Fifty Shades of Green

 

I couldn’t say no to the big zucchini.

Really, when I eyed the overgrown squashes at the farmer’s market today, I couldn’t resist them.  It was… a challenge.

I felt the heft of the green squash in my hands.  Its girth was so wide, I couldn’t even get my hand around it. 

When I approached the cashier, “I’ve never seen such a squash this size before,” I said as I paid my 85 cents for it.

The cashier was unimpressed. “We’ve had bigger,” she yawned.

When I got home, I put it on the kitchen counter, running my hands on its smooth green skin.  I wasn’t sure what to do next.

So I went on the internet, watched a few videos, and then I knew what to do….

I turned them into zucchini boats!

 

Yup, that’s right, I hacked it in half lengthwise, scooped out its insides, and stuffed it with leftover chicken.  (I had leftovers of this Santa Fe Crockpot Chicken from Skinny Taste in the freezer). 

Then I baked it in the oven for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese on top, and back in the oven it went for another ten minutes to melt the cheese.

And dished it up with some salsa and avocado!

 

Oh, and I know what you were thinking I was doing.  And quite frankly, shame on you.

New Year’s Resolutions 2013

 

New Year’s resolutions sometimes get a bad rep. Sure, you can point and laugh at the people who sign up for a gym membership on January 1, and then stop going by Valentine’s Day. But I don’t laugh at those people.  After all, I made a New Year’s resolution in 2012 that actually stuck.  So when I see the unfamiliar faces at the gym at the beginning of January, I give them a nod of encouragement. You can do it!

What I do find makes keeping a healthy resolution is falling into a rut.  In trying to cook healthy all the time, I have a tendency to fall back to the same half dozen or so go-to recipes because I know that the taste good and are good for me too. But then my taste buds get bored after a while, making eating out and indulging all the more appealing. So to break from the routine (but not my resolutions), my resolution this year is to cook a new healthy recipe once a week.

First up – slow cooker chicken in chipotle sauce!

I had this recipe from Best Ever Recipes For Your Slow Cooker for years, but never made it because it called for dried chipotle peppers, which I never have on hand.  So last weekend, I trekked out in the pouring rain to my local Key Food supermarket, where I found the peppers quite easily.  (One of the advantages of living in such a diverse neighborhood – makes me wonder why it took me so long to make this!)

Though I had to laugh at the delightfully vague instructions:

Use to enhance the flavor of your favorite dish, eh? But how?

I reduced the amount of chicken and peppers the recipe called for, but forgot to reduce the amount of liquid, which made for a watery thin sauce as you can see in the picture above.  But that actually turned out to be a happy accident when I took the leftovers with me to work for lunch. The following morning, in my haste to get to work and not have to carry a lot of containers, I dumped about a half cup of brown rice into the broth and chicken mixture.  At the office, I reheated the stuff in the microwave.  Since I didn’t have a knife, I shredded the chicken with a fork, voila! I had an even tastier stew. 

 

I actually liked this better in stew form, so next time, I may just make it as a stew from the get-go. Sometimes, cooking mistakes mean making an even better recipe!

Slow Cooker Chicken in Chipotle Sauce (or Chipotle Chicken stew)

Adapted from Best Ever Recipes for Your Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

• 4 dried chipotle chilies (If you don’t want it to be too spicy, you can probably tone it down to 2-3 chilies)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 Tbs grapeseed oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh oregano for garnish
• Cooked Brown rice (optional for stew)

Method:

1. Boil water and pour boiling water over dried chilies.  Allow to sit for about 45 minutes or until soft.  Remove chilies, but save the soaking water.  Cut off the stem from each pepper and cut it open to remove the seeds with a knife. 
2. Chop the chilies and put in food processor or blender, along with soaking water. Process until smooth.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan.  Add onions and cook over medium heat until soft, about five minutes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the onions.
4. Place onions in the stoneware insert of the slow cooker.  Layer chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the chicken.  Pour chili puree on top of chicken, making sure all the chicken is coated.  (I had to do this in layers because I have a small, 3 quart slow cooker.).  Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
5. Once fully cooked, you can serve the chicken breasts whole topped with generous spoonfuls of the sauce and oregano leaves.  To make the stew, simple shred the chicken into bite sized pieces with two forks.  Add brown rice, if desired.

Spicy Chicken Enchilada Chili

I made this last weekend when "Winter Storm Nemo" hit the tri-state area (apparently naming winter storms is now a thing...). Cold snowy whether always makes me want to cook up a hot soup or stew in the crockpot.  I've made this chili before, but I wanted to adapt it to make it spicier.  I chose to make my own enchilada sauce because the store bought ones usually have tons of sodium in it, and it really doesn't take that much longer to make the sauce.

Spicy Chicken Enchilada Chili
Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

1 cup prepared enchilada sauce (recipe to follow)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, removed from skins
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 can low-sodium pinto beans
1 oz tomato paste (I bought a 6 oz can of tomato paste, so I used about 5 oz for the enchilada sauce, and used up the rest of the can for the chili)
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbs chopped pickled jalapenos
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of crushed red pepper flakes
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

Throw in all the ingredients except for the chicken breasts in to the crockpot. The order doesn't really matter  Mix to combine.  Place chicken breasts on top.  Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.  When done, take out chicken breasts and shred into bite size pieces with two forks and mix back into the chili.  Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, or more pickled jalapenos, if desired.

Enchilada Sauce
(adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

1 1/2 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/8 cup (about 2 Tbs chili powder)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
About 5 oz tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)

Heat vegetable oil on medium heat and stir in flour.  Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in chili powder, and cook for about 30 seconds more.  Add chicken broth, tomato paste, and remaining spices.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower the heat to low.  Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Spicy Acorn Squash Soup

I swear this is not baby food.  This was supposed to be pumpkin soup.  But apparently, I don't know my squashes, and bought an acorn squash by mistake.  Don't make this with acorn squash.  Not just because it will make it this funky color, but because acorn squash, with its ridges, is a pain to peel.

I should have stopped after I first attempted to peel the squash with the vegetable peeler.  Or even after I broke out the very sharp paring knife to carve the skin out of the ridges.  But instead twenty-five minutes and two band-aids later, I had a peeled acorn squash, which I cut up into chunks and dropped into the slow cooker.

The flavor of this is soup is actually not bad.  I added extra spice and used fresh grated ginger to make it extra spicy.  The dollop of sour cream at the end was cooling and creamy.  I would make this again, except with a nice, smooth, ridgeless pumpkin.  And save the acorn squash for roasting and eating with butter and brown sugar.

Spicy Acorn Squash Soup
Adapted from Best Ever Recipes for Your Slow Cooker

1 acorn squash, peeled and cut into chunks (but really, you shouldn't make this with an acorn squash, unless you want to risk the bloody fingers)
1 leek, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, crushed through a garlic press
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp fresh grated ginger, and 1 tsp ground ginger
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbs olive oil
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp chili powder
2 teaspoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream as garnish

Place squash chunks into stoneware insert of the slow cooker. Over the stovetop, heat oil in a large pan.  Add leeks and garlic and cook until they start soften, about two minutes or so.  Then add fresh grated ginger and cumin and cook for another minute or so.  Transfer to stoneware and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Add chicken broth.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the squash is soft and tender.

Ladle soup in batches to blender and puree until smooth.  (Or if you have an immersion blender, good for you!) Transfer soup back to the stoneware.  This is where I tasted and found the soup kind of bland, so I added ground ginger, chili powder, more cumin, and more cayenne pepper.  You could probably do this before cooking the squash.  I don't think it makes a difference. Cook on high for 1 hour.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream.

Crockpot Albondigas Soup

Much to my surprise, I've been using the crockpot quite a bit this summer. For the first half of this summer, I didn't want to use it because I figured making hot soups and stews in the crock would only make me feel hotter. But then I had a realization: using the crockpot means no standing over a hot stove at dinnertime.

I chose to make this soup for two reasons: (1) I had albondigas soup at a Colombian restaurant a few weeks ago, and thought it was delicious and (2) I had a bunch of frozen meatballs in the freezer from a party I threw, oh, say about 10 months ago...

This recipe makes an excellent soup, though I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste the mint so much, which is supposed to be what makes albondigas soup special. Maybe next time I will add more mint, or add some to garnish at the end. Update: I threw in a handful (about 1/4 cup) of finely chopped fresh mint after posting this. At first, it tasted vaguely like mint chewing gum. But after letting the flavors mellow overnight, the mint added a nice refreshing tingle that complemented the heat from the cayenne pepper.

Crockpot Albondigas Soup
Adapted (barely) from A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup prepared pasta sauce
1 cup baby carrots, sliced into quarters
1 1/2 cups tomatoes , diced (I used a combination of grape tomatoes and a regular tomato)
1 Tbs fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn
About 15-18 frozen meatballs (Italian flavored)
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 whole cloves garlic (I love slow-cooked garlic in soups and stews!)
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:
Dump all the ingredients into the crockpot, except the frozen peas. (Handy tip: chop up the vegetables the night before and store in the fridge to save time in the morning!) Stir to combine. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. About twenty minutes before serving, stir in frozen peas to retain their color. (This step isn't necessary, but I was following Stephanie O'Dea's advice on her post). Garnish with some parmesan cheese.

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

This is my lunch for tomorrow.

It was my lunch today too.

And my dinner.

And yesterday's dinner.

But I'm not complaining.

Because that is how good this soup is.

And my crockpot is awesome.

I used this recipe, with some tweaks, of course.

Crockpot Minestrone Soup
Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

Stephanie O'Dea calls this a "clean out the pantry" soup, so really use whatever you have on hand. This is what I used:

Ingredients:
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used Pacific Natural Organic Low-Sodium Chicken broth. It comes in a carton and only has 70 mg of sodium per serving - much lower than the "low-sodium" broth that comes in cans)
1 can Roma beans (rinsed and drained)
1 2/3 cup cooked red beans (I cook them in the slow-cooker using this method and freeze them. I could have used just my pre-cooked beans, rather than mixing in canned beans, but I needed to clean out my pantry of high-sodium foods)
2 cups chopped tomatoes (I forget the brand I used, but it comes in a carton and only has about 20 mg of sodium per serving.)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Handful of frozen corn kernels
Handful of frozen green beans
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Dump everything into the crockpot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock

You may have noticed that many of my recent posts have been making a lot of things from scratch. See e.g. homemade pizza dough, this soup, and this soup, and sadly this attempt at roast chicken. For the past few months, upon the advice of my doctor, I have been watching my sodium intake. One of the ways I can control how much sodium I consume is by making foods from scratch and relying less on convenience foods. Plus it gives me a sense of accomplishment when I make something all by myself. And then there are also collateral reasons that might encourage some people to make their own food, such as being better for the environment, and the feeling of security by knowing exactly what is in your food.

So aside from my endeavor to make “grown-up” food when I attempted roast chicken, I had plans to make chicken stock from the leftover carcass. When I made the chicken, I deliberately only used a tiny pinch of salt, and relied on fresh herbs for flavor. Fresh herbs and aromatics are important when you can’t rely on salt to make food taste good. In this stock, I didn’t add any additional salt, but instead used fresh herbs, garlic cloves, and ginger. And personally, I think this stock tastes better than the stuff from the can. So all was not lost from my roast chicken disaster!

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock

Ingredients:
Carcass of a roast chicken, and any leftover bones
1 onion, quartered
2 carrots, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
2 stalks of celery, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
1 inch of fresh ginger root, sliced into 2 half inch coins
3 peeled garlic cloves
10 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs of fresh poultry herbs, roughly chopped (rosemary, thyme, sage)
6 cups of filtered water (I read that it is better to use filtered water so that you don’t have chlorine and fluoride in your stock, but if that doesn't bother you, then go ahead and use tap)

Method:
Dump everything into the crockpot. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Allow to cool. Discard solids and strain the stock. Refrigerate the stock for a few hours, (I put it in overnight). Strain again to separate the fat that has congealed on the top. Store the stock into freezer bags or ice trays. (What I do is I freeze some into an ice tray so that I have stock in neat little ice cubes, which I transferred to a freezer bag. This makes it easy to portion it out, especially when you only need a little for a sauce. )

Patience and Tortilla Soup

I love my crockpot. I love that I can dump vegetables and meat into the crock in the morning and have a nice tasty stew or soup for dinner. Ideally, I would go to work and forget about it all day, and then be pleasantly reminded when I get home of the meal I had waiting for me.

Except when I had a snow day last Wednesday and was working from home.

The hardest part about using a crockpot when you are home all day is resisting the temptation to eat it as it's cooking. The smells that emerged from the crockpot made my mouth water as I attempted to draft motions on my laptop. The soft gurgling of the broth simmering tantalized me, "Open me and just take a little taste." But I had read that by opening the crockpot while it is still cooking, can add as much as 20 minutes of cooking time.

So I was good, and was well rewarded at the end.

I got this recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking, with a few minor tweaks. I was very happy with the results, and hope to write about more tasty crockpot concoctions in the future.