Crockpot Posole

Crockpot cooking is a big favorite in my house. How can you not like it? Throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, turn it on, leave for 8-10 hours, and then come home to delicious smelling house and a home-cooked meal waiting for you. 

A few years ago, I found this recipe for zesty bean posole in my Better Homes & Garden magazine. Unfortunately, I didn't have everything on hand the recipe called for, but fortunately, I'm not afraid to adjust a recipe and see how it turns out. To see the original recipe, click the link above and to see my variation, keep reading... 

(source)

The biggest changes I made to the recipe were to add chicken and onion and replace the salsa with a can of Rotel.

Ingredients:  

8 oz chicken tenderloins

Season salt

1 can hominy, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Rotel

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup whipping cream, half-and-half

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions: 

Season chicken with season salt and add to crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients, except flour and whipping cream, to the crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on high for 3 1/2 hours. Remove chicken, shred, and return to crockpot. In a small bowl stir together cream and flour until smooth; stir into mixture in cooker. Cover; cook for 30 minutes more or until mixture is slightly thickened. Enjoy!

Deliciousness! 

Chicken Fricassee

When I visited Wisconsin last fall, my dad made this delicious dish called Chicken Fricassee. Which is just a fancy way of saying to prepare poultry by cutting into pieces and stewing in gravy. I think Chicken Fricassee rolls off the tongue a little easier. 

My dad's recipe was adapted from The Classic Italian Cook Book by Marcella Hazan. When I returned home, I decided to give it a try and was very happy with the results. However, I will make one minor change next time: chicken breast instead of chicken legs. But you really could make this dish with any cut of chicken and in fact, I think the original recipe calls for using a whole chicken cut up. Hence the "by cutting into pieces" part of the description. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie. Is there anything better? I say no. Well maybe winning the lottery or owning my very own island in the Caribbean. But among things I'm actually likely to experience in this lifetime, a homemade chicken pot pie sits pretty high on my list.

Banana Bread

Bananas are my favorite fruit and probably one of my favorite flavors too. I pretty much like anything banana flavored... ice cream, yogurt, snow cones. I've even had banana beer. YUM! And since bananas are my favorite fruit I buy them a lot. I like them best when they are just starting to get ripe... like still a little green on the peel. But unfortunately, when I'm grocery shopping I tend to overestimate the number of bananas I think I will eat. So inevitably, I always end up with a few bananas that are less than ideal for eating. (At least in my opinion they are.) Now I hate to be wasteful and since I can't seem to calculate the appropriate number of bananas I'll eat in a week, I have to do something with these leftover bananas...

Spicy Basil Chicken

I love Asian food. All types: Chinese, Thai, sushi, and so on and so on. I love it so much I've been known to eat it for multiple meals in the same day. Unfortunately, there are no good Asian restaurants near my house. Oh no! What is a girl to do?! Now, I could get off the couch, drive to my old neighborhood - which had tons of fantastic Asian restaurants - and eat out. But that's just too much effort. I'm already cozy in my yoga pants. 

Beer, Brats, & Football

The beer and the brats were good today... not so much on the football though. The Packers just couldn't pull out a W today, but it's only week one and there is plenty of time to recover. Now on to the beer and brats! I experienced two firsts today: my first time cooking brats in a Crock-Pot and my first Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. 

Black Bean Pico

Black bean pico is delicious. Black bean pico is addictive. Black bean pico might be the best snack/dip/condiment EVER. I actually stole the recipe from my sister and have been masquerading it as my own for years. But in a way it is my own... her original recipe included corn. I do not eat corn. I made the corn hit the road in my version.