Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chicken and Beans

Yield: 4 servings (4 pancakes)

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 8 hrs

One of the first crockpot recipes I found that is worth repeating…

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
One 16-ounce jar mild or medium salsa
2 Tablespoons chopped canned chipotle in adobo sauce
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2-pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper (seeds and ribs removed), chopped
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Directions:

1. In a 5 to 6 quart slowcooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour and 1 cup water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

2. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours.

3. Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces, and return to stew.

4. Serve over brown rice, or inside flour tortillas to make tacos. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

Tips:

*You may also use 1 to 2 cans of pinto beans, rinsed in place of the dried beans. Leave out the water in the recipe if you use canned beans. Don’t add canned beans until the last hour of cooking.
*If you are preparing this recipe as gluten free, use a GF flour substitute or another thickening option instead of the all-purpose flour.

Nutritional Information per serving (without rice or tortillas):
Serving size: 1/4th of the recipe
Calories per serving: 278
Fat per serving: 3.3g
Saturated Fat per serving: 1.5g
Sugar per serving: 7.5g
Fiber per serving: 11g
Protein per serving: 17g
Cholesterol per serving: 19mg
Carbohydrates per serving: 47gWW POINTS per serving:
Points Plus Program: 7 Old Points Program: 6.5

Source: RecipeGirl.com (Adapted from Everyday Food )

Cooking Tips :

How To Become A Great Cook: Easy Tips And Tricks

Learning to cook is a valuable skill and it benefits everyone. Cooking at home not only saves money but ensure that you are eating delicious and healthy food.

Keep herbs and spices in a dark space that is cool and dark. If light, humidity and heat are present, or light they may lose their flavor. Ground spices retain their flavor for around a year. Spices that are kept whole can retain their flavor for between three and five years. Storing spices in glass containers with a

If you are looking for new ideas for meals to prepare for yourself or your family two great places to look are the library and the internet, try looking at basic cookbooks in your local library or bookstore. Try different recipes and be patient as you come up with something that works for you.

Boiling vegetables is a cooking processes remove some of the vital nutrients contained in vegetables. To maintain their healthy reputation, chose faster cooking methods like steaming or sauteing, or enjoy them raw.

Don't attempt a dish that is new or recipes you've never tried before.This will make cooking less stressed when preparing your meal.

Do you ever feel bad for getting rid of fruits that are moldy? You may have wondered if it is okay to salvage them by trimming away the rotten part. You should never eat or keep a piece of fruit that has begun to rot. Mold goes a lot deeper than you can't even see and it can make you ill.

To make your French fries crispier, try leaving the raw potatoes in some cold water for half an hour before you fry them.

Ice cube trays can be a great tool for freezing and storing leftover sauce.This makes it easy to prepare a quick meal by reheating the sauce using a later time. The sauce will be very edible after it is frozen.

This is going to help ensure that they do not burn during the food is cooking process. Use two parallel skewers as opposed to a single skewer to keep food falling off.

To properly cook a pumpkin, cut the standing pumpkin in half through the center. Place each half on separate baking sheets.

This will help to give your dish to become more flavorful.

If you are going to use fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley in your meal, form them into bunches and cut them with scissors. This will keep the herbs drier and lighter than if they are chopped.

Always follow instructions to the instructions if you are making something like macaroni and cheese. The macaroni turns out perfect this way and is to die for once the cheese is melted over the noodles. Use a non-slotted spoon to serve it. Spice up the dish with a bit of pepper!

You can make stock yourself.You should always have stock when you are cooking other things. Creating your own stock can reduce preservatives in the concoction that you to avoid preservatives.

It is important to take proper care for your wood cutting board if you want it to last a long time. A wood cutting board can warp or split by too much exposure to moisture, heat and dryness. You should not ever leave your board submerged in water, instead just use a sponge with some soap for spot cleaning. You can do some restoration to a damaged board by regularly oiling it with a product specifically for cutting boards to maintain yours.Make sure that the cutting board dry before using.

There are several types of potatoes, but they are not created equal.

Add some spices to your dish is ready. Pepper, cayenne, cayenne seasoning, and salt are excellent spices.Many people like different tastes when it comes to spice.This allows each individual to enjoy the meal their way.

If your hands start to smell like the fish or onions that you are cooking, simply rub them on a piece of stainless steel prior to washing them with soap and water. You can do this on the side of a sink or use a stainless steel soap bar and it will lift the odors from your hands, or even a special steel "soap" in order to remove these smells.

Fruit is especially well on the grill. You can fill a skewer with peach or nectarine slices, melon and bananas. Place them on a grill and allow it to cook until grill marks are visible. Serve the grilled slices of fruit with ice cream.

Try using ketchup as a secret batter ingredient in fried foods. Ketchup isn't only a condiment to dunk your food in, but it can also be used to dip chicken or vegetables into before dipping in breadcrumbs.

Dark green leafy vegetables are super nutritious, but they are very healthy. Removing stems is laborious and tiresome. Make it easier by folding the leaf lengthwise in half and breaking the stem. You could also cut the stem off the folded leaf with a knife.

Put the juiciest ingredients like tomatoes on the bottom, juicier ingredients like tomatoes on the bottom and lighter ingredients like lettuce and croutons on top.

Try using saffron if you cook. Saffron provides a burst of bright flavor that no other spices. Saffron is a popular ancient herb which has been adored for centuries and is still considered delicious today.

Make sure you use the right type of potato for your dish. Potatoes can be waxy, waxy or mealy. Russet potatoes are a familiar mealy potatoes. Waxy potatoes are great for steaming or boiling because their shape well when heated. The most common types of waxy potato varieties are red or regular white potatoes.

By taking the information in the above article and putting it to use, you will find that learning to cook is much easier and way more fun then you imagine. With practice you will improve your cooking skills and soon be able to create healthy, delicious home cooked meals as well as saving money. Also, good home cooked meals will give not only you, but your entire family, a much healthier lifestyle. As you have seen home cooked meals is worth taking the time to learn the skills necessary to cook.

Better Cooking With Less Effort - Quick Ways To Brush Up On Your Kitchen Skills

Food time is almost the favorite time for just about everyone. It can be even more enjoyable when the person preparing your meal is skilled in the kitchen. This article can help both the novice become a great chef and an expert cook.

If you want to start cooking more, take a trip to a local library or bookstore where you can find many cookbooks with recipes you can enjoy making at home. Try some recipes and be patient as you come up with something that works for you.

Preparation is incredibly important prior to cooking for family or friends. Make sure that you have all of the ingredients ready. This process will reduce stress level and help manifest a more positive outcome.

This helps to enhance and maximize the taste of your food.

Do not cook the entire thing right after adding seasoning. Cook a bit of it first.

Cooking processes like boiling liquid will remove most of the nutrients that are found in them. To preserve their nutrition, cook them quickly with methods like steaming or sauteing, or enjoy them raw.

Have you felt sorry for tossing moldy fruit? Is it possible to save the fruit by cutting the mold? There are no way to salvage fruit is unhealthful. Mold grows inward to places that you see and it can make you sick so throw moldy fruit in the garbage.

Apples are a popular choice for eating in autumn or winter, but they will spoil fast if incorrectly stored. To properly store them, store apples in open-mesh bags or baskets in a cool basement or in the produce drawer of your refrigerator. One rotten apple can actually spoil the whole bag so make sure you keep a close eye your apples.

If you want crispier and crunchier French fries, then you should soak the potatoes in cool water for 30 minutes and then fry them.

If the recipe has called for water, switch it up by using a broth, beef broth, or cooking liquids. You can substitute buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream instead of milk. Using liquid substitutions in your cooking can add nutritional content to certain dishes and improve their flavor.

Always make sure you measure cooking oil you use. This will help you reduce how much fat in your foods while cooking. This lets you to better monitor the amount of oil you use.

Try making your own tomatoes. You can use Roma tomatoes cut lengthwise, or by cutting Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise. Dried tomatoes can be placed into a jar containing fresh herbs and olive oil. Place this in the refrigerator and consume within 2 weeks.

You need to stay organized when you are cooking, which could be costly. Having all your kitchen tools handy and organized cooking area will help you are productive when cooking. If you are unorganized, you will start to forget what you buy and that will make you spend too much money that could have been spent on something you would have eaten.

You should clean your dishes as you use them.

Fresh onions emit sulfenic acid when cut and this turns into a sulfurous gas in them. Your salsa can be ruined if you use raw onions. The gas is eliminated if you rinse and pat the diced onions.

Good quality knives are an excellent investment for maximizing functionality in the kitchen. Dull knives actually cause of more accidents than sharp blades.

There are a few different ways to heat up tortillas. One of the easiest methods is to simply place tortillas on an oven at a temperature of 350 degrees and reach desired cripness. These methods make your tortilla taste better.

A meat thermometer should be used to check that the meats properly. All of meat have a minimum internal temperature that is recommended for it to be safe consumption. There is bacteria present in the meat, so cooking it to a high enough temperature to kill it off is important to avoid food borne illnesses.

A great way to cook is with brine. You can soak your poultry in brine before you cook it.

You can also simply add bouillon cubes in the water that you are using. This is a good way to moisten your food while adding more flavorful.

You can reduce the stress of preparing for family meal.Instead of letting your stress turn to panic, try and do all your prep work the night before. Set out all of your recipes, prepare marinades, utensils and sauces.

If you've been handling smelly ingredients like garlic, stuck on your hands, use stainless steal and rub them for about one minute, and then wash with soap. You can use the sink itself, leaving them fresh.

Dark greens are healthy to eat, but they are very healthy. Removing the stems is a chore. Make it easy by folding the leaf and breaking the stem. You could also cut the stem off the folded leaf with a knife.

It is not unusual for us to add too much salt when cooking a dish, but don't worry! Add two or three peeled and cut potatoes, and let it cook for another 15 minutes. These raw potatoes will take in the excess salt. If your dish is tomato-based, just put more tomatoes in it to cut the saltiness, diluting the salt in the sauce.

You should take the excess fat from your soup or soup. Place an ice cube in a spoon and run it over the surface. The fat will affix itself to the ice cube. You can also remove the fat by blotting it with a paper towel.

You can fix a pie crust! If your dough has been overworked it may crack. Try putting some cold water within the cracks and then smoothing them out with your fingers to gently rub the affected area. If the cracks pop up on the top of the crust, rub a bit of milk and sprinkle a bit of sugar over the cracks. This creates a nice glaze that hides cracks.

The enjoyment that you get from eating a delicious meal that you cooked is quite unique. You might think that learning good cooking skills take years, but you could be off on this assumption. You can do it, too. You now have the tools to take on your first major cooking experience.