I consulted a fellow blogging friend Zibi, who specializes in slow cooking recipes at Fresh Slow Cooking about my Paella recipe being used in the crock pot. She advised not to leave it in the slow cooker more than 4 hours, as the rice could get mushy. Thank you Zibi!! She has all kinds of great slow cooking recipes! Be sure to check out her site!

       One thing that I had never used before our bridal shower was a crock pot! I know I know, how did I ever live without, right? Well, I STILL hardly use it!!! You just get so many kitchen gadgets after your shower and they all just seem to get lost among the masses of other items in your cupboards!  Especially OUR cupboards. We basically had to put together a giant puzzle in order to get everything to fit, so who wants to mess that up?
 
    But now that I have this blog, I feel inspired to use the slow cooker because so many people like the convenience of coming home to a dinner that’s already prepared!  I suppose that’s enough motivation to mess up Brandon’s strategic packing.
 
    The greatest part? I am beginning to realize how glorious this slow cooking business really is. I mean, last night plans got canceled to meet my friends for dinner, but luckily I had run home on lunch to put something in the slow cooker for Brandon’s dinner. So when I got home from the gym…STARVING, there was a delightful aroma that filled our apartment and food was ready in minutes! How great!!

    I think this is a recipe that will leave your family pleased, unless you are cooking for vegetarians. I threw it together in a matter of minutes, with ingredients I already had I on hand! Nothing to it!! I felt it had a similar taste to BBQ pork and when wrapped up in a warmed tortilla with some cheese…just divine! Pork truly is the other “white meat” and has less fat (ounce for ounce) than chicken breast! Awesome!!

 Shredded Pork Wraps
Adapted From: CROCK*POT: 5 Ingredients or Less CookBook
Makes 6 servings
1 cup salsa, divided
2 T cornstarch
1 boneless pork loin roast (the recipe calls for 2lbs but I used 1lb 4oz)
6 (8″) corn or flour tortillas or whole wheat wraps (I just didn’t have any!!)
3 cups broccoli slaw
2 T shredded cheddar cheese, per tortilla
3/4 cup black beans (optional)
1 T lite sour cream , per tortilla

Directions:
1. Combine 1/4 cup of salsa and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Pour this mixture in the crock pot and top with the pork roast (I made sure the bottom of the pork was completely covering the sauce). Pour the remaining salsa over the top of the roast. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. (I found 6 hours to be plenty…started to get overcooked at much more than that!)
2. Shred the pork. It says to put it on a cutting board but I chose to shred directly IN the crock pot because it fell apart so easily. Then I was able to give the pork and sauce a good stir and left it all mixed together.
3. To each tortilla, layer 1 T of sour cream, 2 T cheese, 2 T black beans, broccoli slaw, and pork mixture. Fold in sides and roll up. Heat skillet, spray with cooking spray and add wraps (seam side down). Leave on one side until crisp and flip to the other side. Slice in half and serve! Delicious!
Nutritional Profile per wrap: 450 calories, 17g fat (7.1g sat., 1.4g poly, 7.1g mono), 940mg sodium, 754mg potassium, 44g carbohydrate, 29g protein, 6.2g Fiber, 5.5g sugar
Vitamin A: 90%
Vitamin C: 150%
Calcium: 20%
Folate: 35%
Iron: 19%

*This nutritional info is not super accurate but gives a rough idea at least!

     After creating this “paella” and comparing the ingredients to the actual definition, I realized that I did not really create “paella” at all. Saffron? no check, Shellfish? no check check, and chicken? Does turkey sausage count?

    Hmm. so what’s a cook to call this? Paella sounds so much closer to “gourmet” than something like “Erin’s Healthy and Delicious Rice and Beans.” Any ideas?

      Without dwelling on the definition any longer, just know that we thoroughly enjoyed this creation. I started with an easy paella recipe from Martha Stewart. Is there nothing this woman cannot do? My Grandma loves her and indeed CRIED when she was sentenced for that whole stock market scandal. Anyway, I tweaked the recipe as my cupboard and fridge saw fit and the recipe below is what I came up with.

     The dish was full of flavor and the aroma from the pan filled our apartment. Brandon couldn’t wait to dig in when he came home. We were delighted with every bite and although I could hardly finish a 1/2 cup ( it basically expands in your stomach and then it hits you almost instantly that you are FULL ), for what I did eat, it tasted excellent!  Oh and we also had a spinach salad and garlic bread to compliment. Yum! I love bread!

    There is nothing bland about this combination of foods and it has such an awesome nutritional profile! The addition of tumeric gives it a great boost of nutrition. In fact, tumeric has been shown to have natural anti-inflammatory properties (helping those with arthritis), speed up the wound healing process, and it might possibly aid in fat metabolism. Seems to be worth an addition to the diet!

    This could easily simmer in the crockpot for the day and make for a quick dinner!

   “Paella” The Healthy Apron’s Way
Makes 4 generous servings! Probably roughly 1 1/2 cups!
Adapted from “Easy Paella” by Martha Stewart
1 T Olive Oil
8 oz of Turkey Sausage or lean beef (antibiotic and hormone-free preferred): OPTIONAL…great without!
1/2 a large onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3/4c long grain brown rice
1 cup black beans or 1 (15 oz) can if you are going sans meat! (rinsed and drained or no salt added variety)
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tsp tumeric
7.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 (14.5oz) can low sodium chicken broth
salt/pepper to taste (I used just a dash of each)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Directions:
1. Add 1 T olive oil to a large saute pan and add sausage. Cook at medium heat until just beginning to brown and then add onion and cook until translucent, stirring frequently (~3-4 minutes). Add the garlic and rice and stir until rice is translucent (~1-2 minutes).
2. Stir in paprika, tumeric, diced tomatoes, black beans, and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook until most of the liquid has absorbed  (~45-60 minutes). Stir in peas and cook 1 more minute. Serve immediately.
*I would guess 3-4 hours in the crockpot would suffice OR 8 hours if it was on a very low setting. I have not tried this though so use your best judgement and let me know how it turns out!
Nutritional Profile (per serving): 260 calories, 8.1g fat (1.9g sat, 0.6 poly, 2.6 mono), 40mg cholesterol, 27.5g carbohydrate, 6.7g fiber, 19.8g protein, 3.1 g sugars, 239mg sodium, 335mg potassium

20% Vitamin A, 20% Vitamin C, 22% Folate, 12% Phosphorus,  16% Thiamin

My mother called me several months back and raved about a recipe she tried in one of her new cookbooks for chicken chili. I had never heard of “chicken chili” before but she said my three brothers could not get enough and they devoured the whole pot in one sitting. Sounded good to me! So I tried it in the crockpot and bringing the dish together was extremely easy… it was the smell lingering from the crockpot that was absolutely tantalizing and NOT easy to resist.

     The combination of cayenne and chili pepper was a little pungent so I hope you like a little spice in your life! If not, I’m sure you could add a little less cayenne. I made sure the chicken was slightly undercooked before putting it in the crockpot. I noticed this helped to keep the chicken tender and juicy.

    One serving is fairly generous, so if you are only cooking for 2-3 people, halving the recipe will work out just fine.  This dish also contains almost 8 grams of filling fiber*! You are sure to be full for hours!

     With a little cheese for garnish and a slice of french bread, we had another evening of delicious comfort food….double yum.

Chicken Chili
Adapted from GooseBerry Patch Family Favorites Cookbook
Makes 8-10 servings

2lb cubed chicken breast
4 garlic cloves
2 small onions, chopped
1 red pepper and 1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 T chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 (16oz) Jar Chunky Salsa (I prefer Mild)
14 1/2 oz 33% less sodium chicken broth
15 1/2 oz kidney beans, rinsed/drained
10 oz package of frozen corn
salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Add olive to skillet and saute chicken breast, garlic, onion, and peppers until chicken is cooked through. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer in the crockpot for ~ 3 hours or the skillet for ~1 hour.

Nutritional Profile: 322 calories, 9.3 g fat (1.5 g sat., 1.4 g poly, 5.6 g mono), 26.8 g carbohydrate, 33.1 g protein,
 7.7 g fiber, 669 mg sodium (inaccurate/varies on products used and salt added)

    *Most people are aware of the importance of fiber.  Fiber prolongs stomach emptying keeping you full for longer, helps lower “bad” LDL cholesterol, and can also relieve constipation. Each person should aim for ~25-45 grams per day.  However, the average person struggles to meet this daily quota and so now there are endless products on the market that have lots of added fiber. While these are okay in moderation, I feel that there are plenty of WHOLE foods that get left in the dust because of companies like Fiber One.  Incorporating fiber richs foods into every meal and snack will help you meet your daily fiber needs!