Friday, November 27, 2009

Crockpot Coconut Pork


This was ok, but I thought that the spices need to be increased a bit, since I didn't use the red pepper flakes from the original . I add more curry, coriander, and cumin when I ate the leftovers. This is from A Year of Slow Cooking's Coconut Beef recipe. I change it from beef to pork and didn't add any brown sugar and some of the spices.

--1.5-2 lbs pork loin, sliced 1 inch thick rounds
--1 yellow onion, chopped
--1 can coconut milk
--1 juice from one lime
--2 cloves chopped garlic
--1 tsp curry powder
--1/2 tsp ground coriander
--1 tsp cumin
--1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated


Put onion in the crockpot and add pork on top. Add spices and coconut milk. Cook for 8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high.
Serves 6-8.

Crockpot Pork in Tomato Sauce

We thought that this was a great different way to make pork. It's a very simple recipe.

1 pork loin, 2.5-3 lbs.
4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
pepper
1 tbsp garlic
at least 1/2 tbsp each coriander, marjoram, thyme, sage

Place pork in crockpot. Rub with spices. Pour tomato sauce and wine over pork. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 6-7.

Serves 4-6.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Crockpot Indian Lamb Curry

I modified and double the sauce for A Year of Slow Cooking's Indian Curry Recipe. It was great and I had curry without it being too hot. I don't go out for Indian food because it's too hot for me usually.

2 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 lbs of lamb shank
2 T tomato paste
4 T curry powder
2 t ground coriander
2 t ground cumin
2 inch peeled and grated ginger
1 yellow onion. chopped
3 or 4 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic

1/2 of an eggplant, chopped (doesn't need to be peeled)
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

Mix all of your spices, coconut milk, and tomato paste in the bottom of your crockpot. Place the lamb in the crockpot. Pour in the garbanzo beans. Add the vegetables on top of the lamb.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6.

Serves 6-8

Monday, November 9, 2009

Swordfish in Herbed Butter Sauce

We liked this and it added a bit of flavor to the swordfish without overpowering it. It's also very easy for the nights you don't have much time to cook.

4 swordfish steaks
1/2 cup butter, plus 4 pats
Salt
Pepper
Mint
Dill
Marjoram
Coriander
Oregano
Sage
1/2 small lime or lemon.

Preheat oven to 425. Coat baking pan with olive oil. Place at least 1/2 tsp of each spice on the steaks (I just use my hand to measure). Place a pat of butter on each steak. Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through. When there is less than 10 minute left on cooking the steaks, take a saucepan and melt the remaining butter. Add the same spices in at least the same amount as you placed on the steak. Add lime or lemon. Remove from heat. Serve the sauce over the steaks.

Serves 4

Crockpot Pomegranate Beef

I made this for a dinner party and everyone really liked it. The cranberries and pomegranate make it very fall appropriate. It's a tart instead of sweet version of fruit and meat, which I'm a big fan of.

I'm linking to the recipe on Gluten-free Goddess. My only changes were doubling the recipe, using a much cheaper, pot roast type cut of meat like chuck roast, and cooking for 10 hours on low since I didn't cut the meat into serving pieces or brown it. If I made it again, I'd probably half the amount of balsamic vinegar used.

Crockpot Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

This was pretty good, but I didn't like how all the cheese fell off my chicken pieces so if anyone figures out a way to make them stay that would be wonderful. My husband isn't a big sweet potato fan, so I'd probably do half sweet and half regular baked potatoes when I make this again.

I'm just going to link to the A Year of Slow Cooking post where I got the recipe.
My change:
I used pecan as the nuts in the pesto since I have a pecan tree and a ton of nuts.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Salmon Stuffed and Smothered in Cream Cheese and Spinach

My husband asked if I can make fish this way all the time. I'd say it was a hit, plus it's really simple to make.

2 lbs salmon
1 package cream cheese
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup spinach, packed tightly
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Place cream cheese, garlic, salt and pepper, and spinach in food processor and blend until smooth. Spread baking dish with olive oil or other oil. Cut pocket(s) into salmon, and stuff cream cheese mixture into pockets. Smother remaining mixture on top of salmon. Bake 20-30 minutes or until salmon flakes when you twist a fork in it.

Serves 4-6.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Crockpot Cherry Chicken

I'm significantly adapting Rachael Ray's Tangy Cherry Chicken for crockpot and our preferences.  It's good and not really sweet since the cherries are unsweetened.

6 chicken breast halves
3-4 scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cups wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp thyme
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
salt and pepper

Place onions at bottom of crockpot. Rub chicken with spices and place in crockpot. Pour cherries, wine and broth on top. Cook for 6-7 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.

Serves 6