Day 187 - Cheerwine Pulled Pork

Cheerwine Pulled Pork, Potato Salad, Baked Beans.

Made pulled pork this week for two friends who recently had a baby.  And, since dad is a Carolina Boy, I made Cheerwine pulled pork?

What is Cheerwine, you ask?  It's a softdrink originating in the Carolinas.  It's like a fruitier, lighter Dr. Pepper.  Anyway, they make pulled pork with it a lot, because it's really tasty, and so that's what I did, along with potato salad and baked beans.  And, of course, kept some for myself.  Had some for dinner the other night, and then brought the leftovers for lunch.

If you've never made pulled pork, try it this way.  I promise, you'll thank me.

Cheerwine Pulled Pork

1 5-lb pork picnic shoulder
1 12-oz can Cheerwine (or Dr. Pepper, or Coca-Cola, or anything else dark and sweet)

Spray the interior of a 5 quart crock pot with cooking spray.  Place pork shoulder in the crock pot, pouring Cheerwine over the top.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  When pork falls apart with a gentle prod of a fork, you're ready to go.  Pull out pork with tongs (it should shred on its way out), makings sure not to include bones or fat.  Place pulled pork in a separate container.  You may or may not reserve the juices leftover, as desired.  Serve hot or cold.

If you want to keep hot, pour bones, fat, gristle, juice, etc out of crock pot, reserving at least a cup of juices.  Place pork and liquid back into crock and keep on the warm setting. Pin It Now!

Day 173 - Red Beans and Rice

Red beans and rice, grapes,corn.

Red beans and rice!  Yum! I make mine in the slow cooker, and enjoy every single bite.  I also make mine Gulf Coast style - I was informed at lunch today that my red beans looked "weird" because they had sausage and onions in them, by a friend who is from another part of the country.  Honestly, never occurred to me that "red beans and rice" wasn't a trademarked term used in New Orleans.  Obviously that's just crazy talk on my part, but I found it interested how heated the table discussion became over the "right" way to cook different foods.

Whoever said American culture is becoming overly homogenized needs to come eat lunch with me, apparently.

Anyway, I pared my red beans and rice with some leftover silver queen corn and grapes.  Tasty!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

1 cup dried red beans

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 lb kielbasa or cooked andouille sausage, sliced thin

1 T minced garlic

1 T cajun seasoning

1 quart chicken stock or broth

3 cups hot cooked rice (I like saffron rice, but plain white rice is the classic)

Combine all ingredients, except rice, in a 2 quart crock pot.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until beans are tender.  Serve over rice with a green salad and a crusty baguette!

 

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Day 151 - Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff, Red Grapes, Clementine

 
These leftovers are a total splurge, and so worth it!  Last night I made Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff - cheap, easy, sinful, delicious.  This recipe is very similar to the beef tips that I shared with you a few months ago, but honest - this is way more delicious.  Not the prettiest picture I've ever taken, but trust me...delicious!  I added grapes and a clementine to try to keep it a little healthier for lunch today, which I just kept on the lid of the container while I was microwaving the stroganoff over egg noodles!

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs beef stew meat
2 cans cream of golden mushroom soup
16 oz sour cream (I use 8 oz fat free, 8 oz low fat...full fat would be tastier, though)

Combine beef and soup in the slow cooker; cook on low for 10-12 hours.  Stir in sour cream and cook until heated through, about 15-30 minutes.  Take the time the sour cream is heating to cook up some egg noodles and a nice green salad! Pin It Now!

Day 129 - Frijoles Charros and a Week of Ham

Alright, friends, this week we have a theme.  Drum roll please!  This week's theme is....One Ham Bone, Four Lunches!  This involves one of my favorite thrifty secrets.  Honey Baked Ham is a big deal down here in the south, but those hams cost anywhere from $6-$12 a pound, which is absurd.  Who has money for that?  Well, lots of people, apparently.  But not me!  However...you can buy a ham bone, with plenty of meat on it, for $2.50 a pound.  So, I got a beautiful ham bone for only $5.95, sliced the meat off, and will feed myself lunches from it all week!

Observe:

Now, this is about a 2.5 lb ham bone.  You could get a much bigger ham to feed more people, but even as it is...look at all that ham!  Notice I've got a lot of ham left over on the bone, too.  That will come in handy!  I've also managed to get some ham slices and ham bits off the bone, which will show up next week.

Now, onto today's lunch!

Frijoles Charros, Rice, Avocado, Collard Greens, Red Plum

So, dinner last night and lunch today came from the ham bone itself.  I made frijoles charros in the slow cooker, and wow they were good.  Frijoles charros basically translates to "cowboy beans," and it's essentially a southwestern version of what we call baked beans in the south.  Or, at least that's how I see it. Pork, tomatoes, and chilies are slow cooked with pinto beans in the original varieties, so I just added my own little spin to a basic.  This was great served over rice last night, and today I had them with rice, avocado, collards wilted in chili oil, and a red plum.  So good.  I highly recommend this for a thrifty and filling hot meal!

Frijoles Charros in the Slow Cooker

1 cup dried pinto beans
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 large ham bone with some ham attached
1 can Rotel
12 oz beer (I used Corona, but any kind is fine)
12 oz water

Combine all ingredients in a 4 quart crock pot.  If you're ham bone isn't entirely covered in liquid, that's ok!  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir well and remove bone and any little bits of ligament or bone.  Serve hot over rice and enjoy! Pin It Now!

Day 117 - Pot Roast Soup

Soup!

My grandmother, who grew up during the Depression, saved everything.  E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  I mean, the woman saved old underwear elastic to use as rubber bands.  Really.  She could look at a bag of trash and find uses for almost anything.  I remember playing with my cousin's 10 year old (first edition, probably priceless) Star Wars toys that she had found behind the couch and saved, because they were perfectly good toys.

Now, I'm thrifty, but I'm not that thrifty.  I came of age in the 90's when consumerism was king, and so I feel no guilt at throwing out (or, more likely donating) things that I can no longer use.  One really smart thing that she did which I copy, though, is a container of vegetable soup starter in the freezer.  By that, I mean that she keep a plastic container in the freezer, and anytime she had leftover vegetables she just added them to the container and let them freeze.  When it starts to get full, then it was time to make vegetable soup!    

Now the wisdom of my mother kicks in.  My mom makes a great pot roast in the oven, and she discovered years ago that if she saved all of the drippings and used them to start a beef vegetable soup broth, it made the best soup ever.

So, I enter the cooking scene, and here's how I combine all that wisdom to make my own soup.  I keep a 2 quart container in my freezer.  Any time I have vegetables OR pot roast leftovers, I add them to the container.  I usually make pot roast in 1 pound quantities, so my drippings aren't a lot.  And I only add vegetables I'd like in soup - tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, carrots, onions, potatoes.  Then, when my container gets full, it's soup time!

I call mine pot roast soup because I usually buy a 1 pound pot roast and cut it up into little bite sized pieces to cook in the soup.  Pot roast is pretty cheap, and you can trim the fat quite easily.  It's also very similar to how I make pot roast in the crock pot.  I usually add a fresh onion and some tomatoes, maybe a potato.  This soup also goes back in the freezer very well.  I let it cook for most of the day and come home to delicious soup.

Which is what I did yesterday, and brought the leftovers today.  The picture is a little hazy because it was still steaming!

Pot Roast Soup

1 lb pot roast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup baby carrots, chopped
1 cup red wine
1 quart beef stock or wine
1 package Lipton Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
2 quarts vegetable and pot roast leftovers (if this isn't your style, use 4 drained cans of any vegetables you like and 1 additional quart of beef broth or stock)


Place your dry ingredients in a 5-6 quart crock pot.  Pour over liquids.  Cover crock and cook on high for 6 hours, or low for 12 hours.  Serve hot and enjoy!

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Day 113 - Herb and Mushroom Pot Roast

Herb and Mushroom Pot Roast, Rice, Peas, and a Clementine

Leftovers from Sunday dinner are the best!  Yesterday for dinner I made the classic Sunday pot roast, but of course did it my own way.  Naturally, for me, that means slow cooker!  I also add mushrooms and some herbs, and it's just to die for.  I usually serve it with green peas and either rice or mashed potatoes.  I also safe the leftovers to make Pot Roast Soup, which is basically just my riff on beef vegetable  soup.  Today, though, I took a few of those leftovers to work for lunch, with some rice, peas, and a clementine.  The only thing I regret is that it didn't photograph as well as it tastes!

If you're looking for a trusty pot roast recipe, I recommend this one highly!  And don't forget to freeze your leftovers for soup!  I think I'll make some next weekend...

Herb and Mushroom Pot Roast in the Slow Cooker

2 lb beef pot roast
1 cup baby carrots
1 onion
8 oz whole fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup red wine (or beef broth)
1 package Lipton Golden Mushroom Soup
 1-2 Tablespoons Herbs de Provence

Slice onions into thick rounds.  Place them in the bottom of a lightly greased 4-6 quart crock pot.  Then  place in the carrots and raw beef roast.  Add in mushrooms, and feel free to nudge them down and around the roast.  Sprinkle soup mix and herbs over the top.  Slowly pour in the wine.  Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours (preferred), or on high for 5-6 hours.  Roast is done when the meat falls apart at a gentle fork-poke.  Serve hot with potatoes or rice to soak up all that good sauce!

If you like to drain your pot roast of the juices before serving, I highly recommend saving these for future use in soups and sauces.  You can even freeze them and scrape off the fat that floats to the top.

If Herbs de Provence aren't your thing, feel free to replace with Italian Herbs or any other mix of your choice!  A little salt won't hurt either, but I find it unnecessary.

Serves around 6, unless you have teenage boys.  Then it could very well only serve 2.  Increase the size of your roast up to 4 lbs without adjusting the cooking time.


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Day 105 - Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

Corn, stewed onions and ham, slow cooker pinto beans, green beans, and corn bread.

I told you last post that I would have all vegetables and fruit for this lunch, and I got...close?

Growing up, my mom would go to the farmer's market in the summers and just get whatever was fresh.  Beans, squash, tomatoes, whatever.  She'd cook them as simply as possible, and we'd just have a vegetable plate, with maybe some ham or sausage on the side.  I do that in the summers now, but every once in a while I want it in the winter, too.  It's not as good, but I find that even frozen vegetables taste great when I'm just ready for some veggies and vitamins.

So, for today we have last night's leftovers - frozen corn, stewed pearl onions and ham, slow cooker pinto beans, green beans that I had made in the summer and frozen, and some corn bread.  I'm going to tell you all about the pinto beans, because they are ridiculously easy, ridiculously cheap, and pretty tasty too!  Great source of protein, and if you have leftovers you can make refried beans!

Just for your general reference, I buy a whole ham or ham cubes whenever they come on sale and keep them in the fridge for bean and soup cooking - I highly recommend this practice!  A ham bone is even better, but when you're doing small batches like the one below, just a little ham or bacon will be fine.

Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

1/2 cup dried pinto beans (no need to soak)
1/2 cup frozen pearl onions
1/2 cup ham, chopped
1/2 poblano pepper, seeded
2 T chicken bouillion
1 T salt (or less...if you're sensitive to salt, start with one teaspoon and work your way up)

Place all ingredients, in order, in a 2 quart crock pot.  Fill the crock with water until about an inch from the top (if you're using a bigger crock pot, then add at least four cups of water).  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Drain and serve hot.

If you're making refried beans later, be sure to save the liquid! Pin It Now!

Day 88 - Slow Cooker Chicken with Tarragon and Leeks

Chicken Thighs with Tarragon and Leeks

I had a day off today, so for lunch I tried a new slow cooker recipe: Chicken Thighs with Tarragon and Leeks.  It was easy, hearty, and not terribly unhealthy.  It also involved just a little heavy cream, which I think makes everything taste better!  The only thing I changed was that I used peeled Yukon gold potatoes instead of whole potatoes. 

I wanted a little more flavor than this recipe provided, so you might want to experiment with some garlic or spices.  It's from Real Simple, so you know it's at worst a good basic.  I'd recommend it, but I'd also recommend amping up the flavor a little. Pin It Now!

Day 84 - Slow Cooker Beef Tips

Beef tips over egg noodles, green peas, clementine.

 Remember how healthy I was yesterday?  Well, I made up for it today.

These slow cooker beef tips will melt in your mouth, and they couldn't be easier.  Serve them over pasta or rice, with something green and light on the side.  Today's leftovers for lunch were over wheat egg noodles with green peas and a clementine.

Yes, I love canned peas with an unholy passion.  Just go with it.

Slow Cooker Beef Tips

2 lb chopped beef (stew meat quality)
1 can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup

Place beef in a 2 quart crock pot.  Top with soup and stir gently.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours.  Serve hot, and enjoy! Pin It Now!

Day 64 - Slow Cooker Coca-Cola Ham Roast

Ham, noodles, green beans, clementine.

Alright friends, today we have some leftover slices of Coca-cola ham roast, some buttered garlic noodles, green beans, and...you guessed it...a clementine.

Can you tell I just bought a lot of clementines this week?

Coca-cola ham roast is probably the easiest thing in the world to cook, and do so deliciously.  You can use as large or small a roast as you like, but the recipe below is for a small one to feed around 4 hungryish people.  The best part is that since so many ham roasts are pre-cooked, there is no way you can screw this up!  Don't you just love that?!

Slow Cooker Coca-Cola Ham Roast

1.5 pre-cooked ham roast
8 oz Coca-Cola Classic
2 T Dijon Mustard
2 t black pepper

Place ham roast into a 2 quart crock pot.  Spread mustard over top, and sprinkle in pepper.  Slowly pour Coca-Cola over whole mixture.  Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.  If possible, flip ham over halfway through cooking for more even flavor.

Makes around 10 slices. Pin It Now!

Day 58 - Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 Today was slow cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup!  It's got a lot of the same flavors as a white chili, but it's much lighter.  I did find myself wishing that I had added white beans, but it was pretty darn good as is.  Right amount of heat for me, good broth flavor, tender chicken...just a good, basic soup with a little extra kick.  I'm definitely remembering this one for cold season.

I got the recipe from the blog Bake by Rachel, with a few of my own alterations.   The recipe below is what I made, but I'm sure that her's would be a great option as well.  She gives some helpful hints for shredding chicken, as well.

Pics are obviously from yesterday...I find that my thermos keeps things nice and hot, but since I have to pack it that way in the morning, and there's no sunshine in the morning these days...you know, bad pictures.

Anyway, recipe!:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed
3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh, trimmed
15oz can sweet whole corn kernels, drained
10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
6C chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 t minced garlic
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp ground pepper, divided
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Seasoned tortilla strips or chips

Add all ingredients, saving cheese and tortillas, to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Shred chicken with a fork into bite sized pieces.  Skim any fat off the top as desired and serve hot, topped with cheese and tortilla strips.



Does well both in the fridge and the freezer!

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Day 53 - Brisket Huevos Rancheros

Brisket Huevos Rancheros

 Ok, I'm cheating.  I didn't take this to lunch today.  In fact, I didn't go to work today.  But this was such a delicious brunch that I had to share!

I also can't take full credit for this recipe.  A similar recipe came about a few months ago when I was having dinner with my friends Kate and Frances.  We wanted to cook, and started talking about what we already had at home.  Long story short, we combined ingredients and leftovers we already had, took them to Kate's house, and made some delicious brisket huevos rancheros.  Then I had huevos rancheros at a diner the other night, and decided to re-create the brisket version this weekend!  And, being me, I used the slow cooker to do it.

Brisket isn't a traditional choice for huevos rancheros.  The dish usually consists of a corn tortilla, some sort of chili sauce, and a fried egg.  The chili sauce is where everyone gets creative - sometimes it's as simple as a smooth red sauce, or it can be chili with beans, beef, vegetables, or whatever else.  My version is a little less "soupy," which I like.  If you like all the sauce, though, you could easily take the liquids from the slow cooker and thicken them like a gravy.

This has tons of protein - one small serving will last you all day.  I added beans to amp up the protein level (and save money on the amount of brisket I had to buy - $6 a pound is crazy!), but you could leave them out if beans aren't your thing.  Accompanying it with avocado, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, hot peppers, or even some nice breakfast potatoes would be lovely.  I'm also writing the recipe assuming you want to make about 3 servings - but you can stretch the brisket mixture as far as you want.  You could make as few as two servings or as many as 5 or 6.  For more servings, I'd recommend adding more beans, or even more brisket (at the same cooking time).

This takes a lot of very simple prep time, so be sure to read ahead before you commit to cooking.   The timing is perfect for you to soak your beans on your way to work Friday, toss the recipe into the slow cooker before bed Friday night, and wake up to a delicious brunch on Saturday morning!

Brisket Huevos Rancheros

1 lb brisket
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1 T paprika
1 t chili powder
1 t worcestershire
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
12 oz beer (I prefer corona, but used Yuengling this time...because that's what was in the fridge)
6 fajita sized tortillas
2 T butter or oil
3 jumbo eggs

Soak dried pinto beans for at least 8 hours (or overnight).  Drain beans and place them in the bottom of a slow cooker (I used a 2qt size - your 4qt crock should be ok).  Add onion, bell pepper, and brisket.  In a separate bowl, whisk together all spices with beer and pour over brisket.  Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours, or high for about 6 hours.

When brisket is ready, set slow cooker to warm setting.  Lightly butter each tortilla and place, butter side up, on a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Bake for about 5 minutes at 375F, or until puffy and slightly browned.  While tortillas are cooking, cook eggs as desired (fried or poached is recommended - you want the yolks to ooze and be delicious).

On a plate, layer 2 tortillas, desired amount of brisket mixture, and one egg.  Serve immediately.

Serves 3.

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Day 46 - Mighty Meaty Spaghetti

Mighty meaty spaghetti, green salad, carrots.

So, comfort food week goes on.  Today's lunch is last night's leftovers...my semi famous mighty meaty spaghetti.

Disclaimer:  This is only "mighty meaty" when I know I'm going to need to eat very small quantities, or I have very hungry company over.  I make this recipe vegetarian for myself all the time.  But  last night was epic TV night, so epic spaghetti was in order.

Anyway, this is another slow cooker recipe.  A little more effort than Ragu, but so worth your time.  This recipe is just for the sauce...feel free to add whatever pasta or other accompaniments you'd like!

The version pictured above is just the leftovers, so all the meatballs were picked out.  I promise, though, when you make it fresh the meatballs are just gorgeous!


Mighty Meaty Spaghetti

1 lb bag frozen Italian meatballs
1/3 lb ground sirloin
1/3 lb ground sweet Italian sausage
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped
28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice
12 oz tomato paste
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup good red wine
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Worcestershire
1 T sugar
1 T dried basil

In a large pan, brown ground beef and pork.  Transfer to a slow cooker and pour in all remaining ingredients.  Set on low and cook for 6-8 hours.  Serve over pasta.

Feel free to leave out all or part of the meat for a less fatty or meaty sauce. 

Also, feel free to dip a piece of toasted ciabatta in the pot and eat it standing at the counter...because it's that good! Pin It Now!

Day 45 - Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ladies and gentlemen, it is OCTOBER!

Woooohoooo!

I love October.  Why?  Because where I live, October is when fall starts.  Not the vernal equinox.  October.  That's when the weather gets cooler, pumpkin becomes an acceptable food, and I can start to think about sweaters!  Yay!

So, in honor of this first week of October, and in honor of the fact that the weather is, indeed, getting a little chilly...I propose a week of comfort food!

Um, including a week of salad dinners, so I don't feel awful.

Anyway, comfort food it is!

First up today is Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.  If you haven't tried oatmeal in the slow cooker, then you must not have a slow cooker!  The trick is to use steel cut oats instead of rolled oats.

Spoonful of steel cut oats.  Looks funny, tastes great.

 
 Rolled oats (or instant steel cut) will turn to glue in your crock pot.  Not tasty.  Traditional steel cut oats are slow cooking and turn out great overnight.  You just plug it in when you're headed to bed and 8 hours later, you have beautiful oatmeal!

I put mine in my handy dandy short thermos and took it to work.   Threw in some cold grapes on the side, I think.  Very filling, still very hot, and very October. :)

You can use any fruit or garnishing you want...the oatmeal to liquid ratio is what's really important, as well as the cooking time.  Other than that, replace with any fruit or seasoning you wish!  In the slow cooker, the edges will crust a little like bread pudding...so good.

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats (I use McCann's brand)
3 cups water
1 cup half & half (or reduced fat milk, if you want to be less indulgent)
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 T brown sugar
2 T butter
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t kosher salt

Stir ingredients together in the crock of a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Top with more butter, sugar, milk, or whatever you like.  Makes 4-5 large servings. 


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Day 40 - Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice

Slow Cooker Chicken and wild rice, green peas, red grapes.

Forty days, y'all.  Forty days.  That's more than a month!  We could have sailed the ark by now!  But no, cooking is much more fun.

I'm a little shocked I've kept this up so long.  I can't usually even make it all the way through the 40 days of Lent...so this is like a miracle!

Ahem, anyway...lunch...

I had great hopes for this chicken.  Anyone who eats at my house will tell you that chicken and rice is a staple in my kitchen...I have at least 10 variations on it, and they're all fairly different.  Let's see, I make...

1. Grilled chicken and rice with black beans in tomato sauce
2. Chicken and black beans in a paprika cream sauce over saffron rice
3. Baked chicken stuffed with rice and goat cheese
4. Chicken Stir Fry on rice
5. Chicken jambalaya (which necessarily includes rice..although I prefer seafood jambalaya)
6. Chicken in a white wine cream sauce over rice
7. Cheesy chicken casserole with rice and broccoli
8. Ranch chicken casserole with rice and assorted vegetables
9. Chicken and rice casserole with mushroom soup (my mom's version)
10. Chicken and rice soup (again, mom)

...And that's just off the top of my head.  Yeah, I realize some people might call  this a "problem," but really, I just see chicken as my go-to meat and rice as an easy carb staple.  And yes, about half the time I'm using brown rice (which I hate and think tastes like boiled cardboard, but it's good for me).  I don't eat all of these every week, but they come up all the time.  You'll definitely be seeing a few of these on the blog...especially once we start to get cold and comfort-food-weather.

No surprises that this article on the arsenic levels in rice has me worried.

Mom, don't read the article above.  Just trust me. You'll be happier.

Anyhoo, I'm eating rice anyway but I don't have a good chicken and wild rice recipe,  and the few I've tried have been only eh.  But I love a good wild rice blend, so I made this one up based on a number of different internet recipes.

This was better than eh, but only so much.  If you're a foodie, don't try this.  If you're just trying to crank out larger quantities of good, filling food for your kids/roommates/siblings/friends/neighbors/football team, then you might really like this.

I may do some tweaking and let you know what I find. 

Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice

1-2 lb package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or a thigh/breast mix)
1 6oz pkg of long grain and wild rice mix (NOT instant or "quick cook" - I used Uncle Ben's original recipe)
1 can cream of chicken soup + 1 can water
8 oz sour cream
1 onion, chopped
8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 t tarragon
3 slices  of bacon

In a 4 quart slow cooker, stir together cream of chicken soup, water, and sour cream.  Stir in rice (including spice packet), remaining spices, and mushrooms.  Set heat on low.

In a large pan, cook bacon until crisp and fat rendered.  Remove from pan with slotted spoon; crumble and add to slow cooker.  In the remaining bacon renderings, saute onion for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes translucent; transfer with slotted spoon into slow cooker  In the remaining bacon renderings (if none are left, feel free to add oil or cooking spray), brown the chicken on each side on medium high heat until just golden; transfer to slow cooker, and fold in the entire mixture gently.  Replace lid of slow cooker and continue to cook on low for 5 hours.  Serve immediately. Pin It Now!

Day 7 - Chicken for One

Mixed green salad with ranch dressing, shredded chicken, apricot.

Today's lunch is a mixed green salad with ranch dressing, croutons, tomatoes, and black beans; also included were cold chicken from yesterday's lunch and a ripe apricot. 

The food is all pretty self explanatory, but this is probably a great time to talk about how I make just enough shredded chicken for myself.  First, I keep a bag of frozen chicken thighs in my freezer almost constantly.  "Chicken thighs?!" you say.  "Aren't they sooo fatty?"  No, not really.  Yes, they have more fat than chicken breasts (which is why they get a bad rap), but they are way leaner than beef and even many kinds of pork.  They also do much better in the crock pot than chicken breasts.  Chicken breasts tend to get dry and stringy in the crock pot no matter what you do to them.  Chicken thighs, however, turn juicy and fragrant and delicious.  Trust me, it's just better.  And cheaper!  If you can't stand the idea of eating that much dark meat, try mixing equal parts thighs and breasts - I find that's a fairly effective compromise. 

Sometimes, a single girl just needs one serving of chicken.  Sometimes I want a sandwich or a taco, or something else.  So what I do is cook one - yes, only one - chicken thigh in the crock pot.  Yes, that crock pot again.  I'm obsessed, didn't I tell you?

You can season it any number of ways, but here's what I did for tacos yesterday and the side today...feel free to cut in half for just one serving:

Slow Cooker Chicken for One (or Two!)

2 chicken thighs, frozen
1/2 can diced tomatoes (Remaining can frozen for later use.  Not the actual can, obviously.  Just the contents)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

In a 2 quart crock pot, plop your frozen chicken into the pot and cover with remaining ingredients.  It's ok to thaw the chicken, too, I haven't found it makes much difference.  Cover with the lid and cook on low for 5 hours.  Remove chicken from the pot and shred with a fork.  There will be lots of leftover liquid in the pot - discard or save for a yummy fiesta style soup! Pin It Now!

Day 6 - Cooking Black Beans in the Crock Pot

Corn Tortilla with black beans, shredded chicken, tomato, and avocado.  Sides are pico de gallo and kiwi.

Lunch today was a delicious black bean and chicken taco, with some pico de gallo and sliced kiwi on the side.  Not pictured is a snack sized bag of whole grain corn chips. 


I cook dried beans at least once a week - black beans, blacked eyed peas, pinto beans, red beans, split peas, all kinds.  Beans are a great source of protein and vitamins, and they are dirt cheap.  That last part is the most important. :)  They also work very well with both southern and Mexican foods, which are two of my favorite cuisines.

When I cook dried beans, I do so in the crock pot.  I'm a little bit of a crock pot...enthusiast.  I have three - the classic 4 quart that I got from Target in college, a 5 quart with a timer, and a 2 quart.  Since I usually cook for myself or maybe one other person at a time, I use my 2 quart crock pot all the time.  I cook single serve pot roast, risotto, soup, chicken, pasta, and, of course, dried beans!  Dried beans will take anywhere from 6-8 hours cooked on low.  It requires a little pre-planning, but it's well worth your time and is much more fool proof than cooking on the stove.

There are lots of ways to cook beans, but here's the way I cooked up these black beans for tacos:

Slow Cooker Black Beans

1 cup dried black beans
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded
1/2 onion
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon onion salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 quart water, cold or room temperature

Layer ingredients in order in a 2 quart crock pot.  No, you do not have to soak the beans before you cook them - these are bone dry beans straight from the bag.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until desired tenderness.  Drain liquid.  Remove onion and bell pepper; these can be discarded or chopped and stirred back into bean mixture.  This will produce around 3 cups of cooked beans.  Serve hot or cold, as desired.  Leftovers may be frozen.

This made enough for far more than one meal for me. I'll have some tonight in a quesadilla and later on this week for lunches. Pin It Now!