Yogurt Chicken

It's been a while.  Since the last time I posted, I got pregnant in July and had horrible morning sickness from about 5 to 16 weeks.  After that, I just haven't had much time to post.  I'm making this chicken for dinner tonight and I'll post the verdict tomorrow.  I pretty much made up this recipe based on wanting to use turmeric with the yogurt and just smelling different spices to decide what to add in.

4 chicken breast, boneless and skinless
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp tarragon
1/2 tsp mint
1/2 tsp coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Put chicken in whatever you like to use to hold things while they marinate.  Add yogurt and spices.  Let marinate at least 4 hours, overnight if possible.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Serve with rice spiced with tumeric.

Serves 4-6.

Enchiladas in Green Sauce

I used the tomatillo salsa from Simply Recipes (minus the peppers) as the green sauce.  It was good and different than a tomato-based sauce.

1 lb chicken breasts, ground beef, ground turkey or 2 cups cooked beans (or any combination of these)
7 tomatillos
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp agave nectar
shredded cheese (optional- not Endo Diet friendly, but I put it in the ones for my husband)
at least 8 small tortillas (corn are Endo Diet friendly most of the time)

To make green sauce, remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse.   Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet.  Broil for 5-7 minutes or until lightly blackened.  Place in food processor with onion, cilantro, lime and agave nectar.

For ground meat, cook onions and garlic for about 5 minutes over medium heat, then add in and brown ground meat.  Then mix in half the enchilada sauce.

For chicken, put chicken breasts in a small sauce pan with half the enchilada sauce.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours and then shred chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After filling is cooked, light grease the bottom of large casserole or baking dish with olive oil and then coat with half the remaining enchilada sauce.  Fill with filling and cheese (if using) and roll enchilada, placing seam side in dish.  After all enchiladas are rolled, spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese (optional).  Bake for 20 minutes or until light browned.

Serves 4-6.

Enchiladas

This recipe is based off a recipe in the Sneaky Chef book.  I used pinto beans and chicken (both are Endo Diet-friendly), but you could use ground beef or turkey like the recipe in the book.  My husband and I liked it but I should have add just a tad more cumin.

1 lb chicken breasts, ground beef, ground turkey or 2 cups cooked beans (or any combination of these)
2 cloves garlic, chopped or about 1 1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
1 onion, chopped
1 10 oz can tomato puree
1/4 cup Orange Puree
1/4 cup White Puree
1/4 cup White Bean Puree
1/2 cup Green Puree
at least 1/2 tbsp cumin
at least 1 tsp oregano
at least 1/2 tbsp pepper
at least 1 tsp coriander
shredded cheese (optional- not Endo Diet friendly, but I put it in the ones for my husband)
at least 8 small tortillas (corn are Endo Diet friendly most of the time)

Mix spices, tomato puree and other purees in a medium bowl to make the enchilada sauce.

For ground meat, cook onions and garlic for about 5 minutes over medium heat, then add in and brown ground meat.  Then mix in half the enchilada sauce.

For chicken, put chicken breasts in a small sauce pan with half the enchilada sauce.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours and then shred chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After filling is cooked, light grease the bottom of large casserole or baking dish with olive oil and then coat with half the remaining enchilada sauce.  Fill with filling and cheese (if using) and roll enchilada, placing seam side in dish.  After all enchiladas are rolled, spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese (optional).  Bake for 20 minutes or until light browned.

Serves 4-6.

Steelhead Trout with Rosemary, Lemon, and Garlic

We had this meal for Ash Wednesday.  It was ok, but not fabulous.  It's from Recipezaar.

1 lb steelhead trout fillet
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tbsp chopped rosemary
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Line a baking dish with foil and rub with olive oil.  Preheat broiler.

Grind garlic, rosemary and lemon in food processor.  Rub spice paste over fillet.  Place fish skin-down in baking dish.

Broil on second rack from heat for 5 minutes, watching to make sure that herbs don't burn.  Turn oven to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Serves 3-4

Crockpot Azorean Beef Stew

This is another A Year of Slow Cooking recipe.  It was pretty good and the only change I made was using half the cinnamon and no red pepper flakes.  This stew was good and had a different taste than just plain beef stew.

1 lb beef chuck stew meat
5-6 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
2 potatoes, chopped in 1 inch chunks
3 green onions, chopped
3 cups beef stock
1 cup baby tomatoes, cut in quarters, or 2 large chopped tomatoes
1 cup baby carrots, or 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 T kosher salt 
1 tsp all spice
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin
1 cinnamon stick


Put the meat in the crockpot.  Add the broth.  Chop the vegetables and add to crockpot.  Stir in the salt, all spice and cumin.  Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6.  As the Crockpot Lady says, stew tastes better when you cook it longer and slow (at a lower temperature).


Serves 6-8.

Fettucine Alfredo

I love Fettucine Alfredo.  It's a very simple dish, but is so tasty.  It's great for a night when you don't have much time to cook.

1 lb fettuccine
1/3 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigano-Reggino
Grated nutmeg and black pepper to taste

Cook pasta al dente and drain.  While pasta cooks, heat large skillet over medium-low heat.  Melt butter then add cream.
Two options for adding the cheese:

1. Stirring constantly, add cheese and cook sauce for 1 minute.  Season with nutmeg and pepper. Pour sauce over noodles.
2. According to Pioneer Woman, you can just put half the grated cheese in a large serving bowl/casserole dish, pour the butter & cream mixture over the cheese without stirring.  Then you put the noodles on top immediately after draining.  Toss to combine, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.  (I'm going to try this next time I make it).

Crockpot Mustard Beef (or Chicken)

This was a very yummy and simply beef recipe, and not surprisingly it's from A Year of Slow Cooking.  Beef is so good in the crockpot since it stays tender.  The only thing I might change is using more molasses and mustard for the sauce (1/2 cup of each instead of 1/3 cup).  You can also use 4-6 chicken breasts instead of the beef and make it endo diet friendly.

3 lbs beef roast (use a cut labeled for pot roast)
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

This is another one where it's great to toss in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight.  Dump everything in the plastic bag or crockpot.  Flip the beef over a couple times in crockpot to make sure both side are evenly coated.  Cook for 7 hours on low.

Serves 4-6

Crockpot Lamb with Mint

Lamb with mint is a classic combination so I thought I'd try it in the crockpot.  I made a mistake on this by add the mint at the beginning of the cooking time.  It tasted fine, but it wasn't minty at all.  Lamb in the crockpot is so much better since it's easy to keep it from drying out.  I used a Sneaky Chef puree in this.  I'll definitely try this again adding the mint at the end.

1 1/2-2 lbs lamb shank
1/4 cup Green Puree
1/2 cup white wine
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups fresh mint leaves, chopped in food processor

Place lamb in the crockpot.  Add Green Puree and garlic.  Pour in white wine.  Cook on low for 7-9 hours.  Add mint 15 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

This is another A Year of Slow Cooking recipe.  This is very tasty and not spicy hot (since I didn't use the cayenne pepper), but very flavorful.  She uses cardamom pods, but my store only had ground cardamom which worked fine.  I used 4 chicken breasts and had the leftover sauce with some brown rice which was very good.

4-6 chicken breasts
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp mild curry
2 tsp garam masala (I found this in the Asian section at my local store label Chicken Masala...there are other slight variations)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
juice of 1/2 large lemon or 1 small
1 cup plain yogurt (to add at the end)


Put chicken in crockpot and add garlic, onion, and all the spices.  Add the butter and tomato paste, and then the lemon juice and coconut milk.  Cook on 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.  Add plain yogurt about 15 minutes before serving and stir in.


Serves 4-6.

Crockpot Cuban Pork

This is a combination of Cuban Pork recipes, including this All Recipes one, modified for the crockpot.  The citrus is a really tasty accompaniment to the pork.  My husband like it on tortillas.

2-3 lb pork loin
at least 2 tsp cumin
at least 1 tsp oregano
4 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 orange
Ground pepper to taste

This is great if you put in all in a plastic bag overnight before putting in the crockpot.  In the morning, cook for 8-10 hours.  Serve with black beans with oregano and brown rice.

Serves 6-8

Crockpot Grape Chicken

This dinner was very simple and was very flavorful.  It's the Simply Recipes Roast Chicken with grapes cooked in the crockpot.  I used chicken breast instead of a whole chicken.

6-8 chicken breast halves
1 large lemon, sliced
2/3 bag of seedless grapes
1/2 onion, chopped into wedges
At least 1/2 tbsp each thyme, rosemary, sage, tarragon
1 cup white wine
Enough olive oil to coat bottom of crockpot

Coat crockpot bottom with olive oil and place onions in crockpot.  Add chicken and spices.  Cut about 1/4 of the grapes in half and place over chicken.  Pour wine over top.  Cook on low 6-7 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Serves 6-8

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Crockpot Harvest Stew

This recipe is from a great slow cooker blog, A Year of Slow Cooking. I love her recipes and I've made quite a few. I just going to link to the recipe and comment.

D and I both really liked this stew. The only changes I made were not adding the beans since my Crockpot is only 5 quarts and using turkey tenderloins (same amount of meat). It was in the fridge before hand so I cooked it on high for 7 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings.