Tag - crock pot

Slow Cooker Chicken with Creamed Spinach

This is one of the three dishes I made from the two chickens last weekend. It came out great, but I forgot to turn the crock pot off and it cooked for closer to four hours. The chicken turned out a little dry so I made a gravy with the drippings and that helped quite a bit. I think you can cook this for closer to 3 hours on high and it should be fine.

The gravy in the dish gives it a nice creamy texture, but without any dairy. I made up for that with the spinach side though, you can half the heavy whipping cream and use a soft mascarpone cheese instead if you prefer. I also made a baked potato with a a salt and pepper crust and it was to die for. Who doesn’t love a crispy salty potato crust? Throw some chives from the garden in there and you’ve got yourself a winner.

P.S. Double triple this spinach recipe for your own good because it’s real tasty and you’re going to want a lot more if you’re cooking for more than one night or more than two people.

DSC_0142

Slow Cooker Chicken with Creamed Spinach
1 Whole Chicken, wings, breasts, and thighs
1/2 lb bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lb pearl onions, peeled
1 lbs white mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

DSC_0974

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove from the skillet and transfer to a slow cooker.

DSC_0908

2. Add the chicken to the bacon fat and brown on both sides. Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker. 3. Pour the wine into the skillet and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, rosemary, and salt to the slow cooker.

DSC_0986

4. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high.

5. Transfer the chicken, mushrooms, and onions to a serving dish and pour sauce into a small saucepan. Combine the water and cornstarch and then slowly pour into the sauce. Bring to a boil and stir until the gravy thickens. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Creamed Spinach
2 lb baby spinach, stems removed
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DSC_0097

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add spinach, cook for 2 minutes. Remove spinach from the water and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking and keep bright green color.
DSC_0105

2. Wipe out the saucepan and add the butter, heat until it melts. Add the onion and salt, cook down until the onions have softened. Add the spinach, cream, cheese, and nutmeg. Cook until the cream has cooked down a big and the cheese has fully melted.

DSC_0150

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili

I’m going to be running around today and tomorrow getting a lot done before I start my job on Thursday. I found this recipe because I wanted to make something with a home-style feel but easy to assemble in the Crock Pot while I’m out most of the day. I stirred once in the first hour of cooking, then again when I got home and the chicken was ready to be shredded and served.  When Jason took his first bite he looked at me and said, “oh, hell yeah!” I would consider this a success.

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili
(Recipe credit to SimplexFood)
4 chicken breasts, frozen
2 cans Rotel tomatoes, with chilies
2 cans whole corn kernels, not drained
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 packages Ranch dressing mix
2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 8 oz packages cream cheese

1. Place chicken in the crockpot.

DSC_0699

2. Top with tomatoes, corn, beans, dressing mix, and spices. Stir to combine then top with cream cheese.

DSC_0728

3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring a couple times to blend the cheese.

DSC_0738

4. Shred the chicken into large pieces and serve over brown rice with avocado.

DSC_0770

DSC_0785

Open-Faced Pot Pie

When I put this dish in front of Jason yesterday, he asked, “what do we have tonight?” I wasn’t certain how to answer so I said, “open-faced pot pie.”

*shrug* Why not?

This is a seemingly flexible recipe, and can be altered to be more or less hands on. You can slow this down to cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours. You could add more chicken thighs if you wanted to (just don’t forget to add more of the other ingredients to adjust with the chicken). You can also bake your own biscuits, but as I haven’t been feeling well the past two days, I opted for the easier way out.

Open-Faced Pot Pie Crock Pot
(Recipe inspiration from Real Simple)
3 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 skinless chicken thighs
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried sage
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup choice broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 14 oz bag of frozen, chopped kale
1/2 cup heavy cream
Store bought biscuits, or home made

1. In slow cooker, mix carrots, celery, onion, flour. Place the chicken on top and season with dried herbs, dash of salt and pepper. Cover with wine and broth.
2. Cook on HIGH for 2 hours. Add kale to crock pot. Cover and cook another 1/2 hour.
3. 15 minutes before serving, cook biscuits as described on container. Add peas and heavy cream to the crock pot.
5. To serve, spoon stew into a shallow bowl, place chicken on top and serve with biscuits and baked potato, should you choose!

IMG_4875b

Here we go…

I like taking pictures. Ever since middle school I can remember having a digital camera with me everywhere I went. I enjoy cataloguing my life. It is nice to be transported through pictures back to the moments they were taken. Sometimes my memories blur between events I actually remember and the images I’ve looked at over the years. I constantly find myself going through old pictures and recalling when and where certain things took place. It gives me the ability to piece together a timeline, and refresh my memory.
IMG_4763 Facebook ends up being the home to many of the pictures I take. It’s comforting to offer them to the people I’ve shared experiences with, so we can all reminisce together. Especially now that my husband and I live across the country from our family, they’re able to keep tabs on us. Since 2010, I have posted over 120 albums on Facebook. That’s an average of 24 per year with the number of pictures per album ranging from 20-200. That’s a lot. What can I say? I like taking pictures.
IMG_4770 (1) I also like baking and cooking. For some, they only like baking OR cooking. That’s probably because they’re very distinct disciplines. Baking is a true science. Too much baking powder, salt, or butter will give you a completely different outcome than you had anticipated. Cooking offers more give and take. You can add more garlic here or cayenne there. Different parts of my brain have a great appreciation for both art forms. I find the kitchen cathartic. Not everything comes out perfectly, but I enjoy the process and sometimes, the frustration.
IMG_4771 Those are my “Stills and Spills”. The still images that represent my life’s ups and downs. The spills in the kitchen that have been successes and failures.

Copyright © 2018. Powered by A & E Cyber Publishers.