Crock Pot Picadillo

For a while Michael and I used to order in Cuban food fairly regularly. My go to was always Picadillo. When I saw this recipe I couldn't wait to try it. It turned out so well, I will definitely be making it again!

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup minced onion

1 cup diced bell pepper (I used green)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup minced cilantro

1 small tomato, diced

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/4 cup green olives, plus some of the olive brine (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

Brown meat in a large skillet on medium-high season. While browning, season generously with salt and some pepper. When the meat is no longer pink, drain all the liquid from pan. Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers to the meat and cook an additional 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the meat to the slow cooker. Add in the tomato, cilantro, tomato sauce, 1 1/4 cups water, the olives (and brine) and the spices.

Set the slow cooker to low for 6 to 8 hours (or high for 3 to 4 hours). Discard the bay leaves. 

We ate it over brown rice, but you could also do a tortilla.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Beef with Broccoli

I love the idea of throwing some ingredients in the crockpot in the morning and dinner is ready to go when I want it. When Michael sent me a list of crockpot recipes I was eager to give them a try. Beef with Broccoli was the first recipe we decided to try. It turned out pretty well. It doesn't taste quite as good as the dish you get from your favorite Chinese restaurant, but it's really easy to make and quite tasty. 

Ingredients

1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons cornstarch

frozen broccoli florets

Directions

In the crockpot, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Gently place the slices of beef in the liquid and toss to coat.

Turn the crock pot on low and cook for 6 hours.

After the 6 hours, whisk together in a small bowl cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of cooking liquid to create a slurry. Pour into the crockpot and stir to mix well. Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce. We also threw our broccoli florets in at this point.

Serve hot over white rice.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 26 oz can spaghetti sauce

1 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 egg

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (divided)

In a large skillet brown the ground beef. Once browned, drain any excess grease.

In a large bowl stir together the spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, salt, ricotta cheese and egg. 

Add in 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. 

Add about a half cup of meat sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker (or however much it takes to cover the bottom of the slow cooker). Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. You will likely need to break up some of the lasagna sheets to make them fit. Continue layering this way until you have used all of the noodles. Top with the remaining sauce.

Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 5 hours or until noodles have reached a desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Homemade Thai Curry

The trick to curry is the curry paste. Becca and I were lucky to find a brand we really like called Maesri. This recipe was done with green curry paste, but we have also used their red and yellow pastes, both of which are excellent

First we cubed a chicken breast and chopped some broccoli. 

We then simmered the curry paste in a pan of coconut milk for about 5 minutes with a lid on. We use Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk. Our ratio is one can of coconut milk (14oz) to just less than a full can of curry paste (amount pictured below). This is just our preference  based on how much curry flavor and spice we like, so variations to this are fine. 

After the coconut milk and curry paste has simmered for 5 minutes throw in the broccoli and chicken. Continue to simmer with the lid on until the chicken is fully cooked. 

Remember, this recipe works great with any vegetable or protein that you may want to include. The night we did eggplant, broccoli, and tofu in yellow curry was particularly delicious. 

Brisket

We have been meaning to post this recipe for months, but haven't had time to get around to it. This is a family recipe of a friend of ours and he was kind enough to share it with us. I think it may be the best brisket I have had, which says a lot because I have a Jewish mother and Jewish grandmother who both cook(ed) a mean brisket!

Ingredients

5-7 pound beef brisket

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons Onion soup powder

2 tablespoons minced Parsley

1 small onion, sliced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt and pepper

1 can mushroom soup

3/4 cup red wine

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons oil

First, place the meat on a large piece of a foil. Season with salt and pepper and rub with Paprika.

Combine mushroom soup, onion powder wine, parsley, garlic, onion, oil and lemon juice and spread on meat. 

Wrap the brisket tightly in foil and place in a roasting pan. 

Roast at 350 degrees until very tender, about 3 hours. Slice and serve hot.

Enjoy!