Ropa Vieja translates to old clothes.

Not the most appetizing image, but it’s in reference to the torn or shredded beef and the slices of onion and peppers, so no worries about it all being too literal.

After I made this pot of deliciousness, to my taste, it wasn’t spicy enough. I don’t know if it was because my homegrown jalapeños weren’t hot enough or if I should just up the number of jalapeños, so I did up it from 2 to 3. If that still doesn’t do the trick, you can always serve it with some hot salsa, such as Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa. Or add a jar of it to the slow-cooker from the start, your choice.

One more choice to make is the color of your bell peppers. I like to use red, yellow, and orange for the color variety and the sweetness. But if green bell peppers are more economical or if red bells are on special, do what works for you.

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I’m doing my best to not just make all of the “week’s worth” of slow-cooker recipes into soup recipes. But it’s hard! I love soup!!! Especially this one. It is so lite, so lemony, so satisfying, so M-mmmm good!

My brother-in-law, Roger, is visiting for the week. He, Dave, and Connor devoured it. Which is a good thing I suppose, since I’m running out of room in the fridge. The thing is bulging at the seams with the ingredients for the upcoming recipes and with all the leftover baby back ribs and beans from the other night.

Connor had the day off work, so Roger, Con, and I went to a couple of breweries yesterday afternoon and tasted some beer flights. Our favorite stop was the Sleepy Dog Brewery which has a Groupon promo going on right now. If you go, you have to try the Wet Snout Milk Stout, it is out-of-this-world good! I found out they have it on tap at Hopdoddy right now too. Guess where else we’ll be taking Roger before he heads back to the Illinois snow?! Ah, snow, this soup would be the perfect remedy for a snowy day, pretty great for a sunny day too!

Lemony Turkey Meatball and Orzo Soup

1 large egg

1 pound ground turkey

1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary

Zest and juice of 1 large lemon zest, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

8 cups (2 quarts) chicken broth

3/4 cup orzo pasta

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced

1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the ground turkey, Panko, salt, dried rosemary, and the lemon zest (set aside the lemon juice) and mix to combine well.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet, when oil is hot, use a 1- tablespoon scoop (or two spoons to make meatballs that are one 1-tablespoon in size – but the scooper is The Best!) to make the meatballs and drop into the skillet as you scoop them out. Do not overcrowd the pan. Use a spatula to turn the meatballs and brown on all sides.

As the meatballs brown, transfer to a slow cooker and continue making meatballs and transferring as they are browned until all the turkey mixture is used. You should end up with about 30 to 32 meatballs.

Sauté the onion and carrots in the same skillet, just long enough to bring up the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet, for a minute or two. Scrape into the slow cooker with the meatballs. Add the garlic and broth and cook on HIGH for 2 hours.

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Today we are kicking off a week’s worth of slow cooker recipes. For this first one, I used a huge package of baby back pork ribs from Costco. It weighs between 8 and 9 pounds and I found that that was a bit too much to fit in my slow cooker.

As you can see, I cut the slabs in half and one of the halves didn’t fit in.

I could have wrapped it up and put it in the freezer, but instead, I cooked it in some beer, then grilled it and slathered it with ready-made BBQ sauce, and gave it to Connor for lunch when he stopped by. Perfect!

Also, I tell you to use diced tomatoes, for the ease of it. But if all you have are whole tomatoes (like I did) you can easily cut them right in the can by using your kitchen shears. Easy Peasy!

To begin with, all you need are these few ingredients.

Oh, and the can of tomatoes too. I almost forgot! (plus the garlic isn’t pictured, what the heck?!?)

These ribs and scrumptious beans make for a hearty bone-warming winter supper.

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I have complete faith that my Arizona Cardinals will win the George Halas Trophy in the NFC Championship Game game today – along with their ticket to Super Bowl 50!

Just like I have faith that this soup can help cure, or at least bring relief to, the flu.  The flu is traveling like wildfire and now Dave has it.  I made this soup for him last night and he’s on the mend today, in time for the big game.

I found the version of the recipe when a friend posted it on Facebook. It sounded like the perfect remedy, especially after giving it a few healthier tweaks. Now it’s ready to share with you.  Round up the ingredients, pop it all in a slow-cooker and it’ll be ready for kickoff at 4:40 PM!

It is soul-soothing and absolutely fabulous, just like the Cards! #riseupredsea #birdgang

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Pork + Slower Cooker = Perfect Match

Honestly, when I lay my eyes on a large cut of pork, I always think of the slow cooker. With very little initial effort, the cooker turns the meat into the most tender and moist meat there is.

In these parts, it’s a family favorite, no matter how I fix it.

This recipe, in particular, using a few key spices, Coke and salsa, is one of Connor’s favorites. So much so, that he insisted I take a photo of his “clean plate” which was clean before the rest of us even finished on a taco. Growing boys… always a pleasure to feed!

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Sometimes I am shocked when I discover the recipes that I have NOT posted on this site in the last five years.

I found a pork shoulder in my freezer and decided that the best thing I could do with it was to make carnitas. I would have sworn, that by now, I would have posted my carnitas recipe. I typed “carnitas” in the search bar over there on the right … No, there was no carnitas to be found. Strange!

In the old days, I’d make carnitas one of two classic ways … deep-frying it in lard (oh my!) or slow roasting it in a hot oven for hours on end (not the best idea in the AZ summer!) … today, I use a slow cooker. OK, not only a slow cooker. Also a skillet at the beginning and a sheet pan, under the broiler, at the end.

The skillet, and a bit of olive oil, are needed at the beginning to brown the meat.  The slow cooker is used in the middle to make the meat fork-tender, without heating up the entire kitchen. Finally, the broiler is used for only about 10 minutes, in the end, to make the pork crispy. Soft meat (which is what the slow cooker produces) does not qualify as carnitas! Below is a photo of some of the meat scrapes from the bottom of the slow cooker, placed in a tortilla. This is what you don’t want! Soft, over shredded, soggy meat. This is not carnitas!

Even though there are three distinctly different cooking stages, the hands-on time is minimal. Totally worth it! [Read more →]

Today’s post marks number 1,500. Fifteen hundred times that I’ve made an entry here!

It would seem appropriate to celebrate such a feat with a cake, cupcakes, or some sort of dessert. But no, instead we shall celebrate with a slow cooker chicken recipe. Not as exciting, but easier and healthier too.

You can use either frozen or raw chicken breasts for this recipe. I used frozen, as you’ll be able to see in the photos to follow.

Slow Cooker Honey-Soy Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Sriracha
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal

Cooked quinoa or brown rice
Lettuce leaves

Place the chicken in a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, Sriracha, sesame oil, and onion powder.

Pour over chicken and cook on LOW for 3 hours if using raw chicken and for 4 hours if using frozen chicken.

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I’m adding a new tag to the blog. “Skinny” is the name. My long-time friend, Karen Mock (seen below with her husband, Bob) has become a Health Coach for the Take Shape for Life program. I started working with her last week. So from now until, who knows when most recipes I post will be “lean and green” and tagged with “skinny.”  It’ll take a while for “skinny” to show up on the tag cloud over there on the left, and who knows, it may knock “vodka” off of there. That would be kinda sad!

I don’t think you’ll mind my new skinny recipes, in fact, the last three recipes I posted have been “skinny.” Some of them, I will create, others I’ll be modifying from recipes that Karen has sent me from the Take Shape for Life recipe files.

I modify them to add more flavor; not more fat, calories, or carbs. Mostly, I’ll be achieving this with the addition of spices and herbs, or with a change to the cooking technique.

For instance, the recipe I’m giving you today was a TSL recipe, but instead of just throwing the raw boneless ribs into the slow cooker, I brown them first in a skillet that I’ve sprayed with Pam and then deglaze the skillet with water and pour that in the slow cooker too. More Flavor – No Added Fat!

One of the products that Karen turned me onto that will help me boost flavor is the line of condiments from Walden Farms. All Walden Farms items are currently “BOGO Free” at Sprouts. The sale goes through 3/13/13. I saved $16 on my purchase of the eight products shown below!

I honestly don’t think you’ll even notice a difference in the recipes I post.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the TSL Program, you can email Karen at [email protected]. You will LOVE her! And be sure to tell her that you learned about her here.

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For some strange reason – while making 13 different recipes in two days (eight appetizers,  four recipes for the sit-down dinner, and one recipe for the dessert table) I didn’t manage to take even one cooking photo. Imagine, too busy to stop and take pictures of the process!

Oh well, I did manage to get pretty decent photos of the food on the table itself, at least for the appetizers, which is what I present to you today. Some of these are new recipes which I’ll provide here and others are recipes I’ve previously posted. For those, click on the link to take you the original post.

Here we go…

Brie with Pears and Brandy

12 to 16-ounce wheel Brie cheese, cold
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large Bosc or Red Anjou pears, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus rosemary sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
8 walnut halves

Slice cheese wheel in half crosswise; set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add diced pears, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in brandy, and cook 1 minute more. Add rosemary, and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and spread pear mixture over the bottom half of the cheese wheel, reserving 2 tablespoons of mixture for garnish. Transfer cheese to a serving plate.

Return skillet to stove, and heat balsamic vinegar and honey until simmering. Simmer mixture until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes.

Pour half the glaze over the bottom half of the cheese with the pear mixture; top with the remaining half of the cheese wheel and top with the 2 tablespoons of reserved pears. Drizzle with remaining glaze, and garnish with walnut halves and rosemary. Serve immediately.

Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 cup crumbled Roquefort, room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
32 dried apricots
Snipped fresh rosemary

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add walnuts and sugar; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted. Stir in rosemary; cook and stir for 30 seconds more. Transfer nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet; cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine Roquefort cheese and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Spoon about 3/4 teaspoon of the cheese mixture on top of each dried apricot. Sprinkle with nuts. If desired, garnish with additional fresh rosemary.

Makes 32

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Today, I have more of a tip for you than a recipe. It all came about because of a mispurchase that I made at Costco some time ago.

Mispurchase ~ spell-check does not like that, but I think it is a perfectly reasonable word.

Anyhow, I accidentally bought a huge package of chicken legs instead of chicken thighs, and the legs have been sitting in my freezer for much too long.

Connor is still home this week, so I decided that he would absolutely love to have chicken legs for dinner and for a few lunches before he goes back to school on Monday.

I also had way too many bottles of various sauces taking up room in my refrigerator. I used a mix of these two.

So what does all this have to do with a new tip for a crock-pot/slow cooker?

Being as lazy as can be, I didn’t want to brown the legs before sticking them in the slow cooker and I didn’t want to have to pull the skin off of all 15 of them. But I also didn’t want all that fat from the skin to be floating around in there.  So… I came up with for brilliant idea of wadding up some foil and placing it in the bottom. Worked like a charm!

The fat all went down below the foil and the legs turned out crispy and cooked through and through.

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