Tag: #slowcooker

My awesome Tacos
Alliyah Dawud
April 19, 2019

Green Lentil Tacos!

For those that know me will know I love green lentils. They are bloody awesome.

Here is my version of a ‘vegetarian taco meat’ which I believe is the bloody best!

It’s an awesome ‘Meat Free Monday’ recipe. It’s also great for a big crowd as everyone can build their own tacos to their own tastes. If you do serve this for a big group add some tortilla chips as a side.

Its cooked in the Slow Cooker however it’s started off on the stove. It’s awesome because you can freeze it. It’s also awesome because about 15 minutes work results in Tacos that are soooooo good you will be singing me praises.

For this recipe (which makes enough for 8 large tacos) you will need:

(Ingredients):

  • 2 medium onions-sliced
  • 8 cloves of garlic-crushed
  • 2 TBSP rapeseed oil
  • 1 TBSP oregano
  • 1 TBSP cumin
  • 1 TBSP coriander powder
  • 1 TSP smoked paprika
  • 1 TBSP salt (adjust to your own needs)
  • 1 TBSP onion powder
  • 250 grams green lentils (my go to super food).
  • 800 ml of water (or stock)

1) Wash and soak the lentils in boiling water for at least an hour. I cover the bowl with cling film and this works great. You can also place the lentils in a thermos.
2) Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions until soft. You don’t need them to be browned. Add the garlic and stir and fry for 30 seconds.
3) Drain and add the lentils and fry. Add a bit of stock (or water) if the lentils start to stick.
4) Add the herbs and spices. Mix well.
5) Bring to the boil. Transfer to the Slow Cooker and cook on high for 4 hours. Check after 1.5 hours. Stir well. Check again at 2.5 hours. If you notice that the liquid (Stock) has evaporated add more water as you need the lentils to cook.
6) Once the lentils are tender turn off the Slow Cooker. If there’s stock left transfer to a pan on the stove and heat the mixture on a high heat without a lid.
7) Remove from the heat and mash the lentils lightly.
8) BOOM! Lentils are done.

To assemble: You will need:

  • Tortilla wraps (I used the mini ones I get in Aldi)
  • Salsa
  • Cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Jalepenos
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Sliced red onion
  • Wedges of lime

To put together this awesome delight of a taco:
1) Warm your wrap.
2) Spread on the lentil mix.
3) Add the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa and a dollop of sour cream. Squeeze on the lime.
4) Sprinkle on some cheese and add some jalapeno’s.
5) Stuff face. Enjoy. Repeat.

Notes:

  • This recipe is also used in my Crunch wraps.
  • You can freeze the lentil mixture.
  • It’s also great for stuffing Burritos and filling Enciladas.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup
Alliyah Dawud
February 8, 2019

I love my Slow Cooker (crockpot). I use it on the regular…even in the hotter months as it doesn’t heat up the kitchen.

I love tacos….and also easy family meals where you don’t need to weigh out ingredients. So here I present to you my Taco Soup…which tastes soooooo good. And no two bowls are the same when you pimp it up with various toppings.

Makes enough for 6 large bowls. I’ve successfully frozen leftovers too.

Ingredients:

SOUP:
500 grams browned mince (or raw mince)
2 small onions diced finely
1 400 gram tin chopped tomatoes
200 ml water
1 tbsp salt (or less depending on your dietary requirements)
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp dried mexican oregano (or standard oregano)
2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped finely
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika (or standard paprika)

Add the following 30 minutes before serving:
1 400 gram red kidney beans drained
1 400 gram white kidney beans drained

To thicken the soup:
1 tbsp cornstarch

Optional items:
1 whole chipolote chili
Liquid smoke

Garnishes/toppings (mix and match as you please):

Soured cream or low fat yogurt
Grated cheddar cheese
Crushed up taco shells
Crushed up torilla chips
Lemon or lime wedges
Tomatoes chopped finely (I like using cherry tomatoes as they are sweeter but that’s optional normal tomatoes will also work)
Red onion-finely chopped
Jalepeno pepper slices
Fresh coriander leaves-chopped finely
For extra heat fresh chili finely chopped

1) Place all the ingredients listed under soup in your Slow Cooker. Turn the Slow Cooker on to a high. Cook for 3 hours.
2) Now add the drained kidney beans. Stir through. Add two tablespoons of water to the cornstarch and mix. Add the mixture to the soup and stir. This will thicken the soup up for you. If you don’t like thicker soups just skip this step!
3) Place the lid back on and leave for another 25-30 minutes. Turn off and remove lid if you don’t want the beans to ‘cook’ further.
4) Ladle into bowls and serve garnished as you wish. I make a ‘toppings bar’ and allow everyone to personalise their own soup.
5) Leftovers will keep for 48 hours easily in the fridge. Can also be successfully frozen (use within a month).

My Slow Cooker Pasta Sauce
Alliyah Dawud
January 25, 2019

Note: this recipe is by no means a REAL ITALIAN sauce. This is a sauce I make that is pretty much easy to put together (in less than 5 minutes if you have frozen browned mince in your freezer).

This is enough for 4 family dishes serving 4 at a time so 16 servings (or more depending on your portion sizing and if you wish to add additional vegetables).

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons pre-fried onions soaked in water for 20 minutes then drained.
6 8 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1.5 kg mince of your choice (I use Mutton)-you can use vegan mince if you wish
1 small (250 gram) box of mushrooms diced finely
2 bell peppers (I use red) deseeded and finely diced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt-to your dietary requirements
1 tin (approx 400 gram) chopped tomatoes
1 carton passata (the approx 390 gram carton-not the small one)
125 ml water

For thickening:
1 tablespoon cornflour
Extra water

1) Heat a large pot on a medium heat and add the oil. Fry off the mince to seal it and retain moisture. This step takes me 15 minutes tops but adds a lot of flavour.
2) Add the garlic to the mince and fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
3) Drain off the excess oil from the mince.
4) Add all the remaining ingredients to the Slow Cooker and the mince. Cook the mince sauce on a low heat for four hours. I check up on the mince after 2 hours and give it a stir.
5) After four hours the mince should be cooked (as should all the other ingredients). If the sauce isn’t as thick as you would like make a ‘slurry’ using the cornflour and a little bit of water. Add that to the Slow Cooker and stir in. Check up on the sauce after 15 minutes. The slurry should help thicken up the sauce.
6) If you are happy with the sauce consistency turn off the heat and allow to cool before freezing.

Note: if you find your Slow Cooker uses up more liquid than mine you may need to add more water. But that’s only if you use up all the ‘liquid’.

TIPS:
If you have fussy eaters and need to get vegetables into your family diet blitz the vegetables and add them to the sauce. If you feel your family won’t like the texture you can fry off the vegetables with the mince. This gives them a more ‘fried’ taste.

This sauce is clearly awesome with and can also be used in your favourite pasta bakes, skillet pasta dishes, cannellini and lasagne too. Leftovers can be used as jacket potato topping or even to top ‘Italian inspired Hotdogs’.

You can also add crushed up pulses to add extra protein.

Grated carrots are also a good addition and hardly detectable with the tomato sauce.
Tinned tomatoes with herbs and garlic will add additional flavour.

For extra flavour add a handful of olives (rinse them first to remove extra salt).

Remember that cooking in a Slow Cooker results in less liquid ‘evaporating’.

My take on Chicken Daube
Stylemesisteradmin
November 30, 2018

Mauritian inspired Chicken and Potato stew
(inspired by Daube de Poulet/Chicken Daube).

The humble chicken. For me personally it doesn’t get enough credit. Literally. In my opinion it’s one of the most versatile proteins (and healthier than red meat too). However I don’t think it gets enough credit for what it is.

We bung it in the oven and tell it to come out as a perfect roasted chicken for the family to enjoy at the weekend. But give it a bit of love and the plain old chicken can be transformed into a pot of warm, comforting fair suitable for the colder months ahead.

I personally would prefer for my family to eat more chicken over red meat….but alas we haven’t got to that stage quite yet.

So here is my take on a Mauritian classic Daube de Poulet/Chicken Daube. I’ve adapted this classic to make it suitable for the slow cooker however you can easily cook it on the stove top.

I have a system where I try to prepare a weeks worth of meals in a couple of hours. In this session I will also brown off any meats I will using during the week and I will either store them in the fridge or freezer depending on when I will be needing the product.

Now for some people this will seem insane; for me it opens up many opportunities of using the slow cooker even on a really busy morning as there’s no need to ‘brown off’ meat on the stove before putting it into the slow cooker. But this is something I do and it works for me.

You can of course skip the browning step if you wish to. The flavour in my opinion isn’t as strong (rather mellow).

So to make a classically inspired dish that easily serves 6 (I get 8 portions out of this recipe) you will need:

1 kilogram of chicken drumsticks (skin off)
1 tablespoon oil (I used rapeseed oil)
3 medium potatoes cut into medium pieces (smaller pieces will cook faster and essentially turn into mush)
1 large onion chopped or 4 TSBP of pre-fried onions (available in most Asian supermarkets-they’ll be cheaper in bulk too!)
1 can (approx 410 grams in weight-check the tin) tomatoes-chopped.
200 ml water or chicken stock
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika (or plain paprika if that’s all you have).
1 heaped teaspoon garlic or garlic paste
1 small piece of ginger (around an inch)-whole
1 cinnamon stick
Salt-amount will depend on your own preference.
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh (dry herbs are more concentrated in flavour).
Variation (remember this recipe is inspired by NOT an authentic copy of the original) you can use other herbs. For a French twist try Herb de Provence. Again use 1 teaspoon.

OPTIONAL: 1 dried chili (for a bit of a chili flavour)

Note: the French variation can contain wine however a lot of Mauritian folk follow an alcohol free diet.

1) Heat the oil in a pan over a medium flame. Add the chicken, cinnamon stick and ginger and fry until opaque and a bit brown (bits will be brown but not the full chicken). Take off the heat.

2) Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker and stir to mix well. You’ll note that there doesn’t seem to be lots of liquid. That’s fine as cooking in a slow cooker uses less liquid (evaporates less).

3) Now you have two options.
Cook on high for 3 hours
Cook on low for 5.5 hours

4) Once cooked serve! The flavours literally develop more overnight. As you have the potatoes in the dish I haven’t suggested serving with potatoes or rice. Why add to the carbs?!

Enjoy.