Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

 

From pinchofyum.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups mirepoix (just a simple mixture of chopped onions, celery, and carrots)
• 1-2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1-2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• 2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
• 2 1lb. packages DeLallo mini potato gnocchi (about 4 cups) 
• 6 slices bacon
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the chicken, mirepoix, basil, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, salt, and broth in a crockpot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot.
2. Add the cornstarch mixture, evaporated milk, and gnocchi. Stir and replace cover. Cook another 45 minutes - 1 hour until the soup has thickened and the gnocchi has softened.
3. While the soup is thickening, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy. Drain on paper towels and wipe most of the bacon grease out of the pan, leaving just a little bit for the spinach/garlic. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat. Add the bacon and spinach to the crockpot. Stir to combine.
4. Add any additional liquid as needed (I added about a cup of water once it started to thicken) and season again with salt and pepper as needed.

NOTES

Be sure to taste and adjust with salt/pepper before serving. It may need more depending on the saltiness of your broth. 

You can use something other than evaporated milk, but I found that evaporated milk has the creaminess of half and half or heavy whipping cream without actually needing to use up all my good half and half in the soup. :)

The leftovers do soak up a lot of the moisture, so you might need to add more evaporated milk depending on how soupy you want it and/or how long you'll be keeping it around.

Pork Carnitas

I am a sucker for Pork Carnitas!  I got this recipe off of food network.  I love it, but I think next time I may leave in some of the jalapeno seeds.  I think it could have benefited from a little spice, but Jake and I like things spicy!

Ingredients

2 lb boneless pork shoulder (or 2.5 pounds bone-in)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried cumin
1 Tb olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, chopped
1 orange, cut in half
3 Tb vegetable oil

Directions

Rinse and dry the pork shoulder.  Salt and pepper liberally.  Mix the oregano and the cumin with the olive oil and rub all over the pork.  Place the pork in a slow cooker and top with the onion, garlic, and jalapeno.  Squeeze over the juice of the orange and add the two halves.  Cover and cook in slow cooker on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Once the meat is tender, remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly before pulling apart with a fork.  In a large saute pan, heat the vegetable oil over high heat.  Press the carnitas into the oil and fry until crusty on one side.  Gather some of the juices from the slow cooker and drizzle over the pork.  Serve.

Chili Verde {Mexican Stewed Pork}

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Yield: Serves 8-10

Note: don’t even think about skipping the step of reducing the sauce. It is absolutely essential to the flavor of the sauce! Just make sure to plan ahead – the roast takes 8-9 hours on low in the crockpot (or 3-4 hours in the oven) and an additional 30 minutes to reduce the sauce.

Second Note: I forgot to mention that the leftovers freeze excellently. After the pork has cooled, I put it in a ziploc bag, freeze it, then take it out and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then reheat on low on the stovetop or in the oven.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 5 pounds boneless pork roast, trimmed of as much fat as possible
• Salt and pepper for seasoning roast
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
• 1 (15 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
• 2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles
• 2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Cut the roast into 3-4 large chunks. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper on all sides. In a large heavy pot, the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering and hot. Add the pork, being careful not to crowd the pot (brown the pork in shifts, if needed). Brown the pork on all sides until golden and well-browned, about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Leave the roast in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Place the pork and garlic and onions in the slow cooker (read below for oven-roasting method). Stir in the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours. After the roast has cooked for the allotted time, remove the roast. Shred it into bite-size pieces and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm. Pour the remaining liquid and ingredients from the slow cooker into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove, and simmer vigoriously over medium-low or medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning, until the mixture considerably reduced and thickened. Add the pork roast and sauce back to the slow cooker. Stir to coat the pork with the sauce. Turn the crockpot to low or high and allow the pork to heat through again. Serve with warm tortillas and desired toppings, such as sour cream, cheese, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes.
2. Oven-roasting Instructions: When beginning the recipe, make sure to use an oven-safe pot for the browning (such as a large enameled cast-iron pot). Follow the recipe up until the point of adding the pork to the slow cooker. Instead, keep the pork in the oven-safe pot. Add in all the other recipe ingredients plus 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine. Cover the pot and cook in the oven at 300 degrees for 3-4 hours. When finished cooking, remove the roast as directed in the above instructions. Follow the recipe to reduce the sauce.

Crock Pot Rosemary Roast Chicken

And yes, this is actually a picture of one of the times that I myself made this! Oh so proud. :)

SO, I recently learned how to roast a whole chicken in the crock pot, and I am now addicted. It is one of my absolute favorite meals to cook for company, because it can be really cheap, is so dang easy and is so beautiful! You can prepare the chicken the night before, you then stick it in the crock pot during the day, put it on warm if it is done a little early, then not really worry about it until just before the company arrives! The less stress I can get away with before company, the better.

One thing that contributes to this being just about the simplest thing every is my beloved crock pot. I found a well rated 6 quart oval programmable crock pot on sale for $35, and I have been oh-so-happy with that purchase! You need a large oval crock pot like this so that there is room for the chicken and a little room for the air to circulate around it. And with the one I have, it even has a temperature probe you can stick into your meat, and then the crock pot will turn to "warm" once it has reached the desired temperature. AMAZING.

Anyway, wanted to add this to the blog in case anyone else wants to try it, or even just so that I can have an online copy easily accessible. I know it looks long, but that's because I add a few variations/notes. Here it goes.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (recipe calls for 3.5 lb, I just did a 5 lb one today)
salt and pepper
8 rosemary sprigs
12 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
vegetables, like carrot, celery, or onion (optional. if you have some extras lying around)

Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat dry, inside and out. Reserve the giblets. Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken generously. place 6 (or more) garlic cloves, lemon slices, and 3-4 sprigs rosemary in the cavity. Truss the legs together. (I looked up how to do this on YouTube, and it really is pretty easy).

Mince 6 cloves of garlic and mash into a paste with some kosher salt. Finely mince 4 sprigs rosemary and combine with the garlic paste. (You can also just combine all of this in a small food processor. I also sometimes add some pepper and thyme). Combine the rosemary garlic paste with the olive oil in a gallon zip-lock bag. Place the chicken in the bag, and massage the rosemary/garlic/olive oil into the chicken. Refrigerate overnight.

If you have veggies lying around (like carrots, celery or onions), put enough in the bottom of the crock pot that it will sort of lift the chicken off the bottom, so it won't stew in its own juices. These veggies will also add a little flavor to the stock, in case you want to make a gravy or something with it. Put the giblets in the bottom of the crock pot as well, as they will add a richer flavor to the juices. If you don't have veggies to lift the chicken a little, just make a few little balls of aluminum foil and put them in the bottom, and they will do the same trick of lifting the chicken. Place the chicken on top, and cook for about 1/2 hour per pound on high, or about 1 hour per pound on low. (It took about 5.5 hours on low for my 5 lb chicken).

Once it is done, keep on warm in crock pot until just about ready to serve. If you want to have a nice crisp browned roasted outer layer rather than the sort of translucent, soft moist skin from the slow cooker (yes please!), turn your oven to 500. Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan (I use my cast iron pan as shown in the picture), then roast for 8-10 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown. Wait a few minutes, then serve your delicious, crisp on the outside/moist on the inside, beautiful roast chicken!

ALSO, the juices really do make an incredible stock or gravy. If you want to have the gravy as a side, just skim what fat you can get off the top, strain it well, then heat it on the stove and use a little cornstarch to thicken it. Mmm!!

Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

From my "Crock Pot: Incredibly Easy Recipes" cook book. Good tasty comforting meal.

2 slices bacon, chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1 cup converted long-grain white rice (we actually just used regular long grain white rice and it worked fine)
1 package (4 oz.) wild rice
6 ounces brown mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
3 cups hot chicken broth, or enough to cover chicken
salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. chopped parsley, for garnish

Cook bacon, and transfer to slow cooker. Add olive oil and spread evenly on bottom. Place chicken in slow cooker, skin side down. Add remaining ingredients in order given, except parsley. Cover; cook on low 3-5 hours, or until rice is tender. Uncover and let stand 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Remove Skin before serving, if desired. (I usually shred the chicken off the bone and mix it in, more like a casserole). Garnish with chopped parsley.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

I found this recipe on a crock pot website and decided to try it as we had some salsa we needed to use up.  This was super easy, and we loved it!  What's great as well is that you could easily do many variations of this (adding ingredients you like, not using those you don't have) and it would still be tasty.  For example, I thought about how you could make an easy crock pot chicken tortilla soup with this just by adding some chicken broth and keeping the sour cream and cheese out.  Enjoy!

2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 8 chicken tenders)
1 cup salsa (what salsa you use can have a big impact on your meal. I love and used Jack's Special from Costco. Fresh and yummy cilantro flavor!)
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 package taco seasoning (1 tbsp.)
1/2 cup light or fat free sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place the chicken in the slow cooker.  Pour the salsa, corn, beans, and taco seasoning over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or on high heat 3-4 hours (with tenders, check a little earlier just to make sure they're not cooking faster than the chicken breasts would).  Remove the chicken and shred.  Stir sour cream and cheese into sauce in slow cooker, then put chicken back in.  Serve with tortillas, rice, or tortilla chips.

p.s. I'm attaching "healthy" as with the no-fat sour cream and light on the cheese, it is. :)  But can be less healthy depending on how you make it.

Berry Barbecued Pork Roast

Ok kids. Made this last night and really liked it. Mark really loved it.

Ingredients:

1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast

salt

pepper

crushed garlic

sage

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Directions:

1. Rub salt, pepper garlic and sage on roast to your heart's desire. Put in crock-pot and cook on low for 4 hours (or until almost done).
2. In a saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, orange juice and barbecue sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until cranberries pop and sauce thickens.
3. Brush half of the sauce on roast and continue cooking until finished. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serve with remaining sauce.

Minestrone Soup

Thanks for all your crock pot recipes. Here is one of my favorites. It's stock full of veggies and makes me feel healthy when I'm eating it.


Minestrone Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage, browned
1 large onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6-oz. can tomato paste
8-oz. can tomato sauce
14 ½-oz. can chicken, beef or veg. broth
24 oz. can pinto beans, undrained
10 oz. pkg. frozen green beans (or 1 can, drained)
2-3 cups chopped cabbage
1 medium zucchini sliced
8 cups water
2 Tbsp. parsley
2 Tbsp. Italian spice
1 tsp. salt or more
½ tsp. pepper
¾ cup dry acini di pepe (small round pasta)- I omit
Grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

1. Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil until tender.
2. Combine all ingredients except pasta and cheese in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low, adding pasta 1 hour before cooking is completed.
Top individual servings with cheese.

MAKES 8-10 servings

Creamy Italian Chicken

This recipe is not very healthy, but is delicious. I have only made it twice when we had company, but it was definitely a hit both times. It calls for cream cheese, but I would really like to try it with the low-fat or non-fat cream cheese as I'm not sure how much you would be able to tell with the other tastes. If any of you try that, let me know how it goes!

Ingredients:
4-6 pieces boneless, skinless chicken
½ cube butter (I use less)
1 pkg Italian dressing mix
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

Put chicken in crock pot in layers, seasoning each layer of chicken generously with the salt, pepper, Italian dressing mix, and Italian seasoning. Also cut the butter into thin wedges and put between layers. Take cream cheese out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Simmer the chicken in the crock pot on high for 3 to 5 hours. When chicken is tender (about 45 minutes before it is done cooking) blend the cream cheese and cream of mushroom soup in a separate bowl. Skim any visible oil/fat from the top of the chicken juices in the crock pot and discard, then pour the cream cheese mixture over the chicken. Cook for 45 minutes longer, or until the chicken is completely done. Enjoy with mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles

Chipotle Roast for Tacos or Burritos

This makes delicious shredded beef for tacos or burritos. It reminds me of mom's Mexican Meat Mix, but adds a chipotle kick for those times when you're wanting something spicy. I made it once when we had dinner with Lulu, Eric, Scott, and Marissa, and everyone rated it a 9 or 10!

7¼ hours

5 min prep

SERVES 6 -8

3 lbs chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies
1 (7 ounce) can salsa verde
1 cup sliced onion
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup beef broth

1. Place chuck roast in large crock pot and sprinkle with the salt and pepper, chili powder and cumin.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on high for 5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.

3. Shred the meat with a fork and simmer on high for additional 10-15 minutes.

4. Serve in enchiladas, tacos, burritos or on crusty rolls with the juice for dipping.

French Dip Sandwiches

Ah, the way to a man's heart. Heck, the way to my heart. Love this one. Nice crock pot recipe. The key is to not overcook the meat! Don't skip the pepper jack cheese. It really adds to the sandwich.

Ingredients:

1 (3 pound) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed

1 (10.5 oz) can condensed French onion soup, undiluted

1 (10.5 oz) can condensed beef consomme, undiluted

1 (10.5 oz) can condensed beef broth, undiluted

1 tsp. beef bouillon granules

pepper jack cheese

8 French or Italian rolls, split

Directions:

1. Halve roast and place in slow cooker. Combine the soup, consomme, broth and bouillon; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (my slow-cooker cooks it in four) or until meat is tender.
2. Remove meat and shred with two forks.
3. Place pepper jack cheese on rolls, and broil until the bread is toasted and cheese melted. Serve meat on rolls. Dip sandwiches in extra juices.

Mexican Meat Mix

Ingredients:
5 lbs. beef roast or combination of
Beef and pork roasts
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 onions, chopped
1 4-oz. can chopped green chilies
2 7-oz. cans green chili salsa
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons flour
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Juices from beef roasts

Preheat oven to 200 F. Place roasts in large roasting pan or Duct Oven. Do not add salt or water. Cover with a tight lid and roast about 12 hours, until well done. Or cook roasts with 1 cup water in pressure cooker 35 to 40 minutes. Drain meat, reserving juices. Cool meat, then remove bones. Shred meat, and set aside. Melt shortening in a large skillet. Add onions and green chilies. Saute one minute. Add green chili salsa, garlic powder, flour, salt and cumin. Cook 1 minute over medium-low heat. Stir in reserved meat juices and shredded meat. Cook 5 minutes until thick. Cool. Put about 3 cups mix each into three 1-quart freezer containers, leaving ½ inch space at top. Seal and label containers. Freeze. Use within 6 months. Makes about 9 cups of Mexican Meat Mix.

Use for: Green chili burros, chalupa, Chimichangas, Sour Cream Enchiladas or Tacos

Mom's Beef Burgundy

Mmm! I LOVE the taste of burgundy cooking wine!

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon
2 lbs. sirloin tip or round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. seasoned salt
1 tbsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 beef bouillon cube, crushed
1 cup burgundy cooking wine
¼ tsp. marjoram

In large skillet cook bacon several minutes. Remove bacon and set aside. Coat beef with flour and brown on all sides in bacon mixture. Combine steak, bacon drippings, cooked bacon, seasonings, bouillon and burgundy. Mix.

At this point, if you would like to freeze this recipe to make later, place combined mixture into a labeled freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to use, thaw and continue as follows:

Cover and cook in crock pot on low for 6 hours or until meat is tender. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 Tbsp. water. Add and cook on high for 15 minutes.

Additional note: The sauce on this meat is especially good. I often double the sauce ingredients for the same amount of steak in order to have a gravy for potatoes, noodles or rice.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!