slow cooker

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Tacos

March 27, 2017

This barbacoa recipe has quickly become one of our favorites! The first time I made it, I used the recipe straight out of the Fed and Fit cookbook (which is awesome, b.t.dubs). While the recipe was great, I am never one to settle with a recipe straight out of the cookbook. I have to tweak it until I love it!

I have probably tweaked this recipe 5 different times. Photographing it twice for the blog, ultimately deciding that it wasn’t right yet. This last time, my husband basically told me to stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200 dollars. It was perfect!

Honestly, the difference in all the recipes in pretty minimal, in terms of the ratio of spices. The big difference in the last recipe that I used 100% Savory Spice Shop spices*. About 75% of my spice cabinet is already filled with Savory Spices, but earlier that day I picked up a few more and used them to round out the spice blend for this recipe.

And boy is this spice blend packed with a ton of flavor: chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, Mexican oregano, and cloves to be exact.

It just makes such a difference when you use fresh, good quality spices, like the ones at Savory Spice. I wanted to pick uSp a new jar of chili powder to replace my bulk sized jar that was probably two year old. (Come on, what kind of food blogger am I using such poor quality spices? It’s embarrassing, really.) And now only do they have just dozens of different types of chilies, they have three different varieties of plain ol’ chili powder! I didn’t realize there could be more than one.

We picked up the medium just to be on the safe side.

So to get this bad boy cooking, start by covering the beef very generously in that delicious spice blend so that there is barely any meat showing through. If you have the time, I recommend letting it sit for a bit so the meat has a chance to absorb all those flavors. But if you are running short on time, you can immediately sear the beef on all sides so that they get a nice crust.

Then just transfer them over to your slow cooker and add in a couple cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, apple cider vinegar, and stock and let your slow cooker go to work.

Just before you are ready to serve this, maybe 30 minutes before, squeeze over the juice of a lime, then shred it up into pieces.

All that’s left is to plate it up in some tortillas and top it with your favorite taco toppings! I love to top my barbacoa with a bit of queso fresco or cotija cheese. Maybe a little onion and cilantro. My husband likes to sneak on some jalapeno. But truly, this barbacoa is good all on it’s own. Be prepared to eat the left overs straight out of the slow cooker.

The best part (maybe?) is that this recipe can easily be made into a Paleo meal by serving it in lettuce wraps! The first two times I made this recipe, that’s exactly what I did. It’s fantastic!

*Full disclosure, my local Savory Spice shop did provide some of the spices used in the recipe. But to be fair, I already had (and purchased) 4 of the 6 spices used in the recipe. I highly recommend using good quality and fresh spices in all your recipes, which is why I love Savory Spice. Not to mention they are right up the road and have hundreds of different spices, so I have no excuse but to stop in and pick up a new spice to play with in the kitchen!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:145]

Healthy Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

March 28, 2016

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It’s probably obvious to all of you, even if this is your first time to the blog, that I like to cook. Clearly, I have a whole blog dedicated to it. But even though I like to cook, there are a lot of days where it is the last thing I want to do after I get home from a long day at work. And that is why I love my slow cooker so much. I can throw a bunch of things in it in the morning, then by the time I get home, diner is ready!

This teriyaki chicken recipe is one of my favorite, go-to, slow-cooker meals that we probably make at least once a month, if not more often. Its delicious, easy, healthy…everything I look for in my weeknight meals.

Teriyaki Chicken-4

The other thing that is important about this recipe is that it takes me about 5 minutes to set up in the morning. Key for me since I take the light rail into work every morning and without fail, I am running behind. All I do is place the chicken (typically it’s still frozen) in the bottom of the slow cooker, and pour the sauce on top.

I could make it easier on myself and use store-bought teriyaki sauce, but have you seen how much sugar is in one of those bottles?! No thank you! I make my own sauce by mixing together soy sauce (or liquid aminos if I am being Paleo), rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil, honey, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and chicken stock then I pour that sauce over the chicken and I’m done.

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Then once I get home, I shred the chicken with two forks and serve the chicken with either a side of rice (typically brown) or cauliflower rice and some broccoli.

To make the broccoli, quickly steam it in the microwave then sautee it in some soy sauce and red pepper flakes. The whole process takes 5 minutes. The total time to put this whole meal together once I get home from work is about 20 minutes (depending on the rice). After a stressful day at work, that’s about all the time I want to spend in the kitchen.

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What is your favorite slow-cooker meal?

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:12]

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pulled Pork

January 20, 2016

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I discovered a VERY similar Hawaiian pulled pork recipe on the Skinny Taste a couple years ago, and have been making it on a regular basis ever since. Not only is it healthy, it is so stinkin’ easy. I know I say that about a lot of things, but this really has to be one of the easiest dishes I make. It requires 3 ingredients only: pork, smoke flavoring, and stock/water. Do you know of any other recipe that only require 3 ingredients?

As one might imagine, the Whole 30 diet doesn’t make my life quite so easy that I can turn to an old standby and make the recipe as is. No, some adaptation will be needed, but fortunately there are only 3 ingredients, so I won’t have to change very much.

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To make this recipe Whole 30 compliant, I used smoked salt instead of liquid smoke. I found the hickory smoked salt at a local spice shop. I am fortunately to have one right down the street from me, so it wasn’t an inconvenience. But I know not everyone has a spice shop near by, so instead of using smoked salt, you could instead use bacon to get that smokey flavor I am after.

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I did add a couple other variations: I lined the bottom of the slow cooker in collard greens before putting in the pork. The inspiration behind this is from how traditional pig is cooked at a luau. They dig a hole, fill it with hot coals, wrap everything in palm leaves, and let it smoke for hours. So I added the collard greens hoping that they imparted some of that earthy flavor you might get from the palm leaves.

The other difference is that I added a touch (about 2 tbsp) of pineapple juice to the slow cooker before cooking. I like the sweetness and acidity it adds to the pork to balance the fattiness and the smokiness.

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Then to compliment the smokiness of the pork and to draw similarities to the Southern pulled pork variety, I paired it with some collard greens that had been wilted in bacon grease and tossed with bacon bits. That’s the wonderful thing about this Whole 30 challenge…there is no limit to the bacon!

I highly recommend this recipe for anyone trying to eat a bit healthier. If you are not on a Paleo diet, serve this with a side of rice or beans. You could even put this stuff on a taco with some pineapple and jalepeno! Oh man…the wheels are turning now!

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Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

October 21, 2015

I am on a major soup kick lately. Something about a hot bowl of soup just makes me feel so cozy! One of my absolute favorites is enchilada soup! This recipe reminds me a lot of Chili’s version I loved so much in college, but even better (because I know what’s in it!).

My favorite part about it is that 95% of the work is done by the crock pot. The night before I saute up some diced onion and garlic and just about everything else goes in the slow-cooker as is: Chicken breast, chicken stock, roasted tomatoes, and spices. Once it’s done, I mix in some cheese and top off with some tortilla chips.

It really is so easy and is hearty enough to satisfy any appetite for lunch or dinner. Plus it tastes just like a chicken enchilada, but is so much less work!

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Chicken Chili Verde

September 14, 2015

Do you need an extremely easy recipe that will basically make itself while you’re at work? Well, I’ve got one for you! This chicken chili verde is really easy and just requires a bit of prep, but the slow cooker does all the hard work for you so that you can have a yummy bowl of chili when you get home from work.

The night before, I jsauteed up some peppers and an onion. Then the next morning I dumped a can of white beans, a half bag of frozen corn, and the peppers and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker. I topped that with two frozen chicken breasts. 1 carton of chicken stock, and some spices. Then I went off my merry way to work, and let the slow cooker do the rest. When I came home my kitchen smelled amazing and dinner was already made! What’s better than that?

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