Let’s cook!

Crock Pot Chicken Gumbo

1 1/2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes

10z bag sliced frozen okra, thawed

2 links andouille sausage, sliced

1 onion chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper – less if you don’t want it spicy

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups tomato juice

gumbo is perfect with rice so make white rice for this as well

In your crock pot combine the chicken, okra, onion, celery, bell pepper and andouille sausage.

Add the tomato juice and chicken broth.

Add thyme, oregano, garlic powder, mustard powder and cayenne pepper. Stir well to combine.

Top with 2 bay leaves and cover.

Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or high on 3 to 4 hours. Serve over rice

Here is the gumbo in the bowl:

Here is the close-up:

Now is this a simple dish or what? This is great for the next day lunch as well!

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Lemon Rosemary Roast Chicken

1 whole roasting chicken

1 fresh lemon, cut into 4 sections

3 springs fresh rosemary

4 whole cloves garlic

1/2 bottle white wine (Sauvingnon Blanc) – the other half for you

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

Place lemon into the cavity of the chicken.

Do the same for the rosemary.

Now the garlic.

Place the chicken in the crock pot, breast side down (this chicken decided to dive in).

Squeeze two lemon sections on the chicken and put in the crock pot.

Sprinkle outside of the chicken with salt and pepper.

Pour wine around the base of the chicken.

Now add water.

Set the timer.

Put on the lid and forget about it.

When I get home I prepare the sides–mushrooms and spinach mashed potatoes. Also, it is a good idea to let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before you start carving it.

Here is how I plated this dinner.

Here is the close-up:

For an easy variation:

Substitute wine/water with 3 cans of chicken broth. Add 1 cup wine. Add box of wild or 2 cups brown rice uncooked.  Cook the same as above. When you are ready to eat you have chicken and rice!

Happy Cooking!

Blue Cheese Flank Steak In The Crockpot

1 1/2 to 2 lb flank steak

1/4 cup unbleached flour

1 onion, sliced

1/4 cup beef broth

1/4 cup Chianti wine (the rest for when you get home to drink)

1 package of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup blue cheese

kosher salt and pepper to taste

Seaon flank steak with salt and pepper then coat both sides with flour. Place in bottom of the crockpot so the steak lays flat.

Spread onion slices and mushrooms over the top.

Whisk together beef broth and wine in a bowl. Pour over the meat.

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Cook on low for 8 hours. When you get home add blue cheese and stir to the crockpot.

Dinner is done! Here is how I presented the final plate:

The close up:

I really hope you enjoyed crockpot week! I will have to do this again since I have had several request via email. Tomorrow night is date night for Jen and I, but I will be cooking over the weekend! TGIF!!!!

Happy Cooking!

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken

1 – 15 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

1 – 10 ounce can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 – 4 ounce can chopped green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups of water

1 can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

1 package of frozen corn

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

vegetable oil

1 lime

1 avocado

8 corn torillas

Mash the tomatoes in a bowl.

Place chicken, mashed tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into the crockpot.

Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.

Stir in corn and cilantro.

Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours.

When you get home preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of the corn tortillas with vegetable oil.

Now I put my corn tortillas in the oven whole and not cut into strips but if you would like to cut them into strips do so before you put them in the oven. Bake the corn tortillas for 10 – 15 minutes.

Time to plate.

Slice the avocado and lime. Add the avocado to the soup and top with corn tortilla chips. Here is the bowl:

And here is a close up of the soup:

Now there is your chicken tortilla soup made in the crockpot. Jen was very excited for me to get home and now I wonder if she was excited I was home or if she was ready to eat since I made her smell dinner cooking all day. Oh just wait until tomorrow

Happy Cooking!

Ok now to tonight’s dinner.

This is tender, fall-off -the-bone chicken! I love this recipe and meal because it is simple yet has AWESOME flavor. I also like it because Jen works from home and has to smell the dinner cooking slowly. Ok let’s get to cooking.

Whole Chicken with Spice Rub in the Crock Pot

4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 onion, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the above minus the onion.

Rub spice rub onto the chicken.

Put chopped onion in botton of the crock pot.

Add chicken to the crock pot and add no liquid at all! The chicken will make it’s own yummy juices.

Put the lid on the crock pot and cook for 8 hours on LOW.

The chicken will just fall off the bone but here is a picture right when I got home:

So the only thing I had to do to complete this meal was make a salad. Here is the finished product:

Now if you want a  simple thing to make in the crock pot for dinner then try this and the clean up is a breeze.

Ok this Sunday I am going to make a pretty big meal and I will make HOMEMADE MASHED POTATOES because so many people have expressed their displeasure of my use of instant mashed potatoes on my steak dinner, and on other posts.  For the first time, I had comments that I couldn’t even post because the remarks were not clean!   Who knew people were so passionate about homemade mashed potatoes?? So I will make them, due to popular demand, and you will see why I don’t make mashed potatoes from scratch on the weekdays with my work schedule. Happy TGIF!

Happy Cooking!

Check back tonight for recipe and pictures.

Almost TGIF!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ~Virginia Woolf

Ok now on to Pot Roast! Nothing is as simple as a crock pot dinner and what better night than Monday night? As I stated in my earlier post, the pot roast I do is a bit different than most because, like Iron Chef America, my secret ingredient is BEER! So lets get to cooking.

Pot Roast

1 beef round roast

1 tomato, sliced thick

4 cloves of garlic, whole minus the paper

1 shallot, chopped

4 celery stocks chopped

1 onion chopped

1 can or bottle of beer (I chose Bud Light-one of America’s finest beers, though a stout may give it even more flavor)

salt and pepper to taste

In the crock pot add beer, tomato, onion, garlic, shallot, salt and pepper.

Now add the roast on top.

Put the lid on and cook on low which I put the setting on for 10 hours.

So when I arrived home from work, all I had to do was cook the rice and make a salad. Here is how I plated the roast on the rice:

There you have it, you can now take the crock pot and use it as a teaser like I do since Jen works from home and she had to smell dinner cooking all day.