Pepperoncini Pork Roast

Slow cookers are such huge time savers, but a lot of people never get past making the same old chili and soups in them. This pork roast gets a zingy kick from pepperoncini peppers (find them jarred near the olives at your supermarket) and dry English mustard. It’s sophisticated enough for a dinner party, and no one will ever know you made it in a crock pot!

Pepperoncini Pork Roast

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 6-8 hours on low

Serves 8

2 ½ pounds boneless pork roast

1 cup minced pepperoncini peppers

1 cup pepperoncini juice

1 tsp, black pepper

½ tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp. dried rosemary

1/8 tsp. dry mustard, such as Colemans (I usually rub the whole roast with regular old mustard)

3 cups chopped broccoli, spinach, or asparagus

Place all the ingredients except the vegetables in a slow cooker.  Simmer on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.  (You can just slice this up but I usually shred it and then stir it all together with the peppers etc. then serve it more like pulled pork with rice) Serve with the steamed broccoli, spinach, or asparagus. 

Turkey or Buffalo Chili

Lean ground turkey or buffalo sub-in for the typical beef in this slow-cooker recipe, but you’d never know it. This recipe is a total cinch: brown the meat, throw everything into your slow cooker in the morning, and by dinner you’re good to go! You could also put it together in the evening, then when you get up, portion it out and store extra portions in the freezer.

Turkey or Buffalo Chili

Serves 6 (a single portion is 1.5 cups)

Prep time: 25 minutes. Cook time: 5 to 8 hours, depending on slow-cooker setting

Ingredients

•               1 to 1½ pounds lean ground turkey or buffalo meat

•               ½ cup diced red onion, or more if desired

•               2 Tbls. fresh parsley or cilantro

•               1 heaping Tbls. chili powder

•               1 Tbls. minced garlic

•               ½ tsp. crushed red chili flakes

•               15-ounce can white beans

•               15-ounce can kidney beans (no sugar added)

•               15-ounce can black beans

•               15-ounce can pinto beans

•               15-ounce can lentils or adzuki beans

•               4 cups chopped zucchini

•               28-oz can crushed tomatoes

•               1 heaping tsp. sea salt

Brown the turkey or buffalo meat in a skillet and drain.

Turn a slow cooker to high setting. Add the meat, onion, parsley, chili powder, garlic, and red  pepper flakes to the pot. Stir, cover and set aside.

Open and partially drain all 5 cans of beans; I leave a little liquid in to make my chili a little juicier. Add the beans, zucchini, and tomators to the cooker. Stir well.  Keep the cooker set on high for 4 to 5 hours or adjust heat to low and simmer for 6 to 8 hours.

Stir and taste occasionally, adjusting seasonings as needed. Add the salt just before serving to best preserve its nutrients.

ACHOO! chili

ACHOO! chili

How about getting some immunity-boosting help from your dinner? Foods rich in vitamins A, C and E, plus zinc can help fight off your next cold — and can help soothe its symptoms if you do catch a bug. The red peppers, chili powder, carrots, sunflower seeds and parsley in this recipe provide the vitamin power. Grass-fed beef and mushrooms pack the zinc. The allicin in garlic is a potent antioxidant, but it works best when garlic is raw, so stir it in at the end.

1 1/2 pounds grass-fed lean ground beef
1 medium red or yellow onion, diced
1 Tbls. dried parsley
2 Tbls. chili powder
2 cups chopped carrots
2 large red peppers, chopped
2 cups sliced white or cremini mushrooms
1 32-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 – 2 cup water or vegetable broth (or more if desired)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. minced fresh garlic
Fresh parsley
1 cup sunflower seeds
Cayenne pepper sauce (optional)

In a large soup pot, saute the onions and carrots in 2 tablespoons of water until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 7 minutes more. Stir in the red pepper, parsley, chili powder and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms begin to give up their water. Add the crushed tomatoes and water, adjusting water to the consistency you like. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the peppers soften. Add the salt and stir in the raw garlic. Serve, topping with chopped fresh parsley, sunflower seeds, and a few shakes of cayenne pepper sauce, if desired.

Basic Roll Dough

Basic Roll Dough

Dissolve 1½  T.  Yeast in ½ cup warm Water with 1 T. Sugar. (or ½ T. Stevia)

In a liquid measuring cup, heat 1¾ cups Milk and ¼ cups Butter in the microwave, on high for 5 min.  (I’ve used almond milk for a non dairy version and it worked fine) If you use powdered milk just make it with fairly warm water and don’t bother heating it cuz you don’t need to kill whatever heating milk kills because it’s already dead. J Add ¼ cup Sugar (or 2 T. Stevia) and 2 t. Salt and let it cool.

To the warm milk add yeast mixture and 2 cups Flour. (I use sprouted wheat flour) Add 2 Eggs and enough flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let raise for 1 hour.

Roll out as desired. Let rise 45 minutes. Bake at 400 deg. for 12-15 minutes.

Varieties

Parkerhouse: Roll out and cut into circles. Dip in butter, fold over, and place on a cookie sheet. Rub tops with remaining butter. Let rise and bake as directed above.

Cloverleaf: Break dough into small balls. Roll into nice round balls and place 3 in each section of a muffin tin. Brush with melted butter. (I like to dip the balls in butter too) (What! I like butter) Let raise and bake as directed above.

Cinnamon Rolls: roll out all the dough into a nice big rectangle about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Butter the whole rectangle with softened (not melted) butter. Sprinkle with generous amount of brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins (ewww. Not raisins for me)

Roll out and cut with a piece of thread. Place on a baking sheet and let rise and bake as directed above. Frost however you love (glaze, cream cheese frosting etc)

Orange Rolls: Roll out as for Cinnamon rolls. Mix juice from 1 orange, ½ cup of butter, 1 t. vanilla and powdered sugar to make an almost runny type frosting. Spread over dough, roll up and cut. Place on baking sheet, let rise, bake as directed above. Frost with basic powdered sugar frosting but replace other liquid with orange juice. (I love these with lemon too in place of the orange)

Slow Cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken

This was really great and so easy.  I made another crockpot of scalloped potatoes and we had a delicious easy meal all ready when we got home from an evening of soccer games.  I also thought this would be yummy with more veggies- carrots, mushrooms etc.

Slow Cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 12 or so tenderloins- i just put them in frozen.
• 6 ounce jar pesto (I used basil pesto) I love the Sam's club brand, all pesto's are not created equal, so pick one that is not dry, and I think the refrigerated pesto is much tastier.
• 1 package ranch dressing seasoning mix or 3 Tablespoons
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 -2 cups frozen green beens or you can use canned- add this the last half hour.

1.  Spray slow cooker with cooking spray and place chicken breasts in the bottom.

2.  Sprinkle ranch packet over the chicken breasts, pour pesto over the top, and lastly pour the chicken broth over the top.

3.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Recipe adapted from Picky Palate 

Peach Vanilla Bundt Cake

This cake was heavenly!  I didn't use the vanilla bean because mine had all dried out, but I did use pure vanilla extract.  It was vanilla, peachy perfection!

(recipe and photo from justapinch.com)

Ingredients

	Cake
	Ingredients
3	cups all-purpose flour
½	teaspoon baking powder
½	teaspoon baking soda
½	teaspoon salt
1	cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1¾	cups granulated sugar
4	large eggs, room temperature
1	vanilla bean, split, seeds
1	cup sour cream
1½	cups diced fresh peaches
	Syrup
	Ingredients
⅓	cup fresh peach puree, strained
⅔	cup granulated sugar
1	tablespoon orange juice Directions Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla bean. At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream. (Add a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour.) Scoop half of batter into pan and spread with spatula. Sprinkle with peaches. Scoop remaining half of batter on top of peaches. Smooth with spatula. Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack. Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet. While cake is baking, make syrup. Combine peach puree, sugar, and orange juice in a small non reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a pastry brush, dab syrup generously all over surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying. Let the cake cool completely.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Having been in Chicago recently I was interested in making some deep dish pizza with a buttery cornmeal crust.  This was really good.  I will have to try it again soon following the directions properly.  As it was I just didn't have the time to "laminate"  the dough, and I didn't pay great attention to the recipe.  I ended up dumping all of the butter into the flour mixture (melted and softened).  I also only let it rise once.  It made a beautiful, soft, fun to work with dough.  I did stick it into the fridge for about 10 minutes while I finished up the rest of the sauce.  With the sauce I didn't add the extra sugar. We are not big fans of sweet tomato sauce, I did use tomatoes and basil from my garden.  The result was delicious.  This recipe is a definite keeper.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

For the Dough:

3¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1¼ cups water, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon + 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup grated onion
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
¼ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Toppings:
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
(Pepperoni)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Dough: Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed, using a dough hook, until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. (You can easily make this by hand, mixing in the water and butter with a spatula and then kneading by hand.)

2. Coat a large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Using greased spatula, transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat the dough in oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

3. Make the Sauce: While dough rises, heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to about 2½ cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.

4. Laminate the Dough: Turn the dough out onto dry work surface and roll into a 15x12-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten the cylinder into an 18x4-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with one half, fold into thirds like a business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with remaining half. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

5. Bake the Pizzas: Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch circle. Transfer dough to the pan by rolling the dough loosely around a rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.

6. For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over surface of dough. (If you're using any meat or veggie toppings, add them now, on top of the cheese.) Spread 1¼ cups tomato sauce over the cheese (or toppings) and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

(Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)

Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Tomato Soup

I am always on the lookout for yummy crockpot recipes.    This was a winner.  It made a lot, but could be easily halved.   I served it with Jasmine rice and steamed broccoli and carrots- all in the bowl together.  It has coconut milk.  How could you go wrong with coconut milk!?!   I also added more chicken bouillon- just add it to taste.


"Creamy" Crockpot Chicken and Tomato Soup

8 frozen skinless boneless chicken breast
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 14 oz. can of coconut milk (full fat), shake before opening can to avoid separation
2 14 oz. can diced tomatoes and juice
2 cups of chicken broth 
1 small can of tomato paste
1/2 jar of your favorite tomato sauce 
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the above ingredients into the crock-pot, cook for 9 hours on low. After 9 hours take two forks and shred the chicken, set the crock-pot on warm till ready to serve (making sure to taste it before serving to make sure there is enough salt and pepper)

Broiled Salmon with Mango Salsa and Rice

Yummy.  The mango salsa was perfect with wild rice.  Great, fresh meal!

(Recipe and photo from juliasalbum.com)

Ingredients for mango salsa:

• 2 cups pineapple, chopped in small cubes
• 1 cup mango, chopped in small cubes
• 1 cup tomato, chopped in small cubes
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped finely
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
•  Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped

Ingredients for rice, salmon, and glaze:

• 2 cups uncooked rice or wild rice
• 1.5 pounds salmon, or 4 6-ounce salmon fillets
• garlic salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or lime juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

1) Mix all chopped ingredients for mango salsa in a large bowl, add lime juice, add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to let the juices do their work.

2) Cook 2 cups of uncooked rice according to instructions for the type of rice (or even quinoa) you’re using.

3) To prepare the glaze: combine honey, lemon juice and soy sauce in a small pan on medium heat until honey is softened and well incorporated with other ingredients. Set aside.

4) Preheat broiler. Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Before broiling salmon in the oven, I like to sear it a little bit on the stove top: this will add nice color and will also allow to easily remove the skin. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil on high heat in a skillet until very hot. Add salmon, non-skin side down and sear on high heat for 2 minutes, constantly moving the salmon in the skillet so that it doesn’t stick. After it’s nicely seared, flip the salmon skin side down and continue searing for 2 more minutes on its skin side, constantly moving the salmon to avoid sticking to the skillet. After it’s nicely seared on the skin side, remove the skin easily with spatula.

5) Place the salmon in an oven-proof dish skin-less side up (with the side that used to have skin – down). Brush the top of salmon with half the amount of glaze prepared in step 3. Broil for about 3 minutes, brush with the remaining amount of glaze and broil for additional 2-3 minutes until nicely charred. Watch to make sure salmon does not burn because of the sugar in the honey. Remove from the broiler, cover with foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving. This will allow salmon to cook through but not be overcooked.

6) To serve, place a scoop of rice (or quinoa) on one side of the dish and a scoop of mango salsa next to it. Top with salmon.

Greek Flat Bread- Perfect for Souvlaki

Our store was out of flat bread so we had to make our own last night and I am afraid we have been ruined.  The texture of this was so soft and delicious, nobody wants to go back. :)


Ingredients
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling, see Cook's Note*
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Melted butter for slathering on the finished bread
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions
In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F). Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.

Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours.

When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

Shape the bread into a round circle. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circular shape.

Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.

Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your circles, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.

After about 1 minute, flip the bread.  Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Remove the bread from the skillet, brush with a bit of butter and sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt. Place the bread in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest and serve.

Mango Berry Salad

I just ate this rececently at Zupas.  It was so fresh and delicious.  Loved it!

Mango Berry Salad
created by Sugar.Betty

1/2 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2  cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh, ripe-firm mango, peeled, pitted and diced
2 tablespoons cinnamon almonds, chopped
6-8 cups mixed greens

Toss greens with mango yogurt dressing. Plate dressed greens and divide fruit and nuts among plates. Drizzle lightly with more dressing, if desired.

Mango Yogurt Dressing
1 large ripe mango, pitted and roughly chopped
1 heaping tablespoon plain yogurt
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (regular distilled vinegar is too harsh)
1 tablespoon honey, optional (depending on sweetness of the mango)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients except honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste. Add honey and blend again if dressing is too tart.

Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Ham

I found this recipe for ham at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I love the crockpot so I thought I would give it a whirl.  The ham was very moist and so so easy to put together.   It was fantastic!

Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Ham

Ingredients

• 7-8 pound spiral-cut ham (bone-in or boneless)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups pineapple juice

Directions

1. Use a 6-7 quart slow cooker. Unwrap the ham and discard flavor packet. Place the ham into the slow cooker stoneware, flat-side down. Rub brown sugar on all sides. Pour on maple syrup and pineapple juice.
2. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. An hour before serving, baste ham with the collected juices from the bottom of the slow cooker. When cooking is done, remove carefully and let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before carving.