Weeknight Chicken

Not a crock pot recipe, but this is the easiest dinner I make for busy nights. It takes approximately 1 minute of prep and then cooks for about 40 minutes.

1. Put boneless skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish.
2. Add a can of corn.
3. Add a can of black beans, drained.
4. Add a jar of salsa, whatever kind you like.
5. Cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and cilantro. Or not!

Lentil Curry

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• This curry is soooo good and very easy. The recipe below is the one I followed, but I did make a few adjustments. Instead of red lentils, I used "lentils" (the average grocery store variety) because I didn't have a choice. I probably added at least a tablespoon more of grated fresh ginger because I love it. I don't have any turmeric (apparently you can use ground mustard or saffron as a substitute, but I didn't), but otherwise I followed the recipe pretty exactly. My curry paste is Thai Kitchen Red Curry paste, and you can vary the hotness of this dish by adding more curry or using a spicier kind. 
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• Next time I make this I plan to decrease the amount of lentils because the sauce was so yummy and I want it to be runnier to pour over the rice (jasmine or basmati). By the time I added the lentils, it was like a chili consistency. We ate it as a main dish and to my great surprise, both Zach and Zoe loved it! In fact, I had made plain lentils for Zoe but she preferred the curry. 

Fearless Foodies challenge...post your favorite recipe using Lentils! 

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eating mom's curried lentils and pretending to use a spoon

• 2 cups red lentils
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons curry paste
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, grated
• 1 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree

Directions

1. Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear (this is very important or the lentils will get "scummy"), put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary).
2. While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil.
3. While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.
5. When the lentils are tender drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water but you don't want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.

Baby It's Cold Outside - Beef Fajitas with Mango Salsa

I was a bit in denial regarding our first big snow in Oberlin and decided to cook something nice and summery to see if Mother Nature might change her mind. No luck with the weather, but the meal and leftovers have been delightful. Also, this was WAY more fun to make with my newly sharpened knives. I am a chopping, dicing, slicing maniac. :)

Modified from - Weight Watchers Make it in Minutes
Makes 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS
1 mango, chopped (I used pre-cut store bought mango, way easier)
1 tomato, chopped
1 tomato, thinly sliced w/juicy seeds removed
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 lb flank steak, cut into thin strips (I hate touching meat, so I bought pre-sliced fajita beef, again, way easier...)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tortilla
- the recipe also calls for a bell pepper (thinly sliced) and a jalapeno (seeded and thinly sliced) but I forgot to thaw some out so we went pepper-less.

INSTRUCTIONS
1 - Combine mango, chopped tomato, chopped onion, cilantro, 1/4 tsp salt, and lime juice in a non-reactive bowl. Ta-da - salsa is done. If you do this a little early that's okay, it will taste even better after sitting a bit.
2 - Combine steak, chili powder, coriander, and oregano in a bowl - coat the meat in the tasty spices.
3 - Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add the steak, sliced onion, Worcestershire sauce, and remaining salt (and peppers if you're using them). Cook, stirring occassionally, for about 6 minutes.
4 - Add sliced tomato and cook until steak is done, about one minute more.
5 - Assemble your tasty "take that winter" fajitas on the tortillas. We put the salsa directly on the meat but the recipe called for it on the side. We also had red beans and rice to make it a more substantial meal.

Mama Dee's Saurkraut

Well, ladies, the saurkraut is cooking away in my crockpot as I type this - and it smells like heaven! This recipe is not for the fermentation of the cabbage; it is a "doctoring up" of purchased saurkraut. My mom has worked for years to make it just right for our family, so I hope you like it (otherwise, feel free to modify it to suit your taste).

Ingredients
2 bags of refridgerated saurkraut
2 pork chops - bone in
1 baking potato
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 cup water (use the saurkraut bags)

Directions
1 - Roast the pork chops in the oven at 325 degrees for an hour or until they are cooked through.
2 - While the pork is roasting, pull out your trusty crockpot.
3 - Add both bags of saurkraut, the brown sugar, and the bay leaves to the crockpot and start cooking it on low. Also add one cup of water to keep things juicy (I used this as an opportunity to get every last shred of tasty kraut out of the bags).
4 - Thoroughly scrub the potato (this will remove some but not all of the skin) and then shred it (I used my food processor). Add the shredded potato to the crockpot.
5 - When the pork is cooked; remove it from the oven and allow to cool enough to be handled. Remove fatty portions and bone. Shred the meat and add it to the crockpot. Stir thoroughly
6 - Cook on high for two hours and stir occassionally to make sure that it is not browning on the bottom.
7 - Remove bay leaves before serving.