crockpot creations

Crock Pot No-No

 Posted: 3/28/13

Recently I tried called, Slow-Cooker Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno-Corn Dumplings. I have been going back and forth, debating whether I should share this recipe, because I completely botched it.   When I make crock-pot recipes I like to make them on Sundays, so we have left overs for the week OR I try and put something in the crock pot during the week when I won’t be home till late. The problem I have encountered with crock-potting during the week is I’m typically gone for 10-12 hours during the day. So if I put the ingredients in the crock pot before I leave for work, I am limited to recipes that required 10-12 cook time. Needless to say, this recipe is not a 10-12 hour recipe, but a 9 hour recipe at MOST. Luckily the “stew” didn’t burn, instead it turned into pinto bean chili. All the delicious veggies got SO over cooked that you couldn’t taste them at all… and the only taste that really came through was pinto beans. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE pinto beans, especially when they are cooked in the crock pot, but in this case I wasn’t too thrilled with the outcome. The next disappointing aspect of the recipes (that I didn’t mess up) was the jalapeño-corn dumplings. Just those three words were enough to entice me into making this whole recipe! I love spicy (jalapenos), I love most breaded items (dumplings) and who doesn’t like corn bread?! The recipe calls for you to mix together the batter and drop “tablespoon-full of dough, drop 8 dumplings on top of the stew. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour”. Well, that part I did, and these “dumplings” were like flavorless dough balls. I was very disappointed. IF I were to make this recipe again, I would make the following changes: Only cook the stew for the recommended time, no longer than 8-hours on low or 4-hours on high. Add additional veggies (probably 1.25 to 1.5 the recommended amount). Cook the dumplings in a skillet instead of in the stew.  I believe this recipe has the potential to be good, but I clearly botched it during my first attempt. Lucky for me Frank and I both like the flavor of pinto beans and it hasn’t gone to waste! Thai Chicken with Peanut Sauce Posted 1/10/13 Source: Slenderkitchen.com Recipe Review  The Thai Chicken with Peanut Sauce was easy to prepare, about 10-15 minutes depending on how much slicing and dicing you do- AND it has one of my FAVORITE aspects about crock-pot cooking: adding frozen chicken straight to the pot. I hate defrosting meat, especially chicken. I typically buy the Costco size bag of chicken tenderloins, so when I can just throw a few of those into the pot without any prep- its delightful.  I gave this recipe two forks out of four. Although the recipe was easy to make AND it contained the health factor (237 calories and 28.5g protein!), it was definitely lacking something. I haven't completely written this recipe off yet, but I believe it needs some tweeking. Frank's comment was that is wasn't "saucy" enough. The peanut butter sauce, although melted, had too thick of a consistency.  I have a similar recipe that I make in a wok that we LOVE, although its not a crock-pot recipe, it too has the health factor. The main ingredient difference between the two is rice vinegar- which may be the ingredient the crock-pot version was lacking? I will post my wok recipe under the recipes I've tried tab. All in all not a bad recipe to try, especially if you enjoy peanut butter, but I will not be making this recipe again without some experimentation beforehand. *Note*  I added two small red potatoes, sliced thinly to the crock-pot when I added the onion. I didn't have a red-bell pepper, so to increase the veggie count, I added some "Asian stir fry" blend of frozen veggies at the end (NOT in the crock-pot) and topped it with some red pepper flakes to pump up the spice. I served it over about 1/4-1/2 cup of cooked long grain brown rice. _______________________________________________________________________ Servings: 6 servings Serving Size: 3/4 cup Nutritional Info: 237 calories, 9.1 g of fat, 14.1 g of carbohydrates, 2.9 of fiber, 28.5 g of protein  Ingredients   1.5 lbs of chicken breast tenderloins 1 red pepper, diced 1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup reduced fat chunky peanut butter juice of 1 lime 1/2 cup non fat chicken broth 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce 1/2 tbsp cumin 1/2 tbsp coriander Chopped scallions, cilantro, and bean sprouts for garnish Instructions Add the chicken, red peppers, and onions to the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, chicken broth, cumin, and coriander. Pour over the chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Break into smaller pieces with a fork and serve over rice or noodles. Garnish with fresh lime, scallions, cilantro, and bean sprouts.