Steak Burritos

I was starting to feel like an awful wife, because my husband is Hispanic and grew up eating more traditional Mexican food, but I, personally, have never been much of a fan. I may have made mention of this in another post, but I absolutely despise things like tamales and will only eat enchiladas if they are made with flour tortillas...I don't know what it is about the corn tortillas that makes me want to gag--the soft ones, that is! I love corn tortilla chips...I could make a meal on chips and salsa! I also love the more "Americanized" versions of Mexican food like fajitas, quesadillas, tacos, etc. Okay, enough of my rant! The point of my story was that I was feeling badly that I don't make more of an effort to incorporate some of the "comfort foods" that he was used to eating during his childhood. I tend to make comfort foods I remember my Mom making (ie: meatloaf), but always kind of cringed when I thought of the smell of some of his "comfort foods" permeating through the house--certain spices literally make me sick to my stomach! Anyway, I went in search of a dish that I thought would be a good compromise...one we'd both enjoy and I found a recipe for steak burritos. The recipe I found was relatively simple and it didn't call for much in the way of toppings, so I followed it for the basic cooking method of the meat and then I added all of our favorite toppings. This is something you could easily customize to your family's liking and the best part is that like tacos, you can kind of create your own burrito with whatever you like--it's not as if everyone has to have onions, tomatoes, cheese, etc. We ate after my son went to bed, but I know he would have had a lot of fun making his own burrito! My husband was very grateful and said he'd most definitely eat them again--when he walked in, he said the house smelled much like he remembered his parents' house smelling when he was growing up...I guess that was supposed to be a compliment :)

Steak Burritos

2 flank steaks, 1 pound each (I used round steak)
2 envelopes taco seasoning mix
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilis
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup water
8-10 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Your favorite toppings (Might I suggest any of the following: refried beans, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream)

Salsa Verde (Green salsa), for dipping

Directions:

Rub steaks on both sides with taco seasoning. Place in slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Top with onion, chilies and vinegar. Add 1/2 cup water to bottom; cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove steaks and cool slightly; shred meat with two forks (or cut into small chunks). Return to slow cooker; heat through.

Warm flour tortillas and top with meat mixture and any combination of your favorite toppings. Fold ends and sides over filling. Serve with salsa verde for dipping.

NOTE: When I prepared my husband and my burritos, I did so in the following order: I warmed the tortillas, spread a thin layer of refried beans, put the meat on top of the beans, sprinkled Mexican-style cheese over the meat and then topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and sour cream. They were REALLY good like that!

Source: Taste of Home Online

Slow-Cooked Lemon Chicken

I always love using my crockpot year-round, but am especially fond of using it this time of year! There's something so comforting about coming in from the cool weather and knowing that you have a nice home-cooked meal waiting for you. I doubled the "sauce" ingredients (as reflected by the amounts I listed in the recipe) and was glad I did--it was nice having plenty of sauce to spoon over the cooked chicken. The only change I would make would be to cut back a bit on the cooking time--I think 3 hrs would be plenty of time, since you are already browning the chicken prior to placing it in the crockpot. (I made a notation of this below, as well!) I served the chicken with buttered rice and sprinkled it with a bit of parsley for garnish, but only served the sauce on the chicken. Enjoy :)

Slow-Cooked Lemon Chicken

6 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds), skin removed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

Hot cooked rice

Directions:

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Combine the oregano, seasoned salt and pepper; rub over the chicken. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken in butter; transfer to a 5 quart slow cooker.

Add the water, lemon juice, garlic and bouillon to the skillet; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. (I cooked mine closer to 4 hours, but think it may be better to aim for 3 to avoid overcooking the chicken...the flavor was good, but it was a tad bit dry for my liking!)

Baste the chicken. Add parsley. Cover and cook 15-30 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear. If desired, thicken cooking juices and serve over chicken and rice.

Source: Taste of Home, The New Slow Cooker

Whole Baked Chicken in the Crock Pot

I've mentioned my "issues" with whole chickens in previous posts...I don't know why, but they somewhat gross me out! I pride myself on being a good shopper, however, and seeing as how there were very limited "beef/chicken/pork" items on sale this past week, I broke down and bought a whole chicken...on sale for $.88/lb, I might add :) I noticed a while back that Heidi (Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi) posted a crock pot chicken recipe and with her rave reviews, I knew it had to be great! I followed her recipe to a tee, except I think my chicken was closer to 5 lbs (I was hoping to have a little extra to make some chicken salad for myself, except we just about polished off the whole bird....that's how good it was!) I also one and a halved the spices, due to the larger size of the chicken. The chicken turned out perfectly...so moist and tender! I had an appointment yesterday afternoon, so I only cooked it on high for about an hour and a half and then turned it down to low for approximately 5 1/2 hours.

(This was my plate...I was working on the thighs!)

Whole Baked Chicken in the Crock Pot

1 whole chicken (2-3 lb) --again, I used a 5 lb chicken!
2 tsp salt (I used Kosher salt)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Wad 3-4 pieces of aluminum foil into 3 inch balls and place in bottom of crock pot. Pour enough water in crock pot to just cover the bottom. (I used about 1/2 inch of water). Rinse chicken and pat dry. Mix seasonings in a small bowl; rub into chicken. Place chicken in crock pot, on top of foil "balls". Cover and cook on high for 2 hours and then turn crock pot to low for an additional 5 hours.

Source: Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi

Pizza in a Pot

I just love my crockpot! It's funny, because I tend to go in spurts--I'll use it several times in a row and then I forget about it for a while, only to wonder why I don't use it more regularly?!? This is an extremely easy recipe to throw together and quite frankly, I think it could be considered a quick weeknight meal. They say to cook it on low for 3-4 hours until it's heated through, but everything is already cooked before you even put it in the crockpot, so you could easily just set it on high for an hour or so and I would imagine it would produce the same result! One thing that I can't stress enough is to make sure you add some seasoning to the beef, veggie and sauce mixture before adding it to the crockpot. I ended up stirring in some garlic salt at the end, because I thought it was really bland. It definitely need salt of some type and had I not been in such a rush to throw it together, it probably would have dawned on me that the recipe itself didn't call for any seasoning!

Pizza in a Pot

1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound spiral pasta, cooked and drained
2 packages (3-1/2 ounces each) sliced pepperoni
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook the beef, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, pizza sauce and tomato paste.

In a 5-qt. slow cooker, layer the pasta, beef mixture, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through. ***If you'd like, substitute 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage for the pepperoni in Pizza in a Pot. Cook it along with the ground beef, green pepper and onion.***

***Make sure to add some form of salt :)***

Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast

Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays...I always look forward to the dinner, especially the turkey--in addition to getting together with my family, of course! As much as I enjoy turkey, I don't know why I have never made a turkey breast?!? When I was out grocery shopping the other night, I noticed that Kroger had turkey breasts on sale for $.99/lb, so I thought I would give it a shot--after all, my sister has always raved about how easy and delicious her turkey is, that she makes in the crockpot with apple juice. I've been trying to be good about "meal-planning" for the week, especially now that we've got my son's soccer practices, so I thought that today would be the perfect day to try this recipe!

Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast

(1) 4-6 pound turkey breast
1 1/2 cups apple juice
Garlic Powder
Garlic Salt (optional)

Place turkey breast in slow-cooker. Pour apple juice over turkey and make sure that there is at least an inch to an inch and a half of apple juice covering the bottom of your slow-cooker--you may need a little more than a cup and a half! Sprinkle generously with garlic powder and garlic salt. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, depending on the size of your turkey.

Source: Sarah O'Brien

Spicy Shredded Pork

As soon as I saw this posted on "Delectable Dining", I knew it was a recipe I would have to try! Not only did it initially come from the Pioneer Woman (who my sister swears by), but I knew my husband would love anything with the words "shredded pork" and "spicy" in the title! My husband so graciously offered to make dinner last night, since he knew I'd be working all day and this was a wonderful meal to come home to! I didn't get home until close to 9pm, well after my son had eaten his dinner, but when he tried a bite of my "taco", he asked for one of his own and INHALED it! My husband said that he followed the recipe exactly as it was written, except he ran into one little problem...we didn't have any white wine vinegar. I was in the middle of discharging a patient at work, when the secretary told me that I had a call, so I politely excused myself (thinking maybe it was a doctor calling me back), only to find that it was my husband on the other end, trying to figure out what to do about not having any white wine vinegar. He said that he had called my sister to see if he could substitute regular white vinegar and she told him that wouldn't be advisable, so I suggested that he do a google search to see what a recommended substitution would be. Come to find out, they said that you can use red wine vinegar--the only reason you wouldn't want to is if the color would affect your dish. Since it was just being mixed with pork, it didn't particularly matter and I thought it tasted delicious! I do want to give credit for the picture to my sister, Sarah--I "borrowed" her picture, because I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got home last night and after trying about five or six times to take a picture of this dish, I gave up. I could not seem to make it look as presentable as she did...thanks Sarah!!!

Spicy Shredded Pork

4-7 pound pork shoulder
1 onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
3-4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 tablespoons salt
pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions:

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder. Place the pork shoulder in the bottom of a 6 quart crock pot and add about a cup of water in the bottom. Combine oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and quartered onion in the food processor. Process until well blended. Pour over the pork and rub well into entire surface. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat easily shreds using 2 forks. Serve in warm tortilla shells with fresh salsa and sour cream.

Source: Delectable Dining (Picture by Sarah O'Brien)

Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos

Well, the hubby has been on quite a roll lately! That, or he just got tired of hinting around that he's been wanting to try chicken tacos, so he took matters into his own hands. I had to laugh when I saw the blog he found this recipe on--it's called "Building Camelot" and the blogger's slogan is "Helping men become better husbands and fathers". Hmmmmm.... (Rest assured...I'll be bookmarking this page for him, just in case he ever feels compelled to take some of this guy's advice!)

I'm not going to lie...Mexican food is not exactly my favorite food...kind of ironic since my husband is Hispanic, but I'm always open to trying everything at least once. I'm definitely more of a fan of "Americanized Mexican food" (ie: fajitas, quesdadillas, tacos, etc). My husband said that this was incredibly easy to throw together--another recipe that could be started at the beginning of the day and ready by dinnertime!

Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
16 ounces salsa
Flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or taco shells

Directions:

Place the chopped onion and green pepper in the bottom of the crockpot. Place the chicken on top of the onions and peppers. Mix the taco seasoning with the salsa in a separate bowl and pour mixture over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Shred chicken in crockpot and serve on tortillas (or taco shells).

***Top with your favorite taco "toppings"...we used lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream. YUM!***

Source: Building Camelot

Barbecue Pulled Pork

Oh how I love the taste of BBQ pork! This is another perfect example of an easy recipe that can be thrown in the crock pot early in the day and ready by dinner time--actually, to say it is "easy" is an understatement! I think everyone is trying to be cautious in terms of spending lately and pork shoulder picnic roast is almost routinely on sale for $1-$1.19/lb. (Kroger had it for $.88/lb last week...it doesn't get much better than that!) My sister gave me this recipe several years back and I've yet to find anyone who didn't enjoy it. I have made this (and the Italian beef recipe, featured on my sister's blog: Delectable Dining) for countless family get-togethers and it's always a hit! You can certainly use your favorite BBQ sauce, but we HIGHLY recommend Sweet Baby Rays!

Barbecue Pulled Pork

4-5 lb Pork Shoulder Picnic Roast
1 cup water
Minced Garlic
Minced Onion
Onion Powder
Garlic Salt
1 Bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (we ONLY use Sweet Baby Rays!)

Place pork roast in crock pot (fat side up) with 1 cup of water. Sprinkle generously with minced garlic, minced onion, onion powder and garlic salt. Cook on low for 7 1/2 hrs. Remove excess fat from roast and drain the majority of the liquid. Shred the pork with two forks. Stir in your favorite BBQ sauce and continue cooking on low for 30 minutes...or long enough to warm the BBQ sauce. Serve on your favorite rolls!

Source: Sarah O'Brien

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I happen to think that the slow cooker is one of the greatest inventions EVER! It was one of the first appliances I bought when I moved out on my own and it's always been quite the lifesaver! Back when I was in nursing school, spending a great deal of time in the kitchen was in no way an option and now that I have two little ones, I'm finding it more and more difficult to find the time to cook big, elaborate meals. It's pretty darn convenient to throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot in the morning, only to have a savory meal at the end of the day! Today is one of those "lazy days"--my husband, the kids and I are all home together and while it would have been a good opportunity for me to have my husband watch the kids so I could cook, I thought it would be nice to spend the day together and not have to worry about taking time away to prepare dinner. We're all still battling this nasty virus, so I thought a nice "comfort food" like pot roast would taste good!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

5-6 medium potatoes (cut into cubes)
4 carrots (peeled and sliced)
1 large onion (cut into wedges)
(1) 4-5 lb roast (I typically go with chuck roast!)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 beef bouillon cubes
garlic salt
garlic powder
ground black pepper
2 bay leaves

Directions:

Place potatoes and carrots in bottom of slow cooker; sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Place meat on top of potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle generously, garlic salt, garlic powder and pepper over meat and place onion wedges and bay leaves on top. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water and pour over meat. Cook on low for 8 hrs.

Source: Rachel vs. "The Kitchen" (Rachel Guajardo)