For Tue. 3/31: Salsa, Chicken, and Black Bean Soup

Since they all loved the chicken tortilla soup so much but I am far too lazy to make that again, I thought I'd do something similar but, you know, easier. They're happy, I'm happy that way, right?

So I found this recipe over on A Year of Crockpotting (which is a really awesome blog, btw) and adapted to my needs.

I mostly just doubled it, but I did use canned beans (it's getting toward the end of tax season, I'm getting too lazy for dry!) I also subbed cans of corn for frozen (no room in my freezer!) and I only used half the chicken broth called for (if you doubled it) because after doubling everything else, there was only room for about 4 cups. (I think they will like a thicker soup anyway, and since I'm using canned beans they don't need as much liquid.) I don't intend to thicken it, oh, and after cooking (8 hrs. on Low) the sour cream, instead of being stirred in (because it sits on warm afterward, it would separate or curdle) will just be served on the side for people to put in. I used La Victoria salsa because it's my fave, I feel it has the most flavor. But the store only had Medium so I added a dash of chipotle to up the heat juuust a smidge. I loved that the chicken was the only cutting I had to do! (I used frozen boneless, skinless thighs-- half of a 4 lb. package, no measuring necessary. ;) )

On the side, I sent the sour cream, some shredded Mexican blend cheese (made with 2% milk) and some organic tortilla chips (same price as regular, may as well go organic!) They can crumble them in or eat on the side, as they wish. :)

I wasn't sure how to categorize this but it seems more Tex-Mex than Mexican to me so that's what I'm going with.

For Thur. 3/26: Black Beans and Rice with Cumin

I started with this recipe, doubled. I made the following alterations (to the doubled recipe):

I quick-soaked the beans (boiled with some water-- and baking soda, our water is hard-- and as soon as they were boiled, put the lid on and let it sit for an hour with the heat off.)

I used 1 1/2 cups of dried onions (I'm sick and didn't feel like chopping onions after I did a whole head of garlic.)

Instead of fresh jalapenos, I used a can of green chiles (drained) and a few Tbsp. of ground chipotle (which is smoked dried jalepenos.) I was going to use one can of green chiles and one of jalapenos, but Emma lost the can of jalapenos. Good job, Ems. ;) So I improvised; I figure the slight smoky flavor might make this a little more like Moros y Christianes, the classic Cuban dish, which I am fond of. I decided that was not a bad thing.

Toward that end (and also because it would not all fit) I reduced the water to 6 cups. I want it more like beans and rice and less like beans and rice soup.

Oh, and I omitted the pepper, because I'm sick and lazy tonight.

It will cook for 6 hours on Low (the beans were already pretty soft, I think I may have overdone the quick soak...) and then go to High for 15 minutes after Jeff removes the bay leaves and stirs in the instant brown rice (which Uncle Bens makes, if you were wondering-- and one box is a perfect size for this recipe, well, two if you double it, because one box is 2 cups.)

So yeah, less the soup it started out as, and more like Moros. Not a bad thing, IMO. Now, hopefully it works... So I'm classifying this as "Cuban" though it might not be so much really, because the flavors remind me of Cuban flavors. :) (Though I could throw a bit of cloves in there and make it even more Cuban-tasting, yummy.)

Chicken, Chickpea, and Apricot Tagine

I used this recipe, doubled. Doubled, it was too much. I pulled a third of it off to a second crockpot for our dinner at home.

I mostly followed the recipe, but skipped the preserved lemon, the carrots (they would have been good but I was tired) and the cilantro for the top (well, what can I say, I'm lazy. And they won't care.) I used a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts. Also I somehow managed to lose the tomato paste, so it didn't make it in. I cooked the onion mixture a bit longer, until it thickened well, to hopefully make up for that. And I threw in a few Tbsp. of ketchup too. Hopefully I didn't ruin it-- I don't think I did. It smells awfully good.

Jeff will cook his for 8 hours on Low. I didn't have room in the fridge so I just threw mine straight in on Warm. Maybe it will be ready in time for lunch tomorrow (we have an 11:15 doctor appointment for Emma so hopefully it will be ready when we get home-- after a stop-off for some pita bread, I forgot to get pita bread. Jeff is picking some up on his way to work for the guys there to eat with it. I decided couscous was too much work for me this weekend. Were I having guests to serve this to, I'd make couscous, though.)

For Thurs. 3/12: Aloo Rajma (Potato-Bean Curry)

I used this recipe (doubled) with the following changes:

-My onions were really strong, I used half as much. But then, I added like 8 cloves of minced garlic, so...

-I used half curry powder and half garam masala, upped the ginger, added coriander (did you know coriander seed is the same plant as cilantro? But they taste way different), and added a bit of turmeric (because I like a really nice strong turmeric color and flavor in a yellow curry.)

-I used half red and half white new potatoes and garbonzo beans.

-I used store-brand tomatoes with chiles, not Rotel. Because I'm cheap that way. ;) I almost used tomatoes with jalepenos instead of tomatoes with green chiles but I thought that might be too much for a few of them to handle.

It will cook on Low for about 8-9 hours. I made some steamed rice to serve it over and I'm sending some yogurt to cool it off for those who are wusses in the heat department. ;) (I know at least one person will put hot sauce on it. And really, I didn't put NEAR as much heat in as I would if I were cooking just for me. But, you know, some people just can't take spicy the way I can.)

Bonus Recipe: Black-Eyed Peas with Soup Bones

Soup bones were on clearance and black-eye peas take a lot of the same ingredients as pea soup so I decided to put some in our crockpot for our lunch or dinner tomorrow (no room in the fridge so it will just cook overnight.)

Here's what I did:

Put about 3 lbs. beef soup bones or pork or ham or other meaty bones in the crockpot.

Add 16 ounces dried black-eyed peas, rinsed.

Add 2 carrots, sliced (or equivalent baby carrots), 1/2 medium onion, diced, 2 stalks celery, sliced, 2 cloves garlic, minced, and black pepper to taste (I prefer to add salt at the end.) If desired, add chili or chipotle powder to taste. If desired, add 1 can diced tomatoes. (I didn't add either this time.)

Pour over about 1 1/2 quarts water, or more if needed (judge it by eye, remember you won't lose as much in the crockpot as on the stove.) Cook on Low until done, adding water and stirring as needed. Season with salt, remove bones, and stir before serving. Serve with rice or cornbread. Mmm.

Tue. 3/3: Split Pea Soup

I looove split pea soup. Hopefully the guys will too.

I doubled this recipe. I had like 3 but this looked the most like my on-the-stove recipe, plus I'll admit I was swayed by the "don't stir" directions. ;)

Notes:

-I Don't Do whole carrots. I'm lazy like that but I ABHOR peeling. For your future reference, 5 baby carrots are equivalent to 1 whole medium carrot. I usually mince them for pea soup but for this recipe I followed directions and sliced. They'll fall apart anyway, it's the crockpot.

-I bought pre-diced ham. It was the same price per pound as ham steak. Did I mention I'm lazy? If you got other ham on sale it would be cheaper but no ham was on sale so I bought pre-diced. I only used 1 lb. and I think that was about 1/2 the amount the (doubled) recipe would have called for but it looked like plenty to me.

-I ran out of seasoned salt. Regular salt it is.

-I couldn't find my pepper grinder. I love how things disappear around here. I used pre-ground instead and since it was really old (hardly ever use it) doubled the amount.

-Obviously I didn't use hot water, what's the point? I did use filtered, we have hard water around here. 3 qts wouldn't all fit in the crockpot with the other stuff. I used 2 1/2 quarts 'cause that's what fit.

Jeff will cook for 5 hours on High (then Warm for 2 or 3 hours) or 9 hours or so on Low, then remove the bay leaves, stir, and serve with sourdough break-off rolls we picked up at the bakery. Mmmm.

Tuesday 2/3: Chili and Cornbread

I made my standard "crockpot chili." Sometimes I make it without beef, in which case it is "food storage chili" because it uses only ingredients I keep in my shelf-stable food storage. It makes a huge batch; believe it or not, I actually always make this much, because it freezes well or will feed us all for about 5 days if kept in the fridge, and it is so easy. And it's not expensive, so why not do the work once for quite a few meals? I make it pretty mild, you can add more chili powder or red pepper or hot sauce as you like to up the heat level if desired.

Drain and rinse (until the water runs pink is good enough; it's not like 3 bean salad where you want it to run clear so it won't stain the other food) 3 27 ounce cans kidney beans (dark or light makes no difference; can also use 1 no. 10 can, which is what I usually do, I get them at Smart and Final, or you can cook dried; you shouldn't use dried straight in the crockpot unless you adjust the liquid accordingly, which I don't have room for since I'm making a huge batch but on the stove it's completely feasable, or if you have a working pressure canner, which I don't right now, you can can your own dried beans to make it even cheaper.) Dump them in the crockpot.

Add 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes and 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (for soupier chili; for more stew-like chili use 1 28 oz. and 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes), undrained.

Add 1 lb.-ish browned and drained ground beef (I did 4 lbs. all at once the other night, might as well; used 1/2 of it for the Nogales Pie and then used 1/2 of what was left tonight; the other part will be Hamburger Helper or something later in the week.)

Add about 1/2 cup dried diced onions, 1/4 cup dark chili powder, 2 Tbsp. cumin, and a shot (about a Tbsp.) of Worchestershire sauce (I only use Lea & Perrins, I just think it tastes better.)

Mix (I just use my hands for this...)

It will cook on Low for at least 6 hours. Ideally it would be stirred once or twice in there, but if not, just stir before serving.

To go with I made a pan (in a disposable cake pan so it doesn't have to come home) of Marie Callender's just-add-water cornbread mix. Yes, I am that lazy. It tastes great and they won't care (or probably know) it's not from scratch. And it's a lot less work and less messy than "real" cornbread (no eggshells, etc.) and tastes just as good! Plus it's shelf-stable too, I keep it as part of my food storage. It's an easy, tasty way to make a complete protein with the beans if you're going vegetarian (though of course it's not vegan.)