Slow Cooker Beef Vindaloo

Tried this one out this weekend to much success. Inspired from the Lamb Vindaloo recipe in Cover & Bake.

You'll need:

• ~5 lbs of boneless beef roast, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
  
• 3 onions, chopped medium
  
• 8 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 1/2 c chicken broth, divided
• ~14 oz chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp wine (red preferred, I used the white zin we had in the fridge because we don't drink white zin.)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped

And to make it:

• Dry meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tsp oil in skillet until just smoking over medium-high heat
  
• Drop half of meat into skillet and sear without stirring for 4 minutes or so
• Stir meat and continue to cook until browned, 3-5 minutes more
• Transfer meat to slow cooker
  
• Repeat with other half of meat (I had to do 3 passes, as I had a 10" skillet rather than a 12")
  
• When all the meat is browned and in the slow cooker, heat remaining oil over medium heat in the skillet until just smoking
• Add onions and cook until soft and browned, scraping the bottom of the pan, about ten minutes
  
• Add garlic, paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Cook until fragrent, <1 minute
• Add 2 c of the broth, tomatoes, wine, and sugar, scraping the bottom of the pan again
• Turn heat to high and bring to a boil
• Transfer to slow cooker
• Cover and cook in the slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours (on high for 4-5 hours)
• Set the slow cooker to high if it's not there already
• Mix remaining 1/2c of broth with flour
• Whisk flour mixture into the slow cooker and let cook for 10-15 minutes, until thickened
• Add cilantro and serve over rice

Makes about 8-12 servings. WW data unavailable simply because the type of roast you use will vary the fat content a lot. I used a fairly lean roast and we guessed at somewhere between 5 and 7 points per serving.

Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms and Green Beans

This is another one based heavily on the Cover and Bake book.

You'll need:

• 10 oz of boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets (mine were cut into 4 pieces)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 10 oz mushrooms (I used canned, I think it would be better with fresh button 'shrooms) cut into quarters
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 cups wild rice (I used a long-grain brown and wild rice blend)
• 1/2 c white wine
• 3 1/2 c chicken broth
• 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and broken into 2" sticks
• 4 oz semi-soft cheese (I used co-jack. It might have been a bit mild)

And to do:

• Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Heat old in (12") skillet until just smoking
• Place chicken in skillet and sear until brown, about 4 minutes
• Flip chicken and sear until brown, another 3-4 minutes
• Remove chicken from skillet and place on a plate. 
• Remove all by 2 tbsp of the grease from the pan
• Heat over medium heat
• Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic and stir the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet
• Cook until the mushrooms give off their juice, about 8-10 minutes (Note: if you do use canned mushrooms, you won't get this effect and it will dry out a bit)
• Add rice and cook until it starts to turn translucent, 3 or 4 minutes
• Add wine and broth and bring to a simmer
• Set the chicken down on the mixture and cover
• Simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is about 160 degrees in the center
• Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil
• Add beans and stir, mixing well.
• Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes, until beans and rice are tender.
• Stir in cheese
• Serve

For the WW curious, assuming 6 servings of rice, that's about 6 points, the chicken will add a point per oz.  (I ended up with 6 services of rice-and-beans and 4 of chicken.)

Kung Pao Shrimp with Rice

So I was staring into the freezer looking for what meat I was going to use for dinner's stir fry and saw shrimp, which needed used. So was born Kung Pao Shrimp:

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (14oz) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined.
• 2 tbsp mirin (sweetened rice wine)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch dissolved into 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp hot chili paste (adjust to level of required spice)
• 1 tsp rice viengar
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 
• 1/2 c water
  

I like the onion and carrots sliced into sticks, but pick your favorite veggie shapes.
To do:

• Mix the mirin, soysauce, 1 tbsp oil, cornstarch/water, chili paste, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside
• Heat 1 tsp oil in skillet until shimmering on medium to medium high heat. Saute shrimp until they turn pink on both sides. Place in a bowl and set aside. Wipe skillet clean.
  
• Heat remaining oil in skillet until shimmering on medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook until translucent.
• Add carrots and shrimp back to pan. Add sauce mixture and water. Simmer until the sauce has thickened.
• Serve with rice.

For the WW included, it's 5 points plus rice (1 c white rice is 4 pts.) Inspired by this  Kung Pao Chicken recipe.