Ed. Note: Since Uncle Steady’s sourdough recipe was such a hit, we figured we’d bring in another guest post this week — this time from Tío Vaca. Tío is a great model, since, like me, he was also not allowed in the kitchen growing up and is mostly self taught1. I truly appreciate his view on meal kits and how they’ve evolved his cooking skills. It also happens to be his birthday!
Give his recipe a shot — and if you have something you’d like to share with the CWD World, please feel free to send in!
Hello, dear CWD readers2. Today is the day you may not have known you were waiting for—the day that Tío Vaca (aka the Bull) gets his crack at a post on ¿Cómo te Va-ca?3.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am Mr. CWD’s middle brother. I find it amusing that out of three brothers who weren’t allowed in the kitchen until after we had left for college, two of us have developed not only a profound appreciation for the eating of food, but also the cooking of it4. While I haven’t quite reached the culinary prowess of Mr. CWD5, my wife at least thinks I’m able to do a “pretty ok6” job at cooking. For me, the biggest factor in going from a cooking neophyte to a somewhat competent chef has simply been doing it. Like any skill, practice makes perfect.
My wife and I used to order a lot of meal kits7, which is a great way to get started in the kitchen when you aren’t totally sure where to start. What is nice about meal kits is that after you’ve done enough of them, you start to get a better understanding of the building blocks for a successful meal—what types of flavors go together, how different cooking methods affect what something tastes like (i.e. pan frying vs baking vs convection baking/air frying), and even how presentation can make a big difference in taste8.
We also keep a big binder of all the recipes from meal kits that we have ordered over the years, and it is fun to go back and remake our favorites. The side dish for this meal (panko-crusted zucchini fries) is based on one such recipe, and it is a great way to use zucchini once grilling season is over. The main dish was basically an attempt to use up some items in our fridge, while paying homage to my favorite pizza in recent memory from our local pizza place9.
Hope you enjoy!
Start by preheating a slow cooker (use the high setting if want to cook for ~3.5 hours and the low setting if you want to cook for ~7 hours).
Add some tomatoes (whole or diced, fresh or from a can—choose your own adventure!), and a diced onion. Add some smashed garlic cloves if you aren’t a vampire.
Then pour in the base for what ends up being a quasi-bbq sauce. I used about 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup worstershire sauce, 1/3 cup Dijon mustard, 1/3 cup ketchup, and a few glugs of chicken broth. Mix everything up, and then add 2-3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Season the thighs as desired (I used Camp Mix, a Tio Vaca favorite).
Cook the thighs for 3.5 hours on high (or 7 hours on low). About halfway through, turn over the thighs and mix things up to let them really cook in the sauce. If you used whole tomatoes, you can also crush them now. Also, I learned something new in that when garlic is exposed to high acidity like my sauce, it can sometimes turn turquoise blue! It is still safe to eat, so don’t worry if it looks like you somehow initiated rapid mold growth.
Once the chicken is done cooking, pull it out, place on a plate or cutting board, and pull it apart with two forks. Then you can stick it back in the sauce to keep warm, absorb the sauce, and fester10.
Either while the chicken is still cooking or afterwards, you can make the panko crusted zucchini fries. For this, wash and dry a zucchini or two, cut them in half crosswise and then lengthwise so you have four quarters with a flat bottom. Then cut each quarter into 3-4 slices about ½” thick. Put your zucchini wedges in a bowl, cover them with a healthy glob of mayonnaise, some garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir it around to coat the fries. Then add some panko breadcrumbs to coat them and give it another good stir.
Put the fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket (or a foil or parchment paper lined pan if you prefer, or just want to just use the oven) and let them ride at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until the bread crumbs turn brown but not burnt. Remove from the oven, dash with a pinch of salt (or Camp Mix!).
Then, it’s up to you how to serve the chicken. It would go well over rice or pasta, or in a sandwich on a potato roll, which is what I did. You can add some minced garlic to your mayonnaise for dipping the zucchini fries and also use on your sandwich. Yum!
Thanks for reading!
— Tío Vaca
There you go folks, and thank you to Tio. This is a nice easy recipe for these last few lingering cold days. Throw this in the slow cooker on a slow lunch day at home and let it stew right up until you’re ready to eat dinner.
I think these types of meals provide tremendous bang for your buck during the week. They come together quickly and scale easily — so you can throw enough chicken in here for two or three meals worth of eating. As Tio suggests, eat it as a sandwich one time, over rice another, and maybe throw it on a flatbread and make pizza for the next. Not every meal needs to be a five star production, and I promise you, this will taste good no matter what substitutions you might need to make!
While your chicken is simmering, try to get outside, enjoy the warming weather. Maybe listen to some birds chirp, plant some seeds. Spring is springing!
One might get the impression that Nana CWD was either not a good cook or not a good teacher. Neither is the case — she just valued efficiency in the kitchen and having three squirming boys running around her probably wouldn’t have maximized cooking for a small army. Having children now, I can appreciate this approach.
Or, rather, “‘Sup nerds!”
I’ve determined this is the best translation of Cow We Doin’, despite translating more properly to “Cow’s it going for you?”
Sorry Uncle Ginger.
Ed. Note: You flatter me!
The pinnacle of culinary achievement, right Mr. CWD?
We liked Blue Apron (RIP), Hello Fresh has good variety, but Green Chef tends to taste better and have fresher ingredients, IMO.
Thank you, Chopped! for inspiring us before we were allowed to cook, as Mr. CWD and Uncle Ginger can attest.
Smokey and the BBQ from Hollis House of Pizza.
Is that the right word, Mrs. CWD?
Absolutely LOVE this guest post, and mostly the author. He is a scholar, a saint, a 5-Star Michelin Chef in the Making, not to mention brilliant, gorgeous, kind, caring, amazing, talented, athletic...the list goes on...JUST LIKE ALL MY SONS. My goodness, why am I still cooking when we are together?
This CWD family has far surpassed my culinary skills and food repertoire...well, 2 out of 3 children, in that respect. But Ginger CWD--"You're pretty, too."
I love you all, and could not be more proud of your accomplishments, both in and out of the kitchen!