{Slow-Cooker} Bolognese Sauce

 

I have loved bolgonese sauce since I was little. I ordered it whenever we ate at California Pizza Kitchen, so it's surprising this is the first time I've attempted it myself. It was worth the wait, though, as this recipe was so, so good! I made some modifications, including omitting half and half and pancetta, as well as swapping ground turkey for ground beef. John and I both loved this, so I can't say it was missed - and it lightened it up. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Bolognese Sauce
Recipe adapted from Skinny Taste, via Jourdan Leigh in the kitchen
Serves 4-6, depending on portions

{Slow-Cooker} Creamy Chicken & Black Bean Chili

Hey there! No need to be impressed with another post so soon. In fact, judge away as I tell you that I typed up this post back in November, and just recently got around to editing the pictures. I'm surprised that I still had them!

However, my tardiness is no bash on this quick meal. I whipped it up in a flash before work, and we had plenty of leftovers to freeze and eat later. This was a tasty and easy meal, and perfect for the cold winter months. Enjoy!

{Slow-Cooker} Creamy Chicken & Black Bean Chili
Serves 4-8, depending on servings

Chicken Taco Chili

 

Hello, hello! 

Welp, July and August were definitely some lame slow months for the blog. I don't have much of an explanation, other than I really tried to enjoy my summer. I won't always have this kind of time off! I got caught up on some projects around the house - I may or may not share a few of my successful ones - relaxed, visited friends, and got ready for the new school year.

I had a wonderful first week of school with my new kiddos, and I'm ready to get back to sharing yummy recipes and more! I've got a great new recipe for you, and four reasons why you should make it ASAP.

1. This meal is tasty and healthy - what's better than that?
2. The recipe is easily adapatable for my vegetarian friends - see below.••
3. It's fun to try a variation of traditional chili - mix it up!
4. The slow cooker does all the work for you - perfect for a busy household.

Chicken Taco Chili
Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste
Serves 5-8, depending on portions

French Dip Sandwiches

Where to start? Well, for one, pretty much all the work is done in the slow cooker. How can you complain about that? It's the best! I love heading off to work knowing our dinner is cooking away and I will have little to no work to do upon returning home.

What else? Oh, these are super, duper tasty! I have never ordered or had a French dip sandwich. John also says that he never has them. However, we both went crazy over these! Incredible is the word Jourdan used and I could not agree more.

FYI: This was so delicious that John mentioned how amazing they were at least 6 times a day ever since I made them. No, I am not exaggerating. I really, truly am not. So make these. Enjoy the easy and tasty meal and tell your special someone they owe you for such an amazing meal.

French Dip Sandwiches

Recipe from Jourdan Leigh in the Kitchen, adapted from Our Best Bites

Yields about 8-10 sandwiches

Ingredients:

*1 2-3 lb. beef roast (the bigger the roast the more it will serve)

*2 tbsp olive oil

*salt and pepper
*2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
*2 cups water
*2 cans beef broth (or 1 box, as I used)
*8-10 ciabatta buns
*provolone cheese, sliced (about 1/2 a slice per sandwich)

*1-2 large onions

*2 tablespoons butter

*1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preparation:
*Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper. When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

*Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

*Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. You will know it's ready when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork. 

*About 20 minutes before serving, add sliced onions to pan with butter and sugar.  Cook over medium low heat until caramelized.

*Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melted.

*Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

seared meat | in the slow cooker before cooking
piece of meat | shredded meat

meat on bun | plus caramelized onion | plus provolone

sandwiches | dipping | delicious!

How To: Cook Easy & Healthy Chicken

When I first started cooking I opted for casseroles. It always seemed so much easier to throw all the ingredients together and let them do the work. The only problem? They all called for cooked chicken. I tried so many different ways - frying it on a skillet (which involved oil), baking it in the oven (which required me to wait for awhile and then put the casserole in the oven after that)...

Then, a student's parent last year gave me some inspiration. She is very healthy - runs marathons, cooks extremely nutritious - and delicious! - meals. She had this phenomenal Chicken Fajita recipe, and even suggested a really lean way of cooking the chicken. She put her chicken in a casserole dish, added some sodium-free chicken broth and cooked the chicken overnight in the oven on very low heat.

It got me to thinking, and I was inspired to develop a similar way that didn't involve the oven. The result? Perfectly cooked and extremely moist and juicy chicken! This is my go-to method for cooking chicken for things like pizza toppings, casserole dishes, pulled BBQ chicken, fajitas, enchiladas...the list goes on because it is perfect every time, and so, so easy!

How To: Cook Easy & Healthy Chicken
Method by Call Me Mrs. Rapp
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What you'll need:
*chicken breasts (I've used 2-5 at a time)
*fat free, sodium free chicken or vegetable broth (I suggest chicken broth unless cooking something with vegetables, in which case the vegetable broth gives it an awesome flavor)
*a slow-cooker or crock pot
*salt and pepper, to taste

How you do it:
*Place chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

*Pour broth over chicken, until it is about half-way covered.

*Set your slow cooker on low, and cook for 6.5-7 hours, depending on how many breasts you have and how big they are.

*Pull the chicken out of the slow cooker with tongs. Leave any remaining broth in the cooker. Cut, shred, pull chicken when it's done!

Chicken in slow cooker

plus broth

Completed chicken!!

Honey BBQ Meatballs

How many of you have been to a baby shower, bridal shower, or some other type of party where they serve those delicious barbeque meatballs out of a slow cooker? I've been to many, and each time I find myself pulled to the BBQ meatballs like a magnet. And somehow, I don't manage to leave until I've devoured way too many.

Anyway...John has requested I make these for some time now. Now, I was sure I could find an easy way to make them. However, easy doesn't always mean it won't be time-consuming. Now that it's summer, I've found myself with a lot of extra time (honestly, too much time). So I decided to embark on making these tasty meatballs...from scratch.

I used the lovely Google to search for recipes. Some called for frozen meatballs (which I would recommend if you don't want to spend a lot of time on these) others created everything from scratch. After drawing inspiration from Rachael Ray, Barefoot Contessa and Man-Tested Recipes (I aim to please!), I decided to experiment and come up with my own recipe.

The result? They were soooo good! John actually fist-bumped me over it. I think he ate about 15 good-sized meatballs. I only ate five, not because they weren't delicious, but because they were so filling! And since half is made with ground turkey it's leaner than regular meatballs. No guilt here. :)

Honey BBQ Meatballs
Recipe by Call Me Mrs. Rapp, with inspiration from Rachael Ray, Barefoot Contessa & Man-Tested Recipes
Yields about 45 meatballs 
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Ingredients:

Meatballs:
*1 lb lean ground turkey
*1 lb ground beef
*1 egg, beaten
*1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
*1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (I used the kind you sprinkle on spaghetti - nothing fancy)
*1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
*1 teaspoon garlic powder
*1 tablespoon minced onion
*extra virgin olive oil

Honey BBQ Sauce:
*1/2 red onion, chopped finely
*1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
*1/4 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup honey mustard
*1/2 teaspoon allspice
*1/2 teaspoon curry powder
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil
*2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbeque sauce

Preparation:

Meatballs:
*Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a large bowl. Honestly, just go for it and mash it all together with your hands. It's messy, but will be most effective.

*When ingredients are mixed together, roll them into about 1-1 1/2 inch balls. Place them on a plan as you roll them out to keep your counters raw-meat free!

*Heat olive oil in a large skillet (I used my sear pan which is about 1/4 inch deep). Place meatballs on the skillet (mine took 3 batches) and don't overcrowd. The goal is to brown all sides of the meatballs but not cook them completely. By browning them they should retain their shape and not fall apart in the slow cooker.  

*Once all meatballs are browned, place them in the slow cooker. Pour the homemade honey BBQ sauce plus 2 cups of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbeque Sauce in the slow cooker. (Or, use a whole bottle of BBQ sauce and skip the homemade sauce).

*Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve as an appetizer, or like we did, as a entree with a side of veggies! :)

Honey BBQ Sauce:
*Pour vegetable oil in a small saucepan and saute onions for about 5 minutes. (I waited for mine to brown slightly because I wanted to be sure they gave a sweet taste and weren't too noticeable texturally.)

*Add vinegar and reduce by half, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook for 1 minute to incorporate. Whisk in broth, honey mustard, allspice and curry powder. Bring sauce to a bubble, and reduce to low heat.


*Pour over meatballs in slow cooker, plus 2 cups of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbeque Sauce. (Or, double the homemade recipe and only use that. I wanted the combo).

*For pictures of the Honey BBQ sauce see my post Slow-Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken. 

On the pan and ready to be browned. Look at how many!

Browning - careful not to crowd them or they'll stick together!

About to come off the skillet.

All in the slow cooker.

Drenched in BBQ sauce and slow cooking away.

Served in a bowl with extra sauce drizzled on top. Mmm :)

Sweet and Spicy Pulled Pork

I've been pretty much sticking to chicken and, lately, ground turkey for my dishes. I saw another great recipe on Jourdan's blog, this time for pulled pork. I've never made pulled pork before but this recipe looked so easy I was pretty confident in my abilities to make it.

This was a super tasty dish, and it definitely came with a kick! (I took two of my heartburn medication after the first bite!) If you wanted this to be a little less spicy, I'd add a little more brown sugar (which I did once it was done) and maybe half the chipotle peppers. However, John and I really loved it how it is once I added some extra brown sugar (about 2 more tablespoons) and honey barbeque sauce (Sweet Baby Rays!). 

Funny story, I sent John to the store for the meat. Well, my husband is always on the lookout for a deal. He called to ask me if pork loin was the same as pork shoulder/butt (which is what I put on his grocery list). I told him I didn't think so but to ask the butcher.  John did ask the butcher, but not until he had googled it on his phone first. The butcher told him the same thing Google did, and he decided to get me the shoulder, which, apparently, is what they use in the south. Butt is, apparently, usually used on the east coast. Just a little random fact for you. Enjoy! :)

Ingredients:
*pork shoulder/butt (mine was about 4.5 pounds)
*2 cans Dr. Pepper (24 oz total)
*1 7 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I found this with the Mexican food - tortillas, taco seasoning, etc.)
*2 tablespoons brown sugar
*1/2 large onion, largely chopped
*whole wheat buns
*parsley (original recipe calls for cilantro, but I have a serious aversion to it so I decided to use parsley - Google told me it was a substitution)
*1/4 cup almonds
*1/4 cup olive oil
*1 or 1/2 jalapeno (depending on size and how spicy you would like it - I skipped this altogether!)
*Honey BBQ sauce (optional, but highly recommended)

Preparation:

Pulled Pork:
*Roughly chop 1/2 a large onion (or the whole thing, depending on how much onion you like) and place it in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork on top of the onion, with the fatty side facing up.

*Spread the chipotle peppers on top of the pork. Add the Dr. Pepper, followed by the brown sugar (I just sprinkled mine all around). Set it on low for 7 hours (I like to start with 7 hours so I don't overcook the meat. If it's not ready after 7 hours, set it on low for another hour. I ended up cooking it for 7.5 hours total).

*When the pork is done pull it out of the slow cooker and place it into a bowl where you can add more brown sugar and barbeque sauce as you'd like. If you can, sift the onions out into a separate bowl as well. Serve with your desired components and enjoy!

Parsley Pesto:
*Chop up the parsley (or cilantro), jalapeno (if you choose to include it) and almonds. Place in a food processor with olive oil and mix well or until your desired consistency.

*Spoon the sauce over your pulled pork or on the bun. (Note: While I enjoyed this sauce, John loved it so much without the sauce that he didn't even bother putting it on! Use your discretion and personal palette to decide what to do. This definitely wasn't a make it or break it addition for us.)

What everything looked like as I turned on the slow cooker.

The onions pulled out from the slow cooker. Carmelized and delicious!

Parsley Pesto!

A look at how much pork we got from the pulled pork.

View from the top.

Pulled pork, plus BBQ sauce, plus more pulled pork, plus onions, plus a little extra BBQ sauce on the bun. YUM!

I served our sandwiches with green beans so that we'd get our greens in :)

With the parsley pesto. Love how the green adds to the dish.

Slow-Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken

Not my finest picture, but it shows the chicken in the slow cooker.

I ran off to work in a rush the other day and realized I wasn't sure if I had anything to make for dinner, as it had been awhile since I'd gone to the store. I knew we had two chicken breasts and I always keep a few ingredients stashed in the pantry - low sodium chicken broth, Montreal seasoning. I asked John to throw them in the slow cooker, and when I got home I had the ingredients needed for a honey mustard and red onion barbeque sauce, courtesy of Rachael Ray. While I used my Rachael Ray cookbook, I found her original recipe online, in case you'd like to go off her recipe instead of what I did.

This chicken, after slowly cooking all day, was so moist and juicy that it practically fell apart. I had a later thought that with buns this would make awesome pulled chicken - like pulled pork - sandwiches. Alas we ate ours with some leftover roasted potatoes, reheated in the oven, and some sweet corn. It felt like a summer meal, but it was a breeze to put together.

Ingredients:
*boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 but I think you could use more)
*low sodium chicken broth (1 cup, plus enough to fill halfway up chicken breasts in slow cooker)
*montreal seasoning (optional but I love the little extra it added to the dish)
*1/2 red onion, chopped finely
*1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
*1/4 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup honey mustard
*1/2 teaspoon allspice
*1/2 teaspoon curry powder
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation:
*Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Fill with enough chicken broth so that the bottom half of the breasts are covered. Sprinkle some Montreal seasoning on it. A few shakes should do. Set the slow cooker to low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

*When you get home from work, or when the chicken has about a half hour or less time remaining, start putting the sauce together.  Pour vegetable oil in a small saucepan and saute onions for about 5 minutes. (I waited for mine to brown slightly because I wanted to be sure they gave a sweet taste and weren't too noticeable texturally.)

*Add vinegar and reduce by half, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook for 1 minute to incorporate. Whisk in broth, honey mustard, allspice and curry powder. Bring sauce to a bubble, and reduce to low heat.

*Drain broth from the slow cooker, preserving chicken. Put the chicken back into the slow cooker and pour in the sauce, mixing it well so it coats all the chicken. Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how you'd like your chicken. For a more pulled chicken cook longer. For firmer chicken cook shorter.

*Serve with your choice of sides and enjoy this easy meal! :)

Chopped onion ready to be sauted.

My bubbling sauce, almost ready for the slow cooker.

The whole meal! The chicken was so tender it fell apart as I served it.

A closer look at the chicken. Not the prettiest meal, but tastes delicious!

Pot Roast

This recipe came from an unknown guest of my Indianapolis bridal shower, thrown by my wonderful mother-in-law Leslie's (very sweet!) friends Julie, Jana and Marcia. They had the unique idea to ask each guest to contribute a recipe for a lovely recipe book.  Someone, who did not include their name on the card, gave me this recipe, and it is easily one of John's top five favorite dishes. I have wished so many times that I knew who gave this recipe to me so that I could thank her, so if you are that person, please speak up and claim your glory!

Now I know I claim most of the recipes and dishes I prepare are super easy, but this one truly is. There are a whopping six ingredients in this entire meal! Not to mention next to no work on your part, thanks to my good friend the slow cooker. I know you'll love this recipe - non-pot roast fans have actually enjoyed it! - and I hope it can become an easy Sunday staple for your home, as it has for ours.

Ingredients:
*chuck roast (however large you'd like)
*2-4 potatoes (depending on the number of people you're serving and the amount of leftovers you'd like; I prefer at least one potato to each person)
*2-4 carrots (same as above)
*1 package dry onion mix (the same thing you add to sour cream for onion dip)
*1 can cream of mushroom soup
*1 can cream of chicken soup

Preparation:
*Combine soups and onion mix in a slow cooker, stirring well to ensure it's mixed well.

*Remove any desired fat from the chuck roast. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chuck roast in the slow cooker, and cover both sides with the soup mixture.

*Peel the potatoes and cut them into halves or fourths, depending on your preference. (Note: they will shrink and potentially fall apart as they cook.) Add the potatoes to the slow cooker.

*Peel the carrots and cut them into thirds or fourths, depending on your preference. (Same note as above). Add the carrots to the slower cooker.

*Cook on low for 7 hours and enjoy your entire meal! (If you're preparing this on a day you're home, I like to turn the meat over about half way through cooking time. It's definitely not required though!)

All the ingredients in my slow cooker.

Not the prettiest picture, but I wanted to show you how much the juices from the meat and soup cook up.

A glance at how the meat looks inside. Nice and juicy :)