Off to a Good Start

Despite me saying I don't make resolutions for a new year, I realized that I did make a promise of sorts several posts ago when I said I planned to incorporate the crockpot into my menu at least once a week. That's more of a goal, something to make my life easier and allow me to spend more quality time with my family. In an attempt to be true to my word (see that's why I don't like resolutions because you feel like you've let someone down, namely yourself, if you break or deviate from the original goal), I've already used the crockpot twice this week and both were successes in their own right.

First up was a Moroccan-style Chicken Stew. This is not for the picky, non-adventuresome eater. You must like ethnic dishes that invoke a new flair on the traditional American foods. This recipe combines cinnamon, cumin, and ginger for a true middle-eastern flavor. The inclusion of dried apricots and raisins add to the authenticity of the dish. While I wouldn't want to eat this every day, it was a nice change. Served over quinoa for a good dose of daily grains, and paired with peas with mushrooms, this meal was hearty and nutritious. Since I didn't deviate from the original recipe, I'll save the time of copying it, but you can find it on Better Homes and Gardens website (here).

That's actually steam on the left side not a blurry lens!

Last night we had our weekly Mexican meal. I told Wes I feel like we have Mexican all the time and his response was, "No, if we lived in Mexico, then we'd have Mexican all the time." Gotta love his quick wit. On to the meal. I had bookmarked this recipe from Cara's blog months ago but just remembered it last week. Cara had altered the original recipe to utilize her crockpot and I followed suit. Aside from the slight mixup with Fresh Market and their mislabeled spices, this turned out great! Yes, I thought I was buying ground cumin and couldn't understand why my car smelled of licorice the whole ride home. Even when I got home and opened the package, I noticed the smell was slightly off but I still used a little. Nope, it wasn't cumin. I still have no idea what it was but it was returned and I will wait until they have something that smells closer to the cumin I'm accustomed to using! But I digress. I served this shredded pork (I only bought about a 2lb roast and that was enough for 5-6 servings) with corn tortillas, shredded Chihuahua cheese, mexican rice with cilantro dressing (using some of the extra to drizzle on the tortillas, and my go-to corn and black bean salad. We were all too busy feeding our faces to stop for photos, so I snapped one of my leftovers today!