Slow Cooker French Dip

My slow cooker is one of my favorite appliances in my kitchen. If I could cook everyday with it I would! Pretty sure if I got determined enough I could find nonstop recipes that would allow me to use this beauty all the time. For now I don't have an infinite number of slow cooker recipes but I do have this gem right here. 

Fondue Night

We made to our new home in sunny Colorado Springs! Took us about 2.5 days to get here from Washington, but it was such a great adventure. One that I am glad my husband and I were able to do together. We were lucky to find the perfect place to live only a couple days after arriving here; although we started with no furniture, we still love it! Now I just have to get used to cooking in a new kitchen.

For the past few days we have been shopping around to get the things we need, and of course I picked up a few things for the kitchen. :) My tools have changed, so it may take me a bit to get new recipes up, but I will try my hardest to get going! Thankfully, I have a back log of recipes to post.

One type of cuisine/meal/dish that I have loved for years would be fondue. I fell in love with a restaurant a few years ago and my mom was awesome enough to get me my own fondue pot. I've used it a couple times, but never like this. It was mostly there so I can enjoy chocolate in a fancy way. :) This time I really wanted to use it like you may at a restaurant. So I looked through my fondue cookbook, and gathered all the necessary items. It was really easy! I picked up everything that morning (look for meat sales if you plan on eating them that night), prepped what I needed to, and stored it in the fridge until it was dinner time.  Since I had everything prepped, all I needed to do that night was make the broth and that took no more than five minutes. If you plan ahead this will be one of the easiest meals ever. Plus, it's not one of those dinners that take three minutes to eat so you get to spend a fantastic night with people you love over a great meal! Okay, I will stop rambling and let you all get to cooking!

Here are some great dipping sauce ideas. They were also in the cookbook and went perfectly with the cooking style broth. I loved the Island Sauce, it was sweet and spicy!

Green Goddess Sauce Melting Pot Cookbook

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cubed softened cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons minced white onion

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in bowl with a whisk or an electric mixer for 1 to 2 minutes. Chill, covered, until serving time.  Makes 2 cups.

Island Sauce Melting Pot cookbook

Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until fully mixed. Makes 3/4 cups.

Meat and vegetable dipper ideas:

Meats:

Steak (Any kind. I went to the store and found a good meat sale. Wasn't the best quality meat, but it was still delicious.)

Chicken

Lamp

Pork

Seafood:

Shrimp (Peeled and deveined. Tails are okay.)

Lobster

Vegetables:

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Potatoes

You could really use anything that you really like!

Zen Cooking Style Fondue
Melting Pot "Dip into Something Different" cookbook

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups warm water
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions:

1. Whisk the water, lime juice, lemongrass, onion, celery, carrot, salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic powder in a bowl until combined.
2. Pour into a fondue pot (electric or manuel). Bring to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. 
3. Thread a piece of meat on a fondue fork; cook in brother to the desired degree of doneness. Throw the vegetables into the pot and remove with a slotted spoon when done cooking to taste. Serve with favorite dipping sauces.

Sirloin Kebabs with Rosemary Sprigs

There are days when I just crave a delicious juicy steak, but I don't want to go through the hassle of cooking it to perfect medium-rare. Cutting it up into small squares really quickens the cooking process, making my life so much easier. Then instead of using boring old skewers, take a couple sturdy sprigs of rosemary and add a completely different level of flavor. I was a little skeptical too, but it was great to have that extra boost of flavor. There was nothing boring about these!

Sirloin Kebabs with Rosemary Sprigs
Everyday with Rachael Ray - Dec 2012 issue

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2lbs beer sirloin, cubed
6 sturdy rosemary sprigs

Directions:

1. Combine oil, garlic, chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add cubed beef sirloin; refrigerate and let marinade for up to 15 minutes. 
2. Thread the beef onto the rosemary sprigs, piercing with the stem end. 
3. Over medium-high heat, grill meat, turning once, 8-10 minutes for medium-rare. 

Serves 6

Low Fat Tamale Pie

Looks like I'm taking a break from all the pumpkin to get me a little bit of mexican. I love mexican food! Probably because I am half mexican, and I have been around homemade tortillas and tamales my entire life. I previously posted a cheese tamale recipe and believe me handmade tamales are definitely the way to go. Although, they do take a lot of time. You really have to set aside an entire day. I have seen tamale pie recipes everywhere and I was curious. I also had my mother asking me almost every week to make this. So I finally caved and decided to get it a try.

Compared to the traditional way to make tamales this was so simple and very delicious. You still get that great flavor of homemade tamales, but without all the time and still healthy for you!

Be very patient when mixing the cornmeal. Keep stirring so it doesn't burn and eventually it will thicken up. I didn't have my burner up high enough so I was standing there stirring for a while before I realized it was futile unless I turned up the heat. :)

Low Fat Tamale Pie
lowfatcooking.com

Ingredients:
Filling:
2 teaspoon canola oil
1 medium onion
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 lbs lean turkey (or extra lean ground beef)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 (16oz) can corn (drained)
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 (4 oz) can sliced olives

Crust:
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart fat-free milk
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheese (monterey jack, pepper jack, or mexican blend)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Saute onions and pepper in a large skillet over medium heat till fragrant. Add meat, breaking it up, cooking until no longer pink. Drain liquid. Add chili powder, corn, chilies and olive. Simmer for 20 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, combine cornmeal, salt and milk in a 2 quart saucepan. Heat on medium-high and until thickened, stirring continuously. Spread cornmeal over top of meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese. Place on baking sheet and back for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden.

Serves 8

Nutrition: Calories 369; Fat 8.3g; Cholesterol 42mg; Carb 49.5g; Protein 23.9g; Fiber 6.8g

Beef Daube Provencal

Now if you do not call this recipe perfect fall comfort food then I don't know what your description of comfort food is. I prepared this with my crock pot. I will use any excuse to use my crock pot really. My house started to smell great and I couldn't want to eat dinner, even when it was 4 hours away. The wine gave the beef such a full rich flavor, and paired beautifully with the fresh herbs.

I may not be able to pronounce the name of this recipe, but I will gladly eat it everyday. :)

Beef Daube Provencal
CookingLight 

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (2 lbs) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-in cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup red wine
2 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 cups cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300º. (If using slow cooker, skip this step and do not preheat oven.)
2. Heat oil in a small dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browning bits. Add garlic, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf), and bring to a boil. 
3. If baking; cover and bake at 300º for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Disgard bay leaf. Serve of noodles.
4. If using slow cooker; prepare through step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.

Serves 6.

Nutrition: Calories 367; Fat 12.8g; Protein 29.1g; Carb 33.4g; Fiber 3.9g; Cholesterol 105mg