Crockpot Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa

I have to make a confession. I never really got into eating at Chipotle until about a year ago. Fast Mexican food just never appealed to me. Until one day, on a trip home from Vegas, hubby and I decided to make a pit stop at a Burger King in Barstow to pick up some food for our daughter . I know, I know. Being a foodie that I am, what in the world and am I doing feeding my child junk food??? Hey, it was quick and my daughter was hungry. Every now and then, we make an exception. Anyway,  Burger King happened to share the same parking lot with Chipotle. I didn't really want to eat Burger King, so I decided to give Chipotle a shot. The line was almost out the door, so I figured that was a good sign. Or else, they thought they same as I did in that they didn't want Burger King either. So after waiting in line, I decided to order a burrito with shredded beef (aka Barbacoa) and all the fix ins. Man, that burrito was huge. But after that first bite, I was hooked. I know that there was no way that burrito was healthy, but boy was it good. Even hubby was hooked.

Fast forward to a few months ago. Skimming through Pinterest, I came across a few recipes for Chipotle's Barbacoa and thought, hmmmm. Now there's an idea. So I decided to give
this recipe from The Slow Roasted Italian a try. What I loved about this recipe was that it was a slow cooker recipe. It looked pretty easy and it really was. The flavor was spot on with the barbacoa I get at Chipotle. I served it with my recipe for green cilantro rice which tasted exactly like Chipotle's rice. I added a homemade mixture of tomatoes, cilantro and onions as my salsa, topped it with some sour cream and we had an instant Chipotle Burrito. This recipe made a huge batch of shredded beef, so I was able to freeze a few servings to eat on a later day. Can't wait to get into it again.

3-4 lb chuck roast, fat trimmed
2 tsp. salt, divided
2 Tbsp. oil
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
6 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground clove
2-4 chipotle peppers (from a can, packed in adobo sauce depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2-1 Tbsp. adobo sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1) Cut roast into large chunks. Sprinkle all sides with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, reserving the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

2) In a blender or food processor, combine vinegar, garlic, black pepper, ground clove, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, broth and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

3) Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and sear beef on all sides. Place beef in slow cooker. Pour sauce over beef and tuck in bay leaves into mixture. Cook for 5-6 hours on high, or 8 hours on low.

4) At the final hour of cooking, shred the beef using 2 forks to pull it apart. Season with salt to taste and stir sauce completely. Cook for another 1 hour. Serve as a burrito, taco, or salad with rice, pico de gallo (salsa), sour cream, guacamole, beans, etc.

Copy Cat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

I cannot believe that it has taken me 2 months to post another entry on this blog. For those who follow me, I am deeply sorry that I have been missing for so long. I know a few of my co-workers have been wondering what happened to my posts. If you remember a couple of months ago, I was complaining about a serious bout of morning sickness that has prevented me from stepping foot in the kitchen. Nowadays, I just haven't had the energy to spend too much time in the kitchen. So most of our meals are take-outs or leftovers from the parentals. Being almost 7 months pregnant can do that to you. When I do cook, I cook some of my go-to Quick and Easy meals. Baking is still something I enjoy doing. So you'll often see me in the kitchen because I'm baking cookies or something. Not experimenting a new recipe.

However, because I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy, I thought about doing some make-ahead meals that I can freeze, which will feed us later once the baby arrives. Learning from my first pregnancy 5 years ago, I didn't have much time to cook our meals with a newborn around. So I thought  how much help it would be for me to have frozen meals that we can just pop in the microwave or oven.

I found a lot of make-ahead meal ideas online and from blogs I frequent. But it was a copy cat recipe from Food.com for Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli that caught my eye. A crock pot recipe at that. Before I discovered my love for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, I used to love starting my meal off with their Pasta e Fagioli. This recipe looked so easy and makes a huge batch. So I thought it was perfect to set some aside and freeze. You can also cut this recipe in half if you don't intend to freeze the leftovers. Unless you have an army of people to feed. My daughter and I came home to the house smelling so good. My daughter said "mmmm...it smells like spaghetti!" This is a delicious and hearty soup that is a meal in itself. I served this with some good french bread to sop up some of the soup. So good.....

2 lbs. ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
5 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16 oz) can white kidney beans, drained
3 (10 oz) cans beef broth
3 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. hot sauce (optional)
1 (20 oz) jar of your favorite spaghetti or marinara sauce
salt to taste
8 ounces small pasta (like small macaroni or small shells), cooked
shredded or grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

1) Brown meat in a skillet. Drain.

2) Place cooked meat and all the ingredients, except the pasta, in the crock pot. Season with salt to taste. Cook on low for 7-8 minutes, or on high for 4-6 hours.

3) Place cooked pasta in serving bowls. Top with desired amount of soup and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

*If you plan to freeze the soup, place the soup in a freezable container and freeze. Add the cooked pasta after you have re-heated the soup.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Beef Stew

I've never had Moroccan food other than when I attempted to make it a few years ago when I made Crockpot Moroccan Chicken, which turned out pretty well. I came across this recipe from Spark Recipes. And since my Moroccan Chicken turned out so well, I figured this would turn out just as well. This was a super easy dish to make and came out so delicious and full of flavor from the curry and garam masala. I'm glad I was able to find another use for garam masala other than an Indian dish. And I love how this dish was a mixture of sweet and savory. I think I like this dish is better than its chicken counterpart. Serve this on top of couscous to complete your exotic meal.

2 lbs. beef, cubed
4 carrots, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. yellow curry powder
1 tsp. garam masala
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3 cups broth (vegetable, chicken or beef)
1 (14.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro for garnish
1/4 cup toasted almond slivers for garnish (optional)

1) Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add meat and sear on all sides. Remove meat and set aside.

2) In the same pan, add carrots, onions, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add curry, garam masala, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine.

3) Add beef and vegetable mix in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add chickpeas and raisin (if using) and dried apricots. Cook for another 30 minutes to an hour. Serve on top of couscous.

Short Ribs with Pasta

I was watching Everyday Italian on the Cooking Channel over the weekend and Giada was making this dish and it looked so good. I remembered that I had some short ribs in the freezer waiting to be used up. So why not. I looked up the recipe from the Food Network (Cooking Channel's sister station) and I got to cooking.

I've decided to use the crock pot to make this dish because short ribs is best when slow cooked in the crock pot. The meat is always fall-off-the-bone tender. I've also decided to take the advice from some of the reviews on the website and allowed the stew to cool so the oil can separate to skim off the fat easily. Because short ribs is a very fatty cut of meat. And I hate greasy pasta. I topped the dish off with some bittersweet chocolate shavings, as the recipe suggests, because everyone knows how I love sweet and savory. This dish came out really well. It kind of reminds me of the Skyline Chili I made. The flavors were somewhat similar with the addition of chocolate in the chili. I'll be making this again and try it with boneless rib meat to eliminate the cooling and skimming off the fat.

1/2 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
2 1/2 lbs. short ribs
salt
black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, quartered
1 carrot, quartered
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb. fresh or dried long pasta (fettuccine, linguine, etc.)
shaved bittersweet chocolate

1) In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon or pancetta over medium heat until golden and crisp.

2) Meanwhile, season short ribs with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Once bacon has cooked, remove with a slotted spoon. Add short ribs to the pan and brown on all sides. Place short ribs and bacon pieces in crock pot. Add thyme, oregano, and bay leaf. Set aside.

3) Meanwhile, combine onion, carrot, parsley and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely minced. Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste and pulse until combined. Pour mixture into crock pot. Add broth and red wine. Cook on high for 6 hours. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight.

4) Once the fat has separated and solidified, skim off fat. Remove beef pieces from the broth, discarding the bones. Shred beef. Pour broth and shredded beef in a stock pot and re-heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

5) Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place drained pasta over the sauce and toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time if needed to moisten pasta. Transfer to serving bowls and top with  chocolate shavings.

Beef Mechado

Its Fat Tuesday. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Where Catholics decide to fatten up before fasting on Ash Wednesday. I was planning on cooking a small quick meal, because hubby decided to start his diet. But heck, why not join the masses and cook a big meal.

The next dish on my to-do list resulting from our last trip to the Philippines is Beef Mechado. We had lunch at the Aristocrat prior to our flight back home to the States and hubby absolutely loved the Beef Mechado. He asked me if I can try to make the dish. And you know me. Always up for a challenge when it comes to cooking. So I did a search which lead me to this recipe from my go-to blog, Panlasang Pinoy.

Beef Mechado is another Filipino tomato-based beef stew, like the Beef Caldereta, but cooked and seasoned slightly differently. I've modified the original recipe to use a crock pot so that the meat comes out a lot more tender. Because frankly, slow cooking over a stove top never yields the best results for me. But the crock pot does. And this dish came out really well. Hubby loved this dish. He even said he thinks it might be better than the Aristocrat.

3 Tbsp. oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large onion, sliced
2 lbs. beef chuck, cubed
8 ounce can tomato sauce
2 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 slice of lemon
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
1 large potato, cubed

1) In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and onion. Add beef and cook until browned.

2) Place beef mixture in crock pot. Add tomato sauce, water, soy sauce, black pepper, lemon, bay leaves, and salt to taste. Slightly stir. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours. Halfway through the cooking process, add potatoes and continue cooking until meat is tender and potatoes are soft. Serve with steamed rice.

Green Chicken Enchilada Soup

With the fall season in full swing, the weather starts to somewhat cool down. Even here in SoCal. And with cooler weather comes the flu season. My daughter has been trying to shake off a cold for the past 2 1/2 weeks, and is now trying to fight off a low-grade fever. Hubby and I are trying to fight off the onset of a cold ourselves. Our cold isn't full blown, but we feel it starting to creep in. And if we're all sick, its no bueno.

This recipe popped up on my reader recently from What's Cookin' Chicago? that I felt it was fitting to make for this cool weather. It was super easy to make and tasted so good and comforting. When it first came out of the crock pot, I thought it was a little spicy. But after adding all the garnishes such as avocado and sour cream, the flavors and spice balanced so well.

The author of What's Cookin' Chicago?, Joelen, recently discovered she requires a gluten-free diet. Therefore, this recipe is gluten-free. One of my good friends, Cathy, has been requesting me to start making gluten-free foods for a while now. And honestly, I don't know a thing about being gluten-free. So I'm glad that Joelen's blog features more of this kind of cuisine. So this recipe (and all future gluten-free dishes) is for you, Cathy :)

1 (15 oz can) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14.5 oz can) sweet corn, drained

1 (14.5 oz can) Rotel diced tomatoes and jalapenos

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers

1 (16 oz bottle) salsa verde or green enchilada sauce

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

salt to taste

2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

3 Tbsp. water

Garnishes:

chopped avocado

crushed tortilla chips

chopped cilantro

sour cream

shredded cheese

1) In a crock pot, combine beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, salsa verde/enchilada sauce, chicken broth and milk. Season with salt to taste.

2) Place chicken breast into crock pot and cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

3) Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Return shredded chicken in the crock pot. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Stir into soup to thicken slightly. Serve with your favorite garnishes.

Beef Short Ribs with Tortellini & Marsala Cream Sauce

Every week, especially after church, my parents would treat us all to lunch. Its become a tradition of ours ever since hubby and I got married. There are a handful of restaurants we frequent with them, one being the Olive Garden. Most often, I order their Braised Beef and Tortelloni. So I was excited to have found this recipe when I was looking for some new recipe ideas from The Little Kitchen through The Novice Chef.

This was her version of Olive Garden's dish. Its a pretty complex recipe, but I was glad to have tackled the challenge because it came out soooo good! I didn't have Tortelloni, so I substituted it with Tortellini, which is practically the same, and it came out great. This will definitely be a repeat recipe for me.

2 lbs. boneless short rib

salt & pepper

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

3 Tbsp. all purpose flour

2 cups Marsala wine

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2 cups chicken broth

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cups bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

9 oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini, boiled according to package directions

1) In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper. Brown beef on all sides, about 7-10 minutes.

2) Add garlic, onion, carrot, thyme and basil and cook until onions are translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3) Slowly whisk in Marsala wine and vinegar. Scrape the browned bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 5 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Stir in tomatoes and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Transfer beef and sauce into a slow cooker. Stir in broth and bay leaves. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 4-6 hours on high.

5) Remove beef from the broth and transfer to a platter. Strain the braising liquid through a sieve. Discard the solids.

6) In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

7) In the same skillet, add the strained braising liquid and return over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cooked mushrooms, diced tomatoes and heavy cream. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes. Toss with cooked tortellini. Serve topped with more diced tomatoes.

Slow Cooker Pozole (Mexican Pork & Hominy Stew)

I remember back in my Spanish classes in high school many years ago (I won't say how many), we would always have a potluck of international foods at the end of the semester. Many of my Latino classmates would bring dishes from their individual culture. One classmate brought banuelos, which were fried tortilla chips dredged in cinnamon sugar. Another brought Tamales. But one dish that stood out was the Pozole, a pork and hominy stew. I was hooked. I haven't had Pozole since then, but I often see it on the menus at Mexican restaurants. I've always wanted to order it, but worry that it wouldn't taste as good as the first time I had it. I was also intimidated to order it.

Pozole is said to be a cure for hangover. Well, I don't drink much. But I can tell you that this is easily a comfort food. Perfect to have on a cold day. I was finally inspired to try to make Pozole myself when I was looking through some blogs one day and found someone who made it. That pozole looked too chunky and didn't look like what I had years ago. So I decided to do a search for Pozole recipes. There were quite a few recipes out there and I couldn't tell which one came closest to that recipe. But I finally settled on this one from allrecipes.com. What made me decide on this one was the fact that its a slow cooker recipe. I've been busy all day today, baking almost 200 mini cupcakes for hubby's pinning ceremony tomorrow. So I wanted to just throw everything in the slow cooker and have it ready for dinner.

This dish was quite good. However, as one of the reviews on this recipe indicated, this was more like a soup than a stew. This wasn't the Pozole that I had back in high school. I'll probably continue my search for that recipe. But I don't mind making this one again.

1 dried chile negro pasilla (or 1 1/2 Tbsp. ground pasilla)

3 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin, cubed

2 cups chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (4 oz can) diced green chiles

2 (15 oz can) hominy

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 Tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1) Puree (or blend together) chile negro pasilla and 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Pour in slow cooker pot.

2) Pour remaining chicken broth, beef broth, onion, garlic, green chiles, hominy and pork in slow cooker pot. Season with bay leaf, oregano, cumin and salt. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve topped with chopped cilantro and avocado.

Crockpot Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

Pho (pronounced fuh) is a Vietnamese Noodle Soup. The first time I had Pho was a few years ago when a couple of co-workers of mine suggested we have it for lunch. It never really appealed to me before, but I was always up for trying something new. So I went along and I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated. Then my co-workers recommended I try the beef brisket Pho. They showed me which condiments to use and how to eat it and I was hooked. It was the perfect meal for that chilly day and it totally hit the spot.

I don't have Pho often because soup, as per hubby, isn't filling for him. But Pho restaurants are popping up all over the area with clever names like Good Pho You and Pho King (yeah, I got a laugh outta that one too). I once attempted to make Pho a few years ago. The original recipe required me to leave the broth to boil over low heat overnight. But fearing that I may burn the house down, I decided to slow cook it in the Crock Pot instead. It came out okay, but not pho-bulous (lol). So I never tried to make it again because I figured I should leave pho-making to the experts. Then I recently came across this Crock Pot Pho recipe from Steamy Kitchen that inspired me to make it again. And plus, I've been craving it for a while.

The Crock Pot Pho came out pretty well. However, it was hard to season the broth after cooking because it was really too hot to taste. So I had to play with the fish sauce and guess the taste. Overall, the dish was okay. I even got my daughter to eat it (minus the raw meat in it, of course).

Broth

4 lbs. beef bones

1/2 onion

4 inch section of ginger, sliced

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp. whole coriander seeds

1 tsp. fennel

3 whole star anise

3 whole cloves

1 cardamom pod

9 cups water

2 1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce, or to taste

1 tsp. sugar

16 oz dried noodles, cooked according to package directions

1/2 lb. flank, london broil, sirloin or eye of round steak, sliced as thinly as possible

lime wedges

cilantro, Thai basil, mint

2 hand fulls of bean sprouts

hoisin sauce

Sriracha chili sauce

1) Bring a large stock pot with water to boil over high heat. When it comes to a rolling boil, add beef bones and boil vigorously for 10 minutes.

2) In the meantime, heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add spices and toast until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Dump the spices into the crock pot. Return frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add ginger slices and half of an onion. Cook until the ginger is browned on both sides and the onion half is nicely browned and softened. Add ginger and onion to the crock pot.

3) When the bones have pre-boiled, discard the bones and rinse briefly to clean. Add the bones to the crock pot and fill with water to just 1 1/2 inch below the surface of the bones. Add the fish sauce and sugar. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Taste and season with more fish sauce if needed. Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids.

4) To assemble the bowls, distribute noodles and thin steak among 4 bowls. Ladle hot pho broth in the bowls (the hot broth will cook the thin steak). Serve with lime wedges, cilantro/Thai basil/mint, and bean sprouts. Season with hoisin sauce and Sriracha chili sauce to taste.

Crock Pot Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten is a German-style pot roast usually served with buttered noodles, Spaetzel, potato dumplings or potato pancakes. Its known to be one of Germany's national dishes. Therefore, this dish is an ode to my mom who lived and worked in Germany for a few years before I was born. I came across this recipe from food.com and immediately thought of her.

In those years she lived in Germany, she learned to love the language and the culture. Ever since I was a child, my mom would boast about her life there. I was always in awe when she would tell her tales of Germany. How she and her friends would just take a bus ride to Switzerland or Holland for the weekend. How she ate this food and that food. After completing her contract, she went home and married my dad. And the rest was history. But you could tell how much she missed Germany. That's not to say that she would rather be there than here. It just goes to show how much of an impression it left my mom.

She hadn't been back to Germany until our family trip to Europe in 2000. During our trip to Germany, we visited my Godmother, who she used to work with at the hospital where they were both nurses. They took us to the old hospital they used to work at, which became a Mental ward. We had lunch at the cafeteria where I had my first taste of Sauerbraten. With German cuisine, I learned that they tend to blend sweet and sour in their dishes, which is exactly how Sauerbraten is. Sweet and sour. This German-style pot roast came out quite tasty. The meat was so tender with a sweet and sour gravy. It was a different type of cuisine than what we were accustomed to, but we gladly welcomed the change in taste.

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup cider vinegar

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. whole peppercorn

1/2 tsp. whole cloves

1 (4 - 4 1/2 lb) lean top round roast

1/4 cup brown sugar

12 gingersnaps, crushed

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1) In a large saucepan, combine the first 8 ingredients and bring to a boil. Cool completely.

2) Place beef in a 9 x 13" baking sheet or freezer bag. Pour cooled marinade over beef and seal. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, turning twice daily.

3) Remove meat and place in a slow cooker pan. Strain marinade and pour over beef. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or until beef starts to fall apart around the edges.

4) Remove beef to a platter and slice 1/4" thick and set aside.

5) Strain liquid and return to the crock pot. Turn on high. Add brown sugar and gingersnaps, stirring until dissolved. Mix flour into 1/4 cup of water. Stir flour mixture into the broth and heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Return beef to the gravy. Cover and cook on high until gravy thickens, about 30 minutes. Serve with buttered noodles or spaetzel.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Ribs

Its Superbowl Sunday. I don't really watch American Football, but I like to use these types of events as an excuse to try new recipes. And this kind of event almost always calls for BBQ. I found this recipe for Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs from my new favorite blog, What's Cookin, Chicago? that I had been saving up. I haven't had BBQ since the summertime. And I haven't tried Crock Pot BBQ either. So I was really excited to try this recipe out.

I love my Crock Pot. Its always a life saver for a busy mom like me. And it didn't disappoint me this time either. The pork came out so tender that it fell off the bone. I wasn't too happy about the sauce I used though. I'll probably use my favorite bottled sauce until I find the right homemade sauce. But I'll definitely be making BBQ this way whenever I can't fire up the grill. And the next time I do this again, I'll put some kind of a liner in the pot. Because it was a pain cleaning up the caked-on, charred sauce on the bottom. What a mess to clean up.

2-3 lb. pork ribs

2 cups prepared BBQ sauce (I used my homemade sauce, or any of your favorite BBQ sauce)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

1) Combine BBQ sauce, garlic and oregano in a small bowl. Place ribs in Crock Pot. Pour sauce mixture over the ribs and cook on low for 6-8 hours, on on high for 4-5 hours.

No-Fuss Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

We were in Vegas this weekend and so I haven't been able to make a trip to the grocery store. We don't really have much in the fridge and I'm too lazy to go out and buy anything. But I still have to feed my daughter. So I took out my crockpot cookbook and found this quick recipe. The ingredients are everything I have in my fridge and it cooks for only 2-3 hours - which is the amount of time my daughter naps for before lunch. It came out rather dry, but the flavors were there. This probably won't be a frequent dish I'd make, but its good to know that I have a quick Mac & Cheese recipe I can make in case of an emergency.

2 cups uncooked pasta

4 ounces light pasteurized processed cheese, cubed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 cup skim milk

1) Combine macaroni, cheeses, salt and pepper in crockpot. Pour milk over mixture. Cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring after the first 20-30 minutes.

Skyline Chili

Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers made his big announcement today that he's leaving Ohio to be in Florida (Miami Heat). In honor of the Ohioans losing King James, I decided to make Skyline Chili. Named after Cincinnati, Ohio's skyline, this popular chili is apparently a favorite of the Cincinnati Reds. While I've never been to Cincinnati to have the original, I've heard about this awesome dish from, where else? The Food Network. It looked so good. So I tried looking up a recipe and found this one from allrecipes.com.

Unlike its Texas-style counterpart, this chili is more runny and saucy than a normal chili. And its also normally eaten over a bed of spaghetti pasta, topped with lots of shredded cheddar cheese and chopped onions. I've made this a couple of times before and it definitely goes really well with the pasta. Its almost like a spaghetti sauce with a little kick. And you know how I am with spaghetti. Can't get enough of it. This is a chili dish that I can get addicted to. This recipe made so much chili that I froze most of it for later use.

2 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)

15 oz tomato sauce

8 oz tomato paste

5 Tbsp. chili powder

2 1/2 Tbsp. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

3 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

1 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

4 cups water

1) Brown meat on stovetop. Place in crockpot. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook on low for 12 hours or more. Serve on top of cooked spaghetti, top with shredded cheese and chopped onions.

Louisiana-Style Shrimp

I've been wanting to try this recipe out from my crock pot cookbook for a while now. I had some time, so I decided to make it for dinner tonight. It only cooks for a little over an hour in the crock pot. The ingredients are real simple and it turned out pretty good. I'd probably try to add a little more of the the liquid to make it more soupy. But otherwise the flavors in this dish turned out well.

1 lb. shrimp, unpeeled, rinsed

1 stick butter, diced

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. seafood seasoning (like Old Bay seasoning)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel

hot cooked rice

1) Grease crock pot. Place shrimp on bottom. Add butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, seafood seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Cook on high for 1 1/4 hours.

2) Turn off crock pot. Stir in lemon peel. Let stand uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve in a shallow soup bowl over rice.

Oatmeal Creme Brulee

Its a beautiful Saturday morning. Hubby, daughter and I were finally able to sleep in a little bit and FINALLY have nothing to do but stay home and relax. Well, actually I have nothing to do. Hubby has a paper to write. But he promises it'll only take a bit and he'll finally be done and he'll be able to spend the rest of the weekend with us. I hope so, 'coz its Mother's Day weekend.

Whenever we're home on a weekend. I like to make a nice breakfast for us to enjoy together at the table. I found this recipe from my good 'ol crockpot cookbook. Suprisingly, its found under the Light Recipes section of the cookbook. I can see the oatmeal part as being "light."But the "creme brulee" part is far from being light. We all know that creme brulee is made of heavy cream, egg yolks and sugar. I love creme brulee, and since hubby and I were on a diet, I figured oatmeal would be good for us. But I think the health benefits of the oatmeal might be negated by the fattiness of the creme brulee. Oh well.

This recipe requires a lot of steps. And it cooks for 3 hours in the crockpot. So I don't think this would work if you wake up late in the morning to try to make this. Three hours will take up your entire morning, and it'll be lunch time by the time you get to eat this. But we have all day at home, so we'll just eat lunch late today. This dish is really yummy. Its more like a dessert rather than a breakfast dish.

4 cups water

3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1/2 tsp. salt

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

fresh berries (optional)

1) Coat crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and preheat on High. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil. Immediately pour into preheated crockpot. Stir in oatmeal and salt. Cover.

2) Combine egg yolks and sugar in small bowl. Mix well and set aside.

3) Heat cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat until mixture begins to simmer (small bubbles begin to form at edge of pan). Do not boil. Remove from heat.

4) Whisk 1/2 cup of hot cream into yolks, stirring rapidly so yolks don't cook. Whisk warmed egg mixture into remaining cream, stirring rapidly to blend. Spoon mixture over oatmeal. Do not stir.

5) Turn crockpot to Low. Line lid with 2 paper towels. Cover tightly and cook on low for 3-3 1/2 hours or until custard has set.

6) Uncover and sprinkle brown sugar over surface of custard. Line with 2 dry paper towels. Cover tightly and continue cooking on low for 10-15 minutes or until brown sugar has melted. Serve with fresh berries if desired.

Crockpot Turkey Chili

I've been wanting to make chili from my crockpot for a while now. I know chili is supposed to simmer in the pot for a long time and so I thought the crockpot would be perfect to use. There are close to 20 different chili recipes from my crockpot cookbook, but this one , for some reason, stood out most. The original recipe was called a Three-Bean Turkey Chili. But I'm not a huge fan of beans. So I omitted the garbanzo beans it asked for and replaced it with a cup of fresh corn kernels since I had an abundant supply of fresh corn from the supermarket.

It turned out real well. Not being a huge fan of beans, I was surprised at how easily I ate my bowl of chili. It was quite tasty with tortilla chips.

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 small onion, chopped

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can tomato soup concentrate

1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green chiles

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1) Cook and stir turkey and onion in a skillet until turkey is no longer pink. Drain and discard fat. Place in crockpot.

2) Add remaining ingredients in crockpot. Mix well. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I was sifting through my crockpot cookbook and found this recipe the other day. Its super yummy. A whole meal in itself. Having the creamy avocado on top makes it even more special. The original recipe didn't call for corn, but I bought a lot of fresh corn the other day from the supermarket so I decided to add some in the soup. Besides, I love corn in anything. I also added more broth than the original recipe because I wanted it more soupy.

This particular crockpot recipe doesn't require a whole day to cook. So I wouldn't use this recipe if I plan on being out all day like my other crockpot recipes. But here is my modified recipe:

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cans (15 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups chicken broth

1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chiles, drained

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

For garnish:

crushed tortilla chips

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 avocado, peeled, diced and tossed with lime juice to prevent from browning

1) Place chicken in crockpot. Combine tomatoes with juice, 1/2 cup chicken broth, chiles, onion, garlic and cumin in a medium bowl. Pour mixture over chicken. Cook on high for 3 hours.

2) Remove chicken from crockpot. Shred with 2 forks. Return chicken to liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add remaining chicken broth and cook for another 30 minutes.

3) Divide soup in bowls. Top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, avocado and cilantro.

Stuffed peppers

I'm on a roll......3 new recipes in one week! I guess this makes up for not posting last week.

Anyway, I've always wanted to make stuffed bell peppers. I was sifting through my crockpot cookbook and found this one and it looked delicious and easy. So I wanted to give it a try.

This dish was quite tasty and really easy. I thought it would dry out, but it was quite moist. I used ground turkey for this recipe, but you can use any type of ground meat you like. I would probably add a little salt and pepper to the meat mixture for more flavor next time. But other than that, it was still delicious. The original recipe indicates that this serves 4, which means each person gets 2 halves. No way! I'd say this would easily feed more like 6-8 people, depending on how big of an appetite you have. I was able to eat one half of the bell pepper and I was already stuffed.

4 green bell peppers (cored, seeded and cut in half lengthwise)

1 lb. ground turkey or beef

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 package Spanish rice mix

10 oz can condensed tomato soup

28 oz can whole tomatoes

1) Combine ground meat, celery, onion and rice (without the seasoning) until well blended. Divide meat mixture among the bell pepper halves.

2) Pour whole tomatoes and its juices on bottom of crockpot. Arrange prepared bell peppers on top of tomatoes.

3) Combine seasoning for Spanish rice mix and tomato soup until well blended. Pour over bell peppers. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

Turkey & Macaroni

I haven't cooked a thing for a week. We've been eating out for a week since hubby's spring break. Now that he's back in school again, I have to go back to my make-ahead/crockpot meals to get us through the day. But first, I had to run to the store to buy groceries for my empty fridge. Then after having lunch with the best friend for her birthday, I headed home with a plan of cooking something quick with my crockpot.

I bought a lot of ground turkey over the weekend, so I searched my crockpot cookbook for something to make for dinner and found this recipe. Making this was reminiscent of a burger. It smelled exactly like it. In fact, hubby and I actually said it tasted like the hamburger helper I used to make back in the day. lol. The pasta doesn't turn out as al dente as I'd like it to be. But the flavor is delicious.

1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground turkey
2 cans (10.75 oz each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 cups uncooked macaroni
16 oz can whole corn kernels, drained
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 oz can sliced mushroom, drained
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. mustard
salt & pepper to taste

1) Heat oil in a skillet. Cook turkey until browned. Transfer cooked turkey to the slow cooker.

2) Add soup, macaroni, corn, onion, mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper to slow cooker. Stir to blend

3) Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak

I love Cheesesteaks. I've never made it from scratch. I used to just take roast beef slices and sautee them with onions, bell peppers and mushrooms and they came out really good. When I saw this in my crockpot cookbook, I wanted to give it a try. It came out very flavorful and really good. Hubby said it looked like restaurant quality. I topped it with some leftover cheese sauce I used for my macaroni and cheese and served with a side of fries.

2 lbs. round steak, sliced

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

4 onions, sliced

2 green bell peppers, sliced

1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp. black pepper

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. beef bouillon granules

crusty Italian or French rolls

cheddar cheese slices, or cheese sauce

1) Combine steak, butter, onions, bell peppers, garlic powder, black pepper and salt in the crockpot. Stir.

2) Whisk together water and bouillon in small bowl; pour into crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until tender.

3) Remove meat mixture and place on rolls. Top with cheddar cheese or cheese sauce.