Crockpot Turkey Meat Sauce

The crockpot or the slow cooker is the easiest and healthiest modern day method of cooking that saves time. Some recipes are not good for using the crockpot method, but most of the recipes for simple meals are good. Especially, all sauces can be created by using the crockpot and are perfectly good because the simmering is better for the sauce and meat to "mingle" their flavors. Today, I will introduce the spaghetti meat sauce using turkey for the clean meat and ready-made tomato sauce or marinara sauce to increase the flavor for this dish. I add fresh herbs, such as fresh parsley, oregano, and thyme since all these wonderful herbs are growing beautifully in my garden. However, the ready-made sauce already has plenty of flavor and dry herbs can be used. Make plenty of sauce ahead of time and freeze it as well. I also use the spaghetti squash to make the sauce even healthier for my family.

Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground turkey or chicken
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
Equal 1 tbs quantities of fresh thyme, parsley, and oregano
1 jar (16 oz) marinara sauce

Serve with cooked spaghetti squash noodles* or pasta noodles

Directions:
Oil the crockpot.  Break up the meat with a fork.

Add meat and the rest of the ingredients into the slow cooker. Cover and turn to cook for 4 to 8 hours.

*To cook the spaghetti squash:
Bake, steam, or boil the spaghetti squash until done. piercing the skin a few times with a skewer or fork. Then cut in half to reveal the flesh that resembles a mass of spaghetti-like strands.

Scrape this out of the skin, and then toss the strands with spaghetti sauce.

Trout Simmering in Ginger Sauce

This trout stew recipe is for a typical Vietnamese stew fish, called "ca kho to". However, people can use a familiar fish, such as tuna or catfish. I like to use trout for this kind of method of cooking too because I can buy trout in Costco. My stew sauce is much easier to prepare and with less sugar. I substitute honey and blackstrap molasses for sugar for my healthy choice in cooking. I love garlic and add a lot of it in this recipe. I hope this recipe can be the one that is always present on the dinner table in your family.

Ingredients:
2 whole trout, washed and cut into big chunks
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 big knob of fresh ginger, chopped
1 red onions, sliced
1/4 cup oil
Stew sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs blackstrap molasses
2 tbs honey
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
Other ingredients:
1 tsp chili flakes or a few whole dry chilis
Black pepper
Green onions

Directions:
Heat oil in heavy sauté pan. Stir in ginger, onion, and garlic. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add fish and then brown the fish. Add chili flakes.

Combine the sauce ingredients. Stir well and add sauce onto the fish.

 Bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour.

 

 Adjust the seasoning with more salt or fish sauce to your liking. Add green onions and black pepper at the end of cooking time. Serve with rice.

Crockery Hawaiian Chicken

Whether your lifestyle is too busy or not, the Crockpot is a solution for making a meal that is tasty and quite healthy with carefully chosen ingredients. The Crockpot method for everyday meal preparation is best with easy-to-find ingredients. Most of them, either meats or vegetables, are in the frozen food section. This recipe will demonstrate how easy it is to create a fantastic paradise dish.

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, skinless (or combination of the meats)
2 cup frozen pineapple
1 medium red or white onion, wedged
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tbs coconut oil
Sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
 1 tsp salt
2 tbs honey
Other ingredients:
Chopped green onions and cilantro for garnish
1/4 cup water
1 tbs cornstarch
Hot cooked white or Black rice

Directions:
Cut up the chicken thighs. Grease the inner pot with oil and place the meat inside.

Add onion wedges, minced garlic, and ginger.

 Combine the sauce ingredients and mix well. Pour sauce over the meat. Close the lid and turn to the cook setting to 4 hours.

 

During the last hour of cooking, add the pineapple and stir well. Adjust the seasoning at this point with more salt or soy sauce to suit your personal taste.

If the cooking liquid is more than what you want, then mix the cornstarch with water and add into the crockpot. Cook until the sauce thickens. Serve.

Easy Baked Tilapia Fish

Lately, I prepare meals that are much simpler than I used to cook. I have been thinking about busy working people who want to maintain a healthy diet and that there has to be a better way. Here is another healthy tilapia recipe with only a few ingredients that are available at Costco.

Ingredients:
One 6 oz. tilapia fillet
1/3 cup Picante sauce
1 tsp olive oil
1 or 2 button mushroom, sliced
1/4 cup red onions
1/8 tsp of salt and black pepper

Directions:
Place tilapia onto a baking dish
Top tilapia with the rest of the ingredients and bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for 10 to 12 minutes.
Serve with rice, bread, or a small salad on the side.

Semi-Homemade Asian Wonton Soup

The challenge for me as a cook is to create a meal as good as it can be with very few ingredients. These meals are semi-homemade with some of the main ingredients which are able to be bought in the frozen section of supermarkets. Today, I will introduce the popular Chinese wonton soup that one can easily be prepared at home with two main ingredients, such as ready-made wonton and Ramen noodles. The rest of the ingredients can be added more or less to your own liking. Also, follow the instructions to cook noodles unless the recipe says otherwise. This bowl of soup is wonderful and saves a lot of time for busy moms.

Ingredients:
1 package Ramen noodles
2 cups chicken broth
7 ready-made won tons
1 cup sliced Napa cabbage or bok choy
1/2 carrot, sliced
1/4 cup daikon
Soy sauce, salt, and black pepper
1 tsp sesame oil

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro

Directions:
In a pot of water, add chicken broth, carrots, and daikon and bring to boil.
Bring another pot of water to boil. Remove the Ramen noodles and discard the seasonings. Blanch the noodles for 30 seconds or 1 minute. Drain.
Season the broth with salt, soy sauce, and sesame oil and add the Napa cabbage. . Add won tons and cook for 1 minute.
Place Ramen noodles on the bottom of a serving bowl. Arrange the won tons and pour the rest of the soup over them.

Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro.

 

 

Slow Cooker or Crockpot Asian Chicken Curry

It seems that I make curry all the time because I love curry. Today, I will share an easy curry recipe using a crockpot or slow cooker. I use a slow cooker that I just bought at Costco. I use a combination of curry spices from the way Indian people make their curry. However, this is much easier to create. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
5 chicken drumsticks, skin removed first and then cut up
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 cup daikon
2 tbs peanut oil
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut up
Salt, sugar, and black pepper to taste
Curry spices:
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder
Equal 1/4 tsp quantities of cumin. coriander powder, cloves, and chili flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
Other ingredients:
Chopped green onions and cilantro for garnish

Directions:
Combine the curry spices and set aside.
Heat oil in a deep sauté pan. Add onions and curry spices and stir to cook for 30 seconds.

 Add chicken and brown the chicken with curry spices for 5 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes. Season with salt, sugar, and black pepper.

Continue to cook for another 2 minutes and pour into a slow cooker.

Add carrot, daikon, red bell pepper, and coconut milk. Close the lid and follow the directions to cook. I use 3 hours for my curry. You might need more time.

While the curry is cooking, bake the potatoes until almost done.

About 1 hour before the cooking time is done, add baked potatoes. Adjust the seasoning at this time again, Close the lid and let it cook until the chicken and all the vegetables are tender.

Sprinkle the chopped green onions and cilantro on top before serving. Serve with bread, rice, or noodles.

Stir-Fried Tuna with Green Beans

I had been busy and did not have time to prepare a good healthy meal. It is terrible for a "healthy queen" person, such as me. Thank God that I am home now and can start going back to my routine and it’s. Today, I will prepare a simple stir-fried dish with fish and green beans. All these ingredients are easy to find, and the stir-fried sauce also should be easy to prepare at home or to buy it in the grocery store.

Ingredients:
8 oz. tuna fillet, cut into cubes
1/2 lb. green beans, sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tbs peanut oil
Stir-fried sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup fish stock, chicken stock, or water
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp sriracha hot sauce or any hot sauce
1 tbs cornstarch
Other ingredients:
Black pepper
1 tsp hot pepper flakes

Chopped green onions and cilantro for garnish
Serve with rice

Directions:
Whisk stir-fried sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch green beans for 1 minute. Drain.

Heat wok with oil and add onions, ginger, garlic, and hot pepper flakes. Stirfry for 30 seconds.

Add tuna and stirfry for 2 minutes.

 Move tuna aside in a wok and add green beans.

 Add sauce mixture and stir until sauce thickens.

Sprinkle chopped green onions and cilantro on top and serve with rice.

Chicken and Egg Curry

I am very fond of curry dishes from the simple curry of Vietnam and Thailand to the very difficult and complexities of Indian curry. The biological reason is that Indian curry uses a variety of very good spices to create the Indian curry, so I usually cook Indian curry. However, there are plenty of spices that are also not easy to find in the grocery. Most of the time one has to go to the Indian spice shops to gather all the spices necessary to create the real Indian curry. I have made many curry dishes throughout my cooking years. Therefore, I will introduce my recipe for making Chicken curry and eggs today using the simplest method, but still have most of the main Indian spices. This recipe is a must-keep recipe for a healthy living choice of eating.

Ingredients:
4 hard-boiled eggs, shells removed
5 chicken drumsticks, cut into big chunks
Marinade ingredients:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp salt
Equal 1/4 tsp of turmeric, coriander powder, cumin, paprika, Marsala, and fenugreek powder
1 piece fresh ginger (about 2 tsp)
4 garlic cloves
Basic curry sauce ingredients:
1/4 cup grape seed oil or olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
1 lb. fresh tomato, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 cup water or chicken broth

Other ingredients:
Chopped cilantro
Serve with rice of bread

Directions:
In a mini food processor, add garlic and ginger and blend to paste. Add all the spices and mix well.

 

Use half of this spice mixture to combine with yogurt. Add salt.

 Save the other half of the spice mixture to cook the basic curry sauce.
Place chicken in a mixing bowl and pour the marinade ingredients onto the chicken. Mix well and let marinate for an hour or more.

To make a basic curry sauce:
Heat oil in sauté pan. Add onions and sauté on medium heat for 20 minutes or until soft and golden brown.

Stir in the saved other half of the spices. Turn the heat to low so the spices can cook gently. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Add the water and bring to boil. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and some sugar.

 Now the sauce is ready to use.

To cook chicken:
In a deep saucepan, add chicken and the marinade. Cover and cook chicken for 15 minutes then add the hard-boiled eggs. Stir to combine.

Cook further until the chicken is done. Add the curry sauce. Simmer for 50 more minutes and adjust the seasoning. The curry now is ready to serve.

Tip; Add coconut cream if you want a creamier taste to the end of cooking time. I like potatoes and carrots. If using potatoes and carrots, add carrots at the beginning with the chicken. Baked the potatoes and add with the hard-boiled eggs.