Selection: Cooking, recipes, diet, etc.

Got the recipe from a friend, but made some modifications. I'll show my version first, then add some comments. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 8 skinless chicken thighs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can fat free chicken broth (10 fl oz = 284mL)
• 3/4 cup salsa, your choice of mild, medium or hot
• 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (ketjap manis=sweet soy sauce)
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Optional ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation:

1. Put chicken in slow cooker.
2. Add onion.
3. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients together, except cilantro and chopped peanuts.
4. Cover and cook on LOW 8-9 hours (4-5 in newer cookers) or until chicken is cooked through but not dry. (internal temp 180°F-190°F)
5. Remove some of the liquid to cook the rice in.
6. Skim off any fat and keep warm until rice is done.
7. Remove chicken to a platter and served topped with sauce. Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro, if you wish.
8. Serve over rice.

My comments:

• Phil was right about not tasting the peanut butter, but the salsa flavour was there. The overall sauce was a bit tangy, probably because the original recipe asked for only 2 tbsp of lime juice.
• Using some of the extra sauce to cook the rice in made the dish different too.
• I used some cilantro paste for garnish, but that was a mistake. It did not taste well, and it looked like a goose had flown over the plate, if you know what I mean...
• I will make this again but perhaps cook some red peppers along. 

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I am a bit puzzled and hope someone can help me with this question...

A few weeks ago, I did a deer/moose (not sure, the package did not specify) roast in the slow cooker. Cooked for about 6 hours and was still very tough. Did another one and cooked it overnight (12 hours on low) and it turned out very tender.

So I figured that the longer I cook a piece of meat, the more tender it gets. Wrong! Cooked pork stew for 10 hours on low, as I had it dry out before, even with lots of liquids. After 10 hours, there was no difference, still dry. I had hoped it would start to fall apart and pick up some of the liquids.

Advice anybody?

As I am writing this, I am slowcooking the awesoment ribs I've done in a while. Phil K (Mr 30) put me on to the Spices Etc. website, and I finally ordered some of their products.

Today, I grabbed some frozen ribs from the freezer (not sure if they are pork or beef ribs, but suspect pork ribs). Got a bowl (about 2 cups) with water and added pork stock powder, mesquite smoke powder, and burgundy powder. These powders start clumping when water is added, so I had to stir and use a fork to break up clumps.

Put the ribs and the liquid in the slowcooker, and then added a whole onion, half a garlic bulb (yeah, that's a lot), some brown sugar, thyme, pepper, salt, and a dash of allspice and some of "Momma's Steak Seasoning".

I've done the taste test and wonder if it goes better with rice or new potatoes. I lean toward potatoes.