Tuesday Treats: Burning Out the Sick

I hate being sick. Worse yet, I hate when my whole house is sick.

A few weeks ago, the little man came down with a high fever and I kept waking up with a sore throat and cough. Both of us seemed to be mostly better when family arrived last week, but then Wednesday, the little man crashed again. He fell asleep at my brother’s house during family dinner, something he never does. That night, his temperature went back up and the next day he was miserable.

While his fever broke the next day, he continued to have an awful cough and runny nose. Then the calls came in. My mom, brother, and sister-in-law were all sick. This weekend my husband was down for the count, and this morning, my throat is back to being on fire.

What do you do when you have unwelcome guests who won’t leave? Burn down the house.

[Okay, not in real life. But I imagine in some great war story, burning the land of your enemy was effective, right?]

Armed with the pantry, crockpot, and some frozen chicken thighs, I began my quest.

The key to this dish lies in the little can of chipotles en adobo. Contrary to what some people think, chipotles are not a type of pepper. You will not find a chipotle plant growing in someone’s garden. Chipotles are actually jalepeño peppers that have ripened and smoked. This gives them a flavor and aroma that makes this soup more than just heat.

Burning Out the Sick Soup (a.k.a Chipotle Chicken Soup)

28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
15.5 oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce (I think this was a 7 oz can) 
32 oz Chicken Broth
1 Onion, Chopped
a few cloves garlic
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Costco pack of 4)
Cumin
Salt

The prep on this is simple, since you don’t want to do much when you are sick. Toss the black beans in a colander and give them a rinse. Chop an onion (my usual rule applies – chop to whatever size you are comfortable encountering when eating your soup).

Once you’ve done your simple prep, toss everything in the pot. I use crushed tomatoes because I don’t love large chunks of them in my soup. You can use pureed or whole depending on your preference.

When it comes to your seasoning, I gave a generous sprinkle of cumin across the top of the chicken as well as salt.

See? Generous sprinkle.

Turn the pot on high and forget about it until later. (If you are putting this on early in the morning before work and don’t expect to see it again until after 6, set it to low instead.)

Since this soup is spicy, I recommend a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt on top to mellow the heat a touch.

Not the best photo. Give me a break! I’m sick!

Corn would be a great addition, but I wanted to share the soup with my mother (who has to watch the sugar) so I kept this corn free.

You can serve with warm tortillas, your favorite bread, or just have it the way it is.

Just keep a glass of water nearby. And some tissues.

Tuesday Treats: Crock Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken

There are some days when I care little about fat or caloric content and just want to eat something that brings me comfort. My mood and situation often determine what that food is.

If I am feeling sick, whether it be a stomach bug or the flu, 7up and boxed Lipton Noodle soup are my friends.

When I am missing my old roomies, steamed broccoli over rice covered in brown gravy or thick slices of heavily buttered bread and coffee make me feel like we are gathered in our old living room together watching a House marathon or talking about men.

Or sometimes, when I want to feel like a kid again, baked chicken thighs with sausage, peppers and potatoes calls my name. (I still can’t manage to make these like my mom did.)

Aside from the aforementioned moments that I crave comfort, in general I find anything warm and creamy makes me feel cozy. So, today’s crock pot creation is not exactly low fat, but it does give that cozy feeling, and it came about from ingredients already in the house. Win!

Crock Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken

Chicken Thighs (Costco boneless/skinless pack of 4 – frozen)
2-3 cups of Baby Portobella Mushrooms (add more or less depending on your love of mushrooms)
1 sweet or yellow onion
1 cup Cream Sherry
1 “bar” of Cream Cheese
Chicken Broth (about 1-2 cups)
Seasoning of you choice
Salt

I chose a seasoning mix in my cabinet that is meant for salmon. It had sugar, salt, onion, garlic and mustard in it. Fairly standard blend of spices. You can use just about any blend you like –  and if you don’t have a blend, be sure to bust out the salt and pepper and any of your favorite spices. I’d avoid flavors like dill, but you are safe with most spices.

How finely you chop your onion just depends on how large a piece you are comfortable encountering when you eat the finished product. I like to do a large dice. The mushrooms I simply cut into thirds. Dump them in the pot, set your block of frozen chicken on top of them and season away. Remember that chicken generally needs a more generous seasoning than other meats.

Pour in enough broth that there is at least an inch of liquid in the bottom. If you are setting this on low for an entire work day, you may need to experiment with more broth to be sure you come home to something that still has sauce. Add your cream sherry. This gives the dish this deliciously slightly sweet flavor.

Drop that block of cream cheese on top of it all and worry about the fat content later. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt you to go with light cream cheese. But I say go for the real deal.

If you are tossing this all in after noon, then I’d set the crock pot to high and keep an eye on  it as dinnertime gets closer. If you are putting this in first thing in the AM before heading to work, use the low setting.

You can serve the finished product over rice, or if you are really seeking comfort, pasta. Again, I lack a photo of the plated product. If you want yours to be especially creamy, you can add some half and half or cream late in the cooking process. Be sure to taste before serving, as the right amount of salt in this dish is key to getting all the flavor.

For those of you who like to serve up a pretty dish, the colors here aren’t exactly popping off the plate. If you have some fresh herbs in the house, like basil, you can brighten up the dish while adding a complimentary flavor.

Have you tried any new crock pot recipes you want to share?

Tuesday Treats: Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Are you looking for a recipe that require no chopping, slicing, or dicing?

This week’s Tuesday Treat is literally a “dump it in the pot” recipe. There isn’t even much to say here, so we’ll get to the recipe:

Crock Pot Lazy Pig

1-2 pounds pork (preferably shoulder – something fatty)
1/4 C Worcestershire Sauce
3 heaping spoons brown sugar
1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
1 cup water
Seasoning (I used an all-purpose one, Adobo, but use whatever you like. I recommend something with garlic salt) 

Dump the everything into the crockpot. Turn it on.

Really.

In reality, I didn’t measure anything (these are approximations) so I didn’t even have measuring cups and spoons to clean.

If you are sticking this in the pot first thing in the morning before leaving for a 9-5 job, cook it on low. You might need more water if you are leaving it to cook this long. For those of you who are home with the crock pot, I recommend an hour on high, then knock it back to low for 5-6 hours. Partway in, I like to shred the pork in the pot to really get all the flavors in there, but you can shred it at the end of the cook time, too.

I don’t have a photo of the finished product this time, as hunger and a napping toddler made it impossible, but it was delish. Served it up on a bun with a helping of homemade coleslaw. I’m still working on the right coleslaw recipe for pork sandwiches, since I don’t like most coleslaw.

Sandwich Slaw

For this recipe, which I have plenty leftover from, I used half a head of cabbage and 1/3 of a sweet onion.

Shredded Cabbage
Shredded Onion
1 part Mayo
2 parts Sour Cream
1 T Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Blend the mayo, cream, vinegar and desired spices, then pour over cabbage and onions. Toss. (Careful!)

This is where you can imagine the photo of the finished product. Or my smeary fingerprints on the screen.

 

[Edited to add a photo! Thank you, leftovers for lunch...]

Don’t forget to share your variations on these recipes as you try them, or suggestions for other crock pot creations!

Tuesday Treat – Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

I am celebrating the final month of the year with a lot of cleaning and organizing of the house. I’ll admit, I am not naturally the neatest person in the world. Yet, as each year passes, my desire to be that person grows, as do my cleaning frenzies.

What begins one day as a simple “let me organize the pantry” turns into a full-on attack of the kitchen; pots and pans strewn about, scrubbing tiles on my hands and knees. It’s not pretty. Well, actually, I’m not pretty, but the room is when it’s all over.

When I find myself “in the zone” having to stop and cook, dirtying dishes and breaking my stride, is the last thing I want to do. But having a floor so clean you can eat off of it is pointless if there is nothing to eat.

Enter the crock pot.

Thanks to a super special deal at Costco, I got myself a 7 quart beast to make cooking simple. Aside from making life easy, slow cooking allows you to buy inexpensive cuts of meat and turn them into deliciousness.

Also thanks to Costco, I found myself with an enormous boneless pork shoulder ($1.89/lb).  After severing it into ten large chunks and tossing them in the freezer, I started mentally preparing for what I could do with all that food.

The first place my mind went was tacos.

Now, there are probably a million different ways I could have thrown this together, and I’ll probably share them as I discover them, but this turned out great with ingredients in the house and little effort.

Also, the key to making these tacos extra delicious is topping them with this simple “slaw” rather than the myriad of taco toppings you might usually opt for. Delicious, and again, cost effective.

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Slaw

1-2 pounds pork shoulder
1 can crushed tomatoes (I used the 14 ounce can – you could use the smaller can, but you may need to add a little liquid)
1 onion (yellow, vidalia or red preferable)
4 cloves garlic
1 T cumin
1/2 T sugar
2 tsp salt
pinch chili powder
Spoon garlic chili sauce (see photo)

This is spicy deliciousness. Amount used depends on your taste for heat.

Chop onion and skin garlic gloves.  Throw tomatoes, onion, garlic, pork and spices in crock pot. Cook on low setting for 10 hours (you could shorten the cooking time if cooked on high, probably 5 hours).

Pull pork apart with fork about an hour or so before serving so all the sauciness really mixes in. This isn’t necessary, but if you are able, it helps all the flavors integrate with the meaty goodness.

Lime Cilantro Slaw

Cabbage
Lime
Cilantro
Sour Cream
Salt

You’ll notice there are not measurements above. I think the slaw should be made according to your individual taste. I love lime and cilantro, so I used the juice of a whole lime and chopped a good handful of cilantro for about 1/3 head of cabbage. I tossed that with a heaping spoon of sour cream and salted to taste. Give it all a good mix (toss it in a tupperware container and shake it around for good measure) then stick it in the fridge until dinner is ready.

I used corn tortillas for mine, but you can use whatever you prefer. I recommend having a fork ready, and lots of napkins, as it can get messy. But messy is good, right?

So hungry I couldn't hold the camera straight.

More slow cooker recipes to come in the near future…