Project Crock Pot - Tried & True!

I have a friend who recently married and has instantly become the mother of three beautiful children. So, she's gone from being single and eating simple to needing to provide healthy, delicious meals for her family of five. She asked me the other day for some of my crock pot recipes and I told her I'd send her some. The more I've thought about it, the more I've thought I have a lot of other friends out there that surely have their best crock pot recipes they'd be willing to share. So, I'm calling for just one crock pot recipe from each of you that read this. The only requisite is that it has to be a recipe that you have tried and is a no-fail recipe. If you have a secret to make it turn out "just right," PLEASE share! And if you have a picture, you know I love pictures, so pass that along too.

Email all recipes to: reyesdm@gmail.com

Thanks!

Crock Pot Black Beans

So here's my first tried & true Crock Pot recipe! (I know it's against my personal ethics to post a recipe without a picture so I'll add one, next time I make this recipe.)

Since I'm married to a Honduran and my daughter has gone to a Guatemalan babysitter since she was practically born, I live in a house where beans and rice to my husband and daughter are like creamy garlic mashed potatoes for me. They love them. They could eat them daily. They don't, but sometimes it's close. So here's what I have come up with for black beans. It's so easy. And they love it. And it makes me feel like I'm providing something healthy for my family.

Ingredients:
2 c dry black beans
water
a clove or three of garlic
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp cumin

Sort and rinse 2 cups (1 small bag) of black beans. Fill crock pot about half full (or a little more) with water. Add black beans, salt and cumin. Peel garlic and smash with hand. Add garlic to water. Stir. Cover. Cook for about 8 hours on high (Crock post temperatures vary).

*Note: When I'm in a big hurry, I don't even add any garlic or cumin - the water and salt are sufficient. These are delicious served with warm rice, vegetables and a meat dish. Armando likes them for breakfast with eggs. He'd eat them every meal if he could.

Snowball Cookies

I know most people love their chocolate chip cookies, but if I had to choose my favorite cookie, I honestly think this would be it! It's my grandmother Leann's snowball cookie recipe. Sometimes I've heard other people refer to them as Mexican Wedding Cookies. Either way, whatever you want to call them, they are DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup ground walnuts
a small bowl of powdered sugar

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add vanilla, flour, and walnuts. Roll into one inch balls and bake for 30 minutes at 300 F.

Roll in a bowl of powdered sugar when they are hot out of the oven.

After rolling all of the cookies, roll them in the sugar once again for a second coat.

Now, try to be a lady and refrain from eating the whole plate in one sitting. It's difficult!

Shrimp and Mussel Pasta Skillet

This is a recipe I came across online and decided to make for our New Years Dinner this year. It was a delicious way to start out the new year before we thought about any serious dieting resolutions.

Ingredients:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
20 (26/30 count) shrimp, tail on
28 mussels
20 (20/30 count) scallops
28 kalamata olives
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
20 baby broccoli florets
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons white wine (substituted with chicken broth)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
20 ounces orechiette pasta, cooked al dente
4 tablespoons minced fresh basil
8 ounces shredded Parmesan

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in saute pan. Saute all the seafood for about 2 minutes.


Add olives, tomatoes, and broccoli. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Deglaze the pan with white wine and lemon juice.


Add hot, cooked pasta and finish with the fresh basil and cheese.


It says it serves 4. I'd say that's 4 VERY LARGE plates! We had way too much leftovers. I'd probably halve the recipe next time.

Tortilla Soup - Warm Up - South of the Border Style

After reviewing my last several blog entries, I realized why I can't seem to kick those last few pregnancy pounds - too many sweets! So, finally, here's a recipe for a refreshing dish - one that will warm you up in the winter, but isn't so wintry you couldn't make it in the summer with all the fresh ingredients you throw on top. A friend of mine shared this with me - she's been learning some authentic latin food recipes from a woman named Olga. A shout out to Olga for sharing such a delicious dish and for letting me pass it on!

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken
1 Celery Stalk
2 Cans Garbanzo Beans
1/4-1/2 Cup Oil
12 Corn Tortillas
1 White Onion
Cilantro Bunch
1 Avocado
1 Can Chipotle Chilies (in Adobo Sauce)
Mexican Oregano
3 1/2 tsp. Salt
6 Cloves Garlic

Instructions:

1. Prepare Chicken:
In LARGE pan, bring 12-14 cups water to boil (Depending on how big your pan is). Add 1/4 whole white onion and 6 garlic cloves (Peeled and Smashed)-Leave big so you can remove later. Rinse whole chicken (Must have bones in it-That's how it gets it's flavor) and place in pan. Boil covered for about 40 minutes. Add 2 tsp. salt. Smash Mexican Oregano in hand (for more flavor), and then add to pan. Continue cooking and drain fat with spoon (You can always tell where the fat is, because it won't be boiling in that place and it just looks dirty and not clear). Add 1 1/2 tsp. more salt. Cook chicken for a minimum of 1 1/2 hours total time or until the chicken doesn't come back at you when you poke it with a fork. When the chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken, onions, and garlic. Discard Onions and Garlic. De bone, skin, and shred chicken.

2. Chop Celery and place in pan with chicken broth from the chicken. Add Garbanzo beans-bring to a boil. While they are cooking, prepare corn tortillas by heating oil in pan (cook on "7"). Cut tortillas in short very thin strips. Fry tortillas until crunchy. Cut in small pieces-onion, cilantro and avocado.

3. Assemble in bowls in this order; First broth, then tortilla chips, onion & cilantro, avocado, and last a spoonful of chipotle sauce.

Thanksgiving Cranberries

by Verlin Ammon

Okay, so it has been way too long since I've posted any recipes and I've been kindly reminded by a few of you readers. So, here's to a new start. I do have a few past dishes I've made and just haven't got to putting on so I'll be back-tracking for the next little while.

This is a delicious dish that my friend Corrie's mom shared with me way back in my Colorado days (1999). I've been craving it since the holiday season began and didn't get to making it until after New Years, but as long as it's cold outside and there's still snow on the ground, I think it's still okay to enjoy all the holiday/winter recipes I didn't get to during the busy season.



Combine the following in a mixing bowl:

3 c peeled/diced apples
2 c fresh cranberries (rinsed)
2 Tblsp flour
1 c. sugar
3/4 c chopped pecans (*I added walnuts because I didn't have pecans on hand)


Mix and put in 8x8 buttered casserole dish.

Turn the other way while little fingers try to snag an apple or two.

Topping:

Mix and sprinkle across apple/cranberry mixture:

**3 pkg instant oatmeal (cinnamon & spice flavor)
1/2 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c melted butter

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (or longer . . . when it bubbles around the edges - depends on altitude). Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

**I didn't have packages of instant oatmeal, so I substituted 3/4 c oatmeal, 3/4 tsp cinannamon, 3/4 tsp nutmeg and it turned out delicious.

Atol de Calabaza (Pumpkin Atole)

I hope you haven't all thrown out those Jack-O-Lanterns cause here's a great way to use up all the scrumptious pumpkin. My sister-in-law, Ana, taught me to make this the first year Armando and I were married and I think we've made it every year since, but this is the first time I've made it all by myself. If you want a definition of atole, go here. In my words it's basically a yummy thick drink made out of anything (generally corn or fruit) - it's kind of like a porridge - watch out three bears, cause this one is delicious!

Here's what I did - (we didn't carve our pumpkin so here's the steps from the beginning). Cut open the pumpkin and remove all seeds and guts.

Slice pumpkin into several small pieces.

Fill a large pot with hot water and place pumpkin pieces in water. Boil until soft. Let pumpkin cool.

If outer shell of the pumpkin is really tough, you may remove it or you can leave the shell on if you think it will blend well. (*Note: I left the shell on a few pieces and it added nice little darker orange specs to the drink, which I liked).

Place as much of the pumpkin in the blender as possible (you may want to slice into smaller pieces) and blend with part of the water it was boiled in).

Mixture will be thick.

Pour pumpkin mixture back into pot and bring to boil with a cinnamon stick or two. Stir often. Add sugar to taste. Then add milk to thin to your preferred thickness - the drink is meant to be somewhat thick.

Stir until milk/pumpkin have blended and drink has heated through. Add a bit of vanilla 1/2 to 1 tsp. Serve warm.

Annie visited the other night and we enjoyed a delicious cup as we talked. I love this season of warm drinks and being inside talking with friends and family. As we talked and I analyzed how it turned out, I thought it would be pretty to serve with a little whip cream on top with a dash of cinnamon for decoration. If you try this, let me know if you like it.