easy

Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa Chili

January 29, 2013 by Jessica 5 Comments

Even living in a slightly warmer climate, there’s just something about winter that makes me crave hearty, warm, soups and chilis. These warm and hearty dinners are even better when they basically prepare themselves. That’s one of the things I loved about this chili. I literally threw all of the ingredients in my slowcooker and let time do the rest. The other great thing about this chili is that its good for you! Loaded with good for you quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, and corn and have very minimal fat (especially if you top it with nonfat Greek yogurt and low fat cheese!). Oh, and they go perfectly with those Cheddar Jalapeno Drop Biscuits I posted last week!

I was excited when I found this recipe, but of course I had to make a few adjustments. First, I like a bit of smokey spicy taste to my chili, so I replaced the bell pepper with chipotle pepper. Second, I upped the smokey flavor by using fire-roasted tomatoes. If you can’t find fire-roasted tomatoes (or don’t care for them) you can of course use regular tomatoes, but I really loved the flavor they added. I also cut back just a bit on the chicken stock and added some tomato paste. I wanted a thick chili and I think the result was really great. Finally, I had a huge split chicken breast thawed, so I used that instead of boneless skinless. I’m sure the bones helped to add a little bit of flavor, but to be honest the breast was so tender it just fell away from the bones, and it was kind of a pain making sure that I got all of them out of the thick chili. Next time I’ll probably go the boneless skinless route (and the recipe below will reflect that).

Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa Chili

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 28 oz can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, with juices
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 4 oz can diced green chiles, with juices
1 4 oz can tomato paste
2 16 oz cans black bean, drained
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
1 tsp dry minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream (or Greek yogurt!), shredded cheese, fresh chopped cilantro, hot sauce, biscuits - for serving

Directions
Throw all of the ingredients in a Crockpot/slow cooker (6 qt size). Cook on low for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with forks, then return to chili. Reduce heat to warm until ready serve. Serve with sour cream (or greek yogurt!), cheese, cilantro, hot sauce, and/or biscuits.

Adapted from Sweet Treats & More

Filed Under: Crockpot, Healthier, Soup Tagged With: black beans, Chicken, chili, chipotle, corn, crockpot, dinner, easy, quinoa, slow cooker

Honey Sesame Chicken

September 4, 2012 by Jessica 8 Comments

I am surrounded by delicious, authentic Chinese food and I have lots of local favorites. There is a cabbage dish at a local restaurant that I could literally eat every single day for the rest of my life. I’ve also come to appreciate and love a level of spicy unlike anything I’ve ever had in the US (seriously, not the kind of spicy that makes you sweat, the kind that literally makes your mouth go numb). And there is a green bean dish that I order at every single restaurant that has it. But sometimes….

Well… sometimes I crave American Chinese food. That’s right. I live in China and I crave Chinese food – from America. Food that is sticky and sweet and salty (kind of like the Jack Daniels Glaze). Sad, I know.

I was having one of those cravings a few weeks ago, so I went on the hunt for a recipe. I came across this Honey Sesame Chicken and I knew it would be a winner. This chicken had all of the flavors I was looking for. The recipe originally called for using a crockpot – but I don’t have one here in China, so I just used my dutch oven and cooked it in the oven. It was still very easy and mostly hands off! I’ll include both methods so you can choose!

Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup diced onion
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (1/4-1/2 tsp dry)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

*This recipe made enough for Jesse and I to each have generous portions and left overs for lunch the next day.

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in dutch oven (or crockpot). In a liquid measuring cup, combine the honey, soy sauce, diced onion, ketchup, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Pour the liquid over the chicken.

Cook in the preheated oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (or in crockpot on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours). Once the chicken is cooked all the way through, move to a plate and shred with a fork. Leave the cooking liquid in the dutch oven (or crockpot).

Stir together cornstarch and water. Pour into the cooking liquid. Place the dutch oven on a stove-top burner on medium-high heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened (stir the cornstarch/water into the liquid in the crock, leave on high and cook for 10 minutes). Return the shredded chicken to the sauce and stir to coat.

Serve chicken hot over rice with a good amount of sesame seeds.

Adapted from Six Sisters originally from Baby Center

Filed Under: Asian Food, Chicken, Crockpot, Dinner, Easy Weeknight Dinner, Main Course, Uncategorized Tagged With: asian, Chicken, Chinese food, crockpot, easy, garlic, ginger, honey, onion, sesame

Mexi-Corn

July 2, 2012 by Jessica 2 Comments

The family that worked for in San Diego had a dog, but not just a dog, a really cool dog. He knew all sorts of fun tricks and was generally really well behaved. Since we never had a dog when I was growing up, he was really the first dog that I got to spend an extended and consistent amount of time with. We got to be great friends and he really opened my eyes to the “dog world”.

Our favorite times together were when I would sing to him. (OK, his favorite times were actually probably more like when I would take him for a walk or feed him. But my favorite times were when I would sing.) His name was Max and one of the songs I would sing to him went a little like this, “Maxito Bombito from Max-ico. Likes to eat Max-a-roni and cheese and sometimes Max-ican.” Original lyrics, huh? Anyway, I couldn’t help but giggle when I was making this side dish. Totally reminded me of him.

Along with making me giggle, this corn was just the side dish I was looking for when making Enchilada Casserole. It’s light but still flavorful and ridiculously easy. I also love the pops of color it adds to the meal. And as it turns, it’s also really good when scooped up on a chip and eaten like salsa. If you’re in a rut and looking for a new side dish to add to your rotation, give this a try!

Mexi-Corn

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups of fresh or frozen corn kernels (I used fresh)
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2-1 jalapeno, ribbed and seeds removed, diced*
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

*Use the smaller amount if you don’t like spicy foods, or leave it out all together and replace with green pepper. For this photo I had only used 1/2 (and it appears to be hiding!).

Directions
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn, pepper, jalapeno, onion, and seasonings, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent and corn is heated through. Remove from the heat and toss with fresh cilantro.

Adapted from Vintage Victuals

Filed Under: Mexican, Side Item, Vegetables Tagged With: cilantro, corn, easy, mexican, onion, peppers, side dish

Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

June 15, 2012 by Jessica 11 Comments

I belong to a message board where I chat with others who share my love (obsession?) of cooking, baking, and all things food. In fact, lots of those ladies also like to make food, photograph it, and write about it on the internet. For a long time now, many of them have participated in recipe swaps. I’ve really wanted to join in the fun, but with moving, living in a hotel, and traveling, I didn’t think it would be fair to commit to participating and then not being able to hold up my end of the deal. Now that we (finally!) are starting to settle in and things feel normal (well, as normal as they can feel when you live in a country and culture very different from your own!) I can finally play along!

Each recipe swap has a different theme, and usually the blogger submits a specific recipe that fits within the theme. This time, however, it’s Blogger’s Choice style! So we each are assigned a blog and get to choose any recipe. I was assigned Kate’s Recipe Box. I am not super familiar with Kate’s blog, so I spent a good amount of time going through the archives and bookmarking things. In the end, I kept going back to this casserole. Something about it was just calling my name.

Jesse and I were both really happy with my decision. Later in the evening I overheard him talking to his dad on Skype and telling him about the delicious “Mexicanish” dinner I made. Then he said something about chicken which really made me laugh, there is definitely no chicken in this meal. Haha.

I made only a few minor changes to the recipe, using my own Enchilada sauce recipe, and a couple small adjustments to ingredient amounts. I also made Mexicorn (recipe to come) as a side dish and wouldn’t you know, we both just mixed it right in to the casserole. Next time I might consider adding corn right to the dish. All in all, a big win for us!

Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients
8 oz. dry pasta
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used red and yellow)
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix*
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups Enchilada sauce, divided (recipe below)
1 cup cheese, divided (Cheddar, Mexican blend, or Monterey Jack)
1/2 cup chopped green onions, plus 1 Tbsp for garnish
2 Tbsp cilantro, plus 1 Tbsp for garnish
Salt & pepper, to taste
20 tortilla chips (about 2 handfuls), crushed
Sour cream, salsa, and/or avocado, for serving

*The enchilada sauce I use was pretty heavily seasoned, so I only added 1 tablespoon worth of additional seasoning (1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pasta to al dente, according to directions on box, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion, jalapeno, bell peppers, and garlic, saute for 6-7 minutes., or until vegetables start to become tender. Stir in seasonings, black beans, and 1 cup of enchilada sauce, cook for another 5 minutes. Add the pasta, 1/2 cup of cheese, green onion, and cilantro. Stir until the cheese has melted and the pasta is evenly coated with sauce.

In the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of Enchilada sauce. Pour the pasta into the dish, using a spoon to evenly distribute in pan. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of Enchilada sauce over the pasta, top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly. Sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips, green onions, and cilantro. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and/or avocado.

Slightly adapted from Kate’s Recipe Box, originally from Oh She Glows

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup bell pepper, very finely chopped
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp dry parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pepper to taste

Directions
In a small sauce pan heat the vegetable oil and cook the bell pepper until tender. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients from tomato sauce to salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

*I made this sauce the day before I needed (and stored in the fridge until I was ready to use it) making the pasta that much easier to throw together. Bonus, the added day in the fridge gave the flavors lots of time to meld together and enhance.

Source: My mom, as posted previously for Beef Enchiladas