Rotisserie style crock pot chicken

I love Stephanie O'Dea, and she doesn't even know it :) She is the author of the blog "A Year of Slow Cooking", the books Make it Fast, Cook it Slow (and Part Two, GREAT gift ideas for yours truly!) and come up with this recipe for Rotisserie Chicken done in the crock pot. I went with her theory of removing the skin off the chicken for not wanting the meat to be swimming in it's own fat for hours on end. It might have worked better if I did not use a cut up chicken instead of a whole chicken. The outer meat of the pieces laying on top was dry (to be cooked in the crock pot). However, if you dipped it in the juices in the crock, it was perfectly fine. The inner meat was perfectly tender, as to be expected from bone in-chicken cooked in the crock pot.

Finale: I'll be using this seasoning blend again. While I love my crock pot chicken, I still love oven roasted chicken and believe this seasoning will work swimmingly either way. I actually have a rotisserie roaster, too that would be great, obviously :) I didn't use all of the seasoning when I done the above linked recipe, so I believe it's safe to say the below combo is good for two to three uses, depending on your personal preference in how much you apply to your meats.

2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper

You know this would probably do well on turkey breast, too!

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Menu Plan Monday 91310

I love recipes. Cookbooks are my favorite books to read. I recently started re-reading a Cooking Light Annual Recipes cookbook ... the 1999 edition. It's just awesome. It's not uncommon for me to attempt to plan out our meals for the week, then I scaled myself down because I was so disorganized that after shopping for a week's worth of meals, I would fall behind and the produce would be less than desirable come time to use it. I seriously need to get organized or I will never make it to November 2 ... I won't or my family won't, that is ;o) So I'm trying something semi different: I'm planning a week's worth of meals. but I've broken my grocery shopping down into two and three day increments. This week I'm going to only focus on dinners, maybe next week I'll start planning my lunches, and so forth.

I figure if I post my meal plans, this will make it official. I'll post the recipes if they turn out to be hits with the family.

Monday:
Seasoned Chicken & carrot sticks for the kids, grilled chicken salad for myself (chicken sandwich for Jay if he's hungry- we think he had a tad of food poisoning this weekend)

Tuesday:
Beef Stew in the crock pot.
Tuesdays are a big day for us because I'm generally not at home, and since mom has been home from the hospital I've been trying to take a meal or two over for them. So I'm going to double up on this and see how that works. I'm using the recipe from Lost Recipes. I LOVE this book!

Dessert: caramel apple cupcakes. These are going to be fun.

Wednesday:
Shepherd's Pie made with deer sausage; corn pudding (from Lost Recipes)

Thursday:
White Bean & Apple Chili, cornbread

Friday:
Tomato Soup, black bean quesadillas for me and Jackson, grilled cheese sammies for Hannah & Jay

Saturday we'll clean out the fridge ....

Trying to meal plan

Since mom is down, I've taken her brand new, still in the box from a year ago- 7 quart crock pot with the intentions of cooking for them. Thing is, my mother is a pickier eater than Hannah- so I must approach this venture with much care lest I end up wasting food and my time and energy! So I thought I had a pack of chicken breasts in the fridge, but that pack should have been put in the freezer (my how time flies). So the kids and I will be heading to the store, likely Aldi, shortly to pick up something for tonight.

I'm trying to come up with some ideas for them- what do you think about this? Do you have any ideas for feeding picky eaters?

Rotisserie Style CP Chicken Ranch vegetables

CP Chicken and Dumplings

Sweet potatoes COTB

Ha- this will be good- layered dinner - sides included!

I have some purple sweet potatoes, and a garnet yam I want to cook for the kids and I, I think I'm going to try them in the CP. I'll let you know how that works out.

(think I'll do chicken adobo for us! that looks quite frugal)

Looking through Stephanie's site that never ceases to amaze me I just found a post that will be helpful with my Deceptively Delicious quest, too (yay!)

I ♥ apple slaw by Hungry Girl

I ♥ Hungry Girl!! @HungryGirl
I've gotten her emails for years it seems. Jay got me Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories week before last. I was so proud of him. We had been at Target not over a week before, and as we were passing the magazine stand I stopped at the endcap and pointed out both of her books (the other one was Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World) along with the new Gosselin book (Eight Little Faces), and said "Here, here, and here. If there's ever a moment you might think you'd want to suprise me with something, either of these books will work". (I had already read Multiple Bles8ings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets when I was laid up in bed with strep throat back in January when Target didn;t have the third season of Grey's Anatomy DVD in stock!). So he come home bearing gifts a couple of weeks ago. Whatta guy!

SO - I've been pouring over this book for the past week and a half, and have been shopping, picking up what I need to make my Hungry Girl recipes. This slaw is GOOD. I made my own broccoli slaw so it was less expensive, too. I love that it is so simple.

1 medium Fuji apple
1 medium Granny Smith apple
2 C dry broccoli slaw mix
1/2 C plain FF yogurt
1/2 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp granulated Splenda

Cut the apples ito matchsticks. Mix with the slaw.

Mix the wet ingredients- add to the slaw- chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Love this recipe? Get the book for yourself! :o)

379: Raising Foodies: Recipe Reviews

We haven't done a lot of cooking together in recent weeks, but I have been feeling out some new recipes. I must say, my crockpot is going to be very busy from now on. The biggest cooking feat I have accomplished is:

I made my own yogurt!
YES! You heard right! I done it the other day. You can find the instructions here. I started out with whole milk, but so intend on trying lowfat next time. Also, next time, I believe I'm going to get a vanilla bean to cook it with and see if that makes a difference with the taste. Yesterday I added a tbsp of sugar to a scant cup of strawberry puree, and blended that with 3 C of the yogurt. It become smoothie type consistency, and Jackson and I had it after church last night. Hannah turned her nose up to it, of course. Jackson drank her smoothie. He loves it. I agreed with Jay it had a tart tang to it, but I was ok with it, he was not.

I done a black beans and rice crockpot dish, and it was yummy. Hannah picked at it and overall refused it, and ate her accompanying orange for dinner with it. The second day, I shredded some Monterey Jack cheese, sprinkled it over a flour tortilla, melted it and rolled the beans and rice in it, and BINGO! It was a hit! Hannah loved it and Jackson had it on two different occasions. There was no waste with this very frugal recipe.

For breakfast one morning I done a black beans and eggs breakfast scramble, and it was YUMMY! I'll be fixing that again for sure. Again, frugal, and fast!

"Wendy why are you using so many black beans?"

I fixed half a pound in the crockpot ;o) I spoke a bit about that last week. It's so easy to do, and so much more cost effective than buying canned beans. You just wash them off, throw them in the crockpot, cover with water (3x the amount of beans), and go to bed! You just let it cook 8-10 hours and you're good to go!

I used the premise of this recipe for salmon and spinach. I filled the crock with spinach, laid the salmon fillets on top, added 1/4 C chicken broth around the sides and cooked for two- 1/2 hours on low. It was DELICIOUS. This was my own dinner Tuesday night after soccer practice for after the kids went to bed. They had super secret chicken nuggets. I read Jessica Seinfield's book Deceptively Delicious and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has a child that is (especially psychologically) picky with food. I picked up my copy at Target for $9.08 to check your local store and request it if they're out of stock.

The chicken nuggets I made was real, cut up chicken breasts. I took 1 C spinach puree, mixed 1 egg in; in another bowl I mixed 1C panko breadcrumbs with 1/2 C flax meal, and some parmesean cheese. I submerged the chicken in the puree, and pulled the pieces out with a fork dropping them in the bread mixture (I used a small rectangle baking dish). I would roll around the pieces in the bread mixture til covered, and cooked it in a fry pan in batches. I just sprayed the pan with cooking spray, no oil, etc ...

Jackson walked in and said "whatcha fixing?", I said "chicken nuggets, here, have one" .. he pops it in his mouth, says "mmm, this is good", and walks out of the kitchen.

Hannah walks in, asks "whatcha fixing?" I say "chicken nuggets, go on" (I didn't want her to see the puree ... oh well ..) she sees the puree, and starts fanning her face saying "eewww I don't like it can I have a grilled cheese?" to which I say "No."

Granted, the recipe also calls for garlic and onion powder in the bread mixture and I didn't have any, so that would had made them much more flavorful. I was due at church soon, so I left as Jay was fixing their plates. (Jay was oblivious to my antics). I got back that night, and on the way back from checking out the explosion, I said "you left me some of those chicken nuggets didn't you?" and Jay said "they wiped it out". Hannah said "Momma I ate two plates of it!" Jackson said "Mom you knew I liked them". Jay said "the only thing I'd change is to cook them in bigger pieces more like chicken fingers instead of nuggets. They were good".

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! WOOOO-HOOOOO!!

Next on the list is using navy beans in a ranch dressing recipe, butternut squash snuck in some grilled cheese sammies, black bean burgers (for me), crock pot mahi mahi, crock pot Garlic chicken, and I think I'm gonna try this recipe with navy beans instead of black beans. The mind is running.

Run over to Grace's Kitchen and see what the younger set is up to!

Frugal Friday 4-10

I found a post of Stephanie's about the cooking-with-dried vs. cooking-with-canned-beans debate. I personally have found the dried beans in the crockpot thing to be great. It saves you money and gives you more options for meals since beans covers a wide variety of dishes, am I not right? Last night we had Stephanie's (black) beans and rice, it was great!

Wouldn't you know, Stephanie from Keeper of the Home posted about this very thing, and mentioned a BROWNIE made with black beans?! Seriously! It's the neatest looking blog to, and it says "... most recipes here are gluten-free, many are dairy-free, and almost all are suitable for hypoglycemics and diabetics.", which is great!!

Easter Story aka Ressurection Cookies

To be made the evening before Easter

1cup whole pecans

1tsp vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon

tape

Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

Ressurection Biscuits (kid activity)

Hannah loves making these. Past couple of years we've had family over for Easter, and Hannah has LOVED showing everyone how to make "Jesus biscuits"- giving her a chance to share the Easter story with our lost family members :o)

typed previously-

You take canned biscuits, mush them out flat, then put one large (or 4 small in my case lol) marshmallow in the middle, then wrap the biscuit around the marshmallow, dip in cinnamon-sugar-then bake. Theory being that when you open the biscuit after it comes out of the oven, the marshmallow will be gone-representing Jesus disappearing from the tomb/rising on the 3rd day.

Yes, the mashmallows will be gone. There might be a white residue depending on how many you use, how wide you roll out the dough, etc ... but they are SO good! Definitely a "dessert biscuit" *g*

GF Girl Scout cookies and more

Stephanie at Totally Together is on a quest to recreate Girl Scout cookies in gluten free form. I'd love to know what the nutritional stats are for these myself! Nevertheless, they look yummy. So, that is on my list of recipes I want to try *g*

Lemon Chalet Cookies (in the comments section they're devising a plan for a homemade mix, if you have a cure for the boxed mix idea, I'd love to hear it- please comment!)

Thin Mints (I know this is a beloved favorite- I hear they're awesome straight from the fridge.)


Trefoils (shortbread)


Sidenote: Stephanie is also the author of A Year of Crockpotting, which is linked in my sidebar right now. I love that blog. If you love your crockpot or have a desire to get to know it better, that blog is a very good place to start!!

Talking about sweets, Bakerella made the cutest Spring Chicks pops. One day ... pops will be a favorite pastime with me and my children ;o)

Speaking of GF, Carrie (Ginger Lemon Girl) has a couple of new recipes posted- she's so clever! Using rutabagas for "hashrounds"? Genius! and I've never had rutabagas, but this simple recipe makes me want to pick up some when we're at Whole foods this afternoon *g* and I'll tell ya why- I do think there's merit in a low carb lifestyle (which is what Carrie is doing). and I have quite a bit of weight to lose, and I love potatoes though in moderation. I like te idea of recreating carb laden dishes with alternatives, and this recipe looks like it will be comparable to the "mouth feel" that regular hash browns do for me. That's part of my enjoyment with hash browns, the crispiness, that feeling you get when you bite into it. Does that make sense? That's my biggest challenge with the kids, morseso Hannah overall, is the mouth-feel factor. (Jay is the same way.)

Oh! and she's also given me hope for spaghetti squash, too! I've fixed it one time, and like Carrie, I ate it though not really joyfully. She posts her recipe for roasting the squash, which makes me wonder if that was my mistake. Last time I fixed Spaghetti squash (years ago) I done it in the microwave. That might be the difference for me, ya know? and it's such a good-for-you squash, why would one not want it in their diets?


Well that's it for now. I'm headed to go get the kids and run some errands before meeting my family for Japanese tonight in celebration of my father's birthday- Happy Birthday Dad!!

A Cheesy Imposter

I'm for some reason attracted to gluten free recipes. Caesin free, the better. However, I've not had much experience with cooking this way, but the concept is very interesting for me. I love Carrie's blog Ginger Lemon Girl. She is very inventive with her recipes and has lots of good looking things on there.

If you are interested in this way of cooking, this is definitely a good place to "jump off", from. I'm very interested in trying this recipe she's posted about:

Ginger Lemon Girl: A Cheesy Imposter (Gluten Free, Casein Free, and Soy Free "Cheese" Sauce)

I asked what garlic granules were because I had never heard of them. Jay likes to cook with garlic salt, for the garlic flavor without dealing with actual garlic. I am SO going to order some of these granules- at $2.49 a container that's a steal! The fact that Carrie cares enough about her readers to go back and insert links into her articles is very telling of her generosity and willingness to help people through her blog, I believe. (Thank you Carrie!)

Speaking of new recipes, I recently bought the book Deceptively Delicious, and it's so great! A friend of mine posted about her recent brownie experience, and it made me think of this brownie recipe I want to try. Jackson thinks the concept is awesome and that we shouldn't tell Hannah until she's been eating some of the recipes :p

What do you think? Is that a concept that interests you? Would you try something like that?

added:
Speaking of food, I just went by Tara's and she has a yummy looking broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole recipe posted. Check it out!

raising foodies 3-19

This week, we're highlighting the night we made tuna pasta salad. That's a dish that is welcomed in our home, and Hannah enjoys making it. It's very easy, and frugal. I always make a big batch of it because it reheats well (for us weirdos) and you can eat it cool for lunch the next day.

We start out with half a bag of yolk free egg noodles, though probably any pasta will work- the texture of this pasta works well for our family. While you're boiling your noodles, boil some eggs- we usually boil six, because one will get eaten before it reaches the pot.

While the pasta and the eggs are boiling, chop some sweet gerkin pickles up. We like these pickles, so we usually use eight or ten of them (eating some along the way too). I leave some bigger chunks, and chop some smaller as well. When the eggs are ready, peel them, and chop them up in the manner you choose to chop. I love my egg slicer- I slice egg whites one way, then I turn them around and slice them again for a "chopped" size.

Put everything together after the pasta is drained back in the same pot- the pasta, eggs, pickles, tuna ....

Mix everything together with mayonaise. Jay likes a lot of mayo, but in my attempt to watch calories, I use less than what he would. You add as much as or less as you want for your own family. For those watching cholesterol, I've used Veganaise with this too and it was equally delicious.

Finished product-

Salt and pepper individual servings to taste.

Red Velvet Cookie-sandwiches

This project was inspired by Bakerella, if you have not read her blog, you MUST- just as soon as you finish reading this ;) It was a Valentine intended treat, but we made them the night of Valentines I think. I was very impressed with the number of cookies this recipe (using a cake mix) yielded. I believe, by using conservative tablespoon drops I ended up with a lot more than what she did, but it worked out well because the sandwiches were just big enough- not like those huge cookie sandwiches you see in the stores.

I like the idea of making smaller portions and getting seconds if you want, instead of having bigger portions and having the psychological struggle of wanting to "finish" so you "don't waste" any. Whichever way is fine, whatever works out best for you and your family.
I did find, however, that it is better to let your cream cheese filling fit in the fridge and set up a bit before icing the cookies, it spreads a lot better that way.

Hannah thought assembly was easy, although I needed to use my electric mixer for the actual mixing. That was a nice suprise though cause I remembered to pull out my new one with the digital display *g*

raising foodies 2-19

Hannah took the reigns for almost a whole meal one evening! Jay's brother was visiting, and it was the night we were to go to the wake for the teen that died last week. So really the meal was for BIL and the kids, otherwise there would be more vegetables incorporated in it, lol But it was easy for her.

We started out with her washing the red potatoes while I peeled the rough patches. As I finished peeling and slicing, she was tossing them in the pot as we waited for the water to boil. After the potatoes were in she poured the elbow pasta into it's water for the mac n cheese while I was getting the eggs out of the fridge. I put the eggs in the water hoping to avoid cracks, and she put the last one in the water to boil for the deviled eggs. We had everything going on the stove boiling. I needed to jump in the shower so she stood watch over the stove while I took a 15 minute (or less) shower (Jay was in the next room in case she needed him).

She done great! We continued with the potatoes- I drained them and she started mashing. It was cute, I hate I didn't think of snipping a picture of that. While she done that I cut up the Velveeta for the mac n cheese and got that going. We finished about the same time. The only thing we done with the potatoes was add 4 tbsp butter (around a pound of potatoes to start with) and thinned it out as needed with canned evaporated milk.



When she finished the potatoes she got started peeling the eggs- her favorite thing. While she worked on that I threw the chicken on the grill pan and went to put up my makeup. She started smashing the egg yolks and when I finished my makeup I went over the yolks one more time to make them fine. My deviled egg recipe is not an exact science, I just seem to 'know' when it's ready. That's probably Jay's favorite thing I fix, aside from potato salad, maybe. The deviled egg recipe will be something Hannah will master first. That is a goal of mine.







Wendy's Deviled Eggs:

mask your yolks up with a fork finely.
start out with .. for every four yolks or so, use two- three tablespoons of mayo. (Use light or fat free mayo at your own risk!)
Yolks should be a thicker consistency still after the mayo is added.
Add a tablespoon of white vinegar. Stir well.
If it is still thicker, add more mayo, alternating with half the amount of vinegar until you have the consistency you like for your yolk filling.
Don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste!

That's about the best I can do ;o) It sounds so simple, yet I always get rave reviews over my deviled eggs. One day I hope Hannah does too :O)

This column is a part of:

raising foodies 2-12

This week I am highlighting our "vension scramble" recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb (you could actually pull this off with 1/2 lb) sausage- we are a hunting family so we get t use tasteful deer sausage compliments of my brother in law's awesome spice-recipe.

8 eggs, or 1 pint of egg substitute.

1 Cup (or a little less) of shredded cheese of your choice, we like extra sharp cheddar for this.

Directions:
Scramble your sausage:




When the sausage is ready, add the eggs, stir well, then add the cheese until everything is melted and done


My camera went wonky that night so I didn't get a picture of a finished product, sorry! This is a kid favorite in our house, and Hannah (7 yo) can fix the whole recipe herself. It's easier using the egg substitute when she's cooking.

I enjoy using the Fit & Active brand egg substitute. You can buy it at Aldis for $1.99, which is a GREAT deal. I cannot tell a difference between that and a name brand!

This column is a part of:

Baked Oatmeal

This is another recipe I've tried lately. I found it in the most recent issue of Healthy Cooking Magazine (from Taste of Home). I was very intrigued and had to try it at least once. The results were split - Jackosn LOVED it, had two helpings before school. Hannah (the picky one) said she liked regular oatmeal better. Jackson liked the "bar" type consistency, and you can add probably anything to it to mix things up. (I'm thinking chocolate chips!)





TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 30 min.

Ingredients:
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Yogurt and fruit, optional

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the milk, egg substitute and oil; add to the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Transfer to an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve with yogurt and fruit if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

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Review:
I really enjoyed the magazine. It was the first time I had read it. I did not realize Taste of Home had started a new magazine so that was a nice suprise to find on the maagzine rack one day while at Target. I'm planning on getting a subscription for myself. Something I really like is the nutritional stats with every recipe. They are not vague, either- there's enough information there to be able to calculate Weight Watcher Points. There are also diabetic exchanges for each recipe. These visuals are important to me when finding new recipes. It definitely helps that this "good for you" recipe has the same down home feel that the regular Taste of Home magazine has, as well.

Tried two new recipes today

One was the WW garden veggie soup (0 pts) I forgot the zucchini so I added more cabbage, and cooked the veggies a lot longer (done the riso (sp?) approach- used cooking spray at first then added brother little by little to keep it from burning ... turned out VERY tender veggies!!). Hannah done most of the work what with the stirring and all .... I'll definitely be doing that one again.

The other one was a (4 pt per half cup) southwestern egg salad I done for breakfast tomorrow (for me) but the kids had it tonight for dinner and loved it. Jackson mopped it down. It had finely chopped sweet red bell pepper, a little onion finely chopped, fresh cilantro minced, mayo (not a lot), ff sour cream, salt, pepper and cumin. It was good and I'll do this one again :)

So I have half a red bell pepper sliced and packed for snack tomorrow, as well as a carrot - "sticked", and two carrots "sticked" for Jackson tomorrow, both of us carrying some of that soup for lunch. I love it that my son is such an eager, non picky eater. It's a real blessing.

So do we think I'm on the track? I weighed yesterday-I have my new ticker up :o)