Slow Cooker Lasagna

America's Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution

I like to make large casseroles and soups and then keep portion out and store individually frozen meals for quick dinners or easy lunches for my husband to take to work. In the winter, this is no problem.

When it's 103 degrees out, turning on the oven and browning meat and simmering a sauce on the stove kind of lose their appeal. Most slow cooker recipes for casseroles or soups start with browning meat or sautéing vegetables on the stove, so I was excited to find this recipe, from "America's Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution" that didn't require any prior cooking of ingredients other than the noodles.

This lasagna turned out great. I didn't expect the cheese to brown like it would in the oven, but it did and the lasagna held its shape after being removed and was easily cut and served. My husband loved it, "The Princess" wouldn't touch it, and "The Little Lady" ate more than a 9 month old really should. So, pretty much the usual.


Sausage Lasagna

Vegetable Oil spray
8 curly edged lasagna noodles (7 oz) broken in half
Salt and pepper
1 3/4 cup ricotta (15 oz)
1 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2.5 oz) (I used the canister kind)
1/2 cup minced fresh basil
1 large egg
1 jar tomato sauce (recipe recommends 24 oz Bertolli tomato and basil sauce)
1 lb Italian sausage removed from its casing (I used Italian turkey sausage)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Make a sling and collar for crock-pot*. Spray with cooking spray.
Add 1 tbsp salt to 4 quarts water. Boil noodles to al dente according to pasta box instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Lay out in single layer to dry on a clean kitchen towel. (pasta will stick to paper towels).

In a bowl mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, egg, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, basil.

Spread 1/2 cup of jarred tomato sauce on bottom of foil lined slow cooker. Arrange 4 noodles on top of sauce, they may overlap. Place 9 rounded tablespoons of ricotta mixture on noodles (the recipe didn't say to, but I smoothed out the ricotta mixture bc I like things to be uniform). Drop 1/3 of the sausage onto the ricotta layer. Next, sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and then spoon 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the cheese. Repeat layers of noodles, ricotta, sausage, cheese, and sauce twice more.

For the last layer arrange 4 noodles, then top with remaining sauce and sprinkle the last of the mozzarella and Parmesan.

Cover and cook until lasagna is cooked through, 4 hours on low. (I cooked the first hour on high because I was just too nervous that the turkey meat wouldn't be cooked all the way through on low).

Let cool for 20 minutes then transfer using sling to serving dish.

Recipe slightly adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution

*For directions to make a collar and sling, scroll to bottom of cake recipe.
http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/2011/05/happy-birthday-crockpot-cake.html

 Bryn

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwhiches

So, you are going to have to use your imagination for this post.

Why?

Well, because I forgot to take pictures. 

Totally and completely forgot.

Planned the meal, specifically for this post because it is crazy easy and it makes your house smell delicious in the process.

And then life got busy that day and I forgot.

Yeah .. um ...

Ok, so life didn't only get busy ... it also got, uh, messy.

You see we are potty training our 2 year old.

You can see how that could be messy, right?

Between the refusing to poop in the potty and the 100 trips running to the potty when she never actually went, well, that day was sort of a bust.
But I was so glad to have this meal already in the crock pot!!  It was a life saver, because there was no way I was going to be able to cook anything that night.  And that is what this week of quick and easy meals is all about! 

So, just use your imagination for me, please?  I promise you will love this meal!

Ingredients

3-4 lb Roast
1 Package Au Jus Mix (usually found in the spice aisle, with the chili packets, etc)
1 Package Italian Dressing Mix (Found in salad dressing aisle - the dry seasoning package)
1 Can beef Broth

Mix the last three ingredients in your crock pot until all lumps are gone.  Add roast.  Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours.  Usually after about 7 or 8 hours, I pull the roast apart and then put it back in to soak up so more juice.

To serve, we make sandwiches on hoagies with lettuce, onion and tomatoes.  The kids just eat the meat, no sandwich, cuz that's how they roll.  I usually cook up some steak fries or serve with chips.  The best part is there are left overs, so this can be two nights worth of meals!!

Hallie

P.S.
You'll be happy to know that potty training is going much better! We are 100% accident free, we even conquered the poop!!

Easier Chicken?

If my husband were stranded on a desert island and could only bring one thing, it would be a freezer full of chicken. Last meal? Easy, chicken. Could only eat one meal every day for the rest of his life? Chicken. Fried, baked, grilled, smoked, roasted, breaded, in a casserole, in wing sauce...doesn't matter. In summation, the man likes chicken.

When I browse online recipes looking for new dinner ideas, I always start with chicken. As a rule, it's pretty rare for him to completely dislike any chicken dish, so I feel safe experimenting. Recently I have seen more and more recipes for whole chickens cooked in a slow cooker. The recipes claimed that they were an easy way to prepare a dish similar to the roasted chickens you find in the deli at Costco and grocery stores. My husband buys these every now and then and really likes them, plus I like to use them for chicken pot pie or for soups that don't require chicken broth. Also, I love using the slow cooker, so I had to try it out.

I decided to use The Little Kitchen's recipe. I liked this recipe because she was honest about it needing to be browned under the broiler once it had reached temperature and didn't she fake that the skin was acceptable without this step. Steamed/boiled chicken skin? No thanks. Also, she cooked hers on top of vegetables which is what I had planned to do anyway.

The method was super easy and really only required placing your cut vegetable in the bottom of the slow cooker and then topping with chicken. She added her spices to the chicken prior to placing it in the cooker, but I prefer to handle the bird as little as possible, so I do it once it is sitting on the veggies.

I do this same thing when cooking in the oven and it just seems that I'm able to avoid touching tons of things with nasty chicken hands when I do it this way. The main goal of trying this method is to compare it to our current preparation, so I didn't stuff it with lemon or garlic because I don't normally make it that way. Also, the roast chicken we buy at the store is the original flavor, so only seasoning went into the cavity. The cover is then placed on the slow cooker and turned to low and then the whole thing is ignored for 6-8 hours. Our chicken was 4.5 lbs and it cooked in 6.5 hours. I then placed it in a roasting pan and broiled it for 5 minutes .

When the chicken finished cooking it appeared to be super juicy and I was excited about how successful it was.

The meat was very tender and separated from the bones very easily. The flavor was great, but the chicken did become dry as the meal went on. Reminded me a bit of poached chicken. Wet, but not juicy. Does that make sense?

We roast whole chickens in the oven fairly often and I can't say that I've ever found the process difficult. However, I am a stay at home mom, so I can start the meal at any point throughout the day and therefore do not have to wait for two hours after I get home in the evening for the chicken to be ready. The slow cooker method would definitely be a good option for families that get home late or have practice and ballet and piano to shuttle around to. I would use this recipe in the future for dinners that require poached chicken, such as salads, shredded chicken for enchiladas, etc., but I wouldn't use it as a substitute for oven roasted chicken.

For full recipe:
http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/2011/02/03/whole-chicken-in-a-slow-cooker/

Bryn

Margarita Chicken Fajitas

At a Mexican restaurant, Chicken Fajitas are my go to dish.  Any time we have ever tried a new Mexican place, this is always what I will order the first time we visit.  If a place makes a good fajita, it's a keeper.  Unfortunately, not many places do.  A lot of times, the chicken is bland.  Like they took it out of the freezer and just threw it in a pan bland.  No marinade or seasoning whatsoever.  Those places don't get a second try.

So, while I was guzzling politely sipping margaritas the other night, I thought, hmm, I wonder if this would make a good marinade?  So, tonight, we tried it.  Because, to be honest, in my old age, I cannot finish 4 margaritas on my own.  (Hubs was not partaking) So we had some leftover anyhow ... let's put it to use.

First, one thing to know.  This is not one of those marinades that you want to sit for hours and hours and hours.  It has lime juice in it.  The citric acid will eventually cook your chicken and give you mush.  You want to marinate for somewhere between 45and 90 minutes.  If you are looking for a sweeter chicken, go 90.  If you are just looking for some tang, go 45.

Here is what you'll need:

Ingredients:

1lb chicken, cut into fajita size slices
Margarita marinade found
Green, red, and yellow peppers
Onion
salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic salt - to taste
Tortillas
Any assorted toppings you enjoy:  tomatoes, cheese, lettuce.

Cut up chicken and place in dish.  Cover with marinade.  Cover dish and refrigerate 45 to 90 minutes.

Cut up peppers.

Cut up onion.

Once chicken has finished marinating, throw in hot pan and saute till almost done.  Add peppers and onion. 

At this point, I also threw in a little salt, pepper, garlic salt, and chili powder.  Saute until veggies are crisp tender.

Serve with your favorite toppings. 

We really enjoyed this!  The chicken was very flavorful and went well with the variety of peppers.  Definitely a keeper of a recipe!

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

My husband and I were married on April 29th and were in Mexico for our honeymoon on Cinco de Mayo. I'd love to say that we went out and partied it up spring break style. But I'd be lying. We spent the day on the beach, did some shopping in the local markets, had dinner at the hotel and then watched some weird 80's theme hotel variety show from our balcony. We tend to make snarky comments, and felt it was probably wise to judge others from the safety of our room. What we did not do that day was encounter anything buffalo spiced or sauced. It may not be authentic Mexican food...but it's an enchilada, so it counts. Right ? You should make these for Cinco de Mayo, or for a get together or because it's a Wednesday and your husband wants something spicy. Good stuff.

Pretty much every night my husband watches tv and I visit my favorite blogs and spend way too much time on Pinterest. If I find something I think he'll like, I share and get varying responses. Usually it's a head nod, but this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas got a "yes, please."

Very simple ingredients. Poached chicken, enchilada sauce, hot sauce (Frank's obviously), tortillas, green onions, mozzarella cheese, and blue cheese crumbles.

I prepped the ingredients in the morning before the girls got up. I started with 2 large chicken breasts in a sauce pan and covered them with chicken broth and brought to a boil, reduced heat and simmered partially covered for 10 minutes and then removed from heat and covered for 15 minutes. After it cooled I shredded it. I chopped the green onions and also combined my enchilada sauce and Frank's. The recipe called for a 14 ounce can of enchilada sauce, but I had a 19 ounce can. I used the 1/3 cup of Frank's so my ratio was a little lighter on the hot sauce than the recipe called for, but it was still sufficiently spicy. Before I placed the chicken in the refrigerator I added 2/3 cup of the sauce mix to the chicken so it could absorb the flavors.

30 minutes before dinner I preheated to 350 and placed some sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. The recipe calls for an 8x8 dish, but I used small tortillas instead of the large which were called for, so I ended up with 7 smaller enchiladas that took up more space. Plus I had more chicken and sauce. I added half of my green onions and a about 2/3 cup mozzarella to the sauced chicken and then started filling and rolling the tortillas. After I placed them seam side down I covered with the remaining sauce and cheese. The recipe said to add the Gorgonzola after the enchiladas were out of the oven, but I wanted it more melted as part of the dish instead of as a garnish.

It baked for 25 minutes (I added a bit more time because the chicken had been refrigerated). It was bubbly and smelled deeeelicious!

He loved them and The Princess said she didn't want to try "endurladas". No big surprise there :)

For the full recipe visit The Novice Chef Here

Bryn