Category: Slow-cooker

Chimichurri Pork

Hi Everyone! Sorry for the lack of recipes lately, life just has a way of getting distracting and busy! Anyway, here is the recipe for the ever famous (in my house at least), chimichurri pork recipe. I hope you enjoy and let me know if you make it!

Ingredients:
– 2 – 3 lbs of pork loin (3lbs can make about 6 meals depending on how you slice the meat after cooking)
– 1 shallot or 1/4 of an onion (use the shallot it’s easier than trying to determine a 1/4 of an onion while crying!)
– about 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
– 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
– 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
– 1/3 cup of fresh cilantro (or 1 1/2 TLB of dried cilantro)
– 1/3 cup of parsley (or 1 1/2 TBL of dried parsley)
– 1/4 cup of oregano (or 1 TBL of dried oregano)
– 1 1/2 TSP of cumin (less if you don’t like cumin. You can add more later)
– 1 1/2 TSP of red pepper flakes (less if you don’t like red pepper flakes. You can add more later)
– salt and pepper to taste
-Vermicelli or any spaghetti or fettuccine

Recipe:
1. Blend together shallot, garlic cloves, olive oil, red wine vinegar, cilantro, parsley, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. The texture of the sauce should be smooth and green (if you use fresh ingredients expect a bright green shade and if you use dried spices it’ll be more of a pastel mint green)
2. Taste the sauce and see if you need to adjust the spices. This recipe typical will have an after taste with a bit. If it’s too much, add some onion powder and garlic powder and blend again for a few seconds. If it does not have a good enough kick, add that cumin and red pepper flakes and blend again for a few seconds!
3. Oil your slow cooker and add the pork loins. Pour your chimichurri sauce over the pork and rub. I typically have two (2) pork loins in the slow cooker so make sure you give them enough room.
4. Put the slow cooker on high for 3 1/2-4 hours OR slow for 6-7 hours.
5. Cook your vermicelli or pasta according to the box. I recommend to start boiling your water about 15 minutes before the meat is cooked. That way you can let the pork rest for a few minutes and then cut the meat while your starch (or grain) is cooking.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Attempt #1 Chicken Paella

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the first of hopefully many recipes on my blog!

So for starters, in our house, we take turns on who’s week it is and whatever they choose, I have to try to make. It’s like a weird challenge that I find fun and a good way to explore different dishes (to an extent).

Last week was my week and all I know is I wanted shrimp. For whatever reason, shrimp had to be part of the game plan, so off I went to the grocery store. (Side note: when it is my week, I typically don’t decide until I walk through the door and let the sales tell me what I should make!) With shrimp in mind and chicken on sale, I came to conclusion that Chicken Paella is what we are having for dinner with Brussel sprouts that I completely forgot to make.

Anyway, here is the recipe for my first attempt ever at Chicken Paella! I’ll let you know my thoughts after the recipe and any suggestions/modifications that I would make for future chicken paella.

P.S.: You’ll notice that I do not use tomatoes in my recipes (fresh tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, diced canned tomatoes, etc.) due to my dad being allergic to the seeds. However, I’ve found the red bell peppers are a great substitute for tomatoes due to their consistency, juiciness, and uniqueness in recipes. I do use tomato sauce and tomato paste since neither have seeds.

Ingredients:
1 package of cooked andouille sausage (I used smoke andouille sausage but you can use whatever you like)
6 boneless chicken thighs (I used small ones)
2 lb of shrimp (I used deveined, cooked, with shells on)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
5 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 onion (chopped)
1 1/2 cup of peas
16 ounces of chicken broth
2 cups of long grain brown rice (I used brown rice, but you can use yellow, white, etc.)
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/4 tsp. Turmeric
Salt and pepper

Recipe:
Before doing anything, make sure you oil the slow-cooker. I typically zigzag olive oil back and forth and then take a paper towel to spread the olive oil up the sides. Trust me, you do not want your food to stick!

  1. Added chicken broth, bell pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper to the slow-cooker. Stir the ingredients a few times then time the slow cooker on HIGH and cover. This gets the spices to start marinating and mingling with each other while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
  2. Slice the andouille sausage to about 1/4″.
  3. Add the rice, peas, and andouille slices to the slow-cooker and stir again. Once you feel that the ingredients are mixed, add the chicken thighs on top and cover. Let the ingredients marinate and cook for 3 1/2 hours on HIGH while you relax, watch TV, read a book, nap, whatever.
  4. Add the shrimp to the slow cooker and add another 30-35 minutes on high.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

Things I’ve learned making this recipe:

  1. The rice consistency was off. Some of the grains cooked nicely and some tasted like they just came out of the box. I suggest making the rice separately, about 45 minutes before show time, and combining it with the rest of the ingredients before serving.
  2. The overall dish was good, but definitely a little more liquid than I was expecting. In the future, I’ll probably cut back on the chicken broth or increase the amount of rice to absorb more of the liquid.
  3. Increase the paprika and turmeric. You can taste both spices, but they were a little too subtle for my liking.