Slow Cooker Mango Chicken over Coconut Rice & Baked Pineapple...Aloha!

Tell me what you eat,

and I shall tell you what you are.

                                           -Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

 

After tonight's dinner, with the above quote in mind, Jean would peg me as a lover of all things tropical and he would be right. I have long fantasized of changing my heritage to more suit my palate and climate preferences. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't get excited at the prospect of scaring the life out of people when I tell them I love them (I'm mostly German BTW), but island cuisine and way of life melds so much better with my current state of mind than my own German roots ever have. (With the exception of Christmas of course. I would be lost without my German Christmas traditions and pfeffernusse.) 

 

Every time I eat a perfectly ripe pineapple or sprinkle some toasted coconut on my latest creation I am reminded of how grateful I am that other cultures and countries share their food with us. My diet would be pretty unexciting if I were only able to eat the foods that naturally grew near my geographical location. It would, however, give me even more incentive to move to a tropical locale.

 

Nonetheless, this quick and easy recipe helped to muffle my desire to escape to a tropical paradise.

 

With the kids now back in school and back to a myriad of activities, it has been increasingly difficult to get a good meal on the table. This is the perfect season for slow cookers. With a little prep work earlier in the day, your family can be sitting down to a warm delicious meal moments after mom's taxi service closes for the day.

 

 

Slow Cooker Mango Chicken

 

4-5 chicken breasts

1 large ripe mango peeled and diced

3 ripe peaches peeled and diced

1/2-1 full hatch chili pepper (or pepper of your choice) seeds and ribs removed and diced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp lime juice

1-2 Tbsp toasted coconut for garnish

 

Prepare slow cooker by spraying sides and bottom with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or medium for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken and serve over coconut rice with toasted coconut on top.

 

 

Coconut Rice

 

2 c rice

1 16.5 oz can of coconut milk

1/2 c toasted coconut

water 

 

Cook rice as per package directions but sub coconut milk for as much water as you can. For example I cooked cal rose rice in a microwave rice cooker that called for 3 c of water to 2 c of rice. The 16.5 oz can was almost 2 c so I finished filling the measuring cup with water to equal 3 c. When the rice is done, immediately toss with toasted coconut. 

 

 



 Baked Pineapple

 

1 pineapple cut in half, core removed. 

1/2 c ginger snaps crushed

1/2 c macadamia nuts (I subbed hazelnuts)

1/2 c shredded coconut

1/2 c sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp coconut or rum extract

 

Preheat oven to 350. Slice pineapple in half and remove the core by cutting diagonal slices into the length of the core. Combine ginger snaps, nuts and coconut. Combine sweetened condensed milk and extract. Pour half of the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the area where the core was. Top with gingersnap mixture and top again with the remainder of the sweetened condensed mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pineapple is a little soft and the topping is warm and bubbly.

 

To serve, cut off top and bottom of pineapple and run a long knife around the edge of the pineapple, separating the the skin from the fruit. Leaving the fruit in the skin, cut into bite sized pieces and serve.  

Slow Cooker Pork Chili Verde, Grilled Mexican Street Corn and Sopapilla Cheesecake

Variety is the very spice of life

that gives it all it's flavor.

 

                      -William Cowper

 

 

 

Growing up we ate out A LOT. I thought it was perfectly normal until I got married. My husband informed me that eating out 2-3 times per week was excessive and would take a whole lot of extra money that we just didn't have being newly weds. When my family ate out we frequented a Mexican restaurant called Rafael's, owned by our next door neighbors family. They had the most AMAZING Chili Verde! I have tried replicating it on several occasions and for the most part I've failed. I have tried cooking the pork first, roasting tomatillos, slaving over a hot stove for hours only to come away with sauce that just wasn't right and pork that was tough. Well tonight I came as close to the perfect replication as I ever have. It also happens to be the easiest attempt I've ever made. This will definitely be back on our regular rotation.

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Pork Chili Verde

 

 

1 large pork roast 3-4 pounds

1 16 oz jar mild salsa verde

1 3 oz can mild diced green chilli's

2 Tbsp corn starch

1/4 c ice cold water

 

Prepare crock pot by spraying bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray for easier clean up. Place pork roast fat side up in prepared crock pot. Resist the urge to trim the fat away. By placing it fat side up the fat will help tenderize the meat. You can always cut it away after it has cooked. Cover with salsa verde and diced green chili's. Cook on high for 5 hours. Whisk corn starch into ice cold watter and stir into crock pot. Cook an additional hour, this is the magic spot where the pork becomes really tender. My crock pot recommends cooking on high for 4 hours, but the additional time actually tenderizes the pork. Shred pork and serve in warm tortillas with sour cream and any other toppings you like.

 

 

 

Grilled Mexican Street Corn

 

 

4 ears corn

1/4 c sour cream

1/4 c mayonnaise

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-2 Tbsp asiago cheese grated,

could also use grated parmesan cheese or

crumbled cotija (Mexican cheese)

1 lime (optional)

 

Pull husks back to about an inch before the end and remove silk. Roll husks back onto the corn. Submerge in cold water for about 10 minutes weighted down with a plate. Grill over medium low heat for 20 minutes turning every 5 minutes. Remove husks and turn grill up to high. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, turning every 1-2 minutes until grill marks appear.

 

While corn is cooking whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Once corn has finished cooking butter the corn with the sour cream mixture and sprinkle with your desired type of cheese.

 

 

Besides the Chili Verde I LOVED the sopapilla's at Rafael's. Our dessert tonight took me on a time traveling adventure back to my childhood palate. I loved every bite!

 

 

 

Sopapilla Cheesecake

 

 

2 cans crescent roll sheets

2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese softened

1 c sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp butter melted

cinnamon sugar to sprinkle over the top

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Spread 1 can of crescent roll sheets into an ungreased 9X16 pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over crescent roll sheet and top with second can of crescent roll sheets. Brush melted butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheesecake is set.