Tag - mushrooms

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.

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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

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

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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.

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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

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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.
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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.

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Zoodles: Take 1

A very dear friend gave me a Veggetti for my bridal shower last year. We drove across the country two days later to move to California. Needless to say, it’s taken some time to put all of these exciting gifts to use / remember where we put them when we moved. This is something I wish I’ve been using more frequently. Gluten free pasta is fine, don’t get me wrong. There are a few really good brands and at this point I really don’t miss “regular” pasta’s taste or consistency. Those gf pastas are just as terrible for you though, so this is a lovely and light way to get all the good fixings that you put in pasta, sans guilt. It’s a very tasty first take on zoodles and incredibly filling with so much veggie-chicken goodness! I prepared the asparagus and chicken the night ahead of time because I was making a different meal and just used the leftover pieces for this zoodles recipe.
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Zoodles with Chicken and Veggies
2 chicken breasts, prepared the night before (see first step)
1 bunch of asparagus, prepared the night before (see 2nd step)
Olive oil
12 mushrooms, sliced thin
1 small yellow onion, diced
6 oz spinach
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 zucchini, “zoodled”
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons white wine
Red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese, for serving

1. The night before I cut the chicken into pieces and marinated in Italian dressing for a couple hours. Then sautéed until golden brown, and even a little burned in places. Set aside.

2. Cut tough ends off asparagus, lay flat on a roasting tray and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, dash of cayenne, and garlic powder.  Roast in 425 degree oven for 8 minutes. Cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

3. Heat teaspoon of olive oil in pan and then sauté mushrooms and onions until beginning to caramelize. Season with salt and pepper.
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4. Add spinach and cook down until completed wilted. Add tablespoon of butter and ensure all veggies are coated. DSC_0179

5. Add cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and chicken. Bring to heat and then add white wine. Cook on medium heat until wine starts to boil and burn off, be sure to keep stirring so veggies don’t stick to the bottom. Add zoodles and cook until they are fully heated. No need to sauté or brown them.

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6. Serve with parmesan and red pepper flakes! DSC_0019

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Chicken Stroganoff

Just like the pizzagaina was reminiscent of home, this recipe is too. My mom used to make chicken stroganoff all the time. It was one of the first recipes I knew how to cook. This is a lighter take on it, but was a nice way to feel closer to family. This is definitely good but next time I plan to add some white wine, possibly instead of the chicken stock — mostly because wine makes everything better.

Chicken Stroganoff
4 chicken breasts, cut into slivers
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sour cream

1. Cut the chicken into slivers and toss in a bowl with the spices. In a dutch oven, heat the oil and place in the seasoned chicken, cooking for a few minutes on both sides. Just enough to brown the chicken, not fully cook it. Be careful not to crowd the chicken, I did this in three batches. Once all the chicken has been browned, remove from pan and set aside.DSC_0119b

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2. Leave all the good brown bits in the dutch oven. Add a little more oil if you need it and bring to temperature, then add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir until they become translucent. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook down.

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3. Once the mushrooms have begun to brown, make a small area in the middle and add the butter. Once melted, add in the corn starch and stir. This will help thicken the sauce. Stir the mushrooms into the butter/starch and then add the Worcestershire sauce and chicken stock.

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4. Add the chicken and cook for about 7 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

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5. Serve with pasta (usually egg noodles, but I can’t find those in GF) and vegetable of your choosing!

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