Showing posts with label sweet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sweet. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup Slow Cooker Recipe
Its another cold, wet, and gray day---which means you should make soup.
In the crockpot.
I found this recipe over a year ago while link-following (thats a verb, right?) Shauna and Danny Ahern, authors of Gluten Free Girl and The Chef (great cookbook, it should definitely be in your kitchen if it isnt already--not just for GF peeps) and GlutenFreeGirl.com made it for the Pork People (technical term), and I wanted to see if I could crockpotecize (thats definitely a verb) it.
and it worked! This recipe is on page 226 of the new More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow book (which should also most definitely be in your kitchen), but I never posted it online.
oops.
so here you go!
The Ingredients.
serves 8
7 cups chicken broth
7 ounces chorizo sausage, sliced (pork, beef, turkey, veggie; your choice)
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped (or a handful of baby carrots)
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 3/4 pounds (about 3 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 tablespoons sour cream (for serving)
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour in the chicken broth and add the sliced chorizo (no need to brown first, YAY!). Add the carrots, onion, sweet potatoes, and garlic Dont worry about chopping your vegetables in pretty shapes----its all going to be blended together anyhow (after cooking).
Stir in the curry powder and chile flakes.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours (low is better, IMO). Before serving, use a hand-held stick blender to blend the soup completely (even the chorizo. I know, it sounds weird, but trust me). Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
The Verdict.
I was fascinated by this ingredient list and am so glad that I gave it a try. Its velvety and smooth, with a great depth of flavor. The heat sneaks up but isnt overwhelming. You can omit the red pepper flakes if youre worried about the spice, and then add at the table to the grown-up servings. My girls thought it was a bit too firery, but liked scooping the sour cream off the top and dunked corn bread into the soup and ate it that way.
Adam is not a soup guy (he keeps reminding me of this, and I keep forgetting), but he practically licked his bowl clean. Ive got more chorizo in the freezer earmarked just for this!
yet again, Im behind with the 2008 flashbacks. I have no idea how I got through that year of cooking and posting daily---Im having trouble posting weekly now!
March 10 Creamed Spinach (shhh. its good for you!)
March 11 Dulce de Leche (you arent supposed to make this. and thats all I should really say, probably)
March 12 Ginger Teriyaki Tofu (Im the only one who ate this)
March 13 Blue Cheese and Steak Roll-Ups (fancy schmancy)
March 14 French Onion Soup (seriously good. even if youre not a "soup guy")
March 15 Creamy Avocado Chipotle Soup (sounds odd. kind of is.)
March 16 Roasted Cabbage and Potatoes (sometimes I dont know what to type in the parentheses)
March 17 Apricot Chicken (this is what I make when we have company with kids)
March 18 Hardboiled Eggs (you can hardboil eggs in the crockpot! but that doesnt mean you should.)
March 19 Leg of Lamb (the absolute best way to cook lamb---really. moist, delicious, perfect)
March 20 Sweet and Spicy Salmon (spring is a great time to cook fish in the crockpot)
March 21 Overnight Breakfast Potatoes with Sausage (cooking while you sleep is the ultimate in luxury. that, and maybe a butler?)
March 22 Traditional Beef Stew (there are as many variations of stew as there are missing Barbie shoes)
March 23 Taco Dip (I have a few different taco dip recipes. this is the first one)
Happy Slow Cooking! Have a great week!
Sunday, March 22, 2015
CrockPot Sweet and Sour Tofu
Day 187. I was so excited to see that our grocery store has started carrying La Choy brand sweet and sour sauce.
So I bought a bunch.
La Choy uses soy instead of wheat starch to make its soy sauce, and the sweet and sour sauce is labeled the same way. So theres no gluten! yippee!
We hadnt had tofu in a while, and after the french dip sandwiches, needed some lighter fare.
The Ingredients.
-1 pound extra firm tofu, drained - 4 cups fresh vegetables (I used 2 bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli)
- 1/2 white onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 10 oz jar of La Choy sweet and sour sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon water
- 1 T butter
The Directions.
You know how in Chinese restaurants the tofu is always really crispy on the outside and has a nice texture? I learned a trick last week to help create that at home without deep-frying. Cube your tofu, and put it in a zipper bag with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Shake the tofu until its coated completely in cornstarch. Then fry on the stove on medium heat in a tablespoon of butter. Resist the urge to flip the tofu often. Let it get a nice crusty coat before turning.
While thats cooking, wash and trim your vegetables and add to the crockpot. When the tofu is done, put it in also. Pour the entire bottle of sweet and sour sauce on top of the tofu and vegetables.
Add a 1/2 tablespoon of water to the "empty" jar, and shake. Pour the contents on top. Toss gingerly.
Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.
This is finished when the vegetables have reached desired consistency. We like the veggies to have a crunch, so I didnt let it cook very long. The broccoli was not very crisp, but the onion, bell pepper, and carrot still were al dente.
The Verdict.
My kids each ate 2 helpings. They didnt eat the onion or bell pepper, but happily ate the tofu, carrots, and broccoli.
The sauce is a good flavor; it tastes like take-out. I might add red pepper flakes to the adult servings next time.
We ate this over white rice, outside. It was a really nice night.
Friday, March 20, 2015
CrockPot Sweet and Sour Caramelized Onions
Day 300.
It is the 300th day of the year, and the day my youngest turns 4. If it wasnt for writing the day of the year each morning, Id have no idea that every leap year her birthday falls on the 300th day. Thats kind of neat.
She was awake at 5:51 this morning, hopping on her bed. Thankfully her older sister continued to sleep. She and Adam are in the living room playing with her birthday request: a toy barbecue. It has wheels, a little rotisserie complete with plastic chicken, and realistic cooking sounds.
She couldnt be happier.
I made these onions last night on a whim because I had found this recipe in one of the Cooking Light magazines my mom brought over, and I liked the picture. They tasted fantastic and would be great paired with a nice juicy steak.
The Ingredients.
adapted from Jan. 2008 edition of Cooking Light, page 164
--2 pounds tiny onions (sometimes called boiler or pearl onions)
--1/2 cup raisins (one box)
--1 T butter
--2 T balsamic vinegar
--1 T sugar
--1/4 tsp kosher salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/4 cup pine nuts
The Directions.
I used a 6 quart crockpot, but anything 4 quarts and up will work.
Cut the top and bottom off of all of the onions and peel away the skin. If you get some of the onion and peel that off an outer layer, thats okay. It takes a while to peel the onions; make sure youre in a good mood.
Put the onions in the crockpot and toss with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add the pat of butter and the raisins. Toss in the pine nuts.
Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours, stirring every 45 minutes or so. I cooked ours for a bit more than 3 hours, and stirred 3 times. I wanted the onions to get brown and caramely on all sides.
The Verdict.
Adam and I liked this a lot. This would be a great accompaniment to a holiday meal, or to bring as an addition to a potluck dinner.
It looks fancy, and tastes fancy, but is easy to throw together. The raisins plumped and took on the vinegar flavor, and the pine nuts added a bit of crunch and some smokiness.
Im off to eat a plastic chicken. I cant wait.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Slow Cooker Chicken and Sweet Potato Southwestern Stew
I was playing in the garden yesterday and realized a bit before 2pm that I had forgotten about dinner, and scrambled to throw something in the slow cooker. This is a completely made-up clean-out-the-pantry meal. Wednesday is usually our leftover night, but I kind of ate all the leftovers in the house for lunch. oops.The Ingredients.
4 frozen chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 2 inch chunks
1 (15-ounce) can baked beans
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (4-ounce) can fire roasted diced chile (a last minute brainstorm!)
1/2 cup pineapple juice (leftover from the Easter Ham)
The Directions.
Use a 4 quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into your stoneware, and drop the sweet potato chunks on top. Add all the contents of the baked beans, tomato paste, and diced chile. Pour on the pineapple juice. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 6-8. Your stew is done when the chicken is cooked through and the the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
The Vedict.
This is gross. Really gross. I think its the tomato paste. I took a few bites to be a good sport, but could tell about 2 hours into it that this wasnt going to be a very good dinner. I thought maybe with some shredded cheese it could be palatable, but it just wasnt. The house smelled like burnt tomato stew, even though the tomato paste mixed with the pineapple juice and bean and chile liquid and there was plenty of moisture. It was just not good.
really bad.
really really really bad.
We ended up having McDonalds. I drove through in my slippers.
other memorable flops:
coconut chicken curry
fruit leather
bacon wrapped scallops
hard boiled eggs
roasted pumpkin seeds
Friday, March 13, 2015
Spicy Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
These Spicy Sweet Potato Fries are deliciously vegan for Meatless Monday!
I try to post a meatless main dish every week for Meatless Monday, but some weeks it just doesn't work out. Last week I tried out an idea for a meatless pasta dish, and it was definitely tasty. Unfortunately, the photos were so unappetizing that the recipe still needs work. Luckily, I did manage to get some good photos this week to update this favorite recipe for Spicy Sweet Potato Fries. The first time I made this recipe, I took one bite and knew immediately I'd be making these sweet potato fries over and over. My favorite sweet potatoes fries are not only meatless, but this recipe is deliciously vegan. Who knows, this just might become your favorite way to cook sweet potatoes?
Click to continue reading
Read more »
I try to post a meatless main dish every week for Meatless Monday, but some weeks it just doesn't work out. Last week I tried out an idea for a meatless pasta dish, and it was definitely tasty. Unfortunately, the photos were so unappetizing that the recipe still needs work. Luckily, I did manage to get some good photos this week to update this favorite recipe for Spicy Sweet Potato Fries. The first time I made this recipe, I took one bite and knew immediately I'd be making these sweet potato fries over and over. My favorite sweet potatoes fries are not only meatless, but this recipe is deliciously vegan. Who knows, this just might become your favorite way to cook sweet potatoes?
Click to continue reading
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