It's all very cyclical...freezer burritos

I've got a confession. 

This whole crock pot, 52 recipe-testing thing has an additional purpose.  An ulterior motive, if you will.  It's helping me to completely EMPTY my freezers and pantry in preparation for some freezer cooking days I have on my schedule later this month.  So really...killing two birds with one stone here.  And I must say...the crock pot and the freezer dance a beautiful tango together.  It's all very cyclical, and goes something like this:

1. Every so often a friend and I pool our money and purchase a 1/4 beef from a local ranch to split, and the meat comes to us cut, wrapped, and solidly frozen.

2. I thaw something...let's say, a roast, (or several pounds of ground beef, or ground chicken...) and then cook it into...let's say, taco filling, in the crock pot for shredded beef (or on the stovetop, for ground beef...or ground chicken).

3.  We eat it for dinner that night.

4.  The next day I take the leftovers, add some cheese, and maybe some refried beans, and what-have-you, wrap it all up into dozens of burritos and freeze them individually.

5. Voila!  Homemade "convenience food" to go into lunchboxes or for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner!

You see?!  It's the Ciiircle of Liiiiiife!!!  Ok, well maybe not of LIFE...but it is a circle.  It's the circle of freezer-to-crock-to-freezer.

Freezer Burritos to the Rescue...

 

Because, ya see, when 5:00 rolls around and I've been running all day, or in that early morning crunch time when people are trying to scramble out the door with lunch for later in the day, a big hunk of frozen meat just ain't doing me any good at all.

 

My family are burrito purists:  they like the classic combo of refried beans, cheese, and taco meat in their burritos.  Freezer burritos are art, not science.  They work with LOTS of variations. 

My family is also very big on freezer burritos I make with leftover Slow Cooked Beef Fajitas here , and also leftover crockpot Lime-Salsa Chicken here . 

 

Now me...I like a nice breakfast burrito made of scrambled eggs and bell peppers, taco meat, cheese and salsa.  Others in my household do not like the salsa IN the burritos, but will dip their burritos in salsa as they eat them. 

Either way, a little container of guacamole on the side for dipping makes a fabulous lunch.  Pack some veggies and dip, or little salad, and that lunch is a winner. 

We've also taken these camping, at my cousin's suggestion ;) and they were SO convenient.  (By "camping" I mean in a camper, with a freezer and microwave...does that count as camping?)

 

We were out all day yesterday.  When I got home late afternoon I just had to time to thaw and cook up some ground beef taco meat.  Now, if I'm cooking taco meat it's never just one pound.  If a pan is getting dirty, by George, it's gonna have to give me more than that!!  2 lbs. is just a easy to do, and then you get a few freezer burritos out of that deal.  Better yet, make 4 lbs. 

 

Rudy's gluten free tortilla:

 

 

Now GF tortillas can be a little tricky sometimes and may crack a little.  To minimize this, I find they are more workable if I let them come to room temp. first.  And if they crack, no big deal.  When they get heated later on the cheese makes everything come together just beautifully.

 

Refried beans...

 

 

Cheese...

 

If you are allergic to dairy, or lactose intolerant, I'm not sure what to tell you...freezer burritos do pretty much require cheese, or they won't hold together.  I don't tolerate dairy very well myself, so tend to eat it on an occasional, rather than every-day basis, but these burritos just gotta have at least a little cheese to work.

 

Meat...

 

 

Last night's leftover taco meat.

 

Wrap.

 

 

See?  There's a crack on the right side of it...no worries.

 

Label and freeze....

 

 

To re-heat I've found that mine go directly from freezer to microwave, no thawing required.  I wrap them individually in a paper towel to absorb moisture, heat in microwave 1 minute on one side, then flip, and the other side usually only needs about 15-45 seconds. 

 

They will be HOT coming out of the microwave, so please be careful, and wait a few minutes before eating. 

 

About a decade ago I used to make freezer burritos with O'Brien potatoes, beef, black beans and cheese, and those went in the oven...it was an old "Taste of Home, Quick Cooking" recipe.  That old recipe I used back in the day is long gone, but a quick search brought up another one that looks good, and gives oven baking directions if you want to go that route instead of the microwave...I've not tested this recipe personally, but it looks very similar to the one I used back in the day.  Here's that link for you.

 

 



Test #5, Pepper-Pineapple Chicken

My trusty trio of slow cookers:

Top to bottom:  2 quart round, 4 quart oval, and 6 quart round, all Crock-Pot brand.

 

 

You KNOW I couldn't possibly leave the whole white-meat-chicken-in-a-crock thing alone. 

I made "Pepper-Pineapple Chicken", from Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook, by American Heart Association.

Yep.  Another dance with my old nemesis, chicken breast meat, in the crock.  This time however, I was victorious.  Ok, here's the thing:  you CAN cook chicken breasts in the crock pot successfully...but you better be home!  Don't turn your back on them because I'm finding that they are done WAY earlier than the recipe says.  This recipe said 4 to 5 hours on low...my chicken was done in 2 1/2 hours.

So regarding the chicken breasts--the recipe said to cut them in 1/2, but I went 6 chunks per chicken breast.  Next time I would go smaller, more bite-sized chunks (which will affect cooking time, so check a little earlier).  Other ingredients include: red pepper, pineapple chunks and pineapple juice, broth, water chestnuts, garlic, and fresh ginger.  And when the chicken is done you remove the it from the pot, then switch it up to high and thicken the sauce left in the pot with cornstarch, and flavor it with rice vinegar and soy sauce.

Overall, this was a hit with the family...we even had a guest at our house at lunchtime the next day, and one family member and the guest both at it leftover, and gave it good reviews.  Our discerning guest picked up the citrus note in the sauce from the pineapple juice.  Personally, I'd probably add some nice crispy snow peas for green-ness, and experiment with adding several more veggies (Next time I'm going to add in julienned carrots, and maybe some chunks of zucchini...).  I'd also thicken the sauce more than the recipe said, because it was a little watery, and didn't adhere to the chicken.  Actually, I'm thinking it might be better to transfer the sauce to a little saucepan and thicken it on the stovetop rather than trying to do it in the crock pot...the cornstarch didn't really do it's thing--it sort of just separated and laid on the bottom of the pot.  I think it needs a bit higher heat to transform into a nice cohesive glaze.  But to summarize:  I'd make it again with the above changes. It was quick, easy, and the chicken was actually, surprisingly moist and tender! Hooray.  That's the first time I've EVER had decent white meat chicken coming out of the slow cooker, and therefore a big win in my book.

The recipe called for garnishment with green onions and almonds--everyone agreed that the green onions were very important.  And I topped it all with chopped peanuts, for those who wanted them.

This dish can be done from the time you put it in the crock (which only takes, literally, a couple of minutes) start to finish in 3 hours;  2  1/2 to cook the chicken and peppers, and another 15 minutes or so to thicken the sauce (just a few minutes probably if you were to do it in a saucepan on the stovetop instead).  So it's a good contender for popping in the crock after church on Sunday early afternoon to eat for dinner, or even just sticking it in there and letting it roll some evening while you're working around the house, to make portable, individual, homemade "bowls" to re-heat for a quick lunches.  Everyone enjoyed this dish with a little side of rice.  I would have preferred mine with shredded cabbage instead of rice, but when I reached for the cabbage I had left in the fridge it was not fresh anymore. Doggone it.  I hate it when I don't use things up fast enough.

I couldn't find this recipe published anywhere on the internet to link up for you.  And I'm not sure of the legality of me posting it word-for-word here...?  Anybody know?  So I'm gonna have to leave it up to you to check it out from the library, or buy or borrow the book from a friend until I find that out.  Several recipes I'm going to be making and reviewing ARE up in various places on the internet, so I will link those for you whenever possible.

 



#4 Quinoa and peaches and berries...oh my!

As I've mentioned before...grains and I are not the best of friends.  They fall into 3 categories for me: 

Red light (as in STOP!  Do not proceed!):  Gluten and I are bitter enemies--so wheat, rye, and barley are 100% out of the question while I walk this earth. 

Yellow light (as in proceed with caution):  Now rice, corn, and certified gluten-free oats...we get along slightly better.  We cautiously tolerate each other--in very small amounts, and on occasion. 

Green light (as in, proceed, but don't go crazy):  There are some grains that are somewhat cordial and friendly to me.  As long as our meetings are brief, infrequent, and not excessive, we get along just fine.  We shake hands, exchange pleasantries, chat about the weather, and then go our separate ways.  These are the grains I can tolerate:  Teff, sorghum, buckwheat (which is gluten-free, despite it's wheaty-sounding name) and the oft-debated (are they grains or not?) quinoa, and wild rice.  Technically, quinoa and wild rice are seeds; the seeds of an herb.  But by golly, they look and act just like a grain, and so they kinda live in that gray area.

Now, although I can tolerate these grains fairly decently, I still gotta treat them like a treat, or a condiment, or a small side dish.  Excessive amounts of carbohydrates (sugars) in any form (too many grains, white potatoes, too much fruit, and too much sugar like honey/dates/maple syrup) tend to have a sedating effect on me, personally.  I get sleepy and feel unmotivated and bogged down...AND I will pack weight on faster than you can say "corn-fed".  So bottom line on grains: Balance.  I have to listen and pay attention...the body will speak loud and clear about what works and what doesn't.

On to the recipe! 

Test #4:  "Cinnamon Quinoa with Peaches" from Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook, by the American Heart Association.

I used truRoots brand organic sprouted quinoa.  It's already sprouted so it cooks up quickly.  The package says 15 minutes on the stovetop. This crock pot recipe said 2 hrs on low or 1 hr on high.  I wanted to test this recipe for actual busy week-morning use, so I popped it in my 2 qt crock, on high, grabbed my hat and walking shoes and headed out for a quick walk.  After one hour it was smelling yummy, but not done just yet.  The water was not absorbed, so I stirred it and put the lid back on, just slightly off-set to let some moisture escape.  It ended up taking a total of 1 hr and 15 minutes to cook to the point where I was happy with it.

Cooking quinoa in the slow cooker is simple:  I greased the pot with olive oil for easier clean-up, then this recipe calls for: 2 1/2 cups water, 1 cup quinoa and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Lid on, let it cook.

This recipe calls for frozen peaches, diced, and pecans.  I used fresh peaches and blueberries (What was left from Saturday's farmers market trip) and skipped the nuts, just 'cuz I forgot about them.  The recipe calls for "fat-free half and half"...instead I used lovely, creamy, organic, full-fat half and half.  Coconut milk would probably be scrumptious.  The recipe says to mix the half and half with sugar and vanilla to drizzle on top.  I drizzled on a bit of pure maple syrup instead of sugar and vanilla.

Here's what it looked like with the half and half...mmm.

Oh.  My.  This was heavenly.  I would absolutely make this again, and it was quick and easy enough I'd definitely do it week-mornings.  Just pop it in the crock when I first get up, set a timer--important!--and go get ready while it cooks...no watching a pot on the stovetop.  I'd definitely add some walnuts or pecans for an extra boost of protein.  I'm a big morning protein eater...so we shall see how long this grain/fruit breakfast sticks with me.

I'm really, really enjoying this cookbook so far.  Everything has been accurate and taste-test approved.  I also really like the shadow box they put at the top of each recipe for a quick-glance on what size of slow-cooker to use and time.

Be sure to always thoroughly rinse your grains, and for some fascinating reading on how to properly soak and cook grains for maximum digestibility, may I recommend Sally Fallon's encyclopedic work Nourishing Traditions.

#3 Southwestern Turkey Meatballs

Test # 3:  "Southwestern Turkey Meatballs" from The American Heart Association book Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook. 

Here's a picture of these lovely little meaty packages cooking away in the crock.  It's not the best picture, and I was going to get one of the meatballs on the plate...but got distracted by eating them, and discussing them with the family.  They were a huge hit, and have earned a place in the ultra-prestigious "Regular Rotation".  That honor is reserved for meals that 1. everyone likes, a lot.  2. are easy to make, and not too much hassle, and hence will actually get made busy weeknights.  3. everyone is willing to eat repeatedly, like at least once a month.

 

 

This recipe is a basic turkey meatball recipe--all the things you'd expect in a meatball, but with a nice southwestern flair of seasonings (cumin and chili powder) both in the sauce, and in the meatballs.

 

I made fairly significant substitutions: 

 

Instead of "skinless turkey breast" I used ground turkey that I had in the freezer from US Wellness meats--it's both white and dark meat, but looks more dark meat to me, so has a higher fat content than white meat, which may be what made these as nice and moist as they were. 

 

Instead of egg white I used the whole egg--it was lovely and golden and full of nutrition! I bought them from my veterinarian, who raises free range chickens that roam all over her property eating weeds and bugs and all sorts of chickeny-goodies, and miraculously turn those things into bright orange-yolked packages of nourishment for us.  

 

Instead of whole wheat bread crumbs I used a gluten-free panko.

 

Instead of regular diced tomatoes I used Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomatoes.

 

I omitted the jalapeno the recipe calls for because I just didn't have one on hand.  But I would absolutely use one if I had it!

 

One family member raved several times about the fire-roasted tomato aspect of this dish and thought it was vital.  I personally loved the turkey--the kind I used has a very REAL turkey flavor.  Whenever I cook it the whole house smells like Thanksgiving--in this case, Thanksgiving in the Southwest!

 

One thing I'm noticing about ALL slow cooker recipes--I don't know if it's just my crock pots cooking hotter or what--but my food is always done in about half the time listed.  Seriously.  Just about every time.  So you just gotta start checking it at half-time.  The exception to this is usually a big hunk of beef--that typically needs quite a while to break down the collagen and tenderize.  And don't peek under the lid very often...not until you think it's ready to be checked for doneness.  Every time you lift the lid you extend your cooking time by letting heat out.  To look inside you can just jiggle the lid a bit to clear the condensation so you can see through the glass.  Once you make a recipe successfully be sure to jot down in your cookbook the exact time that was right for YOUR slow cooker, because they are each a little different.  That way you don't need to lift the lid for peeking or checking the next time you make it. 

 

These meatballs took 4 hours on low in my 4 qt oval.  The recipe said 8-10 hrs on low.  But at 4 hours I tested them with a meat thermometer, and broke one open and looked, and they were totally done.  I think 8 hrs would've made them a mushy, falling-apart mess.

 

This recipe tells you to brown the meatballs in a pan for 6 minutes before adding them to the slow cooker and adding the sauce.  I think that step is vital, but it begs the question...why not just finish cooking them right there in the pan, on the stovetop?  I think you could, but the big draw for me--I mean BIG--is that when dinner time comes I'm not standing there at the stove, with a pile of dishes to do afterward.  The dishes were done, counters wiped, and floor swept 4 hours earlier. Happy Mommy.

 

I just found a review of the same recipe, and the entire book in fact! on another website, and they've got the entire recipe up for you.  I'm gonna link you up:  here ya go.

 



#2 Something's fishy around here...

 

Today's Farmer's Market Gems 

Green beans, peaches, donut peaches, kale, blueberries, and tiny Yukon Gold potatoes.

 

 

I've always been a little scared of fish in the slow cooker.  But adventure is the name of this game, so throwing caution to the wind I made "Tilapia with Lemon Potatoes" from Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook....kind of.  Instead of tilapia I used wild cod, because I had it in the fridge, and it was $5./lb.  Instead of red potatoes, I used those adorable tiny Yukon Gold's I bought at the farmers market this morning.

 

So here's the gist of it:  I used a pound and a half of the tiny Yukons, scrubbed, and cut in 1/2.  Put them in the 6 qt round slow cooker.  Then the recipe calls for chicken broth, sliced onion, pressed garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  It says to thin slice the potatoes and all that should cook 5 hours on high, but my tiny Yukons were done in 2 hrs. 45 minutes.  Then you just season your fish and lay it right on top of the cooked potatoes!  Put the lid back on and in 30 minutes...voila!  Lovely, tender, flaky fish!  It was so fun to watch this all happen.  Here's what the potato and broth mixture looked like going in:

 

 

Once the fish is done, the recipe says to serve it in a bowl, topped with the broth mixture, but I just drizzled the sauce over everything, and added normal potato and fish type condiments.  I topped the fish with sliced green onions, but after tasting it I thought it needed a dollop of fresh guacamole.  The potatoes needed a dollop of full-fat sour cream.  I served it all up with the green beans I bought at the market, and sliced tomatoes from my mom's garden.

 

 

I liked this meal a lot.  The potatoes were tender and lovely cooked in that flavorful liquid.  And the fish was flaky and tender too...but not very flavorful for me, hence the guacamole...or salsa would be great too.  I liked that there was no major mess to clean up, since the fish just goes right in on top of the potatoes.  I'll definitely make this one again.

 

*Update:  The next day the leftover fish made some lovely fish tacos, wrapped in a tortillas with tartar sauce, avocado, tomato,and cabbage.  However the potatoes did not fare so well...we tried to use them chopped up and scrambled with eggs, but they had a "fishy" flavor.  Also note, watch the fish closely, it may take less than the time stated depending upon thickness.





1 down, 51 to go

Here are the two books from which I'll be cooking:

Slow Cooker Revolution, by America's Test Kitchen.  These are the people who do Cooks Illustrated magazine...can't go too wrong with this one.

And  Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook, by The American Heart Association

Disclaimer:  Please understand that I in no way endorse any nutritional information, or other contents of these books, or any other books I cook from.  What I do is just pick recipes that sound good, and then adjust them as needed to meet my family's dietary needs.  For instance, the American Heart Association book recommends using "liquid vegetable oils and spray, or light tub margarines", which I would never use.  (I, personally, would substitute real butter, olive oil or coconut oil).  They also recommend "fat-free, 1%, and low-fat dairy products", which I would never use.  (I would use full-fat, organic dairy, that is fermented or cultured, or perhaps a nut milk or rice milk.)  So pretty please, promise me you won't get these books from the library, read them, and assume that I endorse, promote, or agree with any or all of their assertions.

Just some basics:  I have 3 slow cookers that I will be using for these recipes: a 2 qt round, 4 qt oval, and 6 qt round, all Crock Pot brand.  These are just what I have.  I'm not necessarily saying they're they are the best; there may be better ones out there.  If you have an opinion, chime in!  I want this to be a conversation, not a lecture.

My kitchen is 100% gluten free, so no wheat, rye, or barley, and no oats.  So you can just assume that I am always substituting gluten free alternatives, and I will try to be diligent about specifically telling you when I make substitutions.

And finally, I am in no way any kind of health care professional.  Or chef.  Nor am I paid to review any books and products.  I'm just a mom.  Who likes to cook.  And read a lot of health, nutrition, and cook books.  And talk about food. 

Okey dokey.  Let the food talk commence!!

So I made my first recipe from Slow Cooker Revolution.  Despite my long-held conviction that white meat chicken should never be cooked in a slow cooker, in the interest of science I decided to give it a go.  It was "Chicken in a Pot", a simple whole chicken, cooked breast down, with some sautéed onions, garlic, white wine, broth, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaves.  It sounded promising, and smelled divine while I was sautéing the onions, and while it was cooking in the slow cooker.

The recipe said "low, 4-6 hrs."  I probably should have checked it at 4, but I was out of the house.  I got home at 5 1/2 hrs, and oh my.  It was utterly destroyed.  Falling to pieces and dry as a bone.  It was horrible.  Not even salvageable for soup.  Yikes, epic fail.  Fortunately I got the chicken on sale for 8 bucks, so not too big a loss.  I may even try it again, and check it much earlier, but more likely, I'll forget the whole chicken-in-a-crock pot idea and stick with roasting a chicken in the oven, or quick-cooking it in the pressure cooker for things like chicken salad.

1 down...51 to go!

For a wedding gift I received a cookbook from a friend who was older and wiser than me.  The book is long gone, but I'll never forget the haunting inscription hand-written in the front cover: "Hopefully this book will help you answer that age-old question, "What's for Dinner"."

My 18th anniversary is in two days, so not counting nights we've eaten out, holidays, sick days, vacations, etc., I'm guessing I've had to answer that question, oh, about 3,744 times in my married life.  I've gone through every meal-planning, idea-gathering, organizational strategy known to man.  I currently own over 70 cookbooks, plus recipe binders, and I've done innumerable internet recipe searches.  But the question remains every day, "what's for dinner".

Don't get me wrong, I like to cook, I love fresh, local, organic and pastured food, and I am addicted to cookbook reading for fun.  I'm committed to cooking real food for my family, and two of us are gluten intolerant, so scratch cooking at home is a necessity as well as a passion.  But somehow when late afternoon rolls around and I'm tired, or invested in a project I'm working on, the thought of starting a meal, eating it, and then spending all night cleaning it up really doesn't sound all that appealing.  And right now, it's so hot outside I don't want to use the oven, or stand over the grill or stovetop either. 

So.  I've launched a new project:  in the interest of REALLY learning how to best utilize a slow cooker (which doesn't heat up the house, or the cook!) I've bought two new slow cooker cookbooks, picked out 52 recipes that fit our dietary needs, and I'm cooking my way through them and writing reviews.  I hope this will be a blessing to other household managers who have the same question to answer every afternoon.