Teriyaki Beef and Mushrooms

My slow cooker has saved me from many kitchen meltdowns, and when I'm feeling lazy I know that I can always plop a few food items in the cooker and let magic happen. The other day we needed something to eat for dinner but we also hadn't been grocery shopping in a while, so the only fresh items we had were a bunch of white mushrooms. We popped them in the slow cooker with some stewing beef and it became a dish that I will make many more times in the future!


Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 1 package of stewing beef
• 20 white mushrooms, cleaned with stems trimmed 
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup barbeque sauce

 Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients in your slow cooker over high heat for 5 hours. Take off the lid and let it cook for another 30 minutes (this helps the sauce reduce a bit). 
2. Serve over rice or udon noodles!

Tip: This dish would pair well with steamed edamame, ponzu-glazed asparagus , or a simple green salad.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Barbeque and Lime Chicken

My slow cooker is my best friend in the kitchen. When I want sauces and sides to be the stars on the plate, I usually throw a chicken or a hunk o' beef in the slow cooker. I knew we were going to have soft tacos for dinner tonight, so last night before bed I added the marinade to the chicken and let it defrost overnight. Now, I have an arsenal of hot sauce, so if you don't have chipotle sauce on hand you can find it in, surprise, the hot sauce section of most grocery stores. Otherwise, you can add any other hot sauce you like to the mix (like tapatio or cholula!).

The chicken goes well with Mexican flavors, but I plan to use my leftovers in a lasagna!
If you are looking for sides to accompany this dish, check out my post here!

Makes enough for 8 soft tacos plus leftovers
Ingredients:

• 1 cup bbq sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup chipotle sauce
• 1 roasting chicken

Directions:

1. The night before, marinade the chicken in all of the sauces (you can put it all in a large ziploc bag or in a plastic-wrap covered deep dish). 
2. In the morning, place the chicken and the marinade in a slow cooker over high heat. Cook for 8-10 hours. 
3. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker using tongs, and carve it. Add the meat back into the sauce of the slow cooker, and keep it on low heat until serving time. 

Barbeque Chicken Sandwiches

I really really really love all things barbeque sauced. Yes, bbq SAUCED. I usually go straight for a bbq pizza, but since I was in the mood for a sandwich I made a barbeque chicken sandwich! That's my brain working. No big deal.

I like lots of flavors in my sandwiches, unlike the BF who just likes ham, cheese, and butter on his bread... Tonight I'm a free woman and I've loaded this sammy with all the goods. Of course, you can get even more wild by adding jalepenos or hot sauce, or you can go the other direction and skip the veggies altogether for an unadulterated bbq chicken sandwich.

Also - you may notice that I didn't slather the bread with anything like mayo, and I also didn't add cheese... I find that the bbq sauce is plenty saucy for this sammy, and the creamy avocado more than satisfies any cheese cravings you may have.

This makes enough for 2 little sandwiches or one semi-big one.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs 
• Salt/Pepper/Olive oil for cooking
• 4 slices of tomato
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1 small onion
• sandwich bread
• bbq sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Brush the chicken thighs with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the thighs on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet to medium-high heat. Slice the onion into thin rings and  add to the hot skillet with a splash of olive oil. Flip after 1 minute, and cook for additional minute. You just want to sear the onions! Put the onions in a small bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of bbq sauce (or whatever amount you feel comfortable with).
3. Once the chicken is done (when pierced with a knife the juice should run clear!), chop the chicken into cubes. Put into the bowl with the onions and bbq sauce and toss to coat.
4. Assemble the sandwiches by piling the chicken and onions and topping the bbq mixture with tomato and avocado slices.