Crockpot Chicken a La Criolla

Crockpot Chicken a la Criolla by Skinnytaste
10 (2 lbs) skinless boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bell pepper, chopped or sliced
4 plum tomatoes
2 tbsp alcaparrado or pitted spanish olives
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
salt to taste
1-2 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus 2 tbsp more for serving)

Directions: Place chicken, onion, garlic, pepper and tomatoes in the crock pot. Season with salt, cumin and oregano. Mix well so everything is seasoned.

Modifications:
-I used 2 chicken breasts
-I used 2 ripe on the vine tomatoes
-I did not use bay leafs 
-I did not use cilantro
-I used a 16oz can of tomato sauce

Here's what you'll need:

Put the chicken breast in the crockpot and season with salt and pepper.

Chop up and add the onion and green pepper.

Dice up the tomato and olives and add them.

Add the herbs.

Add the tomato sauce.  Cook for 6 hours or until chicken is no longer pink.

Shred the chicken.

Serve over rice.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I was looking for an easy dish and definitely found it with this recipe.  

This recipe really had great flavor and almost reminded us of a "roast" only with chicken.  Of course I love onion, green pepper, and garlic and feel that you usually can't go wrong if you have that combination.  I think for the tomato sauce you could substitute any of the flavored type such as "Italian-style" or "Mexican-style".

Hope you enjoy!
April 

Don't Peek Chicken

Don't Peek Chicken adapted from Mr. Food
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 envelope onion soup mix (from a 2-ounce box)
1 soup can cold water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
Paprika for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together rice, soups, soup mix, water, garlic, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Press chicken into mixture. Sprinkle with paprika, then cover tightly with aluminum foil.

    4. Bake 1-1/4 hours. Do NOT open cover (not even to peek) during baking.



Modifications:
-I used quick cooking rice.

Here's what you'll need:

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the soups, onio soup mix, parsley, and garlic.

Add the water and the worcestershire sauce.

Mix 

Lay the chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Pour the soup mixture over the chicken. 

  

Cover the dish with tin foil.

Place the dish in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

How can you go wrong, flavor-wise, when you use cream of anything? The combination of the cream of celery, cream of mushroom, and onion soup mix packed tons of rich, comforting flavor.

The chicken was moist and tender and really soaked up the soup. 

I used quick-cooking rice rather than cooking the rice in with the chicken.  It still tasted great.  We just spooned the soup over the rice and then laid the chicken on top of it. 

Hope you enjoy!

April

Glazed Chicken/Fish Breast

Glazed Chicken/Fish adapted from Mr. Food
1 envelope onion soup mix (from a 2-ounce box)
2/3 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced into thin rings

Directions:  Preheat oven to broil.   In a small bowl thoroughly combine onion soup mix, apricot preserves, and water; set aside.  Place chicken breasts in a foil-lined broiler pan. Top chicken with soup mixture and broil 5 minutes; turn chicken.  Place pepper rings over chicken, baste pan juices, then broil an addtional 5 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is fork-tender and no pink remains.

Here's what you'll need:

 

Slice up the peppers.

Mix the preserves, onion soup mix, water.

Preheat the broiler.  Mine was set to 500F.

Lay the chicken out on tinfoil and spoon the mixture on top.

Broil for 5 minutes.  Pull out and flip the chicken.  Baste with more of the mixture.  Put back in broiler for another 10-12 minutes.

After flipping the chicken, I also added 2 pieces of tilapia to the pan and cover with the mixture.

Top with the peppers.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I've had this recipe sitting around for a while now and decided to give it a try this week.  Earlier in the week we went to Costco and I bought a package of fresh tilapia (TIP:  I used a few fillets fresh and then froze them in individual storage bags for later.  I defrosted a couple for this recipe by letting the bag float around in some water water for about 30 minutes). 

To be honest, the fish tasted better with this recipe than the chicken.  The chicken never really soaked in the flavor while the mild tilapia really took in the sweetness of the preserves as well as the tanginess of the onion soup.  The fish was cooked perfectly and even Scott preferred it over the chicken.

If you aren't "in" to apricots, I'm sure any preserve/jelly mixture would work.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions

Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions adapted from Eating Well

1 4-pound beef chuck roast, (see Ingredient note), trimmed of fat

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (4 cups)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, turning from time to time, until well browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add onions, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and thyme; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in coffee and vinegar; bring to a simmer. Return the beef to the pot and spoon some onions over it. Cover and transfer to the oven.

Braise the beef in the oven until fork-tender but not falling apart, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Transfer beef to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, skim fat from the braising liquid; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, whisking, until the gravy thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Season with pepper. Carve the beef and serve with gravy.

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Slice up an onion.

Mince up garlic cloves.

Season with salt and pepper and sear in a stockpot.

Pull the beef out of the pan and lay it on a plate.

 Once you take the meat out, put the onions in.  Let them caramelize.

Once the onions are soft and brown, add the garlic and thyme.

Add the coffee and balsamic vinegar.

Add the meat back to the pot.

Pile the onions onto the meat.

Cover the pot and put in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Once the meat is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven.  Mix the corn starch solution.

Pull the meat out of the pot and add the cornstarch mixture.

Let this simmer for a minute or so until the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce back over the meat.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

My family loves pot roast.  This dish was a simple and easy way to make pot roast.  The onions did have a sweet, tangy flavor from the coffee and the vinegar and they had a good caramelization on them.

I couldn't tell that the coffee really "braised" the pot roast as it didn't have a particularly distinct flavor other than the base of onion.  The meat was tender but didn't shred apart.

As good as the dish was, we all agreed that we still preferred my Mom's Roast.

I served this with a Potato Cauliflower Mash.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Easy Grilled Fish Tacos with corn salsa chimichurri sauce

Easy Grilled Fish Tacos with Corn Salsa Chimichurri Sauce adapted from Momables

4-6 Pre portioned pieces of fish (trout, red fish, tilapia-your choice)

1 Cup corn

2 tsp taco seasoning

1 Lime -juiced

Olive Oil

Favorite salsa

Sour cream

Grated cheese

Flour, corn, or hard shelled tortillas

Chimichurri sauce (optional):

- ¾ Cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

- 2 TB red wine vinegar

- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil

- 20 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

- dash of oregano (or 5 sprigs fresh oregano)

- 3 cloves of garlic

- dash red pepper flakes

- ¼ tsp sea salt

Directions:  Heat broiler, with rack in highest position.  Place fish on rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil & taco seasoning.

In a separate bowl, mix corn with 2 TB of salsa and juice of 1 lime. Top fish with corn salsa.

Broil until fish is lightly browned on top, 8-12 minutes depending of fish thickness, until flesh is opaque throughout and thoroughly cooked.

Divide fish evenly among tortillas and top with shredded cheese, chimichurri sauce sour cream and fresh salsa (how you dress your taco is up to you!)

Chimichurri sauce: place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend well until you achieve a pesto-like sauce, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Info:
-I used tilapia
-I used whole wheat tortillas

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat the broiler to 500 degrees.

Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with taco seasoning.

Add corn and salsa together.  Mix.

Top the fish with the corn salsa.

Put all of the ingredients for the chimichurri sauce in a food processor and blend.

Put the fish on the high rack under the broiler for 8-12 minutes or until it is brown and flaky.

Take the fish out.

Build your taco.  I used the chimichurri, corn salsa and then the fish.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I was excited to make this dish.  I bought a package of fresh tilapia from Costco and I wanted to use a few pieces while they were still fresh and then I froze the rest of them.

This was a very easy dish to make.  I think the recipe should have called for more than 2 Tbsp of salsa to the 1 cup of corn as I ended up adding more anyway.

The absolute star of this dish was the chimichurri sauce.  It was so fresh and earthy and light.  Since it was made with the 0% Greek yogurt, I felt no guilt in adding a good portion to each taco or burrito wrap.  I even saved the remaining of the chimichurri sauce so that I could dip my veggies in it as a snack today.  If you make this dish, you MUST go ahead and make this sauce, too. 

Since tilapia is a very mild-flavored fish, I honestly couldn't tell that I was having "fish" tacos.  I may have been too conservative with the sprinkling of the taco seasoning on top of the fish.  At any rate, the texture was good and it mixed great with the corn salsa and chimichurri.

Hope you enjoy!
April