Crockpot Sesame Chicken and Fried Rice

I can make almost any food taste amazing but for some reason I have a problem with Chinese food. It is the bane of my cooking existence. I've tried making crab ragoon, cabbage rolls and egg rolls. They all turned out as flops and my hubby told me to stay away from cooking Chinese food. Buuuut I am not one to back down from a challenge! Here is one of my few successful Chinese meals.

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tsp. sesame oil
3tsp. corn starch
1/4 cup water
toasted sesame seeds

1. Start by laying chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Mix all ingredients except for water and corn starch and pour over chicken.

 

3. Cook on low 4-6 hours, turning once or twice to make sure chicken is cooking evenly.
4. Remove chicken and shred in separate bowl. Stir together the corn starch and water then add this mixture to the sauce in the crockpot. Stir well. Return chicken to crockpot and mix evenly with sauce. Add as much sesame seeds as desired.

Fried Rice

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

3 cups cooked rice (leftover, day old rice works best)



 3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tsp. garlic

1 cup peas and carrots (I use the can but you can use frozen thawed also)

Rest of the onion, chopped

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

 

 

1. Start by heating the sesame oil over medium high. Saute onion, garlic, peas and carrots until tender.

 

 

 



2. Add in rice (I used brown rice which is why it looks brown) and cook on medium low until warmed and soft.

 

 

3. Push rice mixture to the side and add the eggs in one side of the pan.

 

 

4. Cook egg then stir everything together.

 

 

CHINESE FOOD SUCESS!

Teriyaki Chicken Freezer Meal

This is a great meal you can prepare and cook the same day or freeze and cook later. I've listed the smaller version that feeds 2-3 people but its an easy recipe to double.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 onion cut into chunks
1 large can pinapple rings or chunks
2 large handfuls of baby carrots (or long carrots cut up)
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 large clove of garlic, chopped

1. If you are preparing to freeze add all ingredients to gallon ziplock bag. Seal, lay flat and freeze. Don't forget to write the date prepared on the bag. When you are ready to cook this meal take out of the freezer and simply dump in the crockpot. Add a little less than 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce, salt and pepper to taste and cook for 5-7 hours on low. Most teriyaki sauces are already pretty salty so don't overdo it with the salt. Serve hot over rice. (If you are preparing to cook same day just layer all ingredients in crockpot and cook)

 

 

Cheap and Delish Vege Soup

Here is the recipe for soup we had with our Twice Baked Potatoes. Its a very easy and cheap recipe, throw it in the crockpot and forget it 'til supper!

 

 

Ingredients

 

2 zucchinnis

1 2lb bag of frozen mixed veges

1/2 onion

1 29oz can of tomato puree OR

2 small cans diced tomatos

2 lb box of chicken stock

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. oregano

(Note: this makes quite a lot, I froze about half of it. If making recipe for only a few I would suggest cutting it in half.)

 

1. Chop zucchini and onion and throw in crockpot. You can also add other veges you like such as asparagus, squash, okra ect. Add mixed veges, chicken stock, tomatoes and spices. Stir well. Cook on low 6 hours or so.



Crockpot Taco Chicken

Here is another crockpot chicken recipe. Chicken is fairly cheap so I make a lot of variations of it. Does it seem like the cost of groceries has gone up just in the past couple months? I'm not sure but I
really think it has. My grocery bill has increased like $30 and I'm buying the same stuff I always have. It probably has something to do with the rising cost of gas. Ugh. I guess this means I'm going to have to come up with even more ways to cook beans and rice lol!

Ingredients
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can enchilada sauce (I used  the mild green chili kind)
1 packet taco seasoning
OR
1 1/2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (Recipe Here )

1. Place chicken in crockpot. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and then pour enchilada sauce over chicken.

 

2. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

3. When chicken is cooked, shred. You can serve over rice, in a burrito or taco.

I had some left over black beans and rice which I layered on my tortilla, added chicken then topped with cheese and green onions.

Steven fried up some tortillas, added the chicken then topped with cheese, cilantro and tapatio. He had the leftover beans and rice on the side. His looks so pretty!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

With the colder weather we've been having I was excited to make my first soup of the fall. Potatoes are pretty cheap right now so I took advantage of that and decided to make Potato Soup. This soup turned out amaaaazing!

Ingredients

5lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed and diced
4 cloves roasted garlic (for instructions go Here ) You can also use 3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 large onion, chopped
64 oz. chicken broth
16 oz cream cheese
Bacon, chives, cheese for garnish

1. Combine potatoes, garlic, onion and broth in crockpot. Cook on low 8 hours or high for 5 hours.

2. 1 hour before serving slice up cream cheese and add to soup.

3. When soup is ready to serve add to blender and blend. I took the soup from the crockpot to the blender and then poured into a pot. There was so much soup I had to do this in sections. Make sure your lid is on TIGHT! Don't overfill the blender and be very careful with the hot soup.  (My lid popped off during the blending process and I got burning hot soup on my arm OUCH!)

4. Serve in bowls and top with bacon, cheese and chives.

Black Beans and Rice with Vinaigrette

This is a traditional Brazilian meal. Why Brazilian? My grandparents are missionaries and have spent a lot of time in Brazil. My dad grew up in Brazil, and that side of my family speaks fluent Portugese. I studied Portugese in highschool and got to where I could speak very brokenly. Of course I've kind of forgotten most of it lol. If I had the time, I would definitely pick it back up.

1. Start with a 1lb bag of dry beans. I used a 2lb bag since my Marine and my football player eat a TON. Wash beans and pick out any rocks. Pour in crockpot.

 

2. Cover with water until there is at least an inch above the beans. You may have to add more water as the beans cook. I add:

 

1 beef boullion cube

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp minced garlic

 



3. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Or high for 4-6 hours. 1 hour before serving, slice up a ring of polska kielbasa and half an onion. You could also use smoked sausage or something similar. If you really love onions, chop up the whole. Saute in butter until browned and carmelized.

 

4. Stir into beans.
5. Cook up some rice according to directions.
6. For vinaigrette, chop up half an onion, a green pepper and a red pepper.

 

7. Place in container, cover in white vinager and let sit for an hour before serving.

 

8. Serve up white or brown rice, top with beans, then top with vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is pretty strong so start with a little and then add more if you like it. Yum yum!