Sweet Potato and Black Bean Turkey Chili

After many months off, I am back!  We have been eating a lot of delicious paleo recipes lately and this one was great! 


Sweet Potato and Black Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey meat, browned
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 oz) can Fire Roasted Diced tomatoes 
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, diced
2 cups diced sweet potatoes 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bayleaf
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chili pepper

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on low. 
2. Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken

There's no denying  that beer is a favorite in our household. Being that I'm 9 months pregnant, I can't drink it, so I decided to cook with it! :)

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken

Ingredients:


1 3-4 lb chicken, cleaned & patted dry
4 tbsp olive oil
6-8 small red potatoes, cut into large chunks
1/2 a large onion, roughly chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 12-ounce beer (I used Goose Island 312 Wheat Ale)

Directions: 

1. Place cut up onion and potatoes in slow cooker.
2. Pour 3 tbsp of olive oil over top and half of the seasoning mixture. Stir until potatoes and onions are coated with seasonings.

3. Place cleaned and dried chicken on top of veggie mixture.

4. Pour rest of olive oil on chicken and rub around. Top with remaining seasoning mixture.

5. Pour beer on top of chicken and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

6. After chicken is done cooking, scoop out chicken and veggies and put them on a cookie sheet. Broil for about 5 minutes or less. Chicken and veggies will become crispy and browned. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Beef Goulash

This is another one of those recipes that is great to come home to! Fast and easy home cooking!

Slow Cooker Beef Goulash

Ingredients: 

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut and trimmed
2 tbsp sweet or hot paprika (or a combo of both)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
Egg Noodles

Directions: 

1. Place beef in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with paprika, salt, and pepper.

2. Place onions and peppers on top of beef. 

3. In medium sauce pan, bring diced tomatoes, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, and garlic to a simmer. 

4. Pour sauce mixture in slow cooker and put bay leaves on top.  Cook on low for 7-7.5 hours. 

5. After 7.5 hours, remove bay leaves and stir in cornstarch and water mixture. Turn slow cooker on high and cook an additional 15 minutes. Serve over cooked egg noodles. 

Slow Cooker Sausage and Egg Casserole

Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day! So nothing is better than having breakfast for dinner! You can also put this in the slow cooker before bed and wake up to a delicious meal! This is also a great way to use up some eggs and other things in the fridge!

Slow Cooker Sausage and Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs frozen hashbrowns
1 lb breakfast sausage, browned and drained
1/2 up yellow onions, diced
3 cups shredded cheese (I used 2 cups of cheddar and mozzarella mix and 1 cup of 4 state cheddar)
12 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Pour frozen hashbrowns in bottom of slow cooker.

2. Brown up sausage and cut into bite size pieces.

3. Layer onion, sausage, and cheese on top of hashbrowns.

4. Mix eggs, milk, mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together. Pour mixture over slow cooker layers.

5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

6. Enjoy!! Then enjoy again for breakfast the next day! :)

Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork

I always love trying something new and this ended up being like something I haven't had before! It was a delicious recipe and an easy way to cook pork! Forgot to take pics for a few steps of this one but it's pretty easy!

Chinese Hacked Pork

Ingredients:

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, chopped (I buy containers of ginger paste, lasts a lot longer)
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (Couldn't find it in Asian section then realized McCormick's had it in with other spices!)
2 lbs boneless center-cut pork roast
1 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup chicken broth
12 oz chinese noodles, cooked to package directions
2 scallions, sliced

Directions:

1. In a plastic bag or bowl, combine pork with first 6 ingredients. Marinate overnight.

2. Pour mixture into slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

3. Remove pork from slow cooker and shred apart.
4. Take remaining marinade out and mix with corn starch and chicken broth. This will become your sauce for your dish.  Bring to boil in sauce pan.
5. Mix sauce, noodles, and pork together.
6. Enjoy with scallions and snow peas (optional) on top!

Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Dinner

One of my husband's favorite meals is thanksgiving dinner. This recipe is awesome and so easy, you don't need to prep anything ahead of time and you have a tasty thanksgiving feast when you come home from work!

Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Dinner

Ingredients:

1 lb turkey breast (I used chops)
5 cups herb seasoned stuffing
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used baby bellas)
1 onion, chopped
1 apple, chopped (I used fuji)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (12 oz) jar of turkey gravy
1 (10.75 oz) can of cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

1. Line slow cooker with liner bag or spray with cooking spray.
2. Place turkey in the bottom of the slow cooker.

3. In seperate bowl, mix remaining ingredients together.

4. Pour stuffing mixture over turkey and cook on low for 5-6 hours!

5. Enjoy with corn, mashed potatoes, or other thanksgiving sides! :)

Slow Cooker Turkey Sausage & Peppers

This is a great dish that only takes a few minutes to make! The original recipe called for regular italian sausage and regular white pasta but I used turkey sausage and wheat pasta to make it a little healthier!

Slow Cooker Turkey Sausage and Peppers 

Ingredients: 
20 oz turkey italian sausage (sweet or hot depending on what you like)
1 sweet onion, diced
3 large peppers (I used yellow, red, and orange because they come in a pack, you can use whatever kind you like!)
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
26 oz tomato sauce
1 package wheat rotini

Directions: 

1. Brown sausage links. You don't need to cook them the whole way because they will cook in the slow cooker.

2. Dice up onions, peppers, and garlic, while sausages are cooking. 

3. After sausage browns, cut into bite size pieces. 

4. Add ingredients to slow cooker and stir in tomato sauce. 

5. Cook on low for 7 hours. 

6.  Cook rotini as directed on package and serve sausage and peppers on top.   

Bacon Jam

I've been planning on making this for a few weeks and finally had the time to! You start it in a pan then transfer it to the slow cooker. It's kind of time consuming but it's delicious so it's worth it!

Bacon Jam

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs thick cut bacon
2 medium onions, diced small
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee

Directions:

1. Cut bacon cross wise, into 1 inch pieces. Cook in skillet on medium for about 20 minutes until fat is rendered and bacon is slightly brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from pan and transfer to a paper towel to help drain. Pour off bacon fat, except about 1 tablespoon.

2. Cook onions and garlic in bacon fat until onions are translucent.

3. Add in remaining ingredients and cook until boil. Stir in bacon.

4. Transfer to slow cooker and cook on HIGH, uncovered,  for about 4 hours.  Sauce with thicken like syrup.

5. Transfer mixture to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
6. Allow to cool and transfer to jars or air tight containers.  Store in fridge for 4-6 weeks. (If it makes it that long! :) )

A few notes:
*Try this on an egg sandwich or on a pizza with fresh arugula.
*Delicious on mini baguettes and crackers, great for a party appetizer.
*Recipe makes about 3 1/2 half pint jars.

Slow Cooker Pad Thai with Chicken

I absolutely love Pad Thai and anytime I order it for take out I'm not usually completely satisfied. I've made in the skillet a few times but I wanted to be able to come home to it after work. So here's my version of slow cooker Pad Thai with Chicken, you can obviously make it with turkey, beef, shrimp, tofu, or just veggie as well.

Slow Cooker Pad Thai with Chicken

Ingredients:

1 lb chopped chicken (I used chicken thighs but you can use breast or ground if you want)

2 cloves garlic, minced/grated

4 tbsp rice vinegar

4 tbsp fish sauce

4 tbsp lime juice

4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup sliced onions

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup tofu, diced

1 (14 oz) can bean sprouts, drained
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

1 package rice noodles

extra chopped peanuts (for topping)

Directions:

1. Brown chicken in sauce pan.  While cooking, grate in garlic. 

2. Combine everything except noodles and peanuts in slow cooker.

3. Cook on low for about 4 hours, stir in peanuts. 

4. Cook noodles: Put noodles in a large mixing bowling and soak in boiling water for about 5-10 minutes or until limp. If you soak them too long they will become very mushy and stick together.

5. Drain noodles and stir into slow cooker. 

6. Top with extra peanuts and lime juice. Enjoy!

A few notes:

*Next time, while cooking the noodles, I am going to scramble up some eggs to add in at the end. 

*What's great about Pad Thai is that you can easily add whatever you want. If you are trying it with shrimp, they should be cooked and added in when you add in the peanuts. 

*If like it spicy, top with Sriracha Sauce!

 *You could easily do this in a skillet within minutes. After you cook the chicken, add in remaining ingredients and cook on low while the noodles are cooking. Stir in noodles and enjoy!