Mexican Style Black Beans and Pork in the Slow Cooker

This is one of our new favorites.  It's quick to put together and it tastes delicious.  The recipe makes enough for 4-6 adult servings, which means leftovers for us.  The first night I serve this over brown rice (I prefer short grain) and I garnish it with cilantro.  Later in the week I like to make it into tacos.  For tacos I heat up the pork mixture, drain off the liquid and serve it in warm corn tortillas topped with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.  My husband usually adds sour cream and chipotle tabasco sauce to his.  We've also had these in burritos using my gluten free multi-flour tortilla recipe.  Any way you choose, this one is a keeper!

Mexican Style Black Beans and Pork

2 1 inch thick pork chops cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (based on your heat preference)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans drained black beans (or 3-4 cups if you make your own like I do)
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can water (use the tomato can once it's empty)
chopped cilantro, sour cream or any other garnishes you like

Place pork into the slow cooker and sprinkle with all of the seasonings (chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cumin, red pepper flakes and pepper) stir to coat the meat. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the garnishes and cook on HIGH for 4 hours (or low for 6-8).  Serve over rice and garnish as desired. 

Slow Cooker Black Beans

We love beans and have them almost every day.  In an effort to save money, I decided that I wanted to start using dried beans instead of buying canned beans.  I asked for and received a pressure cooker for Christmas last year with the specific intent of cooking my own beans...and it's still in the box.  Frankly, I'm intimidated by it.  And even though I've read the instruction manual several times, I don't want to be the one responsible if it blows up. 

Last week I got out the pressure cooker, read the manual again, put it back in the box, and pulled out my slow cooker.  I'd never done black beans in a slow cooker, but I have tried this recipe for refried beans without the refry so I went off that for bean and water measurments. 

Success!  We love the black beans!  This recipe makes 6 cups of beans and I used 2 cups for a recipe (a can of black beans is almost 2 cups). Then I divided the 4 remaining cups of beans into two freezer containers and froze them until I needed them.  Not only am I saving money, but since I buy dried beans in bulk I'm rotating my food storage so my beans stay fresh.  Best of all, there's NO SOAKING with this recipe and the texture is very much like canned beans! 

Slow Cooker Black Beans

3 cups dried black beans, rinse and remove any small pebbles or floating beans
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon kosher salt (1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons table salt)
9 cups water

Place everything into your slow cooker and cook on high for 8 hours.  Drain liquid.  Use beans straight from the pot or allow them to cool and refrigerate up to a week or freeze up to 6 months. 

Slow Cooker Gluten Free Lasagna

I found this recipe in the Fix it and Forget it Cook Book when we first got married and have adapted it to our taste (including gluten free) over the years. It's super easy once you get the ground beef browned and it tastes great!

Slow Cooker Gluten Free Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
28 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup water
8 gluten free lasagna noodles, uncooked (I use Tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles)

Place the ground beef and chopped onion in a large skillet over medium heat. As the meat is browning, add the Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Continue cooking until meat is browned and onions are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break noodles to fit slow cooker. Place half in the bottom of a greased slow cooker. Spread half of cooked ground beef over the noodles. Layer half of the spaghetti sauce, half of the water, half of the ricotta cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese over the beef. Repeat layers.

Cover and cook on LOW 4-5 hours.

Sweet Salsa Chicken

I'm a big fan of salsa chicken (frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs thrown in the crock pot with 1-2 cups of salsa and cooked on high for 4 hours). I use it to make nachos, tacos, burritos, and chicken taco salad. This weekend my sister-in-law introduced us to a sweet twist on this amazing chicken and we loved it so much that we made it again last night! I forgot to get the recipe, but knew it was the same as salsa chicken with the addition of brown sugar so here's how I did it:

Sweet Salsa Chicken

4 frozen chicken breast or thighs (use boneless, skinless)
1 1/2 cups medium or hot salsa
3/4 cup brown sugar

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. Shred meat and serve. We used ours for taco meat. Additional taco toppings include black beans, corn, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro served on warm corn tortillas. The leftovers are delicious, but they go fast!

Gluten Free Crock Pot Pulled Pork

I've been craving BBQ, but the weather isn't quite ready to cooperate so I turned to my trusty crock pot for this easy and delicious BBQ pulled pork. Make sure your BBQ sauce is gluten free. My favorite is Trader Joe's All Natural Barbeque Sauce.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

2 pounds pork tenderloin

12 ounces gluten free root-beer (I've also used cola and it's just as good)

1-2 cups gluten free BBQ sauce

Place pork tenderloin and root-beer in crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove pork from crock pot, use a couple of forks to shred the meat then add the BBQ sauce to your desired sauciness. Serve over gluten free hamburger buns if desired.

We enjoyed our pulled pork with baked potatoes and this yummy 7 layer salad. The recipe for the salad can be found by following this link.

Crock Pot Chipotle Chili and Skillet Cornbread

I think I've found my new favorite meal! I came across the chili recipe in the Jan/Feb issue of Midwest Living. My husband and I both like the smokey flavor of chipotle and I had most of the ingredients on hand so it was a bit of a no brainer to make it for dinner. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, but I only had 1/2 pound so I substituted an extra can of beans and doubled the hominy to take its place. I also used chipotle seasoning instead of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - it's a personal preference.

After getting the chili into the crockpot I started thinking of what to serve with it. I love cornbread and have a decent gluten free one already posted on my blog, but unless you eat it right from the oven it's a bit on the dry side and doesn't re-heat very well (must eat with milk to choke it down although the flavor is nice). I was thinking of ways to add some moisture (sour cream, applesauce, etc) when I remembered that I had some creamed corn in the pantry. I thought creamed corn might help make my cornbread moist, and after doing some online searches realized that others shared my same line of thinking - there were lots of recipes online for cornbread using creamed corn. I used this one because it looked like I could easily make it gluten free. Here are the recipes exactly how I made them. They are so yummy and the cornbread is my new favorite!

Chipotle Chili

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 cups water
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 14 oz can mexican stewed tomatoes
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15-oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 30-oz. can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
  
• 2 cups loose-pack frozen diced hash brown potatoes with onions and peppers
• 1 teaspoon beef flavored better than bouillon
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle seasoning

Brown hamburger and place in slow cooker with all of the ingredients. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve with sour cream, chopped avocado and shredded cheddar cheese if desired.

Skillet Corn bread

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 
  
• preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk cornmeal, gf flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and xanthum gum in large bowl to blend. Add creamed corn, butter and egg. Stir just until blended. Spoon batter into an 8 inch cast iron skillet.
  

Bake until edges begin to pull away from pan sides and tester inserted into center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with butter and honey.

Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

Our garden is bursting with tomatoes and we so love it! I spent the morning making freezer spaghetti sauce from a recipe found in the slow cooker cookbook Fix it and Forget it. My slow cooker was filled to overflowing, and I ended up with several bottles of spaghetti sauce to stock my freezer for the winter. As is, this recipe serves about 6. I usually triple or 4 times the recipe so that I have a lot to freeze.

Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

1 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped

6 oz can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons better than bouillon beef base

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 large bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except for the cornstarch and water. Cover and cook on low 10 hours or high 5 hours. Remove bay leaf. Combine cornstarch and water. Stir into sauce. Cover and cook on high until thick and bubbly (about 25 minutes).

This sauce freezes well. Thaw and reheat over stove or in microwave. Add browned hamburger, veggies, frozen meatballs (Aidell's sun-dried tomato meatballs are gluten free but always check package before buying.) or anything you like and serve over pasta.

Chipotle Roast with Garlic Cilantro Smashers

Shane and I Love Mexican food so when I came across a recipe in Southern Living Magazine for a Mexican style roast I had to try it. The original recipe isn't gluten free and is cooked on the stove. (You can find it here)I changed it to be a gluten free crock pot meal and I also reduced the fat in the smashers. The roast is melt in your mouth tender (be sure to slice it against the grain) and the smashers are an amazing taste sensation...every bite is like a flavor symphony going on in your mouth. I'm salivating just thinking about it. I hope when you try this recipe you too feel like you're sitting down to a gourmet Mexican feast!

Roast:
3 pounds Beef Roast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Oregano
2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper (McCormick Gourmet Collection)


Gravy:
2 cups beef broth
3-4 Tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water


Rub entire roast with spices and place in crock-pot on low for 8-10 hours. No peeking! After 8 hours remove roast and cover with foil. Add beef broth and dissolved cornstarch to cooking liquid in crock pot stir and turn on high heated with lid for 20-30 minutes. (which is about how long it will take to make the smashers)



Garlic Cilantro Smashers
8-10 garlic cloves, paper removed (you can use roasted garlic if you've got the time)
2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch cubes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper (McCormick Gourmet Collection)
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, heated (I like the baby white corn from costco and I microwave it for 2 minutes)


Cook potatoes and garlic in boiling water to cover in a large saucepan until fork-tender (about 15 to 20 minutes). Drain and return to pan and cover with lid to keep warm. Whisk together sour cream, and next 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts and mixture is thoroughly heated. Mash potatoes slightly; add warm milk mixture to pan, and continue to mash just until blended (mixture should be coarsely mashed). Stir in chopped cilantro and corn.