I've decided to bring the topic for discussion back to the intent of my PTR!
Let's talk about recipes.
I don't know about you, but I love it when people pass along tried and true recipes. I figure, with so many of us seeking to spend less, eat in, and be healthy, we could all use a boost in the recipe department.
We'll go by specific topic. I'd like to first share
crock pot recipes.
Hopefully, the recipes we share are super yummy, easy, healthy, and somewhat cheap.
I have two to share. Both are from the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. FYI - lists of ingredients do NOT fall under copyright law. Instructions do. So when you post your recipes, if they come from a book, you need to put the instructions into your own words.
1. Teriyaki Chicken Thighs (will also work with Boneless Skinless Chicken)
12 bone-in chicken thighs (remove the skin)
1 T canola oil
1/2 c sake (Japanese white wine, I have also just used any old white wine with success)
1/4 mirin (Japanese cooking wine. You should be able to find it in the ethnic food area of your local grocery store. If you can find the big wine looking bottle near where sushi might be made in your grocery store, that is the best one. Like any cooking wine, this is a pantry item, and lasts.)
2 T soy sauce
2 t brown sugar
Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. You will brown the chicken, either thighs or breasts, on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes a side. When you remove the chicken from the skillet, put it in your crock pot. Turn off the heat to the skillet.
Let the skillet cool off just a bit before adding all the liquid, or it will just splatter everywhere and make a huge mess. With a cooler skillet, add the rest of the ingredients and deglaze the skillet. This is, scrape all the browned bits (they shouldn't be burnt, just kind of stuck to the pan) off the pan. BTW this does a pretty good job of jump starting the cleaning of the pan! And you might not have to turn the heat back on the pan to do it.
Pour the sauce over the chicken in the crock pot and cook on HIGH for 5-1/2 to 6 hours. Remove the lid during the last hour of cooking to reduce the sauce.
This is the BEST. I highly recommend doubling the sauce. I usually cook rice and made a rice bowl type thing from this recipe adding steamed (microwaved) veggies.
This makes GREAT leftovers to take to work too.
2. Chinese Sweet-and-Sour Chicken with Sesame Seeds
one 3 to 4 pound broiler fryer
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/4 c water
1/4 cup dry sherry or apple juice (you can use the mirin also!)
1 T ketchup (which is one fast food packet btw)
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 green onion, trimmed and halved
1 clove garlic pressed
2 T cornstarch
1 T water
2 T sesame seeds, lighted toasted in a dry skillet over med heat until fragrant
Wash and dry the chicken. Cut off any lumps of fat. When I do this I generally end up removing a lot of the skin altogether. Put the chicken in the crock pot, breast side up. Combine all the other ingredients, except the last three, in a bowl. Stir it. Pour it over the chicken. Cook it on HIGH for about 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours.
When the chicken is done, remove it. Mix the cornstarch and water together and stir the slurry into the crock pot into the sauce. Stir the sauce until thickened.
You can sprinkle the sesame seeds over the chicken when you serve it. I never have though.
I do the same thing with this recipe. Make rice bowls. The sauce is just slightly different. The chicken doesn't come out quite as dark with sauce. The leftovers from this are really good too.
I like the first recipe better taste wise, but sometimes I don't want to deal with browning the chicken. Sometimes one type of chicken is on sale, etc. When you have these items in your pantry, these are very economical recipes, especially if you stock up on chicken when it is on sale. Here the fryers will get to 77 or 79 cents a pound, the thighs will be 99 cents a pound, and the b/s chicken will be 1.77 a pound.
I love crock pot cooking.
Anyone have any crock pot recipes they'd like to share?
We're planning a trip for January 2010 but only if we lose a certain amount of weight by June will we make the reservations.
A Disney trip is really good incentive to get cracking with it.
If that were to take place, then I would regret the way that I altered our vacation. If the wedding is in CO, well, we will have to deal with that when it comes. I am comforted by the fact that the bride, groom, my sis-in-law and kids, and parents-in-law will ALL have to find a way up to CO from here. I think we can work something out. I may not end up as independent as I would like on that trip, but I think that we can get it done for not too much $$$.
*gulp* 
)
what have you done to me..
Yes, it does. I mean, seriously, $164.97 on food a night!?! You gotta be kidding me. $1154.79 for the whole vacation.
What do you mean by a hipster purse?
) Those sound oh so yummy! 
