Red Quinoa Salad (non crockpot dish)

At the request of my cousin Allison ....... ENJOY!

Recipe: Red Quinoa Salad
1 1/2 cups red quinoa
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3Tbsp olive oil
Zest of 2 limes
3 tbsp lime juice
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin


Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the quinoa, place bay leaf on top after quinoa settles and boil for about 15 minutes, or until the water is almost completely absorbed. Turn the heat off, remove and discard bay leaf and cover with the lid for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl to cool.
In other med – small saucepan on med/high, heat olive oil and add garlic, salt and pepper.  Wait 1 minute and add onions, toss around for about 1 – 2 minutes and add peppers.  Lower heat to med-low and cook until peppers are your preferred tenderness.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients.


Toss the quinoa, pepper and onion mixture together; then mix in the cold ingredients.


Add some teaspoons of balsamic if you'd like.


Serve Hot, Warm, Room Temperature, or Cold

Swedish Fowl-balls (Chicken Meatballs)

I owe you 2 ..... Here is last weeks.
I don't have pics, I made it for Super Bowl.

Swedish Fowl-balls

1 lb.Ground Chicken

1 c. bread crumbs
Minced onion or chopped onion to taste
1 eggs
parsley flakes, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, basil

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Sauce - 1 cup Ketchup, 1 cup Grape Jelly, 2 tbsp crushed pepper flakes

Mix ingredients together and make small meatballs (about 30). Brown in pan with 2 tbsp heated olive oil.

 

LINE YOUR CROCKPOT

 

Mix sauce ingredients and pour some into the lining.  Place in fowlballs into the crockpot and poir the rest of the sauce over them.

Cook on high for 2 hours.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Beef Mega-Chilada Soup - HAPPY NEW YEAR

Close to a Beef Enchilada Soup - But MEGA style!
Part Crockpot/Part Stovetop

Beef Mega-Chilada Soup

1lb beef stew meat (raw)
1/2lb beef stir fry strips (raw)
1 large onion, chunked
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Cumin, Salt, Black Pepper, Goya Adobo
12oz shredded cheddar
4 cups beef broth
2 cups whole milk
small can corn, drained
1 small can of diced tomatoes (with chili and chives)
12 oz green taco sauce
1/2 red, orange, and/or green pepper (sliced thin, long ways)

In a large pot or saute pan:  add oil and butter - med high heat, 30 seconds - add garlic, stir for about 1 min, add onions.  Stir around until onions are sweaty.

Liner your crockpot: Place beef into pot, sprinkle all of your seasonings over the meat.  Pour garlic/onion mixture over meat.  Add taco sauce, beef broth, corn, and peppers.
Cook on low for 10 hours.

Around the 9 1/2 hour mark - or when you are ready to reheat the soup; in a large pot bring milk to a boil.  Drain juices from tomatoes into soup and pour the tomatoes into the milk.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to med/low.  Slowly add in the cheese until all is melted.  Add the beef stew to the mixture and continuously stir until until the broth and milk mixture look good and blended.



Using 2 cups of the broth, I used it to make white rice.  Served the soup on top of some rice with some multi grain tortilla chips.

Enjoy and Happy New Year to all of my Mega Foodies!

Seafood Bisque

Seafood Bisque - Slow Cooker 2 hours

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium chopped white onion

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons paprika

8 ounces crab meat

4 to 8 ounces small cooked shrimp

8 oz of cooked crawfish tails (out of shell)

1/3 cup sherry

1 large potato diced

3 cloves of garlic, smashed once each

1/2 cup fresh shredded parmesan

Bag your crock pot.  Put in oil, paprika, salt, and pepper.

Add garlic, onion, cheese, and potato.

Add all of your fish.

Pour in milk and sherry.

Stir and cover - High 2 hours.

At the 1hr 45min mark.  Take out about 1  cup of the broth and whisk in the flour until liquid thickens.  Pour into bisque and stir.  Cook for remainder 15min and let sit for about another 15 before serving.

Super Easy Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork
As an FYI - I use both Crockpot and pot - mainly because I cook the Pork over night, pull it apart in the morning, and finally heat it up for dinner and add more BBQ sauce for extra yummy goodness.

3-5 lb Pork Shoulder or Butt (teehee)
2 cups of water
1-3 medium onions chopped (depends on how much you like onions)
3-4 crushed cloves of garlic
24oz of BBQ Sauce split (16oz and 8oz) Add more/use less if you like
salt, pepper, and cumin

In Crockpot, set liner and place onions, and garlic at the bottom.  Place the pork on top and add seasonings.

Pour in water and drizzle (that means big bottle squeeze) BBQ Sauce across the top of the Pork.

Cook on Low setting for 10 hours.  Using tongs, pull out the bone. 

There may be more that one peice of bone so be aware as you shred down the pork. 

NOTE* Use a metal utensil like a fork so that you will hear if you hit a peice of bone*

Use a bowl or a sauce pan and put the shredded chucks of pork.

Once you are clear of bone, pour out the excess liquid and then you can put the pork back in the Crockpot for 1-2 hours on high heat. 

Mix in the rest of the BBQ sauce and cover.

Or-On the stove on a low/medium heat, mix in more BBQ sauce and stir until you are happy with the pork/bbq mix.

I served mine on a fresh roll that I made into garlic bread and melted some mozzarella cheese on it.