Crock Pot Thai Chicken

One of my friends gave me this recipe ages ago.  She made it for a potluck, and it was really tasty and super easy, so of course I had to have the recipe.  I'm not sure where she got the recipe, but I did a quick search, and it's very similar to this one.

Crock Pot Thai Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 2 T peanut butter
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 2 T dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
• 2 T chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Put chicken in bottom of crock pot.  Mix remaining ingredients, except chopped peanuts and cilantro, and pour over chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Use two forks to shred the chicken and stir chicken and sauce together.  Give it several minutes to combine.
3. Serve with cooked rice and garnish with the chopped peanuts and cilantro.

If you like your food spicy, which I do, and I think Thai food is supposed to be spicy, you can add some hot chiles.  This recipe as it stands is not spicy.  I was very tempted to add a few chiles last time I made this, but my husband doesn't like his food too spicy, so I resisted.  This chicken really has a great flavor even without the extra spice.

Definitely make sure you use the boneless skinless thighs for this recipe. I wasn't paying close enough attention the first time I made this and used bone-in thighs.  The flavor was still really good, but there were some pieces of bone or cartilage or something that had to be picked out of the sauce - not fun.  The chicken was definitely cooked, though!  I also tried this with boneless breasts once, but the chicken turned out really dry.  It doesn't seem like that would be possible, with the slow cooking and the sauce, but it just wasn't right.

While searching, I found another Slow Cooker Thai Chicken recipe that looks interesting.  I may try it next time, or at least incorporate the red pepper and onion into this recipe.

Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

I found this recipe ages ago and saved it because it just looked so good.  And it is - so good.  I've made it a couple times so far, and this recipe is definitely a keeper.  I thought it was about time I post the recipe. 

Southwestern Shepherd's Pie
adapted from a Parade Magazine recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp chopped green jalapeño
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• fresh spinach (optional)

for topping:

• 1-1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
• butter
• milk

Directions:

1. Place sweet potatoes for topping in a saucepan with water to cover. Cover and cook until sweet potatoes are cooked and soft, about 30 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium-high heat; add beef and cook for 5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and jalapeño and continue cooking until beef and vegetables are cooked.
3. Add tomato paste and spices; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; simmer 10-15 minutes. Add corn, beans, and cilantro (and spinach if you're using it, cooking just long enough to wilt it). Spoon mixture into a 9x9-inch baking dish.
4. Drain; mash with butter and milk (if needed) and spread over the meat mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of chili powder if desired. Bake in a 400°F oven until bubbly and  a bit brown, 30 minutes.

Of course I changed things a bit, but I did keep the spices the same.  The combination of flavors is really good - a bit spicy, a bit sweet.  I added the spinach because I had some that needed used, and I'm a bit obsessed with throwing spinach into everything these days.

The original recipe called for 2 T butter and 1/2 cup milk when mashing the sweet potatoes, but my sweet potatoes were so soft and mashed up so nicely they didn't really need anything.  I did add the butter before I realized that, but I completely skipped the milk.  Just add butter and milk as needed to get the consistency you want.

Garnish with additional cilantro and serve with a green salad and cornbread for a delicious dinner. 

Chicken Quesadillas

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Sid's Sea Palm Cooking.  Sid lives in a small town 30 miles from the nearest Mexican or Chinese restaurant - or probably any other good restaurant, so she makes her own food at home.  I bet it tastes better anyway!  And Sid is really good at making the recipes simple and easy-to-follow so anyone can do it.

I kinda got stuck in the Mexican food section while trying to narrow down my choices. Southwest Casserole and Acapulco Chicken were two that caught my eye, but I finally decided on these yummy quesadillas.  I'm always on the lookout for easy but flavorful dinner ideas, and these fit the bill exactly.   Serve these with a nice salad, and you have a quick and delicious dinner.

Chicken Quesadillas
adapted from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a medium onion, diced
• 1/2 a bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 a cooked chicken breast, diced
• 1 to 2 T chopped cilantro
• minced jalapeno (optional)
• 2 flour tortillas (8 or 10 inch)
• Shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add diced onion and peppers and saute until onion starts to soften.  Add diced chicken and cilantro and heat through.  Set aside.
   
2. Place 1 tortilla in a larger skillet over medium low heat.  Add a layer of cheese and then half of the chicken and vegetable mixture, covering the entire tortilla.  Heat until the cheese starts to melt and then fold tortilla in half.  Add the other tortilla to the skillet; half of it will be resting on the first one.   To the half sitting on the bottom of the skillet, add a layer of cheese, the rest of the chicken and vegetable mix, and then another layer of cheese.  Fold over.
   
3. Heat until cheese is melted and tortillas are starting to brown.  Flip over and  brown the other side.
4. Once they're browned to your liking and all melty, remove quesadillas from the skillet and cut into wedges.  Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

Makes 2

Sid added the minced jalapeno to her quesadillas, but I chose to leave it out - even though I would have loved a little heat, too - because I didn't want these to be too spicy for my husband.  I seasoned the chicken breast with adobo seasoning when I cooked it and added some chopped cilantro to the chicken and vegetable mixture for a bit of extra flavor without getting too spicy.

Heat or no, the flavors were really good.  I had mine with a bit of salsa and sour cream, and extra cilantro and some avocado, but he ate his just the way they were.  We'll be having these again.

Soon - since I used half an onion and half a pepper, I only used half the chicken breast I cooked, so that means I got to make them again!  They make a really good lunch, too.  I added the jalapeno to those - because my husband wasn't home - and a squeeze of lime.  So good!

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