Thursday, July 26, 2012

Week 30: Sweet Chilli

The Recipe
3 chicken breast halves (at least this is what it was supposed to be... I didn't realize until AFTER I'd gotten it out of the freezer that I'd accidentally gotten pork chops instead... ah well, it still worked)
1 (15 ounce) can beans of your choice, undrained
2 onions, cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
1dl tomato paste (I didn't have any, so I used BBQ sauce instead. Yummy!)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp teriaki or soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
tortillas
shredded Cheddar cheese (garnish)

Put the chicken into a slow-cooker and pour the next 8 ingredients (beans through salt) over. Stir to combine. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour, stir again, switch to LOW and cook for another 5-6 hours.

Shred the chicken with two forks, serve with tortillas, shredded cheese and salsa.

The Verdict
I love crock-pot recipes that require no browning before dumping everything into the crock-pot. I also love using the crock-pot on days when temperatures are in the high 20s so I don't have to stand over a hot stove and oven! Those two things along made me inclined to love this recipe. Fortunately it also tasted terrific. I don't think it mattered at all that I accidentally used pork chops instead of chicken breasts, and using BBQ sauce instead of tomato paste was a stroke of brilliance - if I may say so myself ;)

Definitely a keeper!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Week 29: Baked Eggs

The Recipe
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp oregano
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 200°C. Combine the cheese and herbs in a small bowl. Crack two eggs into a bowl or cup, taking care not to break the yolks. Pour the two eggs into a ramekin. Sprinkle cheese-herb blend over the eggs. Finish with a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake the eggs for 10-15 minutes until the eggs have achieved desired doneness: less time for runny yolks, more time for firm yolks. Serve immediately.

The Verdict
The eggs were actually supposed to have cooked, crumbled bacon as well, but I was too lazy to make that ;) It might have improved the recipe somewhat, but I actually didn't miss it. This was a lovely brunch dish that I'll definitely be making again.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Week 28: Tenderloin with Pesto

The Recipe
400g pork tenderloin
100g parma or other airdried ham
2 tbsp pesto

Preheat the oven to 175C. Coat the tenderloin with pesto and wrap it in the parma ham. Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Serve with potatoes and tomato-mozzarella salad.

The Verdict
Super-easy to make, and DH LOVED it. Personally I found it much, much, MUCH too salty, but then DH always tends to add extra salt to anything I make - and he didn't to this, so that's gotta count for something! I don't know that I'll be making it again though... or if I do, I'll probably use less pesto and less parma ham both.

Week 27: Crock-Pot Easy-Peasy-Cheesy Chicken

The Recipe
500-600g frozen chicken
150g cream cheese
1 can beans
1 can corn
1 can stewed tomatoes w. chili

Put the frozen chicken in the crock pot. Put Cream cheese on top of the chicken. Dump in the beans, corn and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on LOW, stirring every 2 hours. Once done, shred the chicken, and let it sit for 30-45 minutes.

Serve over rice, with tortillas or with nachos.

The Verdict
I couldn't be bothered making rice, so I ended up serving this with crumbled nachos. It wasn't quite spicey enough, so I added extra chili to my portion. Other than that, I really liked it. Super easy to make, and well worth a repeat.

For the chicken I used 1 drumstick, 1 thigh and 2 breast pieces - the dark meat definitely turned out the best.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Week 26: Tex Mex Pork Wraps

The Recipe
500-600g boneless pork roast or pork tenderloin
1.75dl tomato sauce (I didn't have any, so I used ketchup)
2/3 cup BBQ-sauce
1 onion, thinly sliced
Chilli powder to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Tortillas
Garnishes of your choice.

Place pork roast in a crock pot. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except tortillas, and pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for about 8 to 10 hours. When pork roast is done, take two forks and shred meat. Serve on warmed tortillas with garnishes.

The Verdict
Really great! I was a bit worried that it would end up being too rich, so when I shredded the meat I dumped in a small can of corn also and cooked it for another 15 minutes. It ended up great! I served it with flour tortillas, bell pepper, tomatoes and cucumber. Wish I had thought to buy some avocados as well. Super easy to make and it tasted lovely :-)