Lemongrass Pork Bowl

This has become one of our family's favorite dinners, and I thought I'd share the recipe! (Also, I'm putting it here for safe keeping.) Also, it's not really a recipe, so much as a gathering of foods in a bowl.

Lemongrass Pork Bowl (Modern Market copycat recipe)

Combine the following ingredients into a bowl. Drizzle the rice vinegar dressing on top and toss. 

• Pork Roast (cook in the crockpot and then shred. Add a little salt for flavoring, if desired)
• Pickled Red Onions (homemade recipe here)
• Shredded Carrots (steam)
• Cilantro
• Thin Cucumber Slices
• Jalapeños (optional)
• Toasted Peanuts
• Rice (We use Seeds of Change, Brown & Red Rice, which you can find at your grocery store and Walmart. It's already cooked, so it takes only a minute to microwave it.)

 
Rice Vinegar Dressing: (2-3 Tbs of dressing per person. Recipe below is for 6 people.)

• 1 cup rice vinegar
• Squirt of sriracha
• Squirt of lime juice
• Minced garlic

Photo credit

Crockpot Minestrone

I love this recipe, although it is more like a vegetable soup than a minestrone, in my opinion. Don't leave out the zucchini, they are the best part.

Also, thank you for putting up with a ton of food posts from me.

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy)
• 3 cups fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
• 1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese rind
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach
• 2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)
• extra Parmesan cheese to top (extra pts)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in a blender.

In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, pureed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese rind, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, Parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and black pepper.Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra Parmesan cheese.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

I've seen this picture/recipe posted on Pinterest quite a few times, so I thought I'd give it a try. Except, instead of using my crockpot, I put all the ingredients in a pan with my precooked shredded chicken. It made up so fast! It was really good, and we finished it all off. I did add more lime juice than it asked for, and I thought it needed some salt.

Here's how I made it: (for the crockpot version, click here)

2 cups cooked shredded chicken
4 Tbs lime juice
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1(16 oz) bag of frozen corn
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

I put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and heated it on medium-low until everything was nice and hot.

When it was heated thoroughly, I served it on warm tortillas with cheese, salsa and sour cream. Jayson gave it 2 thumbs up and said it tasted a little like Chipotle w/o the rice (which, he added, wasn't missed). I don't think I would make this in a crockpot . . . but if someone does will you let me know how it turns out?

My Latest Time Saving Tip

Sometimes life is just way too busy. And sometimes that means that dinner is the last thing on my mind. So I found a way to still get a good meal during the week - I cook my chicken ahead of time, so it's ready to be added to dishes without much prep time.

I know. It's nothing really new or innovative. But I thought it might help you, too.

First, I put all my chicken in the crockpot. Frozen. All at once. My crockpot can hold quite a bit, so I fill it full. I turn it on to high and let it cook about 3 hours. (*crockpot cook times may vary. Mine seems to run on the hot side). Without any effort at all, I have a crockpot full of cooked chicken breasts! Yay!

Second, I take the chicken breasts, trim them of any fat and stick 2 or 3 into my mixer. Then using the paddle accessory, I turn it on for a few seconds. This easily shreds the chicken.

Don't run your mixer too long, or the chicken will get shredded into small tiny pieces. It only takes a few seconds. Don't overdo it!

Then I take my shredded chicken and put it in a tupperware and repeat with the remaining chicken. I can put it in the fridge or freeze it.

Now, I can use my shredded chicken for all kinds of recipes cutting dinner prep time in half. *(Actual time saved has not really been measured. But I feel like dinner has been lots easier.)

Some dinner ideas for your shredded chicken:

• Fajitas (just saute some onions and peppers, heat up the chicken in a skillet with seasonings, and you are ready to go south of the border in seconds!)
• Chicken Salad Sandwiches
• Southwest Chopped Chicken Salad
• Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
• Chicken Enchilada Pasta - just heat up the sauce and cook the pasta. Add the chicken and you are ready to go!
• Chicken Noodle Soup 
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Haystacks
• These delicious Chicken Enchiladas

*also, I save the broth from the chicken and strain it and use it for homemade chicken noodle soup.  Win-win-win!

Beef Stew

Today looks like this . . . with a lot of this . . .

so for dinner we had this . . .

Beef Stew

I've been making this recipe for 8 years. It's nice to put it all in the crockpot and come home to a yummy smelling house. {I know, it's a lot of ingredients, but it's not too bad, I promise.}

1 pound stew meat

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 large potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 can green beans (you can use fresh if you prefer. I don't)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp thyme

3 cups beef stock

2 Tbs brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

pepper to taste

Put above ingredients in a slow cooker; stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until beef is tender and potatoes are fork tender.

About 30 minutes before serving, transfer a ladleful of broth to a small mixing bowl. Add:

3 Tbs flour

2 tsp tomato paste

With a whisk, stir until smooth. Stir mixture into stew and cook for remaining 1/2 hour. Makes 6 -8 servings.