Chicken Cacciatore

This is a super simple recipe from myrecipes.com. It feeds a crew and the leftovers freeze well.

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs
• Two 6-ounce cans tomato paste
• Two 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon celery powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Preparation

1. Layer onion over bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add chicken pieces to cooker. Combine next 12 ingredients and red pepper, if using; pour over chicken in cooker. Cover and cook on Low 7 to 9 hours or on High 3 to 4 hours.
2. Serve over pasta or rice.

Boston Clam Chowder

I only find recipes, I don't make them up. And this was another great one. Can't remember where it came from, but it was in Word doc I had somewhere.

*Serves 6-8*
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups diced, peeled potatoes (I use Yukon Gold or Red potatoes)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 quart half-and-half
2 (6.5-oz.) cans minced clams
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Pepper to taste

Drain the clams and reserve the liquid. In a large pot, place the vegetables and pour the claim juice over the top. Add enough water to barely cover the vegetables. Simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are almost tender (don’t overcook them in this step!), about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour, making a roux with a wire whisk. Constantly stirring, add the half-and-half slowly. Cook and stir until smooth and thickened, without boiling. When slightly thickened, add the roux to the vegetables and add the clams, salt, vinegar and pepper (to taste). Can keep warm (without boiling!) for a up to an hour or serve immediately.

Bake French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)

8 large eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash salt

Praline Topping, recipe follows

• Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Slow Cooker Flank Steak Fajitas

From the blog "100 days of real food." I'm surfing the Internet today and wanted to make sure I bookmarked these on my site to return to and make later. Looks delicious and easy.

Yield: 5 – 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs flank steak, preferably grass fed (we buy ours from Baucom’s Best at the Matthews Farmers’ Market)
• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably the low-sodium variety
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 – 5 bell peppers, any color
• 1 onion
• Other fajita fixings: Whole-wheat tortillas, grated cheese, fresh sliced avocado, cilantro, lime slices, fresh spinach leaves, sour cream, hot peppers, etc.

Directions

1. Mix together the dry spices with a fork including the chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
2. Rub the spice mixture over all sides of the flank steak and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle the soy sauce on top.
3. Top the flank steak with the diced jalapeno and minced garlic. Slice the bell peppers and onion and throw those on top of the steak as well.
4. Turn the slow cooker onto HIGH and cook for 5 – 6 hours or until the steak can easily be shredded with two forks.
5. Drain the meat and peppers well then serve with the recommended fajita “fixings” (listed above). Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Salad

Many moons ago I worked at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City for a week. Some random person I worked with told me she had the recipe for salads from a great place out of Utah. She sent them to me and ever since, we've been making this delicious salad. The prep takes a little while, but all of it can be made ahead of time, and it makes a lot, so it's perfect for hosting a big party of friends. Or, the salad is great for a Sunday meal, then burritos the next night, nachos the night after, and tacos after that. If you're not sick of pork by then. We never make the chicken, but people love it, I'm just not especially fond of chicken, but I'm including that recipe too anyway.

Chicken
-----------
5 lbs Chicken Brest – boneless, skinless
1 small bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. Keep warm.

Pork
-------
Pork Roast
1 bottle of honey barbeque sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 liter of Coke

Place all ingredients in large crock pot and cook on low all night. In the morning take the roast out leaving the juice in the crock pot, shred the roast. Then place the shredded roast back in the crock pot and leave it on low.


Lime Rice
--------------
In a sauce pan, sauté:
2 Tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
In a large pot, bring the following to a boil:
6 2/3 cup water
8 tsp chicken bullion
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 small cans diced green chilies
1 Tbsp lime juice
½ tsp salt

Add onion and garlic to boiling water. Add 3 cups long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.


Pico de Gallo
-------------------
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients together in a medium bowl.


Tomatillo Dressing
--------------------------
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing dry mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tomatillos, peel
½ - 1 clove garlic, minced
½ - 1/3 bunched cilantro, chopped
½ tsp lime juice
½ - 1 small Jalapeno, seeds removed

Blend ingredients together in a blender. Add additional mayonnaise if dressing is too thin. Keep refrigerated.


Serve in the following order:
--------------------------------------
Tortillas
Shredded cheese
Chicken or Pork
Black or Pinto Beans
Lime Rice
Red and Green Leaf Lettuce, shredded
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Fresh cilantro
Parmesan cheese
Fresh lime slice
Tomatillo dressing

Directions:
Included with the ingredients...

Number Of Servings:10-20
Preparation Time:Alot? The great thing is you can make it all ahead of time

Homemade Holiday Potpourri

I love my home smelling like cinnamon and other good spices. Not edible, but this is a great little potpourri mixture I have simmering on the stove:

3 bay leaves
5 cinnamon sticks
2-3 slices of orange
2-3 slices of lemon
1/4 c whole cloves
1 quart water (or more to add as water boils off)

Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer. I'll use the same mixture for a week but maybe you could use longer. Refrigerate when not using to maintain freshness.

Delicious Crepes Revisited

Why are the easiest things the most difficult for me to cook? Not sure, but only recently have I mastered boiled eggs and today CREPES. Jared grew up with crepes/swedish pancakes every Sunday. For some reason, his family recipe eludes me. But then I grabbed this recipe from my friend, Patrice, and varied it slightly, and we loved them and I feel so successful. Try these, especially if you have the same simple cook issues as I.

Update (March 11, 2012): I've revisited again and this new recipe is now my favorite. I'll include the older one below in case I decide to return to the old (or I don't have heavy whipping cream), but these I want to make right now.

NEW and improved:
3 eggs
1/4 c almond milk
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 c water
1/4 c whole wheat flour (or power flour)
1/2 c white flour
1/2 t salt

Old recipe:
3 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
3 T melted butter (I halfed this)
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c flour (white)
1/2 t salt

yields: 9 crepes

Heat stove on medium low (I put my gas stove at 3). Whisk eggs vigorously. Then add each ingredient, whisking vigorously in between. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto metal pan (we have a flat pan banked slightly on the sides with a red dot in the middle that tells me where to pour which I appreicate). Swirl batter around to cover area of pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip over. Cook another minute or two. Add sugar, extra butter, or nothing, and roll up and place on plate (I keep the plate heated in the oven at 200).

Serve with syrup, whipped cream, Nutella, berries, bananas, anything. Or go savory with other items like ham, sour cream, spinach, caramelized onions.

Fool-proof Slow Cooker Beef Stew that Rocks

I probably cook this twice a month which says a lot because I seldom cook the same thing. This was originally a beef stroganoff recipe (which you can do if you eighty-six the peas and carrots and add a half cup sour cream just before serving), but it's so easy to turn it into a beef stew that we've only done that. The price per serving, near as I can tell, comes in at about $1.75. And, I'm in a yuck-meat phase where I don't want to handle raw meat, so I just buy the roast already cut up. More expensive, but I buy like five pounds of it at Costco and use only half the meat the recipe calls for, and freeze the rest in separate baggies.

Try this for a great afternoon meal on a cold day. Everyone has LOVED it.

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 pounds stew meat (or a 3-pound chuck roast, cubed)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 lb carrots chopped (optional)
1-3 potatoes diced (optional)
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup flour
6-7 tablespoons apple juice or water
4-8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1-2 cups frozen peas (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Place the stew meat, salt, pepper and onion in the slow cooker. Stir to distribute the seasonings and onion. In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt, Worcestershrie sauce, beef broth and ketchup. Pour over the meat. Cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. About 30 minutes before serving, combine the flour and apple juice in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to combine well. The roux should be thick but still pourable so add a tablespoon of apple juice or water at a time to thin, if needed. Pour the flour mixture into the slow cooker, whisking quickly to mix in the roux with the stew meat and juices and to avoid lumps. Add the mushrooms and peas and stir. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Sometimes I don't put the potatoes in and just make up a bunch of fresh mashed potatoes on the side.

*Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. I store the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

Split Pea Soup with Barley and Ham - Slow Cooker

Recently, I've been cooking everything from Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog and have yet to find a recipe we didn't love! This is yet another one and was so easy and healthy. The barley was a great addition.

*Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup dry split green peas
1/2 cup medium pearl barley (not quick-cooking barley)
2 cups chopped ham
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
5 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl or liquid measure, combine the water, bouillon cubes and spices and whisk to combine (it’s ok if the bouillon cubes don’t completely dissolve).

In a medium round slow cooker (about 4-quart), layer peas, barley, ham, carrots, onion and celery. Do not mix. Pour in the water/spices mixture and add the bay leaf to the slow cooker. Don’t stir! Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or on low eight hours, until the peas reach the desired creamy, soft texture. Remove the bay leaf, stir well, and add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve immediately. Upon sitting and/or refrigerating, this soup thickens considerably. Simply add water or chicken broth to thin the soup to the desired consistency before reserving.

Shrimp and Avocado Tacos Ceviche Style

I use a bag of uncooked shrimp that I normally have in my freezer. You can quickly thaw frozen cooked shrimp in a colander under cold water. Or if you use raw shrimp, you can boil to keep them from overcooking. Take them off the burner as soon as they're pink. Marinate shrimp in a nonreactive bowl, such as one that is glass or ceramic; an aluminum or copper bowl will react with the citrus juice to give the shrimp a metallic taste.

3 limes
1 cup chopped seeded tomato
1 cup diced peeled avocado (about 1 avocado)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb cooked peeled medium shrimp
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 cup of cabbage for garnish

Finely grate rind from limes to measure 1 tablespoon, juice limes to measure 1/4 cup. Place rind and juice in a large bowl. Add tomato and remaining ingredients except tortillas; toss well to combine. Cover and chill for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/2 cup shrimp mixture down center of each tortilla; fold in half. Serve immediately.

Mmmmm. We added a little cheese. We thought cabbage would be good too.