Vegetarian Chili

Got this recipe from a gal in my book club who served it on the night that she hosted. I fell in love with it! I am quite the meat and potatoes kinda gal but am really trying to branch out. Let me tell ya, you don't even miss the meat and it is oh so filling!!

1 T Vegetable Oil

1 Medium Onion, diced

1 Medium Green Bell Pepper, diced

2 Jalapenos, seeded and minced (Mine is hot enough with out these)

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

1 T Chili Powder

1 tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Ground Chipotle

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 - 14oz can Mexican style diced tomatoes (I have also used the Southwestern style)

2 - 16oz cans Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 C fresh or frozen corn kernels (no need to defrost if frozen)

1/3 C Chopped fresh Cilantro

In a large pot over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic and cook, stirring often until veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the spices, tomatoes, and beans and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the corn and cook for another minute. Stir in Cilantro and serve.

And of course you can top with fixin's: Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, and Corn Chips (for those who are okay with dairy products)

Cuban Pork Roast

Had this dish at ChinoLatino in Mpls and wanted to recreate it. Found a recipe online and tried it out. Pretty close but needs some tweaking. Will adjust recipe when I tweak.

1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grapefruit juice
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
3# boneless pork roast
1 large sliced onion

For marinade, combine lime juice, water, grapefruit juice, garlic, oregano, salt, cumin, pepper, and bay leaves in a medium bowl. Pierce meat in several places and place in crock pot. Pour marinade over meat. Cover pot with stretch wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 6 + hours, turning occasionally. Remove from fridge and top with sliced onion. Cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Discard Bay leave and remove meat. Using 2 forks, shred pork.

Add onions and enough juices to make it your choice consistancy or serve juices on the side.

Place on top of a bed of jasmine rice, black beans and top all with a vinegar coleslaw.

Enjoy!

Credit for recipe to Itsajourney on GroupRecipes.com

Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas

I don't have a picture for this one yet because we were so hungry that I didn't even think of taking a picture before digging in. This recipe comes from my friend and co-worker Carin. This is her infamous potluck dish, everyone asks her to bring it when we have a potluck. I didn't add or delete anything from this recipe because I like it just the way it is :) Enjoy!


Ingredients:

1 – 1 ½ lb meat cooked (ground hamburger, ground turkey, chicken, sirloin…)
1 small onion chopped
2 cans cream of something soup
(I normally use Cream of Mushroom w/ Roasted Garlic & Cream of Chicken w/ Herbs)
1 can original Rotelle tomatoes
(Use whichever heat level you want – Mild, Original, or Hot)
1 small can chopped green chili’s
8 oz. sour cream
Pepper to taste
2-4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
(Original recipe calls for 2 cups – I always use much more)
8-10 large flour tortilla shells


Directions:

Cook meat and cut into bite size pieces. Add onion and cook a little more until onion is tender. Season with pepper. Add soups, tomatoes, chili’s and sour cream. Mix well.

Spray crock pot liberally with Pam cooking spray. Layer like lasagna:
1/3 of the tortilla shells ripped into small pieces
1/3 of the meat mixture
1/3 shredded cheese
Continue until all ingredients are used.

Cook on low heat for 4 hours

Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwiches

This is so far the easiest recipe yet and I think the best tasting that I have done in the crockpot. I served with coleslaw (purchased coleslaw mix and dressing) and potato chips for a classic meal.

4lbs Pork Shoulder Roast
2 Bottles BBQ sauce (one for now and one for later) I used Famous Dave's Sweet and Tangy.
Sandwhich buns

Place pork roast and one bottle of BBQ sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 10hrs. After cooking pull pork out on to a baking sheet with edges and shred. Spread out all over baking sheet. Pour about half of the other bottle of BBQ sauce on meat along with a little bit of the juices left in the crockpot and lightly mix. Place in oven on Broil for a few minutes. Take out stir and serve.

Crockpot Meatloaf

This was super simple and not bad on taste. The original recipe called for ground turkey but I haven't aquired a taste for that yet. I think I will try a few more variations on this to see if it can get any better. I used one pound of 93% lean ground beef and one pound of 83% and there was quite a bit of grease at the end. I think using all 93% lean would work just fine.

2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
2/3 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
2 TSP Dried Minced Onion or Garlic
1 TSP Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Marjoram
1-1/2 Ground Beef
1/4 Cup Ketchup
2 TBSP Brown Sugar
1/2 TSP Worcestershire

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Crumble the beef over the mixture and mix well. Shape into a round loaf; place in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. Gently pour it over the meat loaf. Cook for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for about 15 - 20 minutes before cutting.
We served with Baked potatoes done in the microwave. Just clean 4 to 6 russet potatoes puncture a few times with a fork and place in microwave for 5 min on high and then turn them over and cook again for another 5 to 7 minutes. Top with butter, cheese, sour cream salt and pepper.

Shredded Chicken Soft Tacos & Spanish Rice

I am trying out some new things with my crock pot so I can have some meals ready in the evening when we get home from work. While not completely done in a crock pot you could have this meal completely ready in about 45min!

The food presentation is pretty bland and if I had thought about it sooner I would have grabbed some lime and cilantro to brighten it up a bit!

Shredded Chicken Soft Tacos

2-3 lbs Boneless skinless chicken breasts
15oz can Enchilada sauce

Place these items in crockpot either 8hr low or 6hr high and leave alone.

Flour or Corn taco size tortillas
Taco toppings:

Sour cream

Shredded Cheese

Lettuce

Salsa

Anything else you like!

Spanish Rice

I have an rss feed to Simply Recipes this has got to be my most favorite site for food! No need to mess with anything when it's already perfect!
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000040spanish_rice.php

While the rice is cooking I take the lid off of the crock pot, shred the chicken with 2 forks and leave the lid off for about the last hour of the chicken cooking.

When rice is completed assemble tacos and serve with rice and refried beans! Enjoy!

Guacamole

I think I only used a recipe once to make Guacamole and now I just whip it up with no instructions what-so-ever. I must have done pretty good because I won a guacamole contest at work for this and one of the judges had just gone through culinary school!
I only make small batches because even if you put a lot of acidity in the dip the avocados will still turn brown after awhile. So unless you have a huge party that you are making this for keep the portions small.
I have also had a hard time finding just the right ripened avocados at the store so what I have started to do is plan ahead and pick up ones that aren't ripe yet and let them sit out on the table for a day or two at home. When ripe their skin will turn black and will just start to be soft to a light squeeze.

3 large Avocados (5 if they are small)
Onion - diced (I use red ones to give some color)
1/2 of a lime squeezed for juice
1 large Jalapeno - diced (leave the seeds if you want more heat)
Cilantro
Garlic - minced
Salt
Pepper
If you want more color you can also add some diced up roma or cherry tomatoes, they don't mess with the flavor much but add some nice color to the dip.

If you make this in advance only make it a few hours in advance and make sure it is sealed in an air tight container

Enjoy!