Crockpot roast

I'm new to the whole crockpot cooking scene.  Last week the husband laughed at me when I put in the chicken and bbq sauce and asked if I had to do anything else. 
So, on to recipe number 2.  Our local store had a buy1get1 deal on pork so we have a lot of pork in the house right now. 
I took the pork roast, studded it with cloves and added 2 c of apple juice, cinnamon, honey, nutmeg and a generous 1/2 c of applesauce (I didn't have the applebutter the recipe called for so I improvised) and set it in the fridge to marinade.
Husband put it on to cook the next morning and we had dinner 6-8 hour later.   WOW crockpot cooking is easy!   easy as pie!   No, wait, easier than pie!  ok, ok, I don't really think 2 things make me an expert but it certainly works for cooking meat!
Add cornstarch to liquids and you'd have a gravy too.

One of these days I am going to remember to take a picture of my food again!  Def a passable meal. 

Flour tortillas

I really wanted to make these in November but never got around to it.  In part because I didn't get a recipe.  I did buy a cast iron pan though!
Still have not made them but finally got a recipe from an Instagram friend.

Flour tortillas

2 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbs olive oil

up to 1c water

Kneed until its doughy.  Form into a ball.  break into 6-8 smaller balls and roll them out on a floured surface.

Throw them in a skillet 1 at a time.  Flip when bubbles, cooking the first side 2x and the second side once.

Thai kitchen Houseparty

Winning a houseparty led me to the creation of these wings.  I always wondered what to do with wings other than bbq sauce so here was my big chance.  These are awesome, not difficult at all and I think I have made them 3 times since the party.   
Its not at all unprocessed but it is easy to make and the whole family will eat it.  Best yet, the "hard part" is made by Thai Kitchen with their red chili paste and sauce.  ( I have no clue how to make either of those although I imagine the paste us much easier than the sauce).



THAI CHILI CHICKEN WINGS
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Makes: 10 appetizer servings
3 pounds chicken wing pieces
1/4 cup Thai Kitchen® Roasted Red Chili Paste
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup Thai Kitchen® Sweet Red Chili Sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon sesame seed, toasted
ARRANGE chicken wings in a single layer on a
foil-lined large shallow baking pan.
BAKE in preheated 425ºF oven 1 hour or until chicken wings are golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.
MEANWHILE, mix chili paste and water with a wire whisk until smooth. Add chili sauce, lime juice, garlic powder and ginger; mix well. Toss hot chicken wings with sauce mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Tip: Chicken wings may also be deep fried until cooked through.

Chocolate covered strawberry ice cream

I was jonsing for some ice cream and we have none.  I always want ice cream when my throat hurts a little.  The hubs suggested making strawberry ice cream and I was less than thrilled about the idea but since nothing else was coming to my mind I decided I'd do it.  Then I remembered I had some torani's chocolate syrup to sweeten it.
We have a ninja blender which we bought from Sam's club. It blends frozen food really well and I have made my one ingredient ice cream using it before. 

In it I put:

The remainder of our frozen strawberries (1 c?)
a splash of milk
and two dashes of torani's chocolate syrup.

My first thought:  It tastes like chocolate covered strawberries!!
All in all a perfect dessert pulled from my kitchen ingredients.  I'm envisioning chocolate covered bananas but alas all we have left is frozen pineapple chunks.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Yeah, still have some more bananas to use up.  I was reading facebook (best procrastination tool ever) and came across a post by Earth Eats for banana bars. It called for 3 bananas and wasn't banana bread.  yay!
 Picture:

Recipe:

Banana Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon flax meal (for added protein, optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 medium mashed bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup raw, quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts and dried fruits (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease and flour 13x9 inch baking pan. Sift together flour, salt, soda and spices, set aside. In large bowl, beat until light and fluffy butter, sugar and egg. Add bananas and vanilla, beat until smooth.
2. Gradually stir in flour mixture and oats until well combined. (If it seems to be getting a little thick, slowly add about 1/4 cup non-fat milk as needed.) Stir in nuts and dried fruit. Bake until golden (about 25 minutes). 

 I omitted the flax seed because I didn't have any and the nuts and dried fruit because I am not a big fan. I briefly thought about putting chocolate chips in but I didn't have any so that ended that.

Upon tasting it I had three thoughts, 1) wow, that came out easy.  I greased but forgot to flour. 2) maybe a splash of milk but pretty yummy. 3) dried fruits really would make a good addition but not nuts.  The oats negate the need for nuts.  All is all pretty good.  I would make it again if I need to get rid of bananas again.
Ironically, making this wiped me out of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla but not BANANAS!!!!

Hardened arteries

As a child my mom would make spaghetti carbonora.  I've been thinking about making it recently since I came across a recipe at allrecipes.com   Today I finally made it.  I knew the recipe varied from my mom's ( I had no clue how she made hers and I just wanted something easy.

Recipe (serves 4):

• 3 cups uncooked tube pasta
• 6 bacon strips, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, cubed
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook bacon; remove bacon.  Use grease to saute garlic.  Add milk, cubed cream cheese and butter.  Stir til smooth.  Add Parmesan cheese and bacon.  Toss in spaghetti 
Had a heart attack yet?  If not I will tell you it was super yummu, super filling and super rich. But due to the HIGH fat and calorie content I probably will not make this again.  I need to find a lower calorie/fat version.  Just using turkey bacon didn't really make a difference.  It also took some time to stir out the lumps from the cream cheese.   Suggestions welcome.  My first thought it cut down on the butter and add something green (NOT PEAS).  I kept thinking my mom used green onions in her version which i do know used sour cream.  Parsley would work too.

Going bananas!

Last weekend I went shopping and bought a bunch of bananas since I had a coupon for $1 off of bananas.  End result of this leaves me with a a bunch of bananas now starting to spot.  I didn't want to make banana bread so I went to allrecipes.com for help and found a recipe called Green Slime Smoothie.  Baby poop slime might have been more accurate when I made it but it tasted surprisingly good and gave me 2 servings of fruit and 1 serving of veggies.
Picture

 Recipe:
1 banana
3 oz frozen strawberries
1 or more c spinach


Blend

See, it looks like Christmas decorated baby poop!   It was yummy and maybe a bit too much banana, but who uses 1/2 banana in a recipe and what do you do with the other half?
Other recipes made with bananas


1 ingredient ice cream (really yummy and creamy)
Chop bananas into small pieces.  Freeze. Blend.  Its amazingly yummy and creamy but does not refreeze exactly the same so only blend as much as you want to eat.

Banana blend smoothie
1 banana
1 tsp honey
1/2 c of milk
dash or more nutmeg

It was too runny for my taste so I plan to freeze the banana for next time.  I think I still have 6 or so bananas left.

Getting started

I've unsuccessfully blogged before. I fully admit it.  I  thought I had to blog something good everyday.  I quickly got burnt out.  My new idea is to blog at my pace this time.  I've wanted to make a change in my eating style and attempted to do so this last month by taking the Unprocessed October challenge by Eating Rules.   It was very eye opening.  I felt like I've learned a lot and tried some new things but my mind is like a sieve,  I need someplace to write this all down and be able to come back to when I want to make it again.
So, my promise, to me, is to blog occasionally and, well lets admit it, it will probably be pretty mediocre as well.  I also promise to post when I cook something new (or an oldie I like and haven't posted yet). There will even be the occasional picture.
For this first blog I already have a recipe in mind.  I will actually be making it on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning for another family.  Nothing like experimenting on someone else, right? 
Part of the recipe calls for cream of chicken soup.  I found a recipe to make homemade cream of chicken soup!  Yippee!   I'm all about taking as many chemicals out as I can and knowing what I am actually cooking.  Don't get me started on the facebook posts about the McRib.  Gah!!!

Without further ado: my stolen recipe for Cream of Chicken Soup

Recipe Name: 

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

Picture: 

Description: 

A flavorful condensed cream of chicken soup base recipe for use in dishes that call for canned creamed soups

Yield: 

3 cups (about 2 cans)

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

Instructions: 

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).
2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.

Additional Notes: 

This recipe was stolen from Tammy's recipes who got it form someone else

Preparation Time: 

5 minutes

Cooking Time: 

10-15 minutes

Next week I will try to take picture of it and the recipe its going into.