Crockpot Turkey Sausage Wheatberry Soup

The day I decided to make this, I had a pack of sweet Italian turkey sausages thawed and ready to go from the night before. We ended up going over to my parents that night, so I had to use it or it would end up as trash. I hate to waste food, and since I had gone grocery shopping the day before to stock up on some staples, I had plenty of vegetables to use up. It was so easy to prep and prepare, and I love that I went out and came home to a dinner ready to eat!

A while back, I heard about wheatberries and its many benefits. Since Gary started liking quinoa, I decided to make a hearty soup using this other superfood. Since this is packed with protein and fiber, it's a great addition to this soup. It had a nice texture and blended in nicely. Although I thought it was just enough, Gary wanted to add even more wheatberries next time around.

Once again, Branny Boils Over is hosting a Souperbowl, and all soup entries each earn $1 to the ASPCA. Hurry up and make a soup recipe and send it over! The deadline is 1/31/12!

This year I'm dedicating my recipe to Matt. This little guy was found wandering around and causing traffic on the freeway until Gary's sister found him and brought him in. Check out the crazy before and after and what a little TLC does!

After a few weeks, nobody claimed him and he had nowhere to go. My sister in law already had 2 dogs, one which is a shih tzu as well. Luckily, Gary's other sister and her family came to the rescue and took him in. They named him Matt, because his hair was so matted when they first found him. He's great with the kids, and very protective of the family.

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Crockpot Turkey Sausage Wheatberry Soup

a cathy's kitchen journey original recipe





ingredients:

• 3 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 1.25 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 small bay leaves
• 3/4 cup wheatberries, rinsed and drained (to sub rice or quinoa, add during the last hour of cooking)
• 4 cups water

directions:

1. In a hot skillet on medium-high heat, add 2 TBSP oil. Crumble and brown the sausage until no longer pink in the middle. Drain the fat and transfer to a 3-4qt crockpot. In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 TBSP oil, and sweat out the onions. Remove from heat and transfer onions to crockpot.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot and stir slightly.
3. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until wheatberries are cooked through.
4. Remove bay leaves, stir well to mix evenly, then serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings

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Quinoa with Black Beans and Mixed Vegetables

 

For some reason, I always thought I’ve tried quinoa before…but apparently I haven’t. I’ve always mistaken it for couscous. I guess it’s an honest mistake, since they’re both of similar size, and I’ve never really seen quinoa before. I’ve been hearing so much about this super food, that I wanted to try it for myself.

We usually have rice to accompany our meals, which is natural to us since we grew up doing that. Other than pasta, we’ve never really ventured out of our little box in the grain department. I’m glad I tried this. Quinoa has a sort of nutty taste to it, and a texture that sort of pops in your mouth. It’s hard to explain, so it’s best you try it for yourself if you haven’t.

I boiled the quinoa in chicken broth to give it a little more flavor, but you can definitely use water or vegetable broth to keep it vegan. I’m a huge fan of using shortcuts such as canned beans and frozen vegetables. I think it helps a lot when it comes to easy meals. The frozen vegetables I used contains peas, carrots, green beans, and corn.

This was a great first attempt at making quinoa and having a different grain as a side. I can’t wait to try it again! Gary enjoyed this as well, but in the end he suggested using the bean and vegetable mixture in rice. Well…I guess you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but as long as I’m making dinner, he’ll eat it :).

Quinoa with Black Beans and Mixed Vegetables
a Cathy original!

 printable recipe

ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock or water for vegan)
2 TBSP oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (or an equivalent amount of fresh)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
Rinse and drain quinoa. Add quinoa and chicken stock in a 1.5 quart sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add oil to a pan on medium-high heat. Add in onion, garlic, vegetables and beans and cook for about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to mix.  Cook until vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Add the quinoa to the large pan of vegetables and mix well, adding more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve 4 as a side.

Jambalaya

I’ve never had jambalaya before…at least I don’t think I have. I’m not normally a sausage person, since I don’t eat pork. Even some turkey sausages gross me out, but since we were having a “sausage fest” party, I had to come up with ingredients I would eat as well. One of the recipes on the menu was a jambalaya. I was originally going to make a crockpot version, however the recipe I wanted to double did not fit in my 4qt crock. I had to find another recipe, and I think this was a winner.

My challenge was finding good food without MSG or nitrates in them. Luckily, we went to Trader Joe’s and there was a full array of different types of sausages for me to try, all without any MSG or nitrates! I saw they had a chicken andouille sausage that was perfect for this recipe.

I pretty much followed the recipe except I used a 28 oz can of tomatoes, used chicken andouille, and accidently forgot to add the shrimp, parsley and green onions at the end. Otherwise, this was great!

Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Jambalaya
adapted from: recipezaar.com
printable recipe

ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into pieces
1 lb andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used a 12 oz package of smoked chicken andouille)
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 cups long grain rice  (I used jasmine)
1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped,with juice (I used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes)
2 cups chicken broth or stock (I used bouillon cubes and water)
8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 green onions, finely chopped

directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pan or Dutch oven, brown chicken in hot oil on both sides; remove and drain.

Add andouille, onion, celery, bell pepper, thyme, oregano, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper to the pan, cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes until onions are tender.

Add rice, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring to a boil.

Place rice mixture in a baking dish or oven-proof casserole; top with chicken; cover (can use foil) and bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until rice and chicken are done and tender.

Stir in shrimp, parsley, and green onions; cover and cook 5-8 minutes longer or until shrimp curl and turn bright pink and serve.

Barbecue Baked Bean Burgers

When I first saw this post pop up, I knew I had to try it. It’s such a great alternative to meat patties, and it was really filling to boot! We usually have baked beans in the pantry, and this was a good way to use it vs. our usual heat and eat method. I ate this plain the first night. The next day, I reheated it and added a slice of cheese to it during the last 30 seconds of nuking. It tasted great the next day too!

I made several changes to this recipe. It was originally vegan, but I used an egg, which deveganized it. I also used white jasmine rice instead of the brown rice and omitted the jalapeños since we don’t have and we don’t like heat in our food. Instead of adding oil, I sprayed a pan with nonstick spray instead.

Barbecue Baked Bean Burgers
adapted from: about.com
printable recipe

ingredients:
1 15 oz can vegetarian baked beans, drained (mine was 16 oz)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup cooked rice
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 TBSP barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade (I used honey BBQ)
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

directions:
1. In a medium sauce pan over high heat, combine all the ingredients except, mixing constantly until beans are slightly mashed and mixture holds together, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat, transfer to a bowl or dish and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Form the mixture into 4-6 patties and set aside. In a nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium heat, spray with non stick spray. Once the pan is hot, cook the patties, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Serve as sandwiches or on buns with desired vegetables and toppings.

I made 4 patties, but I found it still very filling with just the patty. I recommend dividing it into 6 patties rather than 4. BTW, I’m looking at the picture again, and it looks totally unappetizing, but I swear it tastes good!

This recipe is also being submitted to My Legume Love Affair, hosted by The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Chicken and Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

I’ve seen a bunch of recipes around lately for stuffed bell peppers. All of it called for ingredients I didn’t have on hand, or did not eat. I had some chicken breast to use up, so I searched for a chicken stuffed pepper. Nothing really appealed to me. I decided to try to wing it and see what happened.

I kept it dairy free and it had a nice kick to it. When I originally thought this up, I wanted to add tomatoes, or tomato sauce, but unfortunately, I didn’t have tomatoes, and my can of tomatoes was already expired (argh!). I made it without it and it still turned out great. I used my leftover bell peppers, which was 3 green ones, one red, one orange. I recommend using the red/orange/yellow ones because they came out more tender and was sweeter than the green ones.

Chicken and Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:
3/4 lb ground chicken
6 bell peppers (I recommend using red, orange, or yellow)
cooking spray
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup chopped baby portabella mushrooms
2 cups cooked rice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Trim fat from the chicken. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Place in food processor and pulse a few times to grind up the chicken. Clean and cut tops from peppers and remove seeds. Spray cooking oil on a 8x8 baking dish. Place peppers in dish.

3. In a large sauté pan, add oil and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes, or until garlic is fragrant. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook until onion is clear, approx. 10 min.

4. Add the ground chicken, cook until no longer pink in the middle. Add spices, chicken broth and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Add in the rice, combine well.

5. Spoon the filling into the bell peppers. Cover loosely with foil and bake in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until peppers are fork tender. Allow to rest for a few minutes and serve.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice

I saw this recipe come up on my Google reader, and I knew I had to try it. It was a great use of ingredients I had usually had on hand. I was also home and I wanted to put the crockpot to use while I did other things around the house. I know, I know, the crockpot was meant for things such as when you’re out of the house and need to have dinner ready when you get home. However, I still get paranoid (all Gary’s fault) if I leave it plugged in for an extended period of time without supervision. I’ll probably have to use it a few more times under my watch before I leave it on when I’m away. I also don’t have a programmable one, so that’s one of my concerns too. Mine just has low, high, and warm. It doesn’t shut off after a certain amount of time.

With that said, I made this with chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, because that’s what I usually have on hand. I’m much more of a dark meat fan myself. The pack had 5, so I added it all in there. I also used pineapple chunks instead of rings. I thought I had rings, but I was mistaken. It worked just the same though. I also paired it with some coconut rice that made this a great meal. We both enjoyed this a lot.

The others mentioned that it was a bit sweet, but I didn’t find it sweet at all. I think it was the extra piece of chicken or because it was paired with the coconut rice that balanced it out.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken
Adapted from: Stephanie Cooks, Lauren’s Kitchen, and …and a cookie for Dessert, originally from the Easy Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used a pack of 5 boneless skinless thighs)
salt to taste
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple slices, juice reserved (I used a can of pineapple chunks)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker sprayed with non-stick spray and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place pineapple slices (or pineapple chunks) over chicken.

In a small bowl, combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cornstarch and stir until combined. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Serve over rice.

See below for coconut rice recipe.

Coconut Rice
Adapted from: About.com

Ingredients:
2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice (note that other types of rice, such as brown rice, do not work for this recipe)
1 1/2 cups thick, good-quality coconut milk (not "lite")
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, salt, and sugar. Stir well (use a plastic or wooden utensil to avoid scraping off the non-stick surface).

Cover and set to cook.

Once your rice cooker switches to "warm" mode, allow another 8-10 minutes for rice to finish "steaming". This will ensure your coconut rice is fully cooked and pleasantly sticky.

Gently fluff with chopsticks before serving.

This is the recipe that uses a rice cooker.
For Coconut Rice made in a pot on your stovetop, see: Thai Coconut Rice Recipe (stovetop version).

Before I started the coconut rice, I had a can of coconut milk that was new and not opened. I opened it up and saw that it was in chunks! It still smelled like coconut, but I couldn’t use it. I guess it was because I put it in the fridge when I bought it. DO NOT PUT CANS OF COCONUT MILK IN THE FRIDGE. If you do, this is what it will look like:

Luckily, just this past weekend, I found coconut cream powder at the Chinese supermarket and bought it.

This was a life saver! It had instructions for both coconut cream and coconut milk. Whew!

Crockpot Chicken Congee

Made by: Cathy

So with the carcass (I know, sounds gross) of the chicken, I made congee (aka rice porridge) in my crockpot overnight. I woke up with the apartment smelling like yummy congee goodness. I couldn't get back to sleep!

It was a great way to another meal to get out of the whole chicken I made last night. I took it to work and ate it with toast. Gary took it to work for lunch. I took some leftover chicken for lunch.


Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup rice, washed well
about 3 quarts water
1 chicken carcass
a couple of chicken pieces
1 dried scallop
salt an pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, soak the dried scallop with warm water for 30-60 minutes.
2. Using the crockpot insert, wash the rice in cold water (about 2-3 passes). Fill the pot with water (I had about 2 inches from the top before I put the carcass in).
3. Drain and squeeze out extra water from the scallops and add to the pot. Place the carcass and chicken bits in the pot.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. I only added salt because the chicken was already seasoned.
5. Set on low for 7-8 hours, or until desired consistency. Do not mix before it's done, otherwise it will stick to the pot.
6. Remove the carcass from the pot. Skim the fat or excess liquid off the top as needed. Mix well and serve.


Looks gross, I know, but it tastes good. I have a 4 qt pot, so adjust the recipe and time accordingly.

If you can't find dried scallops, you can omit. I think it adds a nice seafoody flavor. You can also do this with a turkey carcass. My mom made it many times after Thanksgiving.

Chicken Fried Rice

Made by: Cathy

Tonight's rice for dinner was a little dry. We were supposed to bring it to work along with the sauteed vegetables and chicken drumsticks we made. We figured the rice wouldn't reheat very well the next day, so with some leftovers and basic staples, we made a whole 'nother meal.

Ingredients:
3 eggs scrambled
3 tablespoons oil
4 cups cooked white rice (usually refrigerated overnight)
~3 tablespoons soy sauce
salt to taste
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables
1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
1 cup cooked chopped or shredded chicken (I used 2 chicken drumsticks, cut up)

Directions:
1. In a pan, cook 3 scrambled eggs to about 3/4 done. Set aside.
2. In a wok or stir fry pan, add oil and let heat up. Add the rice and mix well. Add soy sauce and continue to stirfry.
3. Add vegetables and soybeans to the rice, and stirfry for 3-5 min until vegetables are no longer frozen. Add chicken and continue to mix for another 2 minutes.
4. In the last minute, add the scrambled eggs and stir well.

This is an easy meal to fix up when you have lots of leftovers to use up.

Eel and California Sushi Rolls

Sushi rolls are so good, but I can't justify the price I pay in Manhattan to enjoy them.

My father works at a Japanese restaurant in the kitchen. He watched and learned to make sushi and taught it to us. Now, my family has been making it for some time now, but I usually just watched and ate :). This time, it was our turn to try to make it. I think it came out pretty well for our first time.

Sushi refers to the rice and not the fish. There is a lot of prep work involved in making it, but it's so worth it.

I don't have exact quantities of some ingredients because I bought ingredients in bulk and didn't count how many I used. This will be scaled down from the amount I made. If you don't have eel, you can make just california rolls or whatever rolls you like.

Ingredients:
2 cups sushi rice (uncooked)
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp sushi seasoning
1 cucumber cut into strips lengthwise
1 package frozen prepared eel, defrosted
10 (approx.) frozen imitation crab meat, defrosted
2 avocados sliced
5 sheets (approx.) packaged seaweed (nori), square sheets cut in half
sesame seeds (optional)

Prep materials:
bowl of cold water (to prevent sticking to the hands)
bamboo sushi mat
saran wrap
sharp knife
rice cooker
cutting board (preferably plastic, the rice will stick to wood)

Directions:
1. Wash the rice until water runs clear. Add 2 1/2 cups of cold water (or as directed by the packaging) to the pot and cook in rice cooker. Once done, scoop rice into a large mixing bowl. Mix with sushi seasoning while hot. Cover with damp paper towel and let cool for 10-15 min. Wrap the bamboo mat with saran wrap.
2. Prepare: cucumbers, eel, crab meat, nori, and avocados. Cut a cucumber in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut the cucumber into thin strips. Defrost the eel and crab meat in the microwave. Slice the eel into strips. Shred the crab meat by hand into pieces. Cut an avocado in half, remove pit and skin. Slice avocados into approx. 1/2 inch wide strips. Placed all ingredients into separate bowls/plates. Cut the nori sheets in half (they are about 8 inch squares when purchased).
3. Dip you hands in the cold water and shake off the excess. Place nori on the bamboo mat. Place about a palm sized oval wad of rice and spread on 1 side of the nori. Flip over and place desired ingredients on the side without rice. Leave about an 3/4 to an inch of space on each side. Using the bamboo mat, roll sushi up and use the rice to seal up. Use the bamboo mat to shape the sushi on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Dip the knife into the water and cut sushi roll into 6 equal pieces starting from the middle. Repeat until all ingredients are used up.

Tada! Sushi! We ate a few that didn't look too great while we were making it. Once you make it, you will want to make some more. It's much more satisfying to make it yourself.

Once you get the hang of it, you can make any roll you want. ie: Boston rolls (lettuce, cooked shrimp, mayo)