Porcupine Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

Makes 5 servings
Ideal slow cooker size: 6 quart
Cooking time:  3-5 hours

• 3/4 lb extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can low- fat, low-sodium cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup skim milk

1.  Combine meat, 1 cup skim milk, rice, onion, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
2.  Shape into meatballs with an ice cream scoop. Place in the bottom of a slow cooker, in a single layer.
3.  Mix together soup and ½ cup milk. Pour over the top of the meatballs.
4.  Cover and cook on LOW 3-5 hours. Serve with mushroom soup gravy.

Recipe Credit: 365 Days of Slow Cooking

Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

Makes 5 servings

Ideal slow cooker size:  6 quart  

Cooking time:  3-5 hours

• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 (24 oz) can marinara sauce

1.  Combine meat, garlic, salt, pepper, rice, bread crumbs, milk and tomato paste in a bowl.

2.  Shape into meatballs with an ice cream scoop. Place in the bottom of a slow cooker, in a single layer.
3.  Pour marinara sauce over the top of the meatballs.
4.  Cover and cook on LOW 3-5 hours.

Recipe Credit: 365 Days of Slow Cooking

Crunchy Topped Swiss Chicken Bake

To freeze this meal, let the sauce cool before assembling. Follow the directions in the recipe but instead of topping the casserole with the panko mixture, put the panko mixture in a freezer ziploc, then cover the casserole dish with a double layer of foil. Freeze both the topping mixture and the casserole. For baking, put the frozen casserole, covered, in the preheated oven and bake for about an hour and 20 minutes. Uncover, top with the panko mixture and continue to bake for another 30-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the crumbs are golden.

INGREDIENTS

Sauce:
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste if needed
• Pinch of dried parsley
• Pinch of paprika
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Chicken and Cheese:
• 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 5-6 large slices Swiss cheese
Topping:
• 1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Hot, cooked rice or quinoa for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan.
2. For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, bring the broth and all the seasonings to a simmer. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, vigorously whisk the milk and flour together until smooth. While whisking the broth, slowly pour in the flour/milk mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to stir and cook until the mixture bubbles and thickens, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add additional salt and pepper to taste as needed.
3. Pat the chicken dry and lightly season with salt and pepper on each side. Place the chicken in a single layer in the baking pan - it's ok if the chicken is crammed in side-by-side as long as it isn't overlapping much.
4. Place a slice of Swiss cheese on every chicken breast. Pour the sauce evenly over the top. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. While baking, make the topping: in a ziploc bag or in a bowl, toss together the panko, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and dried parsley. Drizzle in the melted butter and mix to combine.
6. After the first 30 minutes of baking, remove the pan from the oven, uncover and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Return to the oven, uncovered, and bake for 20 minutes, until the crumbs are golden and the chicken is cooked through.
7. Let the casserole rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve over hot, cooked rice or quinoa, if desired.

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Makes 4-6 servings

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-5 quart

Cooking time: 3 hours on LOW

1 cup minute brown rice (or 1 cup whole grain orzo)

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

12 oz frozen broccoli florets

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese

1. Pour the rice (or orzo) in the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour broth on top of the rice. Sprinkle in the garlic, salt and pepper.

2. Cut the chicken breasts into small bite size pieces. Spread them evenly in the slow cooker. 

3. Evenly place the broccoli on top of the chicken breasts. 

4. Cover and cook on LOW for about 2-4 hours, until chicken is cooked through and rice is cooked through. 

5. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1 cup of the cheddar. Then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. (I like to let the cheese on top melt a bit. I put mine under the broiler in the oven for just 2 minutes.)

6. Scoop onto serving plates and enjoy!

Recipe Credit: 365 Days of Crockpot

Chicken and Apple Curry

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp butter {omit for dairy-free}
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 apples, chopped {I used small Fuji apples}
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 TBSP curry powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• {optional garnishes} plain yogurt, chopped mint, parsley, coconut, peanuts, cashews, almonds, green onion

Instructions

Heat oil over medium-high in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add butter, and melt. Stir in onions, and saute until softened, about 7 minutes.

Stir in apples, celery, and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes. Push everything to the outside of the skillet.

Put chicken in the middle of the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes, then flip. Sprinkle everything with curry powder. Stir everything together.

Season with salt, and stir in chicken broth. Stir well, and scrape up any bits that have gotten stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Turn heat down to medium, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Whisk together 1/4 cup cold water and cornstarch until no lumps remain. Stir into skillet, and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Serve warm over cooked brown rice with optional garnishes.

Recipe Credit: Meme Inge

Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes

• 1 tablespoon oil
• half a yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ⅓ cup yellow curry paste
• 10 baby golden yukon potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 14-ounce can coconut cream (it's like coconut milk, but even more luscious)
• ½ - 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce (optional)
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
• cilantro and rice for serving

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions are fragrant and softened. Add the chicken and curry paste; saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir to coat with the curry paste.
2. Add the coconut cream and ½ cup water to the pot - simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are fully cooked, adding more water depending on the consistency you want for the sauce.
3. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar to really take it up a notch. Seriously - so good. Serve over rice.

NOTES

The yellow curry paste I use is HOMEMADE because I can never find it in the store - and it's super easy to make. It takes about 45 minutes, but then you'll have enough to last you through five batches of curry (and you can freeze it). Here's the recipe!

Recipe Credit: Pinch of Yum

Easy Homemade Yellow Curry Paste

• 4 large shallots
• 4 large heads of garlic (not individual cloves - FULL HEADS of garlic)
• 1 6-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 5-20 whole dried Thai chili peppers** (they're very small and usually found in the spice section)
• 1½ tablespoons salt
• 2-3 tablespoons turmeric
• 2-3 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 2 teaspoons roasted ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons lemongrass paste (I use Gourmet Garden which they sell at my regular grocery store)
• ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves and stems

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prep the aromatics: Peel the shallots - then drizzle with oil and wrap in foil. Peel the ginger and cut into thin slices. Arrange in a single layer, drizzle with oil, and wrap in foil. Pull the outer paper off the garlic. Cut the pointy tops off the heads of garlic so the cloves are partially exposed. Drizzle with oil, and wrap each head of garlic in foil.
3. Bake the aromatics: Place all the foil packets on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the ginger (it should be soft), increase the temperature to 400, and roast the shallots and garlic for another 30 minutes until golden brown and very fragrant.
4. Soak the chilis: While the aromatics are roasting, pour boiling water over the chili peppers to rehydrate them. Let them soak for 15 minutes. Drain the water.
5. Make the paste: Put everything in a food processor or very strong blender. Pulse or puree until the yellow curry paste reaches your desired consistency. The recipe should make about 1½ - 2 cups of curry paste, and I use about ⅓ cup or more in each of my yellow curry recipes, so usually I can get 4-5 batches of curry out of this yellow curry paste recipe. The paste keeps for about a week in the fridge and it freezes well!

NOTES

**The number of peppers will either make your curry paste mild or hot.
5 chilis = very mild
10 chilis = medium
15 chilis = medium hot
20 chilis = HOT

The measurements for the spices can be played with a little bit, which is why the curry and turmeric are written as 2-3 tablespoons. I usually go for MORE spice, but if you don't have enough of one thing, try adding a little more of something else to compensate. It's definitely somewhat of a flexible recipe.

Bjork and both really like spicy food, but the 20 chili version was hard for us to eat. 10 chili peppers (medium) was my preferred amount - yum! I highly recommend starting with just a few if you aren't ready for the heat. :)

For a more traditional Thai yellow curry paste that features a few harder-to-find but true to actual curry ingredients, check out THIS RECIPE.

You can use less salt (1½ tablespoons seems like a lot, I know), but you will likely need to add it in later when you make it into a curry - just remember this is divded into at least 4 batches with 4-6 servings per batch, so that salt gets distributed out pretty well.

Recipe Credit: Pinch of Yum

Brazilian Rice

1 onion (1/2 onion, depending on what you want)
2-3 garlic cloves (minced)
1-2 t. chicken bouillion (better than bouillion)
1 quart boiling water
1-16 oz. bag brown rice (or white)
1 T. garlic salt or Brazil salt seasoning for rice
1 T. butter/ 1/2 c. oil (varies on type of rice)

1. Cook butter on medium high heat. Chop onions and crush garlic while butter sizzles. Add both when done.

2. Mix the hot tap water and bouillion seasoning and put in microwave for 6-8 min. (until boiling).

3. When onion and garlic brown, add oil and bag of rice to VERY LOW heat. Continuously coat rice with oil until water is done or rice is sticking to pan.

4. Add boiling water to coated rice and cover with a clear lid (holes in rice indicate ready to add rice salt OR garlic salt. (takes 30 min - 1 hour)

5. Take off of heat, but leave covered for 5-10 min.

6. Enjoy!

Recipe Credit: Kelsi DaSilva

Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos with Cilantro Lime Rice (in Rice Cooker)

WOW. Just wow. These were amazing!! I was pleasantly surprised at how much Jeff loved these. He quickly scarfed two of these babies down in about ten minutes. Very tasty!

Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos

YIELD: SERVES 6

You'll get more flavor if you use a pork roast that has a bone in - it can easily be removed once the pork is done cooking; however, this could also be made with boneless pork loin or a leaner cut of pork. Just keep in mind that it might not be quite as tender as a roast that has darker meat also. A note about the enchilada sauce, not all brands are created equal. I love the Herdez brand of green salsa or enchilada sauce (which I use interchangeably) so make sure you find a brand that tastes good (with a heat level you prefer).

INGREDIENTS

·       2 1/2 pounds pork roast like pork shoulder or butt roast

·       Salt and pepper

·       1 tablespoon oil

·       1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke

·       1/2 cup water

·       1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

·       2 (15-ounce each) cans green enchilada sauce

·       1/2 teaspoon chili powder

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       1/2 teaspoon pepper

·       Dash of hot sauce (optional)

·       1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

·       1/2 cup chopped cilantro

·       8 ounces Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (or a combination), grated

·       6-8 whole wheat or white flour tortillas, burrito-sized

1.     Trim any excess fat pockets from the pork roast (it's ok to leave a bit here and there just trim the large pieces off). Cut the pork into 2-3 large pieces. Season each piece on all sides with salt and pepper.

2.     In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until rippling and hot. Add all the pieces of pork and brown on each side, 2-3 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.

3.     Add the liquid smoke and 1/2 cup water. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours.

4.     While the pork is cooking, prepare the rice (see directions below).

5.     Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred into bite-sized pieces (discarding the bone, if needed, or any large pieces of fat). In a large bowl, toss the shredded pork with the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the green sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper (add more salt and pepper to taste if needed). Add the hot sauce, if using.

6.     Stir in the beans, rice and cilantro to the pork mixture.

7.     Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the green sauce on the bottom.

8.     Scoop about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture into each tortilla and sprinkle with a bit of cheese (you'll want to leave some cheese for the top of all the burritos before they bake). Roll up burrito style (folding the ends in and rolling).

9.     Place the burritos seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the burritos and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

10.     Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until heated through and the top is bubbly and slightly golden. Serve immediately. Garnish burritos with toppings such as sour cream, lettuce, tomato, avocado. Enjoy!

Recipe Credit: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

CILANTRO LIME RICE (in rice cooker)

1 cup uncooked brown rice

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cube chicken bullion
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Add the rice, water, garlic, lime juice, and bullion to rice cooker and turn it on. Cook until it’s done. Then fluff it with a fork and add the cilantro and sugar straight into the rice cooker. Stir to combine and serve hot.

Recipe Credit: Bless this Mess

Amy West's Spanish Rice

We made this for a potluck type thing, and it was fantastic! I don't usually like eating white rice (just because I grew up always eating brown rice), but for this dish, I will definitely make an exception. This was super yummy! And not as hard as I thought it would be. Ha.

Spanish Rice (in Oven)

4 cups white rice
4 t. garlic
4 t. onion granules
5 1/2 cups water
4 t. salt
1 (16 oz.) tomato sauce
1 (16 oz.) diced tomatoes
1/3 cup oil

Heat oil in a pan. Brown rice in oil until it turns white (about 7-8 min), then take off heat. Add in other ingredients and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, turn heat to medium and boil 3-4 more minutes. Transfer to a foil pan or a 9x13 and bake covered with foil in oven @ 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Spanish Rice (for Rice Cooker)

2 cups rice

2 tsp. garlic, minced

2 tsp. onion granules (NOT onion salt! NOT onion powder!)

2 tsp. salt

1/2 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1/2 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes

water

Put rice, garlic, onion granules, and salt in the rice cooker.  Pour both 1/2 cans of tomato sauce/tomatoes into a 4 cup measuring cup.  Fill up the rest of the measuring cup to 4 cups with water.  Pour tomato/water mixture into the rice cooker.  Turn on rice cooker until done.  Stir rice. Serve.

Recipe Credit: Jenna Steed's cookbook