Crock Pot Recipe: Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops

Yesterday afternoon I was digging through my freezer and pantry trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  My family is trying to be very budget conscious lately so I have been trying to make the most out of whatever ingredients we have on-hand rather than making another trip to the grocery store.

So, this is what I came up with - Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops.  The Cottage Mama's Mama had made a version of this for me when she was here after I had my second daughter, Matilda.  She always makes the most delicious food when she stays here after I have a baby - reason enough to have another one (just kidding)!  Her recipe was done on the stove-top and used some pineapple, so her jerk pork chops were my inspiration for this recipe.

Crock Pot:  Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops

Ingredients:

5 pork loin chops (frozen or fresh..doesn't matter)

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup tri-colored bell pepper strips (I used frozen, but fresh would work well too).

1/2 onion, sliced

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

Directions:

It doesn't get much easier than this - add all ingredients to your crock-pot, sprinkle liberally with Jamaican Jerk seasoning and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Enjoy!

Cottage Mama's Note:  I served this with Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Wholegrain Vegetable Medley (only takes 90 seconds to cook!) or it would be great with regular brown rice.  I buy tri-colored bell pepper strips in the frozen foods section of Trader Joe's - I always have one or two bags on-hand.

Slow Cooker Thanksgiving

So November is upon us - can you believe it's already here? What does November make you think of?  It makes me think of Thanksgiving!  I love Thanksgiving!  I am a traditional girl and I love all the classics - turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and the list goes on....

So today I had the taste for Thanksgiving, I just can't wait another three weeks.  So I decided to make "Thanksgiving" in my crock-pot.  It's Thanksgiving minus the turkey (I had chicken breasts on hand).  But right now I have the aroma of warm cornbread stuffing, and juicy chicken and gravy circulating throughout the cottage home.  Just makes me feel all warm and cozy!

So if you want a preview of what's to come later this month - give "Thanksgiving" in your crock-pot a try - you'll thank me later!!

Thanksgiving

(in the Crock-Pot)

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (I used corn, carrots, peas, green beans and broccoli)
1 can cream of chicken soup (or whatever you have on hand)
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 box cornbread stuffing
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Empty frozen mixed vegetables into your crock-pot.  Lay frozen chicken on top and then the sliced onion on top of that.  Pour cream of chicken soup on top and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper.  Prepare stuffing according to package directions and spread the stuffing on top of your frozen chicken.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Chowder

Well the verdict is in and I have to say that "Creamy Chicken Chowder" is a proven winner!!

I have written several blog posts involving slow-cooker meals and I'm sure you are starting to learn that I think the slow-cooker is a busy Mom's best friend!  My fellow Mommy friend, Danica (http://floradanicaphotography.com/ ), read one of my blog posts and was inspired to get out her slow-cooker cook book and see what tasty recipes she could find.  She decided to give the "Creamy Chicken Chowder" a try and said it was awesome!  So, I thought I would give it a whirl and I think you should too!!

Creamy Chicken Chowder

Ingredients:

4 frozen chicken breasts

1 11oz. can whole kernel corn with sweet peppers, drained

1 10oz. can condensed cream of potato soup

1 4oz can diced green chile peppers

2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro

1 package taco seasoning

3 cups chicken broth (or water)

4 oz pepper jack cheese, cubed

Garnish: Sour Cream, Cilantro, Crumbled Bacon, and Tortilla Chips

Directions:

-In a 4 quart slow cooker combine frozen chicken, corn, soup, undrained chile peppers, cilantro, and taco seasoning mix.  Stir in chicken broth (or water).  Cover, cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

-30 mins. before serving, remove chicken breasts, shred and return to slow cooker.  Stir in pepper jack cheese and allow to melt.

-Serve with a dollop of sour cream, fresh snipped cilantro, crumbled bacon and tortilla chips.

Enjoy!!

Cottage Mama's Note:

-I very rarely follow a recipe exactly.  I guess it's my creative nature, but I always like to give a dish my own flare.  I have given you the recipe exactly as I cooked it, which deviates from the original recipe.

Creamy Chicken, Black Bean, Corn and Pepper Soft Tacos

If you have been following my blog lately, you will start to notice a recurring theme - I LOVE southwestern food and cook it quite often.  I've been getting a lot of feedback on my crock-pot recipes, so I thought I would throw another one your way.  This is a recipe inspired by my friend Maggie (www.smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com) and I think it turned out pretty tasty.

Creamy Chicken, Black Bean, Corn and Bell Pepper Soft Tacos

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)
1 jar salsa
1/2 bag of frozen corn
2 small cans green chiles
2 bell peppers (any color), sliced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 green onions, sliced
1 brick cream cheese
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 flour tortillas
Lettuce

Place chicken breasts, salsa, corn, green chiles, bell peppers, black beans, green onions, cumin, chili powder, and salt in a crock-pot and cook on low for 8 hours.  Prior to eating remove chicken and shred, return to crock-pot.  Add 1-brick cream cheese and allow it to melt into crock-pot mixture.  Once all ingredients are combined, place a a half cup of the mixture in flour tortilla, add fresh lettuce and fold in half.  Serve with Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Santa Fe Style for a complete quick and easy meal!!

Cottage Mama's Note:
*If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I love to use their frozen, sliced tri-color bell peppers.  They are super cheap for a full bag and you can add them to anything (I used half a bag in this recipe).  If you don't have this option, then just follow recipe accordingly.
*Feel free to use 1/3 less fat cream cheese for a slightly more calorie friendly meal.
*Roll mixture up in tortillas, lay in casserole dish, top with cheese and canned green enchilada sauce.  Bake at 375 for 3 mins. for easy creamy chicken enchiladas.
*Also can be served as a wonderful warm dip at parties - just scoop up with tortilla chips!!

Crock Pot Recipe: Taos Taco Soup

My Grandparents (Marge and Bill) have lived in Taos, New Mexico for as long as I can remember.  My Mom was influenced the the hatch green chiles that come from New Mexico and we ate many southwestern meals in my house growing up.  Unfortunately I can't find fresh "hatch" green chiles where I live, but the canned variety does the trick just fine.  I think I could eat green chiles every day - they are just SO tasty!!

Anyway, this is a recipe from my late Grandma Marge that was given to my Mom and was since given to me.  This is one of mine and my husbands absolute favorite Fall/Winter soups and is super easy.  If you're reading this up in heaven, Grandma Marge, just know I think of you every time I eat a green chile!!

Taos Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

½ large onion, chopped

1 can (16oz) whole tomatoes

1 can (16oz) pinto beans

1 bag (16oz) frozen corn

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

1 can (8oz) green chile

1 package taco seasoning mix

Optional garnish: Sour cream, cheddar cheese, black olives (sliced), green onions, and crushed tortilla chips

Cook meat and onions in soup pan or skillet.  Drain any grease.  Add to crock pot with rest of ingredients.  Do not drain juice from cans.  Add more water, as necessary for correct level in crock pot.  This mixture can be heated together on low for 8 hours.

Makes 8-10 servings (great as leftovers or you can freeze half for another meal)

Enjoy!!

The Busy Mom's Best Friend: The Crock-Pot

The crock-pot is one of the most convenient inventions of all time!  If you don't have one or don't find yourself using yours often, you must start feeling the crock-pot love.  There are so many things you can do with your crock-pot from cooking meat, making soups and stews, making hot dips for parties, keeping food warm - it's just wonderful.  You can take the toughest piece of meat and by cooking it low and slow in a crock-pot, you will get a tender and flavorful piece of meat every time!

One of the most simple meals EVER that I love to make is, what I call, Crock-Pot Chicken (creative name, I know).  There are only two ingredients involved in making this dish: a whole chicken and one onion.  It doesn't get much more simple than that.  So here's how to make it:

Crock-Pot Chicken
Slice onion and spread around the bottom of your crock-pot.  Then place whole chicken on top of onions.  Using whatever spices you like, season the chicken liberally.  I like to use Montreal Steak Seasoning and some Cayenne Pepper (my family likes things spicy), but another great idea would be  Lemon-Pepper Seasoning or make it more mexican style and use Chile Powder, Cumin and Oregano.  Then set your crock-pot on low and let the chicken cook away for the next 8 hours (if you have less time, set it on high for 5 hours).  What you will end up with is the most incredibly moist, fall off the bone chicken EVER!

Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.  Spoon some of the delicious onions and juice over your potatoes and chicken.  YUM - Enjoy!!