Crockpot Hummus

I've always made hummus from canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans).  A couple of weeks ago I decided to try it with dried beans, both to save some cash and because aluminum cans' safety is somewhat questionable.  You should be able to find the organic varieties in the bulk section of your natural grocery store.  Otherwise, I think they are sold by the bag with the rest of the dried beans.

Ingredients

• 3 cups dried chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
• 9 cups water
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 10 fresh garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste, I sometimes use peanut butter instead to make it cheaper)
• 2 tablespoons unrefined olive oil
• juice from 1 medium lemon

Directions

1.  Combine chickpeas, water, salt and fresh garlic in the crockpot.

2.  Cook on high for 7-8 hours.  It may not take this long with your crockpot, because I've decided that my "high" is actually most slow cooker's "medium."  You'll know they're done when they are very easily mashed between your fingers.  It would be really hard to over cook these as long as the liquid doesn't cook off (a good lid should keep it in, though).

3.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cooked chickpeas with the garlic powder, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice.

4.  Run on high until the hummus is perfectly smooth.  You may need to stir the bottom around to make sure that all the corners are well-mixed.

5.  If the texture is too thick, add vegetable stock or salted water to thin to desired consistency.

Serve with fresh veggies or whole wheat pita.  I even toast up a whole wheat tortilla right on the oven rack and then cut it in to triangles if we're out of pita.

This is a very basic recipe.  You can easily modify it to make flavored hummus by adding mix-ins to the food processor during the last step.  Roasted garlic, roasted red bell peppers, chili flakes, artichoke hearts, and even spinach all make great additions!

Crockpot Orange Chicken

Chinese Orange Chicken is one of my very favorite dishes.  Unfortunately, it is very hard to make the traditional recipe at home, and when ordered from a restaurant it's deep fried and usually contains MSG and other icky no-no's... This version is very similar to the take-out version but is WAY healthier and amazingly delicious!

I came across this recipe on Pinterest and HAD to try it!  I absolutely cannot follow a recipe exactly as it is written, so here's my slightly altered take on it.
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Ingredients

• 4 organic chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup flour (this is one of the few time that I use refined white flour instead of whole wheat - it just thickens and crusts better)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
• 1 cup frozen bell pepper and onion mix (you can find it with the frozen veggies in the grocery store - it's a huge timesaver)
• 1 can of frozen orange juice concentrate (organic is best, here's why)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried ginger
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder works, too)
• 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1/2 of a lime, juiced)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers (or more, to taste)

Directions
1.  Place the flour in a medium bowl and add about 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and granulated garlic (not included in the ingredient list).
2.  Cube the chicken into 1/2" or so sized cubes.  Add to the flour bowl.  Toss well (this could also be done in a gallon zipper bag, but Little Bear threw mine in the recycle bin the day before I made this, and it'd already been collected...)
3.  Place olive oil and sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken to the pan, and cook until it's slightly browned.

I completely overcrowded my pan and should have cooked this in two batches. It still worked out fine, but getting the chicken to brown was a chore like this

4.  While chicken is cooking, mix the OJ, ginger, granulated garlic, balsamic, tomato paste, lime juice, honey and salt in a medium bowl.
5.  When the chicken is done, add it to the crockpot.  Top with the frozen peppers and onions, then cover with the orange sauce.

6.  Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.  Towards the end, I stirred mine a couple of times to make sure the chicken and veggies were completely and evenly covered in the yummy orange sauce.

Serve over brown rice or whole wheat noodles.  I meant to sprinkle mine with sesame seeds, but forgot.  It's a nice touch, though - especially if you have company over!

Lentil & Wheat Berry Chili

Vegetarian dishes are not usually my thing.  I love meat!  But, after I was away from home and eating junk for a week, I felt like crap and needed to restart my system.  We did a whole week at my house without meat!  It was really hard for me to come up with a new meatless dish every night, especially because I do NOT like tofu (nor do I think that eating large amounts of soy is particularly healthy).  One of our meals was a meatless chili.  I was super surprised, but it was DELICIOUS!

If you're hesitant about using wheat berries or need a gluten-free recipe, just sub extra lentils for the
wheat berries.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (unrefined is best!)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
• 3/4 cup dried lentils (any variety)
• 3/4 cup wheat berries
• 5 cups of liquid (any combination of stock or water will work)
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust accordingly if you used salty stock)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• chili powder to taste
• 1 can diced tomatoes (fire roasted are extra yummy!)

Directions

1.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic.  Saute until tender and slightly brown.  If you're in a rush, only use half an onion and skip the sautéing.

2.  Combine all ingredients in a crock pot.

3.  Cook on high for 7-8 hours, or until lentils and wheat berries are tender.

4.  Serve with sour cream, brown rice, crackers, cheese, or your favorite chili toppings.

{Husband said that this was even better as leftovers the next day! - but there weren't any leftovers left over for me to confirm this}

Crockpot Beans

This is a great recipe to make on Monday and incorporate into several different meals through the week.  This recipe will easily work for bean burritos, beans and cornbread, chili with beans, enchiladas with refried beans, etc.  While the basic recipe calls for pinto beans, you can sub in any dried bean.  Red kidney beans, white northern beans, and black beans all work wonderfully!  I often mix the beans, too, to get some nutritional variation.

Dried beans are cheap, healthy, versatile, and super tasty, so this is a good recipe to keep in your natural eating arsenal!
Ingredients

• 3 cups dried beans
• 2 quarts liquid (any combination of water and stock will work, but I usually do half water & half chicken stock)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste, depending on the saltiness of your cooking liquid)

Directions

1.  Wash the beans thoroughly.  Rather than pouring back-and-forth between a bowl and the colander, I just set the colander in a big bowl of water and let the beans soak for about 5 minutes.  Once the dirt is loosened, I remove the colander (and beans) and empty the water.  Repeat until the water is clear (usually 2 or 3 rounds).

2.  Place all of the ingredients in a crockpot, stir once, and cook on high for 7 hours.  There's no need to stir throughout the day and no need to even check on them (unless your crockpot requires attention for some reason).
That is it!  I told you it'd be easy.  Some people advocate soaking your beans overnight before you cook them, but I think this just requires unneeded time and effort.  I never soak mine, and my beans turn out great every time!

Crockpot Beef Burgandy

My bestie, Katie, valiantly offered to write this post to keep some fresh content for y'all this week while I'm taking the bar.  She's not quite as committed to real food as I am, but I'm working on her :)  She swears by the crockpot and it's ability to make any non-cook into an overnight chef! 

I am a bachelorette living in the city who, until recently, ate mostly processed and just-add-water type meals.  When I went back to school, the only change I made to that eating habit was to order more pizza and fast food.  All of that changed when my mom got a new crockpot and gave me her old one.  It opened up a whole new culinary world for me!

I now cook healthy, low-fat meals with real ingredients instead of processed foods that I have to hope and trust match the description on the label.  A novice I am when it comes to pure ingredients, but have come miles and miles with Lindsey's urging.  Amazingly, with my trusty crockpot, it takes as little effort as before, so what’s not to love?

Here’s my favorite recipe: French Beef Burgandy.  It’s super easy and so far gets rave reviews—perfect comfort food, and serves about 3-4 people.

Tips to make this even easier and tastier than it already is: 1) The original recipe called for beef chuck, but once by accident I bought rump roast and now I’ll never go back to chuck.  Rumps have zero marbling—just pure red meat throughout, except for a solid white lining of fat which I easily lobbed off.  I cooked it overnight, so it still tasted like a filet the next day—without any of the grease!  2) The only way I know of to mess up this recipe is to try browning the meat before the pan is hot enough to sear it.  3) when dredging the meat, just pour the flour, salt, pepper into a big ziplock.  Dump the meat into it and shake until the meat is white.  Easy peezy.  4) Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I used a jar of minced garlic (1/2 tsp=1 clove), and although it’s “processed,” it spares my hands and sanity, so there’s that.  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have!

• 2 lbs. (I’ll just say it) Beef RUMP, 1” x 1”, cubed
• ½ cup beef broth
• 1 cup red wine
• ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
• 7-8 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Mix the flour with salt, pepper, then dredge the meat through it.  Heat olive oil in frying pan, and brown the meat.  Put all other ingredients into the crockpot, add the meat, and stir very well.  Cook for 6 hours on low, 2-3 hours on high.

Crockpot Carnitas

This is one of my husband's favorite recipes ever!

Ingredients

• 32 ounces beef stock
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 medium red or yellow onion, quartered
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon anise (optional)
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic/garlic powder
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup liquid smoke
• 4 ounce can chopped green chiles
• 6 pounds pork butt roast, pork shoulder or country-style pork ribs, de-boned (if needed), fat trimmed off & cut into large chunks

Directions
1.  Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until pork falls apart when forked.

2.  Remove pork from cooking liquid.  Shred with a fork.
3.  Add about 1/2 cup cooking liquid with brown sugar and liquid smoke, to taste.
The meat is great for use in quesadillas, tacos, burritos or barbecue sandwiches.  It also freezes well!