Does using a crock pot feel like cheating to you? It totally does to me. But with a busy 3 year old son and an always gone medical student for a husband, I'm often running around very busy around dinner time. Crock pot meals typically won't yield the depth of flavor I want when I cook. But on days when your time and sanity is short, having a few good crock pot meals you can count on can really save the day. Today's recipe is a super simple fool proof crock pot asian orange chicken. 

Ingredients: 

4 chicken breasts (frozen is fine) 

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

1/3 cup orange marmalade

3 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 1/2 cup white rice

1 head brocoli

Directions: Place your chicken breasts in the crock pot on high for 2 hours until cooked. Cut your chicken into bite sized peices and drain the juice.  Place back in crock pot. Add your barbecue sauce, marmalade, soy sauce, and cook for an additional 1 hour on high. Mix with steamed brocoli and serve over white rice. 

This meal is satisfying, simple, and a sanity saver. Please don't judge me for using my crock pot. Bust yours out once in awhile. I promise you'll like it. 

Growing up I always loved Ramen Noodles. Now that I have unfortunatley become an adult and am more aware of what I put into my body, I don't ever let myself buy Ramen Noodles. But I recently stumbled upon a way to make them at home, in a much healthier way! I call this rainbow ramen because of all the beautiful colors. Not only is the beautiful and delicious, its a very affordable meal as well. 

Ingredients: 

2 large chicken breasts, cut into strips

6 ounces soba noodles 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 head purple cabbage, diced into strips

1 onion, diced

1 brocoli crown

3 carrots, shredded 

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce 

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions: 

Heat your oil in a pan, add your chicken strips and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and set aside. Add your vegetables to your pot and cook until soft and heated through. Meanwhile boil a pot of water and add your noodles to the pot. Boil for 3 minutes or so according to the package instructions. Remove your noodles and add them to the vegetables along with the chicken. Add the sesame oil and stir to prevent sticking. Mix together your ketchup, sugar, hot sauce, soy sauce, ginger, and worcestershire sauce. Once combined add it to your noodles and stir until everything is heated through and coated. Serve immediately. 

This is such a fun throw back dish updated for a more sophisticated palate and more nutrient rich without sacrificing any flavor. Let me know what you think! 

If anything signals the end of winter to me, its a good broccoli salad. My toddler is currently obsessed  with broccoli. Like asks for it for breakfast obsessed. I was getting pretty bored with just plained steamed broccoli, so I decided a nice savory broccoli salad was in order. This is a wonderfully flavorful salad. It has a lovely crunch from the bacon pieces and the toasted almonds (toasted in bacon grease!) yum. It has bits of lovely sweetness from the cranberries, and is loaded with vitamins. 

Ingredients: 
8 ounces bacon
2 heads broccoli florets 
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 cup mayo
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
3 tablespoons sugar
handful of dried cranberries 
1/3 cup slivered almonds 
Salt & Pepper 

Cook your bacon on medium heat in a large frying pan until nice and crispy, let it dry out on a paper towel then chop into small peices. Pour your bacon grease from the pan, but don't wipe out your pan. You will then toast your almonds in the nice bits of bacon grease left in the pan. This will add a lovely depth of flavor to your almonds. Watch your almonds closely because on medium heat they will only take 3 minutes or so to become a nice golden color. Remove from the pan and set aside. 

Steam your broccoli (do not boil it) for only 3 minutes. Then submerge it in cold water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking process. Drain your broccoli and set aside. 

Mix your onion, mayo, vinegar, dijon, and sugar together in a large bowl. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add your broccoli to this bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. When ready to serve, add your bacon pieces and almonds and stir. You can keep the remaining leftovers in the refrigerator for several days. 

This salad has a wonderful full flavor. Its a great way to eat vegetables and fruit in the same serving, and still get protein from the bacon and nuts. You won't be sorry you tried this. 

Enjoy!

The steak in this salad is so so good. After eating this for dinner tonight I have all sort of garlicy red meat dreams running through my head. This marinated meat would be good on a bed of rice, inside of an asian stir fry, so many things. I'll have to get back to you with my "to be continued" ideas for this delicious meat. But back to tonights featured attraction, this wonderful asian citrus steak salad. I love that this salad uses skirt steak. Its relatively inexpenisive, but will still fix your "I need red meat" craving. The soy and garlic flavors of the meat are balanced by the sweetness of the oranges and lime juice. Its a real winner. 

 

Steak Marinade:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce  
• Juice of 1 lime
• Juice of 1 orange 
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger  
• 1 large garlic clove, minced  

Salad Ingredients: 

• 1 lb skirt steak
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of good olive oil  
• Juice of 2 limes 
• Salt and Pepper 
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1 head broccoli, washed, trimmed
• 1 orange 
• Chinese Noodles or Crispy Wontons for garnish

Directions: Place your soy sauce, lime juice, orange juice, ginger, and garlic all in a large zip lock bag. Add your steak to the bag and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Heat up a grill or cast iron grill pan to medium high heat. Remove your steak from the marinade bag and discard the marinade. Grill the meat for 2 minutes on each side, then let rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. What a beautiful piece of meat!

While the meat rests, assemble your dressing. Your dressing is simply your olive oil, juice of 2 limes, and a little salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together. Peel and cut up your orange into small slices. Once your meat is done resting, cut it diagonally into small bit sized slices. Place your lettuce, oranges, broccoli on a platter, lay your steak on top of the salad and add your dressing. Add your Chinese noodles for a little crunch. 

 

This is a nice hearty salad because of the red meat, but it still manages to not feel heavy due to the sweetness of the citrus. Its a lovely easy meal. And the rich flavor the marinade adds to the meat is delish. Enjoy!