October went by way too fast this year. It went by so fast that I never finished decorating my house for Halloween. :( We held a big Halloween Carnival at my boy's school so my time, attention and decorations were focused on that event. I was responsible for the Zombie Maze. We transformed the school cafeteria into a Haunted Maze, got volunteers to dress in character and scare kids. It was great and the kids and adults loved it! My photos didn't turn out so great but I'll blog about the maze in the near future after I try to belatedly finish a Halloween decorating blog this weekend. :)
Anyway, fall is finally here (as in cooler weather) and I'm neck deep in yummy comforting fall recipes. Crockpot White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup is one of those easy, delicious recipes that cooks itself. Throw it all in and forget about it. Perfect for those long workdays or cool weekends watching football. Enjoy!
White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup
Serves 4-6
2 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight
1 Kielbasa sausage, sliced and pan-fried
1 small red pepper, diced (~1/2 c)
1 medium carrot, diced(~1/2 c)
1 small yellow onion, diced (1/2 c)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups kale, roughly chopped
2 bay leaf
1 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. thyme, dried
1/2 t. Italian seasoning, dried
1 t. kosher salt
pepper (to taste)
6 cups chicken broth
Soak 2 cups of dried white beans overnight. Drain water and place beans into slow cooker.
Pan fry kielbasa sausage until browned and drain about half of the rendered fat. Add sausage to slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir and set slow cooker to low and cook for 6-7 hours. Enjoy!
Other soup recipes to try:
Spicy Slow Cooked Beef Stew Rustic Minestrone Tomato Garlic Soup
After a few months of no blog cooking, I finally made some time to cook. Yay! The weatherman had threatened rain last Saturday, which kept me home and wanting to cook. My inspiration for this recipe came from Crockpot Salsa Chicken. You know the recipe, chicken breasts and a jar of salsa...so simple and so good! It's a staple in my house. My girlfriend, Gina had made it the other night while I was over and it inspired me to try an Italian version of shredded chicken. Even though it never rained last weekend, the weather was cool and cloudy. I threw these amazing sandwiches together with a few items I had on hand; chicken breasts, red and green bell peppers and some leeks were the basic ingredients. I also had some Italian dressing mix and some pepperoncini as well. Throw the whole thing in the Crockpot with some garlic, basil, butter and white wine and you're in business. Toast up these soft Ciabatta rolls with fresh basil butter, melted mozzarella cheese and top with this amazing chicken...yum! Enjoy!
Ciabatta Chicken Sandwiches with Peppers and Leeks
Makes 8-10 sandwiches
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 small leeks, white and light green parts, sliced and well rinsed (about 1 cup)
1 green bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 c sliced pepperoncini
1 packet of dry Italian Dressing mix
1/2 t dried basil
3 T of butter, unsalted, divided
1/4 cup white wine or water
Mozzarella cheese
8 Ciabatta rolls
Basil Butter (1/4 cup butter, softened with 4 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped)
Prepare all vegetables. Add about half of the leeks, peppers and garlic to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the chicken and sprinkle with half of the Italian Dressing mix. Top chicken with the remaining vegetables and sprinkle with the rest of the Italian dressing mix. Add pepperocinis, dried basil and place 1 tablespoon of butter on the top of each vegetable covered chicken breast. Add wine and cook on high for 5 hours. Shred chicken. Set aside while you prepare the basil butter and the rolls.
Spread basil butter on both sides of Ciabatta rolls and add mozzarella cheese to the top bun. Place under a broiler to melt the cheese and toast the buttered side for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Remove from the broiler, pile high with shredded chicken and serve hot. Enjoy!
Other recipes to try:
Veggie Sandwiches with Black Bean Hummus and Sunflower Sprouts
Sliders with Pickled Onions and Spicy Mayo
Chicken Panini with Swiss Chard and Leeks
Here is one of my all-time favorite crockpot recipes. It's super easy with only 3 ingredients and it's super delicious. I make this at least once a month, no matter what the season because it's so versatile. I usually serve it over rice but I've made Pork Verde Enchiladas, Tostadas, and Chili with it too. (I'll post these recipes in future blogs) The recipe calls for salsa but the finished dish is not spicy and very kid-friendly. My picky kids love this dish. They say, "This is good chicken Mama." To my kids all meat is chicken, even when we have steak my kids will say, "I like the chicken." I don't correct them, it's not worth the risk of them not eating it because it's called something unfamilar. :)
The sour cream added at the end really mellows any heat from the added salsa and makes the yummy sour cream sauce. I like it best with rice because you can put extra sour cream sauce over the rice and just eat that. Hope you enjoy it!
Crockpot Pork Verde
Serves 6
- 2-3 lbs pork roast (I use any type of pork roast except tenderloin)
- 16 oz. bottle of salsa verde (mild or medium)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Place pork roast in Crockpot. (You can put it in frozen right from the freezer, but add a little extra cooking time if frozen), pour bottle of salsa verde over roast. Cook on High for 4-6 hrs or Low for 6-8 hrs. Shred pork with forks in crockpot. Turn off crockpot and add sour cream and mix together. Serve over rice.
Super simple and delicious.
