Saturday, November 24, 2012

Black Bean & Lime Soup


3 cups dried black beans, rinsed & soaked overnight, then drained
1 smoked ham hock
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Place the above ingredients in crock-pot and cook on LOW 4-5 hours. Then add:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
5 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbs. molasses or brown sugar

Cook on LOW 1-2 more hours. Then remove half of the soup to a blender. Puree until smooth and return to the crock-pot. Just before serving, add 1/4 cup lime juice.

Serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, and chopped avocado.

Adapted from this recipe from Simply Recipes.com. 

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Barbacoa Sweet Potatoes


Somebody posted this photo on Facebook and I immediately knew I had to duplicate it. This is a Hot Mess from Pecan Lodge in Dallas. It's a sweet potato stuffed with barbacoa, cheese, chipotle cream, bacon, and green onions. Sounds amazing!

You'll need 2 crock-pots -OR- 1 crock-pot and 2 days to make this.

Crock-pot #1:

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

3 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast
1 onion, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbs. garlic powder
1/4 cup distilled vinegar

Cover it all with water and cook on HIGH about 4 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart.
Drain liquids and shred the meat with two forks. Then add:

1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
salt to taste

Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.

Crock-pot #2: 


Slow Cooked Sweet Potatoes


Wash 6-8 large sweet potatoes and pile into crock-pot. Add nothing. Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

Condiments:
Cheddar cheese
bacon bits (homemade or not)
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped


Chipotle Cream
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tsp. cumin

Serve buffet-style and enjoy!