slyprentice (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
slyprentice) wrote2009-03-21 10:15 pm
slyprentice) wrote2009-03-21 10:15 pm
Entry tags:
Recipes
Well, I've finally started working on one of my resolution's for this year, which was to try to cook more. I, honestly, am not a big fan of cooking, mostly because I have a really bad tendency of...forgetting about it. You know, you'll put something on the stove and start cooking and walk away - because it can totally keep for a few minutes, right? Well, I'm the girl that walks away and then completely forgets about it. I blame this on the fact that I am still not used to cooking on electric despite the fact that I moved four years ago and should therefore be completely used to it.
Anyway.
To combat my oh-my-god-I-suck-at-cooking-why-is-the-house-smoking thing, I've turned to using a crock-pot and let me tell you it's made all the difference in the world. Anything that I can just throw the ingredients in and come back to it later is totally a win. One of, if not The, easiest and more tasty of recipes I've found lately is:
Now, mind you, I modified the recipe because on weekdays I'm usually feeding up to 10 people. The original recipe wouldn't have feed that many. The original recipe was this:
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
* 6 bonelss, skinless chicken breast halves (or equivalent volume of preferred chicken parts)
* 1-16 oz. jar of inexpensive salsa
* 1 envelope of taco seasoning mix OR, 1/4 cup of taco seasoning from large jar
In a bowl, mix salsa and taco seasoning, set aside. In crockpot, place chicken breasts, then pour salsa/seasoning mix over chicken. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove chicken from crock, shread with fork,return chicken to crock to keep warm during dinner.Serve on taco shells or tortillas with any taco fixings you like.
Note: This would serve one large eater or a couple of eaters who like to eat small or child size servings.
My modified recipe is below:
Chicken Tacos: The Feed A Large Group
* 6 boneless skinless chick breasts (WHOLE)
* 2 16oz. jar of salsa (I used a jar of 'MEDIUM' salsa to give the dish a bit more heat but use whatever you prefer.)
* 1/2 cup of taco seasoning
In a bowl, mix salsa and taco seasoning, set aside. In crockpot, place chicken breasts, then pour salsa/seasoning mix over chicken.
Note: I added an extra cup of salsa because my chicken breasts were quite large. Smaller chicken breasts should be fine without the extra cup.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Because I upped the recipe to feed more, I cooked it on low for a few hours and realized there was no way that it would be cooked in time for dinner (my family tends to eat dinner around 5 or 6) so I turned it to HIGH about three hours. I would suggest that if you're planning to be gone most of the day, you leave it on low to cook and once you come home put it on high. If, however, you're going to be home most of the day I would suggest starting on low and once things begin heating up to turn it on high.
Remove chicken from crock, shread with fork,return chicken to crock to keep warm during dinner. Instead of taking the chicken out of the crock, I just got two forks and pulled it apart while in the pot. It's less messy this way.
Serve on taco shells or tortillas with any taco fixings you like.
Overall, I'd give this recipe a 8 out of 10 stars. It was quite tasty but was a bit on the messy side since there's quite a bit of sauce involved. You might do well to make this when you're not worried about how you'll look (i.e. dinner date) or just want something super easy that you can throw together and forget about for a while.
The other recipe I made tonight for my family for dessert and it was excellent:
Crock Pot Triple Chocolate Mess (NOT FOR MINI/SMALLER CROCKS!)
* 1 package chocolate cake mix
* 1 pint sour cream
* 1 small package instant chocolate pudding
* 1 small bag chocolate chips (about 6oz.)
* 3/4 cup oil
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup water
Spray crockpot with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients. Pour into crockpot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve in a bowl with ice cream or by itself.
Note:
1. If you're making this for the first time, please be aware that this is actually meant to be a little on the gooey/wet side. It's not undercooked. Once mine was done, there were still a few spots that the toothpick didn't really come away clean, despite it looking just like a normal cake. If you cook it for longer, however, you can get the consistency to become a little denser but you run the risk of overcooking so keep a close eye on it towards the end.
2. I wouldn't suggest making this for only yourself because, thanks to the cake mix, it expands, fluffs up, and makes quite a bit. Even after four of us tore into it - two went back for seconds; not me, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate - we still had a little over half left and thats saying something.
3. As stated above, I'm not a huge chocolate fan (apparently, I'm not like most other girls on the planet because chocolate tends to give me massive headaches) or a huge sweets fan so this was a little much for me. It's VERY chocolate-y and quite rich. One way to combat this would be to substitute white cake mix in.I've already got a request from my sister to make it walk nuts next time and I've been toying with the idea of substituing in caramel chips instead of chocolate chips.
4. This is supposed to be served warm!
Forgive me for all the notes involved. This is why I don't keep a recipe book. I ramble. :P
I've got a couple of recipes lined up for the future. Two of them are breakfast dishes left to cook over night and one is another dessert dish (Cherry Cobbler). I'll let you guys know how it works out. :D
Anyway.
To combat my oh-my-god-I-suck-at-cooking-why-is-the-house-smoking thing, I've turned to using a crock-pot and let me tell you it's made all the difference in the world. Anything that I can just throw the ingredients in and come back to it later is totally a win. One of, if not The, easiest and more tasty of recipes I've found lately is:
Now, mind you, I modified the recipe because on weekdays I'm usually feeding up to 10 people. The original recipe wouldn't have feed that many. The original recipe was this:
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
* 6 bonelss, skinless chicken breast halves (or equivalent volume of preferred chicken parts)
* 1-16 oz. jar of inexpensive salsa
* 1 envelope of taco seasoning mix OR, 1/4 cup of taco seasoning from large jar
In a bowl, mix salsa and taco seasoning, set aside. In crockpot, place chicken breasts, then pour salsa/seasoning mix over chicken. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove chicken from crock, shread with fork,return chicken to crock to keep warm during dinner.Serve on taco shells or tortillas with any taco fixings you like.
Note: This would serve one large eater or a couple of eaters who like to eat small or child size servings.
My modified recipe is below:
Chicken Tacos: The Feed A Large Group
* 6 boneless skinless chick breasts (WHOLE)
* 2 16oz. jar of salsa (I used a jar of 'MEDIUM' salsa to give the dish a bit more heat but use whatever you prefer.)
* 1/2 cup of taco seasoning
In a bowl, mix salsa and taco seasoning, set aside. In crockpot, place chicken breasts, then pour salsa/seasoning mix over chicken.
Note: I added an extra cup of salsa because my chicken breasts were quite large. Smaller chicken breasts should be fine without the extra cup.
Serve on taco shells or tortillas with any taco fixings you like.
Overall, I'd give this recipe a 8 out of 10 stars. It was quite tasty but was a bit on the messy side since there's quite a bit of sauce involved. You might do well to make this when you're not worried about how you'll look (i.e. dinner date) or just want something super easy that you can throw together and forget about for a while.
The other recipe I made tonight for my family for dessert and it was excellent:
Crock Pot Triple Chocolate Mess (NOT FOR MINI/SMALLER CROCKS!)
* 1 package chocolate cake mix
* 1 pint sour cream
* 1 small package instant chocolate pudding
* 1 small bag chocolate chips (about 6oz.)
* 3/4 cup oil
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup water
Spray crockpot with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients. Pour into crockpot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve in a bowl with ice cream or by itself.
Note:
1. If you're making this for the first time, please be aware that this is actually meant to be a little on the gooey/wet side. It's not undercooked. Once mine was done, there were still a few spots that the toothpick didn't really come away clean, despite it looking just like a normal cake. If you cook it for longer, however, you can get the consistency to become a little denser but you run the risk of overcooking so keep a close eye on it towards the end.
2. I wouldn't suggest making this for only yourself because, thanks to the cake mix, it expands, fluffs up, and makes quite a bit. Even after four of us tore into it - two went back for seconds; not me, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate - we still had a little over half left and thats saying something.
3. As stated above, I'm not a huge chocolate fan (apparently, I'm not like most other girls on the planet because chocolate tends to give me massive headaches) or a huge sweets fan so this was a little much for me. It's VERY chocolate-y and quite rich. One way to combat this would be to substitute white cake mix in.I've already got a request from my sister to make it walk nuts next time and I've been toying with the idea of substituing in caramel chips instead of chocolate chips.
4. This is supposed to be served warm!
Forgive me for all the notes involved. This is why I don't keep a recipe book. I ramble. :P
I've got a couple of recipes lined up for the future. Two of them are breakfast dishes left to cook over night and one is another dessert dish (Cherry Cobbler). I'll let you guys know how it works out. :D