Slow-cookin’ Sundays: Caribbean Inspired Oxtails

What a coincidence that the weekend I schedule my oxtail recipe just so happens to be the same weekend as the big West Indian parade in Brooklyn. I think that was a sign that this dish was destined for greatness.

I grew up not eating beef, so I’ve actually never eaten oxtails before. I’ve always heard how good they are, and I’m constantly looking for a culinary challenge, so I had to give them a try!

What You Need:

3 lbs oxtails

1 large onion

5 scallions, sliced

1 cup diced carrots

1 large onion

1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms, quartered

1 jalapeno(or scotch bonnet, if you’re feeling feisty)

1 tbsp fresh time

1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary

2 tspn diced ginger

2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup red wine

3 tbsp tomato paste

salt

celery salt

black pepper

1 tbsp all spice

 How To:

Dice up the veggies — carrots, onion, scallion, mushrooms and jalapeno.

Sprinkle the oxtails with salt and pepper. Brown both sides(3-4 minutes each) in a skillet and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, scallion, jalapeno, ginger, thyme & rosemary to the skillet. Stir and allow the veggies to cook until the onion begins to get translucent. Add in the mushrooms, beef stock, red wine and all spice.  Stir with a wooden spoon, being sure to scrape up all that leftover goodness from the oxtails. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Pour on top of the oxtails and cover.Set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours and go about your day(I swear this is my favorite part).

As I got near the 6 hour mark, I noticed that the “sauce” was a little thin and more like a broth. Although I’ve never had oxtails I had it in my mind that there should be a thick, stew-like sauce. So as a quick fix, I stirred together 1/4 cup of water and 1 tspn of cornstarch and added it to the slow cooker. I recommend doing this when you only have 30 minutes of cooking time left. Instantly my sauce thickened right up!

You can eat the stewed oxtail as is or you can serve it with rice & pigeon peas(which is what I’m doing) or a side of plantains!

 

@LifeandDimSum

Slow-Cookin’ Sundays: Turkey Lasagna

It’s been a couple weeks since I brought the slow cooker out, but I’m back and with full force!

On my quest to find all things wonderful to be made in a slow-cooker, I kept coming across lasagna recipes. My first thought was that lasagna in a slow cooker sounded like a recipe for hard noodled disaster.

Boy was I wrong.

What you need:

For the sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 lb hot(or sweet) lean Italian turkey sausage

1 can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp pesto

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

salt

pepper

The layers:

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup grated parmesan

8 oz. grated mozzarella

6 oz. freshly grated parmesan

1 box oven ready noodles

Optional:

1 tbsp crushed garlic

5 baby bella mushrooms

1/2 lb spinach

How To:

Add the olive oil to a pot. Once it begins to heat up, add in the diced onion and garlic. When the onions and garlic have cooked down, add in the Italian sausage. ***You must remove the sausage casings before adding*** You want the sausage to resemble ground turkey in the end, so that’s an essential step.While the turkey browns, heat a little olive oil in a skillet pan and add in chopped garlic, the baby bella mushrooms and the spinach. Allow the spinach to cook until it cooks down. Set aside.Once the turkey has browned, drain the excess oil and return to the heat. Pour in the tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes. Mix together and now is the time to season your sauce. I like to add in salt, pepper, garlic powder(can you all tell I love garlic??) and Italian seasoning(if you don’t have that, parsley, oregano & basil will suffice). Add the tbsp of pesto. Allow the sauce to warm up and then set to simmer.

Combine the ricotta, 1 egg and parmesan cheese in a bowl and set aside.Now it’s time to assemble the lasagna.

Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray.

Start with a layer of sauce, followed by noodles, the ricotta mixture, the spinach & mushrooms and then the mozzarella and freshly grated parmesan.

 

And repeat!

You should be able to get at least 3 sets of layers and top the lasagna off with a healthy layers of mozzarella and parmesan.

Set the slow cooker on low and let it go for 4-5 hours. You’ll know when it’s done once the top gets bubbly and brown around the edges.

The finished product:

@LifeandDimSum

Slow-cookin’ Sunday: Vegan Chickpea & Tofu Curry

Indian food is one of my absolute favs! So it’s natural that as a part of my slow cookin adventures, I’d make a curry. I’ve done quite a few meat recipes so I figured I’d try a vegan approach this time.

 

What you need:

2 cans of chickpeas

1 can diced unsalted tomatoes

1 cup diced carrots

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 can coconut milk

2 tspn chopped ginger

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tspn tumeric

2 tspn cumin

1 tspn coriander

1 tspn cracked black pepper

1/2 tspn cayenne pepper

2 tspn salt

dash thyme

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

dash cinnamon

2 7oz packages of baked tofu

How to:

Add all of your ingredients except the tofu to the slow cooker and turn the heat on low and set to 5 1/2 hours. 

Once the time approaches the 5 hour mark, dice your tofu into cubes and brown in a skillet. Add your browned tofu to you slow cooker once you reach the 5 hour mark and let it continue to cook for the final half hour.Once it’s all done you can serve this deliciously flavorful curry with rice, quinoa or on it’s own with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

@LifeandDimSum

 

 

Slow-cookin’ Sundays: Rice Pudding

It was only a matter of time before I decided to try a dessert in the slow cooker. I was iffy about the idea because I wasn’t sure about which types of desserts could even be made in one. Then it hit me: rice pudding!

I’ve never made it before so this was an experiment all around.

 

What you need:

3/4 cup white rice

3 cups vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1 tspn cinnamon

1/2 tspn nutmeg

1/2 cup bourbon soaked raisins

 

What To Do:

Rinse your rice with cold water. Spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray. Combine all your ingredients except the raisins in the slow cooker. Stir together and set on high for 2 1/2 hours. Once you’re nearing the end, check on the pudding just to make sure you don’t need to add more time. Now is the time to add in those boozy raisins that offer a sweet but tangy contrast to the pudding. It’s not the most beautiful dish I’ve made, looks a lot like porridge lol, but it’s super tasty and so simple to make! @LifeandDimSum

Slow-cookin’ Sundays: The Great Pork Shoulder

I love pork. In fact, pork is my absolute favorite meat of all time. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to see what I could create with pork in the slow cooker. I decided to give the shoulder a Cuban flare and went with ingredients that would end up with a taste similar to carnitas.

What you need:

3-4 lb pork shoulder

1 tbsp garlic

2 tbsp salt

2 tspn cumin

2 tspn chili powder

2 tspn oregano

1 1/2 tspn cayenne pepper

1/2 tspn cinnamon

dash black pepper

1 orange

2 limes

1 cup chicken stock

How To: 

Combine all the dry spices in a bowl. Rub the shoulder down with the spice mixture; cover and refrigerate over night. After marinating, place the shoulder in the slow-cooker  with the chicken stock and juice from the orange and limes. Cover and set the cooker on high for 9 hours.

Once the time is up, remove the shoulder and using a fork, shred the meat into bite size pieces.

Now the possibilities are endless!

In one dish I used the “carnitas” in a Chipotle-style homemade burrito bowl with cilantro rice, arugula, 0% Greek yogurt, black beans and Monterrey Jack cheese.

I also used the meat to make a Cuban sandwich with ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and  mustard.I’ll definitely be making this again! The pork was so tender and flavorful.

@LifeandDimSum