recipe: slow cooker honey garlic chicken

so i haven't been on here in forever... moved to a new coast, with endless amounts new restaurants and new burgers (and a city full of food carts... aaah!) in all the chaos not a lot of cooking as happened, except for the last few weeks as i finally start to settle in here. 

i tried the Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipe from justataste.com, found after i was searching for a delish but easy Asian slow cooker recipe. i adapted it slightly, but found that the original amount of hoisin sauce in the recipe was a bit too much (1/4 cup)... if i make it again i'll decrease that amount to help the honey and garlic flavors balance out a bit more (the recipe below reflects a decreased amount). it doesn't taste like standard Chinese take out, but it is really good especially considering how quick it is.

ingredients list: 
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup blackberry jam
- 1/8 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Asian 5-spice powder
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (omit if you don't want spicey)
- 1 tsp chili oil (also omit if you don't want spicy)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- sliced scallions
- toasted sesame seeds

recipe: dr pepper spicy pulled pork with jalapeno cilantro slaw

i've made this pulled pork recipe from Pioneer Woman before and was a big fan. since San Fran when i first tried slaw, i've been a tad curious. since Pioneer Woman's is a little different with the jalapeno and the cilantro kicks, it seemed like a good started recipe since i'm a huge fan of both of those ingredients. with a spicy slice of colby jack cheese, these were a pretty fun 4th of July 'wich.

ingredients list (pulled pork):
- 1/2 large onion, cut into thin strips
- 1 pork butt (shoulder), about 5 lbs
- salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1 (11oz) can chipolte peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 cans dr pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar

to make (pulled pork): heat slow cooker on high heat, then add onion to bottom of slow cooker. (generously) salt & pepper the pork roast on all sides, then set on top of onions in the cooker. pour in the chipolte peppers, both cans of dr depper, and stir in the brown sugar.

reduce heat to low after 1-2 hours, then allow to cook for an additional 4-5 hours. turn the pork 2 or 3 times during the cooking process. when it's done (about 6 hrs  total), the meat should be falling apart when stabbed with a fork (if it's not, keep cooking it).

remove meat from pot, and place on cutting board or large plate, and shred it apart with 2 forks. pour out 50% of the liquid in the slow cooker, then return the meat to the cooker, stir, and keep warm until ready to serve. top with cheese (i used jalapeno colby jack to go w/ the zesty theme), cole slaw, and serve on buns.

ingredients list (slaw):
- 1/2 head cabbage, sliced thin
- 1/2 head purple cabbage, sliced thin
- 1 whole jalapeno, minced
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 cups cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

to make: combine shredded cabbage and jalapeno in a large bowl. in a separate bowl, mix milk, mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. pour over cabbage and stir until combined. cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. right before serving, toss in cilantro.

recipe: slow cooker shredded pork tacos

so. this was another bad week. i only had time to cook dinner once, 4 days ago, and haven't had time to pop it up here since. i even attempted to menu plan this week... late monday night i pulled myself together enough to prep the ingredients for this, then it all fell apart from there. waaah!

i discovered www.foodgawker.com last weekend... HOLY COW. the pictures, the recipes... amazing little gem of a site. as result i now have a (longer) laundry list of stuff i want to cook (hence the attempted menu planning), not to mention very much wishing i could take better pictures :o). i saw this slow-cooker shredded beef recipe taco recipe on there which sounded really good, AND easy for weeknight. bingo! (all the beef roasts were super-expensive this week, so i  snagged a pork roast @ $2.99lb instead. beef tacos, pork tacos, as long as i'm eating tacos i don't give an F)

this recipe is taken from Gimme Some Oven, adapted slightly since i don't usually sear meat before slow cooking (i've tried both ways... it ends up mostly the same, just more dishes. skiiip!)

ingredients list (served 4-5):
- 1.25-2 lb boneless beef chuck roast or pork roast
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
- 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- flour tortillas (i used Mission Cheddar & Jalapeno)
- taco toppings: chopped tomato, lettuce, onion, & sour cream & your heart's desires
- shredded monte jack cheese or taco cheese

to make: combine chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in small bowl, and rub spice mix all over the meat. set in slow cooker on low, adding in beef stock, tomato paste, liquid smoke, chipolte pepper, onion, & garlic. cook on low for 6-8 hours. when finished cooking, drain some of the liquid (reserving about a 1/2 cup in the cooker), and shred the meat with two forks.

roll the meat up in the tortillas with all taco toppings, and heat in toaster or in a hot pan for a few minutes to heat tortilla through. 

verdict: another yum! these were very smokey from the chipolte... so they were not like a standard slow cooker pulled pork. i would def like to try with beef, because i'm sure the red meat will have a nice flavor party with that smokey goodness. slightly spicy too (i'm glad i didn't add a second chipolte it might have made them hot hot), but also sweet. solid 7 *******.

recipe: slow cooked short ribs

i've made this recipe just once before and it literally was one of the favorite things i've ever made... these are simply just one of my favorite foods. the nice thing about short ribs is that it's one of the few things you can make at home that taste just as good, if not better than, a good restaurant with almost NO effort or skill. except for about 1/5 of the price for two people. i picked up boneless shortribs at Roma Foods in latham, NY. the first time i tried finding them i went to 2 grocery stores, a butcher shop (with a hot butcher nonetheless... nom noms) who all didn't carry them, and finally landed on Roma's who seems to have them in perma-supply. the recipe that i used from allrecipes.com, Slow Cooked Short Ribs, was on point, so i'm not testing out another.

ingredients list: (serving size for 4)

- 4 boneless short ribs (about 2.5 lbs)

- 3/4 tsp kosher salt

- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

- 2 tbsp cornstarch

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1/4 onion, chopped

- 1/2 cup beef broth

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

- 3 tbsp chili sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup (it sounds gross to use on such a nice cut of meat, i know, but it works here)
- 2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

to make: rub short ribs with salt & pepper. add all of the remaining ingredients to slow cooker on low heat, then add in short ribs. cook for 6-8 hours, adding additional cornstarch if needed to thicken up the gravy.

once again, love love love these. they fall apart with the touch of a fork and the marinade is delish. these w/ mashed potatoes is the best meal ever (next to a perfect hamburger, of course : ). rating 9 *********.

recipe: chicken & dumplings

i don't usually cook anything that takes longer than 15-20 minutes during the week, but luckily this recipe has a 15-20 minute prep then just cooks itself all day, like a nice little robot dinner. i adapted the Slowcooker Chicken & Dumplings recipe from allrecipes.com, which i've made a few times now. the first time i made this i really didn't expect it to be that good looking at the ingredients... a lot of recipes with cream of chicken or mushroom soup in the slow cooker just taste like old cream of can, and i didn't love the idea of these cheater-dumplings. luckily i was mistaken b/c this is one of the easiest & comfortiest comfort meals, like getting a hug from a cuddly chicken.

ingredients list:
- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
- 1 can of chicken broth
- 2 full chicken breasts
- 1/2 a large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, diced
- 3/4 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red pepper, diced (i just used this b/c i had it on hand...any veggies you like work)
- salt
- pepper (i used white & garlic peppers)
- paprika
- 1 can of pillsbury biscuit dough

to make:
add first eight ingredients to slowcooker (my chicken breasts were frozen when i put them in...frozen/thawed both work), and set to low heat. add a few pinches of salt, pepper & paprika to taste. cook on low for 4-5 hours, then use forks to shred chicken. tear up biscuit dough into small (1/2 - 1 inch) pieces & add to slowcooker, turning up to high & cooking for an additional 2 hours (the original recipe has the 'dumplings' cooking for only a 1/2 hour... i prefer longer just to make sure they aren't too doughy). done!

rating... would be 7 *******. lot of yum over a minimal effort is okie doke in my book.