Crock Pot mashed potatoes

Who knew you could make mashed potatoes in a slow cooker. I didn't. But then I saw a recipe on Pinterest, tried it and may never make mashed potatoes the traditional way again.

CROCK POT MASHED POTATOES

5 Pounds of Russet Potatoes
1 garlic clove minced
14.5-oz. can chicken broth
1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes chunks
6-oz. container cup plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup milk, warmed
2 ounces of light cream cheese

Chop potatoes into 1-inch cubes or smaller. (I don't peel mine, but I'm weird like that, some people may prefer to).

Place potatoes, chicken broth and butter into the slow cooker. Cover, and cook on high for about 4 hours. (If you're around, you can turn it to low after the first 2-3 hours).

Stir potatoes. This should make them fall apart as if mashed. Add the other ingredients, stir som more and enjoy!

Cauliflower pizza

A friend at work gave me this recipe. She said it was a great way to make an easy, gluten-free pizza crust.

I was a little skeptical when she said the crust was made from cauliflower, but it really is a good recipe. Not only does the crust contain cauliflower, but there's also cheese baked into it, which makes it gooey and delicious. I was worried about the crust holding together, put it really does -- maybe not enough to pick up a slice of pizza and eat it, but it worked just fine with a fork and knife.

I highly recommend this one:

CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower (directions below)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:

Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Place in food processor and pulse until it looks like grain.

Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes.

(One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. I chopped up my left-over cauliflower and roasted it in the oven with some olive oil and garlic. Yum!)

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir.

Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

The inspiration for my toppings came from something I found on Pinterest. I skipped the poblano pepper, and instead sauteed zucchini, corn, garlic and red onion. (I didn't add the milk or egg or anything). I also added some sliced yellow pepper and topped it all with fresh dill and cheddar cheese. After the pie came out of the oven, I added some chopped tomatoes. Good stuff!

Homemade spaghetti sauce

A couple weeks ago I wrote a story about how much sodium we, as Americans, eat.

I try very hard to eat a healthy diet. Part of that is limiting how much packaged food I eat. Because I don't eat gluten, a lot of packaged food is out anyway. But as I was reporting my sodium story, I realized one spot I could probably cut back on my salt in take is canned spaghetti sauce. It's not like I eat it every day, but I usually have a jar or two in the pantry because it makes a quick easy meal.

I was telling my mom about all this, and she suggested making a batch of this recipe from Cooking Light. It makes a bunch of marinara sauce, which I then froze in smaller quantities -- pretty much like having a jar of sauce in the cupboard.

BASIC MARINARA SAUCE

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium)

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

3 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes (I couldn't find crushed, so I used diced and one can of sauce)

Heat oil in a large pot oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

A unique blend of flavors

This recipe was a recommendation from my mom. She found it in Sunset magazine and said I had to try it.

I cooked it up for dinner last night, and my mom was right. It is delicious. I really like the unique flavor blend of the orange zest and the spicy cayenne pepper. It's a unique dish and I definitely recommend it.

Chicken, Quinoa and Olive Stew

4 cups water
2 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed if canned
1 cup black olives (the recipe calls for pimiento-stuffed small green olives, but I'm just not a fan of those).

Bring water to a simmer in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and lower heat to a simmer. Cook chicken, covered, 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through; transfer to a plate. Pour broth into a large bowl and set aside. Wipe out pot.

Add oil, onion, and salt to pot and cook over medium heat until onion softens and is starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

Stir in cumin, coriander, oregano, and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add ancho chile powder, cayenne, tomatoes, reserved broth, orange zest, and quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until a white ring appears around each quinoa seed, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shred chicken.

Add shredded chicken, chickpeas and olives and heat through.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

The other week I had a dinner/movie date with my friend Cassy. Since it was a weeknight, I decided a slow cooker dish was in order, so I wouldn't have to hurry home from work and make dinner.

This chicken curry recipe was a recommendation from my mom out of the "Slow Cooker Revolution" cookbook.

Both dinner, and the movie, "The Muppets," were excellent. (If you haven't seen The Muppets, go rent it. It was brilliant!)

CHICKEN CURRY IN A HURRY

2 onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 chicken breasts
12 ounces plum tomatoes, chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup frozen peas
Fresh cilantro
lime, cut into wedges

Add oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion, jalapenos, garlic, ginger and curry powder until onions are soft.

Transfer to mixture to slow cooker.

To slow cooker, add chickpeas, water and coconut milk. Stir and nestle the chicken in the mixture.

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Transfer chicken to a cutting board and shred. Return chicken to cooker. Stir in tomatoes, raisins and peas. Cook about 15 more minutes.

Serve over brown rice or quinoa. Garnish with cilantro and lime.

A yummy twist on shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie was a staple at our house growing up (although we always called it hamburger pie).

Wednesday (back in Colorado for vacation), my mom and I were trying to brainstorm something to make for dinner, when she spotted a recipe in the Denver Post for Sweet potato and sausage shepherd's pie.

I didn't do anything to help make this. (I was busy baking cookies - recipes to come), but it was a good dish (all the credit goes to my mom). Here's the recipe:

SWEET POTATO AND SAUSAGE SHEPHERD'S PIE


2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (we used yams)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 pound loose Italian sausage
1/2 pound lean ground beef (we use bison burger because that's what was in the freezer)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 ounces (half a bottle) stout or other dark beer (we used a gluten-free beer that wasn't particularly stout)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cool water
15-ounce can creamed corn
15-ounce can green beans (the recipe called for a can of corn, but Mom's traditional shepherd's pie recipe has green beans, so we decided to use those instead)
1/2 cup milk (we used almond milk to make it dairy free)
2 tablespoons butter (or dairy-free margarine)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Place sweet potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, garlic and onion in a large skillet over high heat. Saute for 5 minutes or until tender.

Add the sausage, beef and pepper. Saute until the meat is cooked through. Drain grease. Add the beer and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes.

In a small glass, mix the cornstarch with the cool water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the meat and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

Spread the meat in the casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix the corn and beans, then spread over the meat.

Once the sweet potatoes have cooked, drain the water. Add the milk, butter and brown sugar. Then mash the potatoes until smooth. Season with salt.

Spoon the potatoes into the casserole dish and spread evenly. Bake for 35 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly brown around the edges.

Butternut inspiration

I love squash, and tend to buy them if I happen to see them on sale.

That's how I ended up with a butternut squash in my cupboard waiting to be used. I decided to just bake it and eat it plain. But the baked butternut squash just wasn't doing much for me, so I decided to do something different with it.

I found this recipe for Risotto with Butternut Squash and Leeks from Epicurious. I pretty much didn't follow the directions at all (partially because I had already baked my squash, partially because I'm lazy, and partially because I'm not very good at following directions).

My version looked something like this:

LEEK AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

1 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large butternut squash

3 large leeks, sliced (white and pale green parts only)

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon Italian spices 

2 cups brown rice rice

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving)

Slice squash in half. Place in casserole dish or on baking sheet, flesh side down. Bake in 425-degree oven for 45 minutes or until soft.

Cook rice. (I cooked it in my rice cooker. This was a lazy shortcut, rather than following the recipe and adding broth a little at a time, like you should with risotto).

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add oil. Add garlic, leeks and Italian spices. Saute until leeks are soft. Scoop the squash flesh into the pan and add the rice. Mix well.

Serve with Parmesan cheese.



This ended up a little bland. The recipe calls for fresh basil, which I somehow failed to notice until I sat down to write this blog post. (I told you I wasn't good at following directions). I think that would be a nice addition. Some ground pepper, might also spice it up. I just put some hot sauce on it when I ate, which also worked.