Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Cheese Enchilada Stack

Tonight's Adventure in CrockPot Cooking was definitely an adventure...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth

1 (14.5 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 small onion (finely chopped) 

8-10 corn tortillas (maybe more?)

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (maybe less?)

1 (4 oz) can sliced black olives (drained)

Sour cream to taste

Combine chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, spices, and chopped onion in large bowl & set aside.

Cover bottom of CrockPot with corn tortillas. Sprinkle a handful (really just depends on how much cheese you like) of cheese and a few black olives. Then, put about 3 spoonfuls on top.

Repeat layering until out of ingredients. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until bubbly. Top with dollops of sour cream as desired.

Our Responses


Sarah - I am not a fan. I will probably never choose to cook this again. We did pair it with pinto beans and spanish rice, but I didn't feel like it made the dish much better. It had a good flavor (the spices really made it have a good flavor), but I think used too much cheese and cooked it for too long and it was very mushy. I am a big "texture person" when it comes to food, though, so even though the taste may have been fine, the texture was not what I desired for stacked enchiladas.

Brian - He had 2 servings. Brian does agree that it was a little mushy, but textures don't bother him as bad.

I would recommend that you at least try this recipe and see what you think - it was not terrible, just not one of my favorites! Oh well - for 1 recipe out of 3 so far not being perfect, I'm not complaining! :-)

Happy Crocking!
-Sarah

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Artichoke & Chicken Pasta AND (non-CrockPot) Banana Bread

First off, that Tex Mex Roast lasted us FOREVER! Granted, we had family in town this weekend and ate out for most of our meals...but considering it's Thursday and it's the first day I've made a meal this week (because we've been eating leftovers), I consider that lasting FOREVER! 

Today, I made Artichoke & Chicken Pasta. I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, but they are super easy to find in your local grocery store!

Chicken breasts (as much as you'd like; completely optional)

3 (14.5-ounce) undrained cans Italian Tomatoes (I used diced, but stewed would work great!)

2 (14.5 ounce) cans artichoke hearts in water, drained & lightly chopped (I just bought quartered and did not worry about chopping)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (to add later)

1 pound freshly cooked pasta (to add later, I used veggie farfalli/bowtie pasta)

Directions

(Sorry about the cruddy picture, when I put this in at lunch, I had left my camera in the car and my phone is all I had.)

Place desired amount of chicken in bottom of CrockPot. Pour all three cans of tomatoes on top. Lightly drain artichokes and chop (if necessary/desired) and toss in on top of tomatoes. Add minced garlic and green olives. Cook on low for 4-5 hours (without chicken) or on low for 6-7 hours (with chicken). 

Right before serving, stir in 1/2 cup of heaving whipping cream.

Stir in hot pasta and top with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Our Reactions

Sarah - The first words out of my mouth were, "WOW! That's like restaurant good!" The rest of the meal continued to be "like restaurant good" -- and healthier than eating at most Italian restaurants, too! I will say, I think the chicken was a little dried out and it probably would've been perfect at about the 5th hour (I only used 2 chicken breasts).

Brian - "Uh-Ma-Zing" (He's at a loss for words...)

Now, after dinner we ate a (non-CrockPot) delicious banana bread! I have tried out several different banana bread recipes over the past 3-4 years and have not found one that was just so good it stuck, but I think I have FINALLY found THE recipe and I'm so excited to share it with you! I did not take any pictures, except of the finished product, so just imagine there are pictures :-)

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sugar & 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for baking pans)

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

3 cups white sugar

3 eggs

6 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 (16 oz) container sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease loaf pans (I used 3) then dust with sugar & cinnamon mixture.
2. In a large bowl (like, really big), cream butter & sugar. Mix in eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour. Divide into prepared loaf pans.
3. Bake for 1 hour (it took mine about 1 hour & 10 minutes) until toothpick comes out clean when stuck in center of loaf.

DELICIOUS!

"Happy Crocking!"

-Sarah

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Tex Mex Roast

I am starting a new adventure! This crazy Texas heat mixed with my 7 month pregnant body do not cope well with an oven turned on in the afternoons, so I've decided to stick to [mostly] CrockPot meals for now. I found this AMAZING website (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com) that has the widest variety of CrockPot meals, side dishes, desserts, and crafts I have ever seen! The blogger, Stephanie, even used her CrockPot to give herself a pedicure!! Now, I wouldn't say I'm going that extreme, but some of her ideas are just wonderful!

Last night, I began my CrockPot adventure with Tex Mex Roast. Everyone say it with me, "OOOOO, AHHHHH!"

Brian and I have very different taste buds, so at the end of each of these posts I'll be sure to clue you in on both of our reactions to the recipe! 

First reason I like this recipe: 5 ingredients.

Second reason I like this recipe: dump & go! 

For your ingredients you'll need:

• 2 lbs Boneless Chuck Roast
• 1 can corn w/peppers
• 1 can Chili Beans
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder

First, put your roast in the bottom of your CrockPot and sprinkle evenly with chipotle chili powder.

Then, dump the rest of the ingredients on top of the roast. DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANS! If you use a frozen roast (which is super super wonderful to do!), your cooking length may vary, but I set my CrockPot on low for about 7.5-8 hours. You want your beef to fall apart with a fork.

Our Reactions

Sarah - I must say that as it was cooking, I was slightly thrown off by the Chipotle smell. It smelled [to me] like I should be cooking a BBQ dinner, when I knew I was cooking a Tex Mex dinner. I had a rough time at first, but I tasted the corn, tomato & chili, and bean mixture...it was DELICIOUS! Once I added it all together ontop of a bed of homemade Spanish rice, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal! It was a different flavor than any roast I had ever tasted...and I think this was the first time I've eaten a Chuck Roast, so there was a lot more fat than I was used to, but I can't imagine the recipe being cooked any other way!

Brian - He LOVED it. He said it was a little spicy to him (I think that can be attributed to the Chipotle Chili Powder + Rotel), but he got himself an ice cold Coca-Cola and cleaned his plate! He loves beef, so really, this was an easy meal to please him!

As my Mom put it so pleasantly, "Happy Crocking!!"

-Sarah