BBQ Pulled chicken

adapted from this recipe.

BBQ Pulled chicken

3 Chicken breasts
1/2 cup Honey Dijon dressing
12 oz Honey BBQ sauce
1 8 oz can pineapple tidbits
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
hot sauce to taste
1 sweet onion

1) Put everything (minus onion) in crockpot on low for 6 hours.
2) About 10 minute before you are ready to eat, sautee onion =)






This was so good. Sadly my camera skills suck hardcore. But It was delicious =)

Teryaki Pork

• Pork Shoulder
• teryaki marinade
• 2 tsbp Worcestershire sauce
  
• paprika
• cumin
• salt & pepper
• half diced red onion
• 2 chopped scallions

1. Rub pork with Paprika, cumin, salt, pepper.
2. Put in crock pot. Add Teryaki until pork is coated.
3. add onions, Worcestershire sauce, scallion.
4. Low for 8-9 hrs

Overall: YUMMY! No pictures because I was lazy, but I was REALLY suprised because I was just throwing stuff together. lol... I'll revisit once I make again.

Mac and Cheese gone wrong

Mac and Cheese. Let's not kid ourselves, how many times do you open up a box of Kraft Mac N Cheese, or Easy Mac, or whatever store bought cheese powder is your preference. For me, Mac N Cheese was my staple freshman year. It was easy to make, hard to screw up, and about $0.80 a box. Now that I've grown out of "the cheesiest" Mac N Cheese, I've been looking for some more sophisticated takes on my childhood favorite. Here's an article I thought interesting, followed by my own attempts to spruce up this dish:

Norma Jean Darden, the owner of Miss Maude's and Miss Mamie's soul food restaurants and Spoonbread Catering in New York City makes the best mac 'n' cheese I've ever tasted. She was kind enough to share her recipe in The Magical Melting Pot cookbook. What makes it so delicious is the cheesy custard surrounding the macaroni, and all the cheese on top which gives it a beautiful, golden appearance.

You can easily create international versions of this mac n' cheese recipe by using foreign cheeses and adding locally popular proteins such as salami, ham, or shrimp, and seasonings such as dill or chili peppers. Here are four recipes that shed a whole new light on what mac 'n' cheese can be! Proudly serve them for lunch or dinner, along with a nice, big salad tossed in vinaigrette dressing. Enjoy!

Norma Jean Darden's Basic Mac 'n' Cheese Recipe
(makes approximately 6 servings)
2 cups dry macaroni, or other shape pasta
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs beaten
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9" X 13" baking dish.
3. Cook the pasta in boiling water with the two teaspoons salt, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and whisk in the evaporated milk until well blended. Add 2 cups of the the cheese, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, melted butter, and cooked pasta.
5. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Top it evenly with the remaining cup of cheddar cheese.
6. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the cheese on top turns golden brown.

"ITALIAN" MAC 'N' CHEESE
Proceed as above, but add:
4 ounces dry salami (hot or regular), thinly sliced and cut int 1/4" pieces. This should be approximately 3/4-cup, firmly packed.
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut in 1/4" pieces or shredded. If you use the kind that are packed in oil, drain the oil.
Substitute 3 cups of shredded Italian blend cheese (Quattro Formaggio with Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and mild Provolone) instead of the Cheddar. If you can't find the Italian Blend, use any of these cheeses, or some combination.

"MEXICAN" MAC 'N' CHEESE
Proceed as above, but add:
1 4-oz. can chopped chilis (mild or hot)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Substitute 3 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese (sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Asadero, queso blanco) instead of all Cheddar. If you can't find the Mexican Blend, use any of these cheeses, or some combination.

"SWISS" MAC 'N' CHEESE
Proceed as above, but add:
6 ounces sliced, cooked ham, cut in 1/4" pieces (approximately 1 cup, firmly packed)
Substitute 3 cups of Swiss cheese, shredded, or sliced and cut in 1/4" pieces.

"DANISH" MAC 'N' CHEESE
Proceed as above, but add:
2 cups shrimp (baby shrimp or any size, cut in 1/4" pieces)
1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped (or more if you love dill)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Substitute 3 cups of Havarti cheese (plain or with dill), shredded, or sliced and cut in 1/4" pieces.
Source

So In my attempts to spruce up the mac and cheese I made my own...

Mac N Cheese with Pepperjack...in the crockpot?

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macoroni (no, I had penne)
• 4 oz light cheese, cubed
• 1 cup shredded mild chedder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1.5 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients together in crock pot. cook on low for 3-3.5 hours. Stir after 20-30 minutes.
   

OVERALL: Sounds good right? I followed everything, the only substitution I made was using pepperjack cheese cubes. When it came time for me to stir the dinner, I noticed that my pasta was burning. WTF, how do you burn food in a crock pot? I stirred and added a bit more milk. Now, I was growing concerned. I double checked and I added everything in the right amounts. But I noticed it was for a 3-4 quart crock pot. I have a 6 qt crock pot. Damn. Ultimately IF I was to try this again, I would double all quantities. But I prefer the stove top way 100 fold!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Mmm, another application of the wonderful Shredded Chicken Recipe I posted a few posts back. Leftovers are wonderful for me because I can spend sunday cooking and procrastinating on my homework and make lotsa food for me to eat throughout the week, but something different all the time!

Chicken Tortilla Soup:
Ingredients:

• 10 oz Master Recipe Shredded Chicken
• 1 can canned tomatoes with green chili peppers
• 28 oz chicken broth
• 1 package frozen peppers
• 1 can corn (or frozen I suppose, we used canned)
• Tortilla chips
• Optional: Jalapeno pepper, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in your crock pot.
2. If you want the jalapeno, seed and dice the pepper. BE CAREFUL! Jalapenos are wicked painful to the eyes if you touch your eyes after working with the peppers. Best option is to work with plastic glove. If your hands are going naked, make sure to wash REALLY well. I've made the mistake of NOT washing my hands well enough. It hurts. Real bad.
3. Cook on low for 5-6 hrs or on high for 3.5-4 hrs.
4. Garnish with Tortilla chips (we had pita chips), cheese, sour cream, or whatever else you like in your soup
OVERALL: It was good. Honestly though, I am not a fan of soups. My entire family, who is not as finicky as I am, loved the soup and it was gone within a day. That must say something about it right? But I probably won't make again because I don't like soups. Unless it's cold. Then I would.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

This recipe uses the Master Shredded Chicken recipe!

So I love anything buffalo really. This was really easy to make and tasted great:

Buffalo Chicken sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Master Sheredded Chicken Recipe
• Hot sauce to taste
• 1/4 up sour cream
• 3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Bun!

Directions:
1. Combine the chicken and as much hot sauce as you want. Buffalo marinade/sauce would also work, but I didn't have any so I just used hot sauce, tasted good.
2. Heat the chicken
3. In a separate bowl combine sour cream, blue cheese, cayenne pepper. Mix well.
4. Cut your bun, add a piece of lettuce, pile chicken on. Top with blue cheese sauce.
5. Enjoy:

So I made 2 and had already ate one before I realized I should take a picture!

OVERALL: Simple easy snack using leftovers and easy/cheap ingredients. Also can be scaled up to feed a large group! I'm sure you can use the same concept with BBQ sauce and coleslaw for a BBQ chicken sandwich.

Master Recipes

So my mom got this AWESOME crock pot magazine and here are 2 recipes which will be critical for future recipes I'm going to post/try. No pictures this time.

Shredded Chicken:

• 4 to 5 lbs of chicken thighs, skinned.
• 4 thyme springs
• 4 parsley stems
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 32 oz chicken broth

1. Combine in crock pot, cook on low for 7 to 8 hrs or high 3.5-4 hrs.

Shredded Pork

• 3-3.5 lbs pork shoulder
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 20 oz bottle chili sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cidear vinegar
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp pepper

1. Combine in slow cooker. cook for 10 to 11 hrs on low or 5 to 6 hrs on high.

The idea is the meat to have a mild flavor so it can be easily combine with other sauces for other dishes!

Early Thanksgiving

So this past Sunday, I decided to have a little thanksgiving Dinner with the boyfriend, since He'll be in Japan for the actual thanksgiving.

Maple Walnut Turkey

• Turkey Breast
• 1/2 cup Maple syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup Walnuts
• Package of Rice

1. Use Uncle Ben's Long Grained Rice (I used a package of white I had) combine with the water, and pour into the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Place the turkey in skin side up.
3. Pour maple syrup & walnuts in.
4. Set on low & cook for 5 hours.

OUTCOME: Um, so the store didn't have turkey breast, they had turkey cutlets. AND I put it on high instead of low. So they were dry. Like Saharan Africa dry. I didn't even eat the turkey, although it did taste good. Next time I won't be so absent minded.

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The Success of the night:

Green Beans & Carrots

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tbsp Mrs. Dash Seasoning
• Chopped Basil (about 3 leaves)

1. Cook green beans in carrots until tender. We did this by microwave for about 12 minutes.
2. Melt butter and combine seasoning and basil. Mix. Our over Veggies.
3. Enjoy

OVERALL: So honestly (and my boyfriend will agree) these were so fucking good. I actually went back for seconds BEFORE I went back for more sweet potato pie *gasp* He is the one who actually made them, so all credit goes towards him!

His Plate: In a clockwise direction, The overdone Turkey, Green Beans & Carrots, Sweet potato Pie, Mashes Potatoes

My Plate: Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pie, Chicken from the night before, Green Beans & Carrots, Cranberry

Catalina Chicken

So this is a recipe my mom made for my sister and I when we were little.

Catalina Chicken

3 Frozen Chicken Breast (You could use split breast or thighs as well, I just don't like the dark meat)
1 cup Catalina Dressing
1 cup Apricot Preservatives
1 package French Onion Soup Mix

OPTIONAL
1/2 thinly sliced potatoes (i'd suggest Yukon gold potatoes)
1/2 cup sweet onion/pearl onions

1. Now there are 2 options to prepare this meal. I remember my mom would bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I opted for the slow cooker.

2. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker/crock pot. Set on Low and cook for 12 hours OR you can do what I did and set on low for about 6 hours, then switched to high for about 3 hours.




OVERALL: Well, I stupidly added water to the mixture, completely forgetting that the water from the frozen chicken would add to the sauce. So mine came out kinda soupy. Next time I'll add maybe a little bit of water. (I added about 2/3 cup, D'oh!)

But the flavor is awesome and the chicken shreds apart, and it's so yummy. Brings back childhood memories. I should warn that the chicken comes out a bit dry, but it doesn't bother me too much, it might turn out moister with dark meat. But my picky roommate liked it so that has to mean something.

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