Slow Cook Thai Chicken

Jessie's photo

Such an easy and yummy winner dinner!  The sauce is so rich.  I might try adding a little brown sugar to the sauce next time just for fun.


6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (I used chunky)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
3 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts


DIRECTIONS

1. Place the chicken breast strips, bell pepper and onion into a slow cooker. Pour in the chicken broth and 1/4 cup of soy sauce, then season with cumin, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to blend, then cover and cook on Low for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
2. Remove 1 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker, and mix this with the cornstarch, peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and lime juice. This should blend into a fairly thick sauce. Stir the sauce back into the slow cooker, and place the lid on the pot.
3. Cook on High for 30 minutes. Garnish with green onions, cilantro and peanuts before serving.

Baked Potato Soup

Jessie's photo

I chuckled when I saw this soup on Jessie's menu for us, knowing I had put a similar potato soup on her menu!  After trying both in a matter of two weeks, I don't think I could choose a favorite.  Both are equally creamy, filling, simple, and delicious!

3 bacon strips, diced 

1 small onion, chopped 

1 clove garlic, minced 

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon dried basil 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

3 cups chicken broth 

2 large (already) BAKED potatoes, peeled and cubed 

1 cup half-and-half cream 

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 

Shredded Cheddar cheese 

Minced fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix 

well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. 

Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. 

Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Spinach Salad with Sweet-Spicy Nuts, Apples, Bacon, and Feta

This salad, another great recipe from Mel's Kitchen, could easily have been my favorite meal from our menu swap week (if it weren't for the Asian noodle soup that is coming up . . . YUM!).  There wasn't a single bite left in the bowl when my family of five walked away from the table.  Next time I would try brown sugar or maple syrup instead of white sugar for the nuts.  

Salad:
• 16 ounces baby spinach
• ½ small red onion, slivered (see note about tempering the onion flavor)
• 6 slices of applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup Feta cheese crumbles, more or less to taste
• 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries, more or less to taste
• 1-2 Honey Crisp apples, cored and sliced thin 
Sweet Spicy Nuts:
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of cayenne (more to taste if you want)
• Pinch of salt
Red Wine Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 clove of garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. For the dressing, shake all the ingredients together in a mason jar until well combined or run them through a quick blender cycle. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance. 
2. For the nuts, lightly toast the nuts in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, checking often so they don't burn. While they toast, place the sugar, cayenne and salt in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the sugar mixture until it liquifies completely, adjusting the heat so it doesn't bubble and burn. Toss in the toasted nuts and stir to coat the nuts with sugar. Let the sugared nuts cool completely.
3. To assemble the salad, toss all the salad ingredients together along with the cooled nuts. Serve immediately with the vinaigrette alongside. All the components can be measured out/prepped ahead of time and stored separately (I like to soak the apples in a bit of lemon juice in water to help prevent browning). Just toss right before serving. Enjoy!

Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pie Crumble

Jessie and I did a menu swap before Christmas, but I'm just now getting around to sharing the recipes!  As usual, Jessie's picks for our weekly meals did not disappoint.  We started out with this one-pan-dinner, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would.  The crumble topping takes the dish up a notch from your standard "pot pie".  I had Thanksgiving leftovers, so I swapped out turkey for chicken, leaving everything else the same.  The directions seem long, but it's really fairly simple to pull together.


1 ½ pounds chicken (or turkey) 
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup frozen peas

Crumble Topping:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

To prepare the chicken, place the chicken and broth in a large Dutch oven or pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the chicken until it is just done (don’t overcook or it will dry out) – about 10-12 minutes. Alternately, if you are planning in advance, you can place the chicken and broth in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours. Transfer the cooked chicken to a medium bowl. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup and reserve. Return the pot to the stovetop (no need to wash if you used it to cook the chicken).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Sprinkle the chilled butter pieces over the top of the flour. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Add the cream and stir until just combined. Crumble the mixture into irregularly shaped pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the crumble topping until fragrant and starting to brown, about 15 minutes, tossing halfway through. Set aside.

For the filling, heat the olive oil in the now-empty pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, shred the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken; set aside.

Over medium heat melt the butter in the empty pot. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the bottom. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat and stir the chicken, vegetables and peas into the sauce.

Pour the mixture into a 9×13 pan. Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the filling. Place the 9X13-inch pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until the topping is well browned, about 15-20 minutes. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Cranberry Almond Oatmeal

We polished off our week of baked oatmeal with this recipe from Real Simple that my friend, Patricia, tried first and said was a must.  It was, indeed, real simple, as most baked oatmeal recipes are!  It was also real good, thanks mostly to the butter and, in my opinion, mixing the almonds in with the oats.  This one got both my son's and my husband's votes for top pick.  It'd be a great way to start your Thanksgiving weekend!

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

3/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped (I didn't toast mine and used sliced almonds - still good!)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 tsp cinnamon

salt

1 3/4 cups whole milk

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla

heavy cream or milk for serving

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter or grease a 2-quart baking dish.  

Combine the oats, almonds, cranberries, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the melted butter, milk eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Mix well and spread evenly in the prepared dish.  At this point, I covered my dish with foil and put it in the fridge until the morning.  

Bake in preheated oven until golden and the center is firm, 35 to 45 minutes.  Serve warm, drizzled with cream or milk, if desired.  

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

This recipe came on Day Four of our Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Week.  My husband's favorite dessert is carrot cake, so I knew it would be a favorite for him, but it ended up being a favorite for the entire family!  This was actually my number one vote at the end of the week.  The carrots gave the oatmeal a more interesting texture, and I liked the raisins and walnuts on top way more than I thought I would.


2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (or try ½ tsp ground ginger)
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.  I used an 8x8 square pyrex.

In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt (plus ground ginger if not using fresh).  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: shredded carrot, egg, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and fresh ginger.

Add the wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined.  Pour mixture into prepared dish and smooth out until evenly distributed. Press down on the oatmeal with a spoon to ensure the oats sink into the milk. If preparing the night before, cover with foil and put in refrigerator until morning.  Then continue on with remaining steps.

Sprinkle walnuts and raisins on top.  Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for about 35 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges.  The oatmeal might still look a bit soft or wet in some spots when you take it out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools.

Let the oatmeal cool for about 10 minutes before serving with milk, cream, or whipped cream for a special treat!

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/03/19/heavenly-carrot-cake-baked-oatmeal/#ixzz3rTiBV23x

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

My family loves baked oatmeal.  It's the perfect breakfast for us.  It's nutritious, filling, easy to make (I always make it the night before, no matter what recipe I'm using), and everyone is happy coming to the breakfast table when I'm serving baked oatmeal.  So I decided we would do a week of baked oatmeal, trying out a different recipe each day and then voting on our favorite.  If you ask me, breakfast is already the best meal of the day.  But it was especially good during our Baked Oatmeal week!

For Day One, I made our tried and true Banana Berry Baked Oatmeal.  It's been on our breakfast table about once a week for a couple years running, so why not start with what you know you like?

On Day Two, I made Coconut Cream Baked Oatmeal.  This is another recipe I'd already tried and knew we all liked.  

Then on Day Three of our baked oatmeal week, I used an idea from my daughter to create this Apple Pie version.  My middle gingersnap suggested one morning several months ago, "What if we put apples on the bottom instead of bananas?"  Great idea!  A few other additions and it was delicious!  

2 apples, cored, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks - I used my corer/peeler/slicer and then cut the slices into smaller chunks

1-2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp apple pie spice

2 Tbsp brown sugar, divided

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups almond milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease square baking dish with butter or cooking spray.

Spread apple chunks evenly on bottom of the dish.  Using about 2 Tbsp butter total, distribute butter into smaller bits over the apples.  Sprinkle with apple pie spice and 1 Tbsp brown sugar.

In medium bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.  Mix thoroughly and pour evenly on top of apples.

In the same bowl, throughly mix milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Pour evenly over the oat mixture.  Use a spoon or spatula to press down, ensuring there aren't any dry oats left.

At this point, you can cover the dish with foil and store in the refrigerator overnight, making this an easy breakfast the next morning.

When ready to bake, sprinkle pecans on top and place in oven, uncovered, for 35-45 minutes, or until pecans are nicely toasted and oats are golden on top.  Serve with milk and maple syrup as a treat!

Pumpkin Challa

My kids and I had been learning about the Jewish calendar and certain Jewish festivals in school, so one of our projects for the week was to make Challa bread.  Challah is a braided bread made with eggs that is traditionally eaten on the Sabbath or certain holidays.  Since we are also enjoying Fall, I decided to make a less traditional Challah bread and use pumpkin!  We followed this recipe exactly, and used this video as our tutorial to do a six-strand braid for our loaves.  The bread was especially delicious toasted with butter and honey on top!

As we started to roll out the dough to make our strands for the braid, I quickly realized we had an excess of dough.  The recipe says you can make one six-stranded loaf or two smaller three-stranded loaves.  But I divided the dough and we had plenty to make two six-stranded loaves.  If you make that change as I did, be sure to reduce the baking time to about 35 minutes.    

1 cup warm water

1 package yeast

3/4 cup eggs and egg yolks (I used 7 yolks and 2 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk for the egg wash

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree

7-8 cups flour (bread flour, if you can find it), plus more for rolling.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine water and yeast. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, or until bubbles start coming to the surface. With the mixer on low, add in eggs, sugar, syrup, butter, salt, spices, and pumpkin. Slowly add in 2 cups of flour.

Switch to the dough hook, and slowly add most of the remaining flour until a nice, slightly sticky dough is formed. Add the rest of the flour, if needed. Cover bowl with a towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch down and let rest for ten minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and braid into 1 large loaf with the 6 strand method, or make 2 smaller loaves with the normal 3 strand method. (see my note above about making two loaves) Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover, and let sit in a warm place for one hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together an extra egg yolk and a teaspoon of water. Brush over the top of the loaf. Place in the oven and toss a handful of ice cubes on the bottom of the oven (optional). Close oven door and bake for 1 hour.

Potato Cream Cheese Soup

Winter is setting in and this soup from Maryana Vollstedt's Big Book of Soups and Stews hit the spot on a cold evening.  It's easy to make, and everyone had fun adding the toppings of their choice.  I served the soup with hard-boiled eggs, chopped peanuts, crumbled bacon, and green onions.  We all enjoyed this creamy soup.

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth

2 cups milk

3 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces

2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley (or 1/2 tsp dried)

1 tsp dried dill weed

1/2 tsp celery salt (I used onion salt)

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Toppings (we used the first four):

chopped hard-cooked eggs

chopped green onions

cooked, crumbled bacon bits

chopped peanuts

chopped fresh tomatoes, seeded and drained

diced cucumbers

small shrimp

In a large soup pot over high heat, combine potatoes, onion, and stock.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.  Transfer half of the mixture to food processor and puree.  Return to the pot.  Add remaining ingredients except toppings and stir until cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes.  Add more milk if too thick.  Ladle into bowls and pass the toppings separately.  

Lemon Chicken with Leeks and Croutons

My friend, Patricia, passed on this recipe and I'm so glad she did!  It reminded me of the lemon and chicken dish we all loved so much, but this dinner was much easier to put together.  And I liked the leeks!  I've noted below the changes I made.  This is yummy stuff!


1/2-1 pound sourdough bread, torn into bite-sized pieces (about 10 cups)
4 medium leeks, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch lengths, white and light green parts only
3 lemons, quartered lengthwise
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
salt and pepper
3 1/2 - 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks and thighs

*Between the lemons and the sourdough bread, the flavor was a tad bitter.  My husband and I thought it was still delicious, but the kids probably would have preferred either just 2 lemons, or french bread instead.

Heat oven to 425 F.  Combine the bread, leeks, and lemons in a large bowl.  Drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil and toss until everything is evenly coated.  Add in one teaspoon each salt and pepper and toss again to season.  Dump the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish (an extra deep dish is even better).  Then pick out almost all of the bread chunks and return them to the bowl.  This step was not in the original recipe, but I'd recommend it.  Adding this extra step will prevent the majority of your bread from becoming a soggy mush underneath the chicken.  Some gooey bread is tasty!  But you want to make sure you get plenty of toasted croutons for the top!

Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the baking dish.  Stuff the reserved bread chunks around the chicken.

Bake until the bread is toasted, the leeks are tender, and the chicken is lightly browned.  An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest piece should register 165 F.  It took my dish about one hour.  Some of the croutons were pretty charred on top, so if you want to tent your dish with some foil half-way through to prevent burning, go for it.  Enjoy!