Slow Cooker Southwestern Brisket

 

Ingredients:

3 pounds beef brisket

Salt and Pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

5 cloves crushed garlic

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 (14 1/2 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with juice

2 adobo chilis (from can)

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup apple sauce

- Salt and Pepper beef generously

- Heat heavy skillet to medium-high heat, add oil and heat just until beginning to smoke

- Add the meat to pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides. Should take about 10 minutes in all

- Put meat in slow cooker

- Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in skillet and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant

- Add vinegar and boil until it's almost gone (careful, you do not want to breathe in evaporating vinegar!) Make sure to scrape bottom of pan

- Stir in water and pour mixture over brisket

- Put the tomatoes, chipotles, bay leaves, and apple sauce in slow cooker

- Cook on low 8-10 hours, until tender enough to break apart with a fork

- Remove bay leaves and chipotle peppers. Use two forks to pull it apart and ENJOY!

Wonderful for taco night! We ate this last night with corn tortillas, fresh avocado and a cabbage slaw of sorts. If you don't have a slow cooker, don't worry, you can bake it in a dutch oven in the oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours.

Chicken and Veggie Red Curry

Serves 4 (with leftovers)

Ingredients:

1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast sliced in strips

Red curry paste

Coconut oil

Chopped garlic (liberal amount)

1/2 tblsp fresh grated ginger or store bought ginger paste

1 small onion sliced thin

2 julienne sliced peppers (2 different colors)

1 yellow squash, cut into bite size pieces

1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cans coconut milk

1 can water chestnuts

1 can bamboo shoots

1 packet of Truvia or Stevia (sugar)

All natural chili garlic sauce or sirracha (optional for some spicy heat)

-Heat large skillet (w/ lid)

-Heat 1 - 2 tblsp coconut oil in the pan

-Brown chicken strips in skillet.

-While browning, add ½ tblsp red curry paste to chicken and stir

-Dump out cooked chicken into bowl

-Add another 1-2 Tbls. Coconut Oil

-Place onion with chopped garlic and ½ tblsp ginger paste to pan and stir up brown bits of chicken

-Add peppers, yellow squash and mushrooms. Cover w/lid and cook until tender

-When veggies are close to done add 1 can water chestnuts and 1 can

bamboo shoots. Cook until warm

-Dump veggies into bowl w/chicken

-Put 2 tblsp red curry paste in pan and mix 2 cans coconut milk (you can add more coconut milk or some chicken stock if you prefer more broth) and mix thoroughly with a whisk

-Add 1 pack of Truvia or other natural sweetener and ½ tblsp of chili garlic sauce and stir

-Put chicken and veggies back in skillet and mix with sauce

-Simmer and serve hot over rice or rice noodles.

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

8-10 pieces of chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, whatever you like)

1 box of Tandoori spice mix - You can find this at any Indian market. I bought Shan brand from the Indian Bazaar off 28th and Arapahoe in Boulder.

1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt (goat or cow)

-  Remove skin from chicken and cut a few slits in each piece

- In a mixing bowl, add yogurt and contents of spice packet. For a less spicy flavor, use more yogurt

- Add chicken to bowl and mix thorougly, marinade in refrigerator for 24 hrs

- Cook on medium-high on oiled (Pam, etc) grill for about 10 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degress

I like to serve this with a curry quinoa salad and fried spinach. The quinoa recipe will be posted as next week's recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Jerk Chicken Wings

Ingredients: 1/4 cup minced red onion 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper 1/2 cup chicken stock 1 1/2 lbs chicken drummettes (you can also use chicken thighs, breast, even tofu)

-Combine first 11 ingredients in a large bowl; add chicken and liquid to a ziploc bag and marinade overnight. -My preferred method of cooking these is on the grill for about 6 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. -You could also cook them on a pre-heated medium-high heat pan on the stove.

These are so delicious and easy to make! We usually grill up a couple plantains and some asparagus to go with it. To grill a plantain, make sure it's black and ripe, cut it in half lengthwise. Brush them with olive oil and a sprinkle of brown sugar if desired and grill about 8 minutes on each side. Try this recipe out, I guarantee you won't regret it!