Woman at work wanted some easy recipes, so here's a quick go to for me. (so quick I don't have a picture of the finished product).
Roasted three poblanos on the stove - need a gas stove just rotate the pepper directly on the flame until blistered on all sides, then put in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam off the skins. rub the skin off with paper towel (don't rinse you wanted the charred taste) cut in half and de-seed.
Meanwhile put a thin layer of red sauce (basic tomato basil is good the poblanos add some spice without making it hot ) put a frozen stuffed shell inside each half pepper and put in crock pot. I then threw in some leftover meatballs I had in the freezer but that is optional(Jane likes 5 not 6 things...). Fine chopped some basil, oregano and garlic (you can use dried spice and dried minced garlic or leave off - I don't use a lot of salt so I always increase the herbs to make up for it) sprinkled over the shells, and then top with more sauce. Don't drown it - sauce won't evaporate in a slow cooker- should still see parts of the shells and meatballs.
Cook on low for at least 6, if you are working 8 or 9 won't hurt- just put more sauce on the bottom and less on top so things don't burn. 15 minutes before you want to eat sprinkle on some shredded mozzerella ( I used Sargento's pizza cheese mix this time - but any Italian/Pizza ish cheese will do) cover - and once the cheese is melted it's time to eat!
The ONLY drawback to this recipe is the cheese doesn't get brown on top. I used a crockpot liner for easy cleanup (seriously whoever invented these is a genius!!!) but if you want brown you can always skip the liner and then before serving hit it with a kitchen torch, or I guess you can torch it on the plate or use an oven proof plate and throw it in the broiler a minute before serving. I just deal with no brown. It's still good.
I wanted to make a Moroccan inspired chicken in the slow cooker. Just as a warning - I don't usually add salt in most of my cooking, this requires me to bump up the spices to get the same flavor experience. If you add salt you may need to adjust the spices. I did two takes on this recipe- the first time I added 4 cloves of garlic... I usually am pretty vampyre proof with all the garlic I eat. It didn't work in this dish - so the second time I eliminated it. The recipe makes about 3 servings, it's just Curt and I now, I'm not big on leftovers I can't remake somehow, but Curt will take them for lunch.
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (obviously other parts will work)
- 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 sweet onion (sliced)
- 4 tbsp Moroccan seasoning ( I used McCormick) divided in half
- 3 small sweet potatoes diced
- about 1" of ginger root grated
- small handful of baking raisins
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 servings of whole wheat pearl couscous
I cut each breast in about 5 large chunks, dredged it in the flour/allspice mixture and lightly browned them (centers were still raw) I put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot, sprinkled with 2 tbsp of the Moroccan seasoning, and put the sliced onion on top.( ignore the garlic in the photo -it was from the first try)
I buy the bag of microwave sweet potatoes because they are smaller than the ones sold loose, and then I open the bag to release the moisture and use them to cook with. I put the diced sweet potatoes in a layer over the top.
I added a handful of baking raisins, grated the fresh ginger and sprinkled with the rest of the seasoning, poured the chicken stock around the edges so as not to wash the seasoning away. I set the crock pot on low for 8 hours.
I cooked the whole wheat couscous ( the bigger pearl couscous actually does need to simmer for about 20 minutes as opposed to regular couscous that you just pour the boiling liquid over and cover) with chicken stock, cinnamon and more grated fresh ginger to go under the chicken.
I will be tweaking this a little, but overall a good base recipe.
Roasted three poblanos on the stove - need a gas stove just rotate the pepper directly on the flame until blistered on all sides, then put in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam off the skins. rub the skin off with paper towel (don't rinse you wanted the charred taste) cut in half and de-seed.
Meanwhile put a thin layer of red sauce (basic tomato basil is good the poblanos add some spice without making it hot ) put a frozen stuffed shell inside each half pepper and put in crock pot. I then threw in some leftover meatballs I had in the freezer but that is optional(Jane likes 5 not 6 things...). Fine chopped some basil, oregano and garlic (you can use dried spice and dried minced garlic or leave off - I don't use a lot of salt so I always increase the herbs to make up for it) sprinkled over the shells, and then top with more sauce. Don't drown it - sauce won't evaporate in a slow cooker- should still see parts of the shells and meatballs.