Slow Cooker Love

I think slow cookers have a bad reputation. People love slow cookers for their convenience and ease of preparation, but I don't think anyone ever expects a really great meal out of them. I'm here to tell you that you can get a flavorful, fancy meal from a slow cooker with limited preparation.

A few things for a successful slow cooker meal:

• Look for meals that use cuts of meat that are best cooked low-and-slow. Pork shoulder (pork butt), ribs, chuck roast, and even dry beans do well in a slow cooker. Most people slow cook the wrong cuts of meat, resulting in over-done, rubbery meals.
  
• Meats that are extremely low-fat will dry out too soon (pork tenderloin, chicken breasts)
• Leave the lid on! Slow cookers only work when the heat can build-up. Removing the lid will release the hot air, and will increase the cooking time tremendously. Don't stir, and leave that lid on so the slow cooker can do it's job.

I often put together the meal the night before, stick the ceramic pot in my fridge for the night, and then all I have to do is stick it in the slow cooker in the morning! I don't have time to do a bunch of food prep in the morning, so this helps me a ton.

I'm going to share this recipe with you that I found in a Real Simple magazine. It's so yummy, and ridiculously easy. Jeff requests it often, so over time I've modified it just a little bit, but the original recipe is great, too.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups homemade or fresh salsa
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Zest of one lime
Kosher salt to taste (I use 1-2 teaspoons)
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
Corn tortillas
Monterrey Jack cheese
Limes
Sour Cream
Cilantro

Mix first 6 ingredients together (through salt) and place in slow cooker. Trim the pork shoulder of visible fat, and place in slow cooker, turning to coat. Cook on low for 8 hours, until the meat falls apart and shreds easily. If it doesn't shred, place lid back on slow cooker and turn the slow cooker temp to high for 1 more hour.

Remove meat, shred meat using two forks, and return to sauce. Serve on corn tortillas with cheese, lime juice, sour cream, and cilantro. Cilantro and limes are the key to bringing the flavors all together.

I hope you enjoy!

Coq au vin

I wanted to post this recipe because it's exactly the kind of thing I would have avoided before. French name = difficult to cook. This kind of thing seemed daunting before, probably because there are several steps to this meal. Don't let that slow you down!

This has a typical french-style of food preparation. Brown meat is some kind of fat (oil, bacon grease, etc), remove meat, brown veggies, remove veggies, deglaze pan, add everything, slow cook until done. EASY! The same technique could be used for a pot roast, etc.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole fryer chicken
• Bacon - 4-5 slices
  
• 1 medium sweet onion
  
• 3-4 large carrots
• 3-4 celery stalks
  
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups red wine
  
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Thyme - 8-10 sprigs
  
• 2 medium sized bay leafs
  
• Egg noodles
• Flour
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

Keep these things in mind:

• You don't need to use a whole chicken if you don't want to, although it's the cheaper way to go. Buying a whole chicken is always cheaper than buying just a section of the bird. Ask your butcher to cut up the pieces for you if you don't want to handle the bird itself.
  
• You can choose white meat or dark meat, or both, but whatever you do, make sure you use skin-on bone-in pieces.
• Only cook with a wine that you would actually drink.
• Egg noodles are the traditional choice, but this would be good with new potatoes, or any other sides you want.
• Mushrooms are almost always included in this dish. I don't like mushrooms, so I've left them out. If you like them and want to include them, brown 2 cups of mushrooms after browning your other vegetables, remove the mushrooms, and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
  

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start by cutting up 4-5 slices of bacon. Toss into your dutch oven over medium-heat, and cook until crispy and the bacon fat has all been rendered. Remove bacon and set aside. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken.

Place chicken into the bacon grease over medium-high heat, browning both sides of the chicken.


Pull chicken out, and set aside. Meanwhile, chop up a medium sized sweet onion, 3-4 celery stalks, and 3-4 large carrots. (Use more or less depending on what you like!)


Place chopped vegetables into dutch oven, and cook for a few minutes until starting to tender and onions are beginning to be translucent. Then add 4-5 cloves of chopped garlic to the vegetables and cook another minute, or until garlic is fragrant. Salt and pepper generously.

Before:

After:

Remove vegetable mixture from dutch oven, and add to chicken and bacon. Your pan will probably look like this:


No worries- all that mess is about to be scraped off the pan, and will add so much flavor to the final product! Plus, it won't be so hard to clean.


Pour red wine into pan, and using a whisk or wooden spoon (my preference) deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits. Add the chicken broth, and toss in all the other ingredients (bacon, chicken, veggies, and mushrooms if you used them), making sure the chicken is covered. If not, add a little more chicken broth. Add salt, pepper, bay leafs, and thyme sprigs right into the liquid. Cover tightly, and cook in a 250 degree oven for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, until chicken is done.


Remove bay leafs and thyme. Strain meat and vegetables, keeping the broth. Return vegetables and chicken to the dutch oven and cover to keep warm. Place broth into a pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2-3 tablespoons of flour. Whisk while the sauce simmers until sauce thickens to more of a gravy consistency. Add more flour if necessary.


So delicious! Serve over egg noodles with gravy, and enjoy. This is an extremely fragrant and flavorful dinner that would be great year-round! The chicken will literally fall off the bone. A sprinkle of chopped parsley would be wonderful right on top, but I was all out.

YUM!

Chive Risotto Cakes

Trust me when I say these will change your life. I mean CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE. This is probably one of Jeff's favorite things I make. These little things are absolutely delicious. Crunchy outside, cheesy inside, light (not to be confused with healthy), and the perfect side dish, or main dish for lunch when paired with an arugula salad.

I first saw this on Barefoot Contessa, but I was let down when I finally made them. I generally love her recipes, but these were kind of bland and needed something to make it great. So I went to experimenting until I got it right. Have fun making these!


CHIVE RISOTTO CAKES

• Make sure to chill these overnight, or for at least 8 hours. There's no way to take a short-cut, trust me - I've tried. Otherwise, the flavors won't come together, and when you're frying, they will fall apart.
• Use two spatulas when flipping these over. One to flip, one to hold together. The hardest part of this recipe is flipping!
• Chives are a very light, onion-flavored herb. Don't like onions? Neither does my husband, but he loves these.
• Arborio rice is a must for this recipe, so please don't try to substitute with whatever you've got in your pantry. Use whatever is left over to make a rice pudding!
  

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 eggs
4-5 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 1/2 cups grated Fontina cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Panko bread crumbs (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Olive oil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-low heat and add the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the rice is very soft. Drain well, and rinse with cold water to cool completely.

Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, eggs, chives, fontina, parmesan, lemon zest, salt, garlic salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl.

Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat olive oil (2-3 tablespoons) over medium heat. When oil is heated correctly it should be slightly fragrant. I use a nonstick pan just for ease of clean-up. Form small hamburger-shaped patties of the mixture. Don't over-handle, but press the mix firmly together. Place the risotto patties into the panko and coat each side with panko crumbs.

Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Only flip once!! You can keep these warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes.. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the top before serving! Makes 8-10 risotto cakes, depending on the size.

I served these last night with green beans and lemon chicken. YUMMY!

Cooking!

First, let me say that I never thought I would be blogging and sharing advice on cooking. The truth is, I've only recently been a "good" cook. It all started last summer...

When I was off for the summer of 2010, I told Jeff that I would take over cooking for the summer, since I had the time and Jeff was working. Before that, we had shared cooking duties. I had about 6 meals I rotated through, with a few variations...none of which were that great. After a few days in charge I think I had cooked grilled chicken and taco soup. Exciting, right? The third day I made chili dogs...my husband (boyfriend then) wasn't excited about where this was going. In a sarcastic moment he said, "What's next? Fish sticks?" After a second of wanting to slap him, it occurred to me, "I think he's right..." And then my next thought was, "I'll show him!"

So, I began my summer of cooking. I was determined to learn how to cook, and to cook gourmet, fancy meals. I didn't intend to have a Julie & Julia project, but I did cook about 150 new recipes that summer. Practice, practice, practice. One thing I was always able to do was follow a recipe, and that's all I needed.

As the school year started, I kept cooking - even though they weren't always as elaborate as the summer had been. Whole Foods became my new obsession for their quality, variety of produce, fresh meat selection, and the ability to find every weird ingredient I needed. Gradually, I stopped needing to measure, and began to get the ability to improvise because I was learning what tasted good together. Fresh herbs and vegetables filled my fridge, instead of dried spices and canned goods. I studied the correct way to chop and use a knife, added cooking appliances and tools that I had never used before, and purchased a good grill. We stopped eating out at restaurants because, frankly, I could cook better. And before I realized it, I was really enjoying myself in the kitchen, and I would spend every Sunday afternoon scouring the internet for recipes from various food websites and blogs, planning my meals for the week.

I have probably cooked somewhere between 400-500 new recipes in the last year, and it has really been fun! I rarely repeat a recipe, unless it is a real favorite. So, I thought maybe I could share some of these recipes with you, and maybe help you, too!

So...here is the first recipe I'll share with you. I found this recipe in a cookbook that I received at a wedding shower, and I modified it a little bit.

LEMON ICEBOX PIE

This is a perfect summer dessert. It's easy to make, and not at all heavy. Citrus desserts are always my favorite! A few pointers:

• Always use fresh lemon juice- tastes better and no preservatives!
• Use a stand mixer if you have one for making the meringue, it'll take you half the time.
• This crust could easily be modified with a different kind of nut (walnuts, etc)- experiment with your favorite! Pecans happen to be my favorite, so that's what I used.
• Don't handle/stir the meringue too much. This will deflate the meringue of the air inside, getting rid of the fluffy texture. Also, don't make this when it's extremely humid (raining outside) as meringues attract moisture, and this will also deflate it.
• Because of the meringue, this type of dessert is best served within 24 hours of making.
  

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup ground pecans
1 stick butter, melted
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pulse in a food processor graham crackers until they are crumbs. Pour into a bowl. Pulse pecans until they are crumbs, and add to the graham cracker crumbs. Melt butter on stove and add to crumb mixture. Mix well, and press into a greased 9 inch pie plate.

In a large bowl, beat condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice and zest until it begins to thicken. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.

Using a stand mixer, beat egg whites until they become frothy. Gradually beat in sugar and cream of tartar until peaks are stiff.
*Peaks are stiff when you lift the mixer paddle/beaters up, and the "mountain" peaks stand straight up. Soft peaks will fold over and keep falling. Keep going!

Gently place meringue on top of lemon filling. Bake in preheated oven for 8-11 minutes, until the meringue is lightly brown. Chill in your fridge for several hours, allowing the pie filling to set and cool.

Please excuse the iPhone photo above. My iPhone is always handy, but the quality is never great! I'll try to be like The Pioneer Woman and take pictures of the cooking process. Have you checked out her blog? It's awesome!