Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

I use my slow cooker A LOT. You might have noticed.

Honestly, there are just some days when I need an easy, little-to-no prep option for dinner. I know I can't be the only one. There's just something so nice about having a tool that does so much work FOR you.

Side note on that, I can't WAIT to try out the Instant Pot I got for Christmas.

Anyway, this is another meal that my daughter helps me prepare. I brown the beef, but I let her measure and add all of the "flavor" components to the dish; this means that she gets to stir, which is basically her favorite thing to do in the kitchen (at least so far).

As usual, the original recipe comes from Cooking Light, though I've made some adjustments of my own. A link to the original is included below.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

Original Recipe by Deb Wise, Cooking Light Dec 2013 (see it here)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tbs onion powder

1 tbs garlic powder

2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers (jarred)

2 lbs chuck roast

Ciabatta rolls (or your favorite sandwich rolls)

Place first 7 ingredients in slow cooker, stirring to combine.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Cook beef in skillet for 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Add beef to slow cooker.

Cook on LOW setting for 8 hours. Shred beef with two forks and stir well. Serve on ciabatta rolls.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

My oldest daughter, Zoey, absolutely loves to help me in the kitchen. I try to come up with different ways that she can help me with every dish that I make - easier said than done, sometimes. That's why we both love slow cooker recipes. Generally little to no prep, and hardly any technique required!

This slow cooker white chicken chili is a favorite in our house, and I love how easy it is to make and enjoy. It also freezes wonderfully, so feel free to double the batch and store some for later.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Recipe by Laura Taylor

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 cups chicken broth

2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans (4.5 oz each) Old El Paso chopped green chiles

1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Dash ground red pepper (cayenne), if desired

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low 6 hours. Remove chicken and shred using 2 forks. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir to combine. 

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, cilantro and tortilla strips.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker Italian Pork and Peppers

Alright, I know...ANOTHER slow cooker recipe. Honestly, though, can you ever actually have too many? Not in my book you can't, and since I'm the one writing this blog...well, slow cooker meals it is!

My husband doesn't love pork, but he REALLY liked this dish. It's one of the best dishes I've had in awhile, actually, and that's saying a lot since I cook almost every night. I love it because it's SUPER easy to put together, the slow cooker does practically all of the work, and the flavors are SO yummy when you actually sit down to eat it. The pork is so tender it almost melts in your mouth! Mmm.

I got the initial recipe for this from Cooking Light as is noted below; their suggestion was to pair the pork with polenta. You can do that, or you can do like I did and pair it with mashed potatoes.

Slow Cooker Italian Pork and Peppers

Adapted from Cooking Light, January 2015

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (1 1/2-pound) boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided

2 cups vertically sliced onion

1 cup sliced yellow bell pepper

10 garlic cloves, minced

2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

 

 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add pork to pan and cook 10 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Transfer pork to your slow cooker.

 

Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, tomatoes, rosemary, and thyme to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 1/2 hours.

 

Add vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes and turn off heat. Shred pork. Serve over polenta or mashed potatoes.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!



Red Beans and Rice (Slow Cooker)

Happy Friday!

This week has been a big week for me - it was the first week in my journey as a stay-at-home mom to my beautiful little Bug! I am SO beyond blessed to have this opportunity, and I'm so excited to watch her grow and learn.

There were a lot of things I wanted to get done over these last five days - I was VERY ambitious with my "to do" list. While I didn't exactly cross everything off of that list (okay, I maybe got to about 30% of it. Still proud!), I wanted to be SURE that there was one thing that I definitely did. That one thing was to write in this blog. Lucky you! ;)

Don't get me wrong, I got plenty accomplished - I deep-cleaned my kitchen, did the grocery shopping for the week, cooked dinner every night (with the exception of last night, when we ate leftovers), and spent a whole heck of a lot of awesome time hanging out with Bug. We had two really nice days here in GA this week, so we went on walks and hung out at the park for a bit. I'm absolutely loving our "new life" so far!

I'm looking forward to not only having more time to cook, but more time to blog as well. Be on the lookout for new recipes at least a few times a week! If you haven't already liked the Facebook page, be sure to go ahead and do so to make sure that you don't miss out on any of the yummy goodness I'm posting.

Today's recipe is a slow cooker dinner that I've been meaning to post for quite awhile now. Honestly, I'd normally focus more on "spring"-y recipes here in March, but good grief -Winter just wants to keep hanging around this year! Feel free to cook up this Louisiana favorite to help you warm up after playing in the snow all day.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Adapted from Cooking Light, September 2014

2 cans red kidney beans

1 tablespoon olive oil    

1 pound andouille sausage, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped poblano chile

1 cup diced celery    

Click to see savings

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

10 garlic cloves, crushed

1 (12-ounce) can lager-style beer (I used Yuengling)    
4 cups unsalted chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper   

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 bay leaves

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil to the pan, swirling to coat. Add sausage and cook 6 minutes or until browned. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) and cook 8 minutes. Stir in beer and bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

 

Place sausage mixture in slow cooker. Add beans, stock, red pepper, black pepper, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

Discard bay leaves. Stir in 1/4 cup green onions and vinegar. Serve over rice; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup green onions.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!