CROCK POT WEDNESDAY and Cream of Green Chile Chicken Soup

Welcome to the final edition of Crock Pot Wednesday for this season. 

Thanks so much for following along and for contributing.  I’ll look forward to seeing you back here next October when we will head into our third season.

I really hope you will plan on joining me for What’s On the Menu Wednesday each week March through September.  Feel free to grab my button as a reminder that that you always have an invitation to pull up to my dinner table.

I don’t use many preprocessed or prepared foods,and  but I’m not immune from them either.  I also do not endorse products that I do not really enjoy and use.  I mean, a girl’s gotta’ do what a girl’s gotta’ do sometimes.


Such was the case last weekend.  I was taking a shortcut to chicken noodle soup by using a deli roasted chicken that I had actually picked up for a quick dinner but did not use.  While checking the pantry for my noodle supply, I came across this package…

I thought…sounds good to me.  Out comes the slow cooker; in goes two cans of low-sodium chicken broth, a package of my favorite Pictsweet Seasoning Blend, a 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed black beans and this soup mix.  I set the slow cooker on LOW and left it to brew for the better part of the day.

I mean, I had the Perfect Ones to play with!

About an hour before I planned to serve dinner, I added the fully- cooked chicken (skin removed and chunked).

I served it with my fully-loaded Mexican cornbread.

LOVED IT! We practically licked the bowls clean!  We ate it again the next day, and it was even better.  It’s definitely on the “do again” list.

There’s no picture because I really never expected to blog about this.  You’ll just have to trust me on this one.  I’m really anxious to give some of their other products a try.  (I have not received any compensation for this endorsement.)

I had picked up the mix from a store near our  lake property so  I immediately contacted the company about locations closer to home.  You can also order their products online.

Sometimes surprises come in small packages.

Be sure to link up below to share your surprises with the rest of us.

Linked to:

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CROCK POT WEDNESDAYS and Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Shrimp

 

Welcome to this week’s edition of Crock Pot Wednesdays.  Thanks for joining me and for linking up below. 

March will be the last month of Crock Pot Wednesdays for this season.  I hope you will plan on joining me in April for What’s On the Menu Wednesday.

Judith Finlayson, Canadian cookbook author and journalist, has written numerous slow cooker cookbooks.  Some of these include: 

The Healthy Slow Cooker,  175 Essential Slow Cooker Classics,  Slow Cookers and Comfort Foods,  The Vegetarian Slow Cooker, and this one

from which this delicious curry dish is taken. 
She offers a Recipe of the Week on her web site.  I think you will enjoy checking it out.  Just click on her name above.

SWEET POTATO COCONUT CURRY WITH SHRIMP
Yield :  6 SERVINGS

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive or extra virgin coconut oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp  minced ginger root
• 1 cup  lower-salt vegetable broth
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tsp Thai green curry paste
• 1 tbsp  freshly squeezed lime juice
• ½ cup  coconut milk
• 1 lb medium shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
• ¼ cup  toasted slivered almonds, optional (Try to find the ones with the skin on.)
• ¼ cup  finely chopped cilantro leaves

Works in slow cookers from 3½ to 6 quarts.

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger root and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add broth. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.

2. Add sweet potatoes and stir well. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours, until sweet potatoes are tender.

3. In a small bowl, combine curry paste and lime juice. Add to slow cooker stoneware and stir well. Stir in coconut milk and shrimp. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes, until shrimp are hot. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with almonds, if using, and cilantro and serve.

This dish can be partially prepared before it is cooked. Complete Step 1. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to cook, continue with Steps 2 and 3.

Per Serving:
Calories 348; Protein 27g; Carbohydrates 32.7g; Total Fat 12.3g; Saturated Fat 6.3g; Monounsaturated Fat 3.8g; Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4g; Dietary Fiber 2.9g; Sodium 587mg; Cholesterol 221mg. (Courtesy FabulousFinds.com)




Check out these terrific blogs:
Menu Plan Monday
Mouthwatering Mondays
Hunk of Meat Mondays
Tasty Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays At the Table 
Tuesdays Tasty Tidbits
Made From Scratch Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday@ 33 Shades of Green
This Week's Cravings
It's A  Blog Party
Your Recipe.  My Kitchen.
What’s On Your Plate Wednesday
Works For Me Wednesday
Real Food Wednesday
Welcome Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
Pennyside Platter Thursday
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It's A Keeper Thursdays
Sweet and Savory
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Ultimate Recipe Swap
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Leave a comment to tell these guys how much you appreciate what they do each week.

GOOD LUCK BENTON CHEER!

Last year’s National Champions, the Benton High School Cheerleading squad, is competing this weekend in the 2011 Championship.  I, like so many in our community, are very proud of these girls for all that they have accomplished.

The fate of the competition is unknown at this point. Regardless of the final outcome, these girls should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished.

Since I taught many of these ladies, I am especially proud to tell you that they are excellent students as well as athletes. 

For your viewing pleasure…

You can watch them…and, of course, you want to do so:)  Just click on their picture.
Congratulations to all of  you and to Coach Hilborn on another outstanding year.

Note:  They came in second this year in a much larger, tougher competition and to a squad that has won the National Champtionship several years.  Absolutely awesome!

COCOA BROWNIES with BROWNED BUTTER and WALNUTS for Valentines Day

So when Hubby saw the cover of the February Bon Appétit, it was love at first sight.  I think he actually drooled:)

I’m pretty sure that I was drooling along with him.  Since I’ve been dieting, there’s not been much in the way of sweets around the house.  Hubby has a BIG sweet tooth.

So, yesterday with me being snowbound and all, I decided to make HIM an early Valentine.  As soon as they cooled, I took one out to him while he was shoveling snow off of the driveway.  I got a very big smile and smooch.

(Click on photo for recipe.) 

Today, these are all gone!  No, I only ate half of one.  However, I knew that if they weren’t out of the house quickly then I would blow the diet. 

Hubby gave four of them to our friend Jim who was snowplowing our neighborhood streets.  (He’s such a nice guy.)  I packaged up the rest and sent them with Hubby to work this morning.  At least he had them…and they weren’t tempting me.

They were that good.  As in awesome!

They were dense and moist just like we like our brownies.  If you’re a cake-like brownie lover then you might not care for these as much as we did.

Be sure to come back next week for Crock Pot Wednesdays.  I would love to see you there.

Linked to:

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Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent

CROCK POT WEDNESDAY and Curried Sweet Potato Soup

It’s time for Crock Pot Wednesday!!  I hope you will be linking up with Mister Linky.  I’m looking forward to what you have to say.
 

Martha Hall Foose is the Executive Chef for the Viking Cooking School in nearby Greenwood, Mississippi (I would sooooooo like to go.) and the author of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea which has become a favorite in my collection.

Foose started in the Mississippi Delta, went to cooking school in France, and traveled the world only to return to the Delta. She knows the South – and shares it’s food and people in a humorous, touching way. I read cookbooks like some people read novels; this one was just downright enjoyable.  Plus, she’s included some really tasty treats.  I’m working on trying them all.

At the lake last weekend, trying to use up some freezer stock, I turned to her Curried Sweet Potato Soup for inspiration to create Curried Hubbard Squash Soup for the slow cooker.  It was a great day to put on a pot of soup and spend the day playing in the snow with the Perfect Ones. 

I mean, ya’ gotta’ take those opportunities when they come!

Here’s her version with my adaptations noted.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup
· 3 pounds dark orange sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
   (I used frozen Hubbard squash from the
    freezer.)


· 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter


· 2 leeks, white and tender green parts only, chopped
    (I actually had these on hand, but you
    could substitute scallions or another
   mild onion.)


· 1 Tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
    (I keep this in the freezer all of the time.
    I have a friend who uses and swears by
   the kind in a tube. )


· 2 2-inch pieces lemongrass
    (Okay, so I wasn’t about to drive 20
   minutes to the grocery just to see if they
  POSSIBLY had lemongrass.  I just
  squeezed in about a Tablespoon of lemon
   juice.)


· 2 garlic cloves, minced 
  (I keep the jarred variety in the frig…take your shortcuts where you can.)


· 1 Tablespoon lemon curry powder blend
   (I had this on hand from some other recipe adventure which, obviously, didn’t make much of an impression since I don’t remember what it was!)
· 1 quart vegetable broth


· 1 (14.5 ounce) can coconut milk
   (I used light coconut milk.)


· Fried pork rinds, for garnish.
(In case of snow, run to the local market for milk, blend and pork rinds!)
     

In a large pot, cook the sweet potatoes in the butter for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the leeks, ginger and lemongrass.  Cook for 3 minutes over low heat or until the leeks are tender.  Add the garlic and curry, and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the broth and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very tender, about 20 minutes.

With an immersion blender, or carefully with a blender, puree the soup.  Stir in the coconut milk and warm through over very low heat.

Ladle into bowls and top with a pork rind.

My adapted cooking:
Place the sweet potatoes (or squash) and the broth in the slow cooker insert.  Saute the leeks, ginger, garlic and lemongrass for 2 to 3 minutes in the butter over medium heat.  Add to the slow cooker insert.  Stir in the lemon curry powder.  Cook on LOW 6-8 hours.  Add coconut milk and blend with an immersion blender (or blender) until smooth.  Allow to cook on low an additional hour.

Ladle, garnish and serve.

Comments:  Hubby and I both wanted to add some heat…as in chipotle chili powder…which we did by sprinkling it in and stirring.  That suited us just fine.

Looks like we are headed for another “snowmaggedon” few days. 






Dear God,
  Just checking in.  Have you lost your compass?  I live in THE SOUTH.  I was just wondering if you had us mixed up with SIBERIA.  I’ll be happy to send you a new compass if you will just let me know.
Love bunches,
Your SOUTHERN FRIEND who formerly lived in THE SOUTH  where a SNOW DAY come only once in a BLUE MOON,  whose motto is I HATE WINTER. 
P.S.  Okay.  So last weekend’s snow really was pretty.  Kinda’ like frosting on the cake.  (Can I just have a small piece of cake this time around?)
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CROCK POT WEDNESDAY and Spicy Sausage, Barley and Mushroom Stew

Welcome to the frozen tundra of the South and Midwest.  Brrrrr.

I know my friends in Connecticut and Minnesota are just laughing at us.  But, honestly, we are just not equipped.  Unless…it’s on the ski slope…in skiwear…with the only transportation we need in a ski lift! 

I mean.  A flake falls.  We hibernate.  Plain and simple.

Oh, but we cook as well.  We may not have made cinnamon rolls or hot chocolate all winter, but when the snow falls, we stockpile those ingredients.  Gotta’ fatten up cause, gosh darn it, we’re about to become human popsicles!

Me, I dig out the slow cooker.  It’s not because I don’t have the time on a snowed-in day (even though I’m not, technically, snowbound with this latest winter event); it’s about the homey warmth that comes with the preparation and the smells that fill the house.

Spicy Sausage, Barley and Mushroom Stew is filling and rather light in calories.  Plus, it uses one of the most nutrient-dense whole grains that is just full of fiber. 

 
(Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light.)

Spicy Sausage, Barley and Mushroom Stew (adapted for the slow cooker)

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cps thinly sliced onion
8 ounces spicy Italian turkey sausage
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
5 cups thinly sliced shitake mushroom caps
1 1/2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion; cook 5 minutes or until tender.  Remove casings from sausage.  Add sausage to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage is browned, stirring to crumble.  Cook about 10 minutes or until onions are golden brown.  Add mixture to the slow cooker.  Add celery, carrot, garlic and bay leaf. 

 Stir in mushrooms.  Stir in broth, brandy, salt and pepper. 

Cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare barley according to package directions.  About 15 minutes before serving, add the barley to the soup mixture.  Discard the bay leaf.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Thanks so much for joining me this week.  I look forward to what you have to say.  Be sure to link up a favorite with Mister Linky below.

Linked to:

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