Slow Cooking

Now, that I've found myself unemployed, I've decided to do something I've always wanted to do but just didn't have the extra time for, a recipe share blog!  This week I had a couple of friends write to me asking for a meal ideas that are easy and nutritious, so I've decided to start this blog by highlighting my current love affair with my crock pot.  When I am working, I can't tell you enough what a delight it is to come home to house smelling delicious and a meal requiring little to no prep-to-table time.  I've gathered a few of the crock pot recipes that I've tried recently and they all made about plenty of servings.  If you don't currently have a crock pot, I suggest getting one (today!!) and buying one with a timer because that way if you are out longer than the cooking time, it will switch to the warm setting.

Ratatouille

This recipe comes from a Williams Sonoma cookbook, called Food Made Fast - Slow Cooker, that my sister-in-law gave to me.  The ratatouille made about 10 servings and combination of veggies was really tasty.  This went great with pasta, along side a chicken apple sausage, filling for a wrap with hummus, and over a baked potato.

http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii623/hope_friedman/ratatouille.jpg

Turkey in Mole Sauce

This also comes from the WS cookbook and it was excellent!  I think Jon and I have both agreed that meat just tastes better when shredded.  A couple notes on this recipe is that I just used butterball skin-less, bone-less turkey breasts because at my local grocery store the only turkey breasts with the bone-in had a lot of extra added fat and seasoning.  I think I could have also just used 6 chicken breast fillets and it would have turned out the same.  I did 8 hours on the low setting and meat was so tender that I just shredded it all and put half in the freezer.  The recipe made about 16 servings.  One thing I'd recommend with this recipe is to up the amount of chocolate.  I thought the sauce was delicious, but it wasn't as chocolate-y as I remember other mole sauces being.  This recipe goes great with some warmed flour tortillas, avocado, cilantro, and chopped tomatoes.

http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii623/hope_friedman/turkeyinmolesauce.jpg

Thai Chicken Tacos

This recipe comes from one of my cooking magazine subscriptions, Clean Eating.  This is a great magazine for people who like simple recipes focused on whole foods.  Again, this is a variation on a shredded meat taco, but I love the infusion of a little Thai flavor.  One recipe recommendation, however, would be to add a little salt to the chicken mixture.  This made way more than 4 servings, I'd say closer to 8.

http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii623/hope_friedman/thaichickentacos.jpg