CrockPot New England Clam Chowder

CrockPot New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

6-8 Medium Potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cans of minced clams in clam juice

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 pound bacon, diced

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning 

2 Bay leaves

Fresh cracked pepper

*Old Bay Seasoning has salt in it so there is no need for additional salt unless you like it really salty!*

 Brown bacon in pan, when crisp, add 2 tbsp butter and melt

 After butter has melted add chopped onions and bay leaves.

Cook till onions are soft and translucent but do not brown. 

 Add 3 tbsp flour and stir thoroughly to make a roux base.

 Add to CrockPot in order:

cubed potatoes

water

chicken broth

onion roux mixture

clam juice from all 4 cans of clams

seasoning

 Put clam meat in a container and refrigerate for later.

 Your concoction should look like milky water. Cook on low for 4 hours.

 After 4 hours, turn the CrockPot off and let the stew cool at room temp so the flavors can "marry" together.

Below is what it will look like after it has cooled. Now is the time to take your ladle and skim off the extra fat and oil that has surfaced to ensure a creamy soup. (I forgot this step but it still turned out delish. :o) 

Add the 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and the minced clam meat. 

Cook on low for one more hour and then it is ready to serve! Enjoy! 

CrockPot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup in the CrockPot

I LOVE my CrockPot. If it can be made in a CrockPot, I will try it, at least once. Well this little beauty above is a repeat. One of my fave's to say the least. Once you try this super easy recipe it will probably be on your favorites list as well. I always get requests for the recipe, so here it is!

Ingredients

• 6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts (uncooked, uncut - Yay!)
• 1 C. Water
• 2 C. Chicken Broth
• 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1 Tbsp Lawry's Seasoning Salt
• 1 - 10oz can of red enchilada sauce
• 1 - 10oz can of Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
• 1 - 14oz can of black beans (or whatever beans you like)
• 1 C. frozen corn
• 1 large sweet yellow onion (chopped- boo)
• 6 cloves garlic (minced- darn)
• 1/4 C. Mezzetta Roasted Bell Peppers (chopped-agh!) - Optional
• 1/2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream - Optional as well
• 6 Corn tortillas ripped into pieces

Directions

Turn your CrockPot on High. Pour in the olive oil and spread around when it gets warm. Put the diced onion and garlic in the bottom and sprinkle with a little salt. Place the raw chicken breasts on top of the onion and garlic. Next sprinkle all of your spices over the chicken. Add the water and all of the canned ingredients evenly over the top of the chicken. Throw in the frozen corn and chopped bell pepper too. Layer the top with the ripped up tortillas, no stirring required. Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours. When the chicken has floated to the top and falls apart easily, break the chicken apart with a spoon and add your heavy whipping cream. Turn to low and let simmer for another hour or so.  Or you can cook it on low for 8 hours if you are going to make this while you are at work.

Serve this soup garnished with sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro and maybe even some chopped avocado. Delicious! Enjoy!

EPIC FAIL

Dinner tonight (this was actually last week) was almost an epic failure. But, my wonderful husband Billy was generous enough to run to the store, probably out of desperate starvation, but non the less, he saved dinner.

It started out as a great idea. Pulled Pork in the CrockPot and Texas Roadhouse Rolls from scratch!!!

I found the Roadhouse Rolls recipe on Pinterest (I love Pinterest). The pulled pork luckily is just a no brainer.

 Pork, water, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire....

 The rolls however were a different story. I've never made them before but I've baked stuff and had it turn out pretty darn good. But between a building headache, and whining preschooler and cranky infant, I somehow managed to screw up the recipe. My dough didn't rise like it should have and the rolls turned out like rocks. :o/

 I was too devastated to photograph the aftermath of my little dough pucks.
The Pulled Pork turned out really good though.

So after a rush to the store and a purchase of some King's Hawaiian Rolls, dinner was pretty good.  I will probably try to make those rolls again but I am still feeling a little defeated so it may be a while. ;o)