Ingredients:
7-½ cups rutabaga
6 cups carrots
1 ½ cups celery
1 ½ cups mushrooms 6 cups of fresh spinach
2 cups of cooked chickpeas (roast them for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees)
5 teaspoons of garlic powder
6 teaspoons of black pepper
1 cup of organic Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons sea salt
2 low-sodium vegetable bullion cubes
18 cups water
Directions: Roughly chop rutabaga, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Place vegetables in slow cooker with water, precooked chickpeas, garlic powder, black pepper, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and vegetable bullion cubes. Cook in Slow Cooker for approximately 6 hours (or until rutabaga and carrots are soft).
Finish by adding in fresh spinach, allow to cook down, and stir to incorporate into soup.
This recipe yields approx 21 cups (great for freezing and reheating or for feeding a crowd).
Crockpot Carnitas
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder (cut into 2" cubes)
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
1 12 oz. bottle of beer
1 14-15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce
Juice from 1 orange
Juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions: Place pork cubes in the Crockpot along with the onions and pour the beer and orange juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Once cooked, remove pork from juices and set aside. Once the pork has cooled, shred it using a fork or your fingers. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the vegetable oil) to a blender, cover, and puree everything until it is well blended. In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
Once oil is hot, add the pork and sauté to crisp up some of the edges. Spoon or pour in as much of the sauce as you would like onto the pork. Continue to cook until sauce is heated through. Serve with corn tortillas, tomatoes, queso fresco, and guacamole.
This recipe yields 6 servings
Pulled BBQ Chicken
Ingredients:
4-5 lbs. skinless chicken thighs (bone-in is fine)
2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use more if necessary)
1large Walla Walla or Vidalia onion (sliced thin)
3 ribs celery (sliced thin)
3 medium carrots (diced)
2 large cloves garlic (chopped fine)
3/4 cup dry rose wine (can substitute with a dry chardonnay)
1 14 oz. can of chicken stock
1 14 oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 chipotle peppers (diced is fine, or you can use fresh or canned chipotle chilies in Adobo Sauce)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
For the Chipotle Raspberry BBQ Sauce:
1/2-cup ketchup
1/2-cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon Adobo Sauce (you can use the leftovers from can of chipotle chilies in Adobo Sauce)
2/3 cup raspberry preserves
Directions: In a large sauté pan, over medium high heat, add olive oil. Once oil is hot, add as many chicken thighs as will fit with the bone facing up. Brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Once both sides are browned, add thighs to the Crockpot and continue browning remaining thighs. Add in sliced onions, celery, carrots, and garlic to the pan and cook until vegetables are lightly browned and onions are starting to turn translucent (if necessary, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to pan). Add to the chicken in the Crockpot, and turn it on to high heat.
In the pan, add in the wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, chipotle peppers, and brown sugar and stir to combine. Keep on the heat until the brown sugar is melted, and then pour mixture over the chicken and vegetables in the Crockpot. Mix the contents of the Crockpot so that all the ingredients get evenly distributed, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours.When done cooking, remove chicken and separate the meat from the bones.
To make