Chicken Cacciatore in the Slow Cooker

If you're not already aware, I love using my crock pot.  Thank you, Simply in Season, for another great use of my slow cooker.  I thought it needed a little extra salt, but was otherwise a tasty full-meal-deal in a bowl.  

2-3 pounds of whatever form of boneless/skinless chicken you want to use

4 cups tomatoes, chopped

1 bell pepper (color doesn't matter), cut into strips

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped, or 1 tsp. dried

1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tsp. dried

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

1 cup mushrooms, chopped (optional)

Combine in slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve over pasta or noodles.

Eggplant Cheese Pie

Remember how I mentioned those eggplants I received in my veg box?  I let my kids pick between a couple different recipes for how we would eat them up, and this is what they decided on.  After adding more salt, it was tasty and surprisingly filling served with a fresh fruit salad. 

4 1/2 cups eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 medium onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped, or 1 tsp. dried

1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tsp. dried

1 small zucchini, sliced

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

2/3 cups evaporated milk

1 egg

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in large frying pan.  Add eggplant, onion, and garlic and saute for two minutes.  Cover and cook until eggplant is soft, about 5 minutes, stirring as needed.  Add oregano, basil, and salt to taste.

Line bottom and sides of greased 10-inch pie pan with zucchini slices.  Spoon eggplant mixture on top.

Combine cheese, milk, and egg in a bowl.  Pour mixture over vegetables.  Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 30-45 minutes.  Let set 5 minutes then serve warm.

Kohlrabi, Carrot & Sesame Slaw

A while back, I purchased a Groupon for three boxes of organic veg to be delivered to my door.  I've just finished up my third box and I'm afraid they've got me.  The enhanced flavor of our veggies is noticeable, plus we're eating a lot more greens.  I thought I did a pretty good job of keeping a variety of vegetables circling on our table, but then I was given a kohlrabi, two eggplants, and some big leafy greens (which I'm still not entirely sure what exactly they were) and I realized that I haven't been branching out as much as I thought.  What to do with these exciting new treasures?!  I loved that challenge!
Thankfully, the kohlrabi came with a recipe card, which I will now gladly pass on to you.  Best served the same day, this slaw has a great crunch and vibrant sweet flavor with a little kick.  It'd go great with Thai turkey burgers!


1 kholrabi, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
4 carrots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Dressing:
2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
a good squeeze of lime juice

Put the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and gently heat them, stirring every now and then, for about 1 minutes, until they are golden.  Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl.  Add the carrot, kohlrabi and onion and stir together.  In a small bowl, whisk the chili sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and soy.  Add a squeeze of lime juice to taste.  Pour over the veg, add the cilantro and toss together.  Serve immediately.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

This was another tasty recipe shared by Jessie.  I made two standard sized loaves, froze one, but pulled it out of the freezer promptly after we finished the first in a couple days!



3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups white sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 pint fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.