Unsuccessful One Potters

I haven't posted any updates lately because I haven't cooked anything worthy of sharing. As a former food snob, all of my recipes came from Food Network chefs and they were always good. Lately, I've been testing out easy things I find on Pinterest and have been underwhelmed. Then I get annoyed and frustrated and cook something tried and true that I've already posted on here (Mexi Mix, spaghetti, etc.). The latest disappointment was these crock pot chicken and dumplings: http://www.bubblecrumb.com/2010/02/14/crock-pot-chicken-and-dumplings-recipe/

Now as a true GRITS (Girl Raised In The South), I know my dumplin's. These were not my mama's dumplin's and it just made me angry. The onion was overpowering and stunk the house up for days. The biscuits did not cook up in 30 minutes and never got that fluffy, dumplin' texture. They just didn't hit the spot. Thank the baby Jesus for a boyfriend who eats anything or else I'd be really mad. Luckily, they don't go to waste and he's so patient with all my experimenting when he probably secretly wishes I'd just cook the dinners that are both delicious and make me happy!

One thing I did make from Pinterest that was pretty good and easy was this Pizza Pasta Casserole: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pizza-Pasta-Casserole
My one complaint is that the jar of spaghetti sauce I used was a little sweet for my liking. I don't do sugar in my homemade sauce, so I would probably just make my own next time.

I do plan on trying a few things out for the Super Bowl, so hopefully they'll be good enough to post about. Stay tuned and wish me luck!

Crock Pot Adaptaions - Learning from Failure

I had an underwhelming cooking day on Sunday. I wanted to stay in the kitchen so I wouldn't care about the Falcons game (yep, they lost), so I decided to make this s'more cobbler and a variant of this chicken, rice, and broccoli. Well, the s'more cobbler was a'right. It was rich and gooey and needed less melted marshmallows and more graham crackers. The chicken, rice, and broccoli was just a mushy mess.  It was the first I'd ever heard of converted vs. unconverted rice and I tried to speed the process along by cooking it all on high for 3-4 hours instead of on low for 6-8.  I think that's what caused the mushiness. However, my bf eats anything and both are all gone 4 days later. Whew!

My friend Heather has requested I take a stab at converting this recipe here for Great Green Chili to a crockpot recipe. Given the crockpot mushiness, I'm not sure how good at this I'll be, but I've learned a few things from my failures.  Namely, rice needs to be cooked low and slow and undisturbed OR cooked separately and stirred in at the end. I've also learned other little tricks, such as small veggies (mushrooms, green peas, pearl onions, etc.) don't need to cook all day. You just add them in for the last 30-60 minutes. Also, fresh herbs added just before serving add a little freshness to anything!

So, if I were to cook this in the crockpot (and I just might have to try it soon), this is what I would do:

1. Let's combine their steps 1 and 2 for the most part. Put the chicken, chilies, garlic, cumin, jalapeños and hominy* in the crockpot. Mix the gravy mix with the broth and pour on top of everything else.
2. Cook on low for 6 hours or high on 3. I don't think anything will turn to mush here.
*A note on hominy. I don't have much experience with it. If this does turn out mushy or you're scared of the hominy going mushy, add it for the last hour of cooking.
3. You'll notice I left out the cilantro, one of my most favorite flavors. I would add that 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro during the last 30 minutes or so to just keep the flavor extra fresh.
4. Proceed with steps 3-5 and enjoy!

Heather, if you try this in the crockpot, do let us know how it turns out. And if it sucks? Well, I apologize in advance! Thanks for the blog post suggestion!

French Pot Roast - In a Slow Cooker

I've been meaning to post this one for a while, but I got sidetracked with the holidays and an impromptu escape to Key West.  My friend Heather pinned this on Pinterest and I immediately repinned it to my own board.  I left work one day at lunch and threw it all in the crockpot. Definitely couldn't whip up Julia's boeuf bourguignonne in that amount of time, huh? http://recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipe/french-pot-roast.aspx

It was good.  Not great.  Just good.  But it was easy and there weren't any leftovers, so it was still a success.  I originally served it with buttered egg noodles and roasted broccoli, but the bf ate it for numerous lunches with some leftover mashed potatoes (which he preferred, I think).

I definitely added more peas and mushrooms and onions than it called for.  It just still tasted like it was missing something to me.  Given that it's from Women's Health magazine, maybe the problem is just that it didn't have enough fattening deliciousness for my tastebuds?

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken

Here is a super easy crock pot recipe for you-- buffalo chicken!  I found this on pinterest.com and was not disappointed. http://mykitchenapron.blogspot.com/2011/07/crock-pot-buffalo-chicken.html I decided to make this at the last minute on a Saturday, so I bought chicken breasts that were not frozen and cooked them on high for about 2-3 hours in the buffalo sauce and ranch mix.

Once they were cooked through, I shredded the chicken and added it back to the crock pot to soak up the juice with a little butter.

We enjoyed it on toasted hoagie rolls with pepper jack cheese and blue cheese dressing.  Tots and celery were a must!  It was VERY messy, but super tasty.

The next night, I made a quesadilla with the chicken and I suspect it would be super yummy on chips as a dip or even on a salad.  It's definitely an easy gameday meal or a quick supper solution if you love buffalo anything like me!

Crock Pot Gumbo

While I enjoy Cajun food, it's typically not something I cook too often.  My brother is the Cajun expert, so I usually enjoy it when he makes it and never have to put forth the effort myself.  But for some reason, a big pot of gumbo was sounding good to me last week.  Gumbo is a food of love and if I cooked gumbo for real on a weeknight, we'd be eating around 10pm and that just wasn't going to cut it.  So I ran to the store on my lunch break and decided to make a mediocre crock pot version.  It would still have gumbo ingredients and the same general feel, but without the hours of love a delicious, authentic pot would require.  If you're from Louisiana, do not judge me. I know this is not the real deal Holyfield, mmkay?

What you need:
-Chicken (I used 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they were cheap)
-1 lb of sausage
-1/2 lb of shrimp
-Frozen okra
-Can of tomatoes
-Chopped onion, bell pepper, celery
-Chicken stock
-Flour
-Oil
-Seasoning (I used salt, pepper, cayenne, and Emeril's Essence)

I hope I remember what I did... Let's see...

First I made a dark brown roux using 1/3 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of oil.  Just put it in a sauce pan and stir and stir and stir some more until it gets the color you want it to be.

Next, I seasoned the chicken with some salt, pepper, Essence, and cayenne and put it into the crock pot.  I poured about 2 cups or so of chicken broth in and stirred in my roux.  Then I dumped in my chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery.

Next came the can of tomatoes, which I don't think goes in "real gumbo," but whatever.  I turned the crock pot on low and went back to work.  It simmered for probably 5 or 6 hours?

Once I was home from work and facebooked about how delicious the house smelled, I poured in the okra.  I also tasted for my seasonings and likely added more salt, pepper, Essence, and a lot more cayenne.  I like it spicy!

Then while the rice was cooking, I added the shrimp.  (I'd let the okra cook for about the last 45 minutes and the shrimp for about the last 20-30 minutes.)  Time to eat!

 

It wasn't as good as my brother's, but it totally worked for a quick weeknight meal!