog, you might want to take a browse through. She made a goal to cook via a slow-cooker for one year. She did it and was so successful that she made a cookbook out of it!

This orange chicken is one of her recipes, but I actually found it via Sweet Tea in Texas.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt (If you are using iodized salt, I'd suggest using 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons)
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

Directions

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won’t need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you’d like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.


Here are the suggestions that I would have:

If you like ORANGE chicken to taste like orange, then don't do a thing. This is the perfect recipe for you. I've read comments on several different blogs, and those who love orange flavor for their orange chicken love the taste of this recipe.

If you are expecting your orange chicken to taste more like Panda Express or perhaps your favorite Chinese restaurant, then there needs to be some changes made to this recipe. This recipe needs 6 ounces of orange concentrate, but perhaps 4 ounces of orange concentrate and 2 ounces of soy sauce might get you closer to the Panda Express type taste. I also think adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger might be a nice addition as well.

I think You're Gonna Bake it After All had a great perspective on this recipe.

Additionally, I used a larger Crock Pot, and this really only took about an hour and half to cook. This isn't a recipe I'd prepare before work; just wait and do it as soon as you get home.

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

As you may have read, my sous chef and I have a new kitchen! Sadly, the oven in our new kitchen is in need of a funeral and a new one is on the 'need' list. In this time, I'm taking a lot of help from my crockpot, the grocery store, and my 'No-Oven' tag.

Our first meal in our new home was this taco meal. Whenever I ask my sous chef to take care of dinner, his first response is a higher pitched, 12 year old like, question of "TACOS?!" It's kinda cute ;) Anyway, in honor of him, I decided to make him some slow cooked chicken for soft tacos.

As you might recall from my Chicken Enchiladas post, I made a Mexican Spice Blend. I still have that blend on hand, and I chose to use this blend for this slow-cooked chicken. I took 2 chicken breasts, added a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, and added about 2 teaspoons of the spice blend to the crockpot. You can cook this chicken to the time you need, but I would suggest putting your chicken in frozen if you plan to cook it for longer than 6 hours.

I took some additional help from the grocery store in purchasing some fresh salsa and fresh pico de gallo. We added shredded cheese and sour cream, as well. We had a terrific and delicious simple meal at home and it tasted so fresh! Hope this helps you for dinner on a night when you need something easy!

Crockpot 3 Bean Turkey Chili

I made another one of Gina's fabulous recipes! My sous chef and I were about to move, and I wanted something that wouldn't require a lot of effort to reheat for leftovers if needed.

I love this chili recipe because it got me eating things I'd never eaten before, like chickpeas! Plus, it was a super easy recipe, just like my last post. All I had to do was cook up the turkey and onion, then toss it in the crockpot with all the other ingredients!
If you like Frito's with your chili, like my sous chef, don't forget to pick some up at the store when you shop for these ingredients :)

Slow-Cooked Pulled BBQ (Bar-B-Que) Chicken

Work was crazy. You’re exhausted. You don’t feel like preparing a meal when you get home. Fortunately, you walk in the door and the smell of BBQ hits your nose and you remember, “Oh yeah! I put BBQ chicken in the crockpot this morning!” It’s your lucky day :)

Oh yes, this stuff is yummy and virtually effortless. From my trusty Crockpot cookbook…Here’s the recipe:

1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
1 small clove of garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 c. ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
hamburger buns (or Texas Toast like KristaKooks used)

Sprinkle onion and garlic over bottom of the crock and arrange the chicken thighs on top.

In a small bowl, stir together the ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, oil, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, and salt; pour over chicken thighs. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, until chicken is fork-tender and pulls apart easily.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. With two forks, pull apart the meat into shredded chunks; return to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and leave on the KEEP WARM setting until ready to serve. Spoon onto warm hamburger buns.My sous chef and I are big fans of this recipe! The only problem that I have with this recipe is that the BBQ is all sweet. If you are a sweet only person when it comes to BBQ sauce, then this will be no problem for you. However, I wanted mine to have some more spice. Thus, next time, I think I'd like to add pepper, cayenne pepper, more chipotle pepper, or something else to give it some heat. I like the sweet taste, but I want to taste some spice, too.

This is a crazy easy recipe and totally delicious! find your busiest week this week and get this meal prepared for it :) You'll be glad you did!

Slow Cooker Chipotle-Lime Chicken

Slow cookers are becoming all the rage again, and I totally understand why it's so necessary to have your go to slow cooker recipes. When you are off to work and don't want to deal with dinner when you come home, it's just so nice to open the door and smell your dinner that's already cooked! It's almost as good as coming home and seeing your husband surprise you by cooking dinner; I said almost. Guys, it's still necessary to surprise your wives with that gift ;)

Nonetheless, I wanted to try out another recipe for my slow cooker (Crockpot), and I decided to look towards the help of Lipton Secrets. I decided upon the Chipotle-Lime Chicken mainly because it made use of my chipotle chile pepper! Man that stuff tastes soooo good.

This chicken was so tender and delicious. My sous chef and I decided that we'd like a little more spice and be able to taste the lime flavor a little more. Thus, I think, if I made this again, I'd double the amount of chipotle chile pepper and perhaps add some lime zest upon serving.

Make plans to set this recipe, head to work, forget it, and come home to savory chicken!

Crock Pot Sante Fe Chicken

This is a winner! Both the sous chef and I were loving this recipe, and we thank Gina for her recipe. As you might recall, Gina's blog is all about Weight Watchers recipes, so it was nice to have a healthy yet filling meal when I made this.

The chicken is very flavorful, the vegetables and bean add a freshness, and topping this chicken on Chipotle's Rice makes the dish heaven! For the finishing touch, top the rice and chicken with some shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, a dollop of fat free sour cream, and devour. This is one of our top rated dishes, for sure. See my link to Gina's recipe for this fabulous dish above as well as the link to the rice that I made to accompany the chicken.

Ingredients

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
14.4 oz can fat free and gluten free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste

Directions

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice (extra pts).

Slow Cooker Beef Brisket

So many of us have no time when we come home to make a big meal. For me, it's a hobby, so I definitely don't care, but I know a ton of people that love meals in the Crock-pot. As I mentioned before, I'm trying out Lipton Secrets, and this was the second recipe on my list to try.

Sorry, I don't have pictures because we had our friends Kevin and Melissa over to share it with us :) However, all four of us can definitely attest that this is a great meal! The meat was incredibly tender and juicy. It was also fun for me because I was able to use our crockpot.

If you have a look at the recipe, you can tell that there isn't much to do to prepare. The grocery list for this recipe is pretty short as well. For the tomato paste, I highly suggest searching for the tubes of tomato paste in your grocery store, like this one. This is what we have at our HEB, and I love that I don't have to waste a whole can of tomato paste just for the amount that I need.

Good luck smelling this one! It's going to permeate your home with an amazing smell!

In-a-pinch Black Bean Chili

Over the summer, I decided to order a slow-cooker cookbook after a Barnes and Noble visit where I looked through such a cookbook. I found one that seemed perfect for what I was looking for.

I made a recipe or two from the cookbook over the summer, and recently I pulled it out again to find something I could leave at home all day to cook while Henry and I were at work. We decided that "In-A-Pinch Black Bean Chili" was what we were craving. It was the perfect size for 2 people with just enough for left overs for both of us. This chili does not have any meat, so, if you are vegetarian, this might be something you like. However, it does have chicken broth, but you can substitute vegetable broth.

Cooker: 3 quart
Setting and Cook Time: HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (I had it on low for 8 hours)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder or 1 teaspoon chipotle chile paste
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, undrained
1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth, canned or homemade
1 1/2 cups medium or hot chunky salsa
Pinch of crumbled dried marjoram
Juice and grated zest of 1 lime
Plain yogurt or sour cream (optional) for serving
Chopped cilantro for serving
Saltine crackers or flour tortillas (optional) for serving

Directions:
In a small saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onion until limp. Add the cumin and chili powder, and stir to heat.

Pour beans and their liquid, chicken broth, salsa, and the spicy cooked onions into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

At the end of the cooking time, stir in the marjoram, lime juice, and lime zest. Serve the chili in bowls, topped with a spoonful of yogurt, if desired, lots of cilantro, and some crackers or warm tortillas, if desired.

We used sour cream and thought it was great! I know the lime sounds weird, but the lime really adds an amazing taste. Also, I used Jardine's Medium Texasalsa for our salsa. It really added some great flavor. Hit the grocery store this weekend and make this one day this week while you are work. You will love it!