Crock Pot Soy Ginger Chicken Meatballs

You know those pizzas that are topped with anything but Italian components? You know what I'm talking about, barbeque pizza, Greek pizza, whatever, you get the point. Well, I'm not a big fan of pizza that isn't made with red sauce, cheese and other Italian toppings. Meatballs on the other hand, I'm totally interested in trying something new. Introduce Soy Ginger Chicken Meatballs - in the Crock Pot no less. You'd think that because I used ground chicken breast they'd be dry and crumbly, but in fact these meatballs were quite the opposite. They are soft, moist and filled with Asian flavors. You can serve them as an appetizer at a party or as an entree on top of brown or white rice. These versatile little meatballs are high in lean protein, and low in carbs and fat. If you don't have a crock pot you can easily cook them stove top for 2-3 hours.

Soy Ginger Chicken Meatballs

makes 4=6 servings - prep time: 35 minutes - cook time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked ground chicken breast (can use turkey breast)
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup rolled dry oats
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper (1 small)
• 4 tablespoons low sodium Soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
• 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey or brown rice syrup
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet heat half of the olive oil over medium heat. Add yellow onions and cook until tender and translucent. Then add half the garlic and ginger, cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine egg whites, oats, sweet pepper, half the cooked onion mixture, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Add ground chicken and mix well. Form chicken mixture in to small meatballs and cook in skillet (using remaining olive oil) on medium-high heat until browned, turning occasionally.
3. Place chicken meatballs in bottom of crock pot. Try not to place them on top of each other.
4. Add remaining cooked onion mixture to crock pot.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining soy sauce, chicken broth, rice vinegar, sesame oil and honey. Pour into crock pot.
6. Set crock pot to low heat and cook for 5-6 hours.

Notes:

Serve as an appetizer or on top of brown or white rice.

Dr. Pepper Beef Brisket

I love brisket, but then again, what Jewish girl doesn't? It's hearty and delicious and full of muscle-building protein! I'm always looking for new ways to cook up an old favorite and with my trusty Crock Pot staring me down I just knew I'd have to give it a try. I've seen recipes for Dr. Pepper chicken, but I thought since I have a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper in my fridge leftover from my party we had over the weekend, I'd use that instead (not to mention it's got zero calories). So here you have it, Diet Dr. Pepper Beef Brisket, slow cooked to perfection and falling apart to the touch. It was so tender that slicing it with a very sharp knife did not fare so well. Let's just say the brisket won. The thing is, when it comes to brisket, the more it falls apart, the better (in my opinion) and this recipe did not fail me. It was juicy and tender and full of beefy flavor. Perfect for a family barbeque or cold winter night. Enjoy!

Dr. Pepper Beef Brisket

makes 4-6 servings - prep time: 5 minutes - cook time: 10 hrs

Ingredients:

• 1 brisket of beef
• 16 ounces Diet Dr. Pepper
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup water (optional)

Instructions:

1. Pour all ingredients in to your Crock Pot and mix with spoon.
2. Settle the brisket in to the liquid.
3. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until tender.
4. Remove and let sit 5-10 minutes before slicing.
5. Use sharp knife for best results.

Notes:

When it comes to brisket, slow and low is always best. Cook 9-10 hours based on the size of your brisket.

Crock Pot Beer Chicken

Merry Christmas Everyone! Today is an exciting day. I'm going to be celebrating the holiday with my fiance's family at his mother's home not far from here. It's only my second Christmas with Richie and his family and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Then again, why wouldn't it be fun?! There's lots of presents...and who doesn't like presents. Not this girl. Thought I'd start today off with a recipe for Beer Chicken in the Crock Pot. I'm not a huge fan of beer, personally I'd prefer hard apple cider, but I decided to give this a go. Surprisingly, the chicken did taste like beer, though the house smelled amazing and NOT particularly like beer. Now that I think of it, next time I'll try using hard apple cider instead of beer. Don't get me wrong, beer chicken is delicious and when you cook it in the slow cooker, it's super tender and moist. If it were cooked on the bone it would fall right off, that's how tender it was.

The best thing about a Crock Pot is how simple it is to make a large yummy meal. Set it and forget it! Remember that infomercial? Ugh, I'm getting old (more on that later). So here it is, Crock Pot Beer Chicken using whatever kind of beer you'd like. I used Red Hook's Nut Brown beer which is part of their seasonal series to which I no longer see on their website - it's all we had in the house. It's a great beer nonetheless if you are the beer drinking type. But by all means, try whichever type of beer you have, or better yet, use something else entirely other than beer. Anywho, here's the recipe:

Crockpot Beer Chicken

makes 4-6 servings - prep time: 5 minutes - cook time: 6.5 hrs

Ingredients:

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 bottle (or can) of beer
• 1 teaspoon powdered garlic
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients in Crock Pot
2. Add chicken in one layer, nestle in to liquid
3. Set on low and cook for 6-8 hours or until tender

Crock Pot Smoked Flank Steak

The only thing I regret about this recipe is the fact that I completely failed at taking attractive photos of it. Steak is a favorite in my house and when this sucker came out of the crock pot, Rich and I couldn't wait to get our hands on it. So much so that we ate most of it before I realized I hadn't yet taken any photos for my blog! I ended up taking photos of what was left on the cutting board. I think it demonstrates how tender the meat was. (wishful thinking?)

Attractive photo or not, this recipe is a fail-proof crowd pleaser that melts in your mouth. It's smoking without the smoker! All you need is a crock pot, a few simple ingredients and time to let it cook. Low and slow is the way to go! lol

Crockpot Smoked Flank Steak

makes 4-6 servings - prep time: 10 minutes - cook time: 6.5 hrs

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 cup liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 lbs grass fed Flank Steak (or smaller if you have a smaller crock pot)
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Pour olive oil into heated pan on stove top. Sear meat for 2-3 minutes on each side.
2. Place all ingredients (excluding meat) in Crock Pot and stir well.
3. Settle seared meat into the mixture in the Crock Pot making sure your steak is well immersed in the sauce.
4. Set Crock Pot on low heat and cook for 6-8 hours.
5. Remove and slice against the grain.

Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken

After surfing the web for barbeque chicken recipes for the slow cooker and not finding anything that didn't call for bottled barbeque sauce, I decided to create my own. This recipe is super simple. Mix all ingredients in the crock pot itself. Add your chicken breasts and try to keep them as one layer. Cook for 6-8 hours or until your chicken falls apart easily. Shred with 2 forks and drizzle with leftover sauce.

For my first attempt at chicken in the crock pot I give myself an A+! Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken was juicy and tender and definitely tasted like barbeque. I left out the cayenne pepper because my fiance is not a fan of spicy food, but next time I think I'll throw it in for a bit of a kick.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Pulled BBQ Chicken

makes 6-8 servings - prep time: 5 minutes - cook time: 6.5 hrs

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Truvia/Sugar blend
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 4-6 chicken breasts

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to the crock pot. Stir well.
2. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the pan aligning them in one layer. Cover the crock pot and set on low heat for 6-8 hours.
3. After 4 hours have passed, flip the chicken over but be sure they remain as one single layer.
4. The chicken is done cooking if it pulls apart easily with a fork.
5. Put all cooked chicken in to a bowl. With two forks pull apart the chicken. Top with sauce that it was cooked in.