Lorien's Sesame Ginger Chicken

I love love love my crockpot! AND... when things are hectic, it is a lifesaver! Being at home with two boys under two keeps me moving and moving, but it does not always leave time for proper dinner preparation. That is why if I can make it in advance or start in the morning (because my boys are always at their best right after breakfast) I will.
I also love asian food. Takeout is great, but not always the healthiest or most economical option. Unfortunately, I am not an expert at asian cooking. The flavor is so bold and complex, but, after some tweaking, I have found a good crockpot recipe for a sesame ginger chicken.

Recipe

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 medium sweet onion
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 grated garlic cloves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1.5 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (toasted if you have them)
1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch
Pinch of salt (to taste)

1. Grate ginger* and garlic using grater or microplane (I find a microplane works really well).
*if you have never worked with fresh ginger, a potato peeler works really well to peel the barky outer layer off.

2. Peel and cut onion. Onion should be cut in half and then sliced thickly for best results.

3. Put everything into crockpot, except cornstarch, mix well and cover.

4. Cook on low for 4 hours.

5. Once your chicken is done there will be quite a bit of liquid in the crockpot. Drain this off and thicken with 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch to use as a sauce. The cornstarch should be whisked into cold water (~1 Tbsp) and then added to liquid for sauce. Bring to a simmer and let simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes. Turn off and let cool.

6. Serve with veggies and/or rice.

Helpful Hint: It really brings a new level to the flavor if you sear the chicken and onions in a wok on high heat before serving!

Rebekah's creamy chicken and asparagus dijon

Today was one of those busy days, you know the ones, with the laundry mountains and dust bunnies and difficult toddler tantrums. It was exactly the type of night I'd normally give up trying to make something nutritious and head straight for chicken nuggets! But, I thought, no...I know I can whip something up if I use a little imagination. 

So here we were, It was 5:30 pm and my hubby was due home from work within half an hour...no doubt chomping at the bit for a hearty dinner. He had already texted me from the bus, "what's for dinner?" Indeed, what was for dinner? No time for grocery shopping and no idea what to make, I had a dig in my refrigerator. I remembered earlier in the week I had bought some delicious asparagus. I love asparagus, especially served with a big juicy steak, liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper and a dash of butter and lemon juice. I had used half the asparagus already for dinner three days ago in just such a way and figured it needed using up pretty soon. I just really hoped as I dug through the vegetable drawer that I had remembered to wrap it up and not just thrown it in the drawer in haste. Yup, there it was still fresh, tucked into a plastic grocery store bag. Now, i knew i had some defrosted chicken in there somewhere. Since i usually buy my chicken in bulk, divide it and freeze it in easily defrost-able portions. I found a zip lock bag with 2 defrosted chicken breasts and noticed we had some fat free half and half, glancing to my refrigerator door my old staples and ah ha, yes, grainy Dijon mustard, perfecto! Chicken and asparagus Dijon I thought, great!!!


 Recipe 
2 cloves of garlic chopped 
2 chicken breasts sliced or cubed 
1 tablespoon of olive oil 
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth 
1/2 dozen ribs of asparagus chopped into 1/4 inch pieces 
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard 
1/2 cup of half and half or for a healthier substitute you could use sour cream or for a touch of decadence some heavy cream 
1 tsp of salt 
1/2 tsp of pepper 
1 teaspoon of dried parsley 
2 tbs of four mixed to a paste with 1tbs of cold water (for thickening)

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and sauté garlic over a medium low heat taking care not to burn. Add the chicken increase the heat and cook until slightly browned (5minutes) add the asparagus and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, Dijon mustard and parsley, reduce the heat and bring to a simmer. Add the thickening slurry and stir until thickened, ass the cream or half and half and serve over creamy potatoes, noodles or rice.My hubby and E enjoyed this served over mashed russet potatoes.

Here's my delicious Creamy ranch potatoes recipe.
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces.
Place the potatoes in cold water and run the water until it is fairly clear.
Boil the potatoes, without salting until fork tender.
Drain the potatoes and shake well to remove my excess water and give them a floury consistency.
In a microwave heat 1/4 cup of half and half until hot, 30-45 seconds.
Add a teaspoon of salt and some fresh cracked black pepper to the potatoes and using a hand whisk slowly break up the potatoes. Add the hot half and half and 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing. Whisk the potatoes for a minute until creamy and smooth, but don't overbeat. This is Miss E's absolute favourite potatoes!!! Yummy.

Firecracker chicken

This is one of my hubby's all time favourite recipes. I discovered this recipe on all recipes.com one evening when I was looking for something else to do with chicken thighs and drumsticks, it is delicious fried, but I alteres the recipe a little to suit our taste and bake the chicken. Even Miss E. loves this chicken and it is a little spicy. This chicken can be made the night before and marinaded overnight for a mild spicy buffalo flavor.

Recipe
8 chicken drumsticks or 6 thighs
1/4 cup of buffalo chicken hot sauce
1/4 cup of honey
1 tsp of salt
Cooking spray (pam)

For the breading
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of dried milk powder
2 tablespoons of black pepper

In a large zip lock bag place the buffalo sauce, honey, salt and chicken. Seal the bag and mix the chicken around thoroughly by squishing the bag until the chicken is well coated. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
Whilst assembling the breading remove the chicken from the refrigerator to come up to temperature a oittle. To make the breading, mix the flour, black pepper and milk powder in a baking dish. Add the beaten egg mixture and mix together with a fork until the mixture has a slightly lumpy texture. You want Lumps as this will stick to the chicken and create a crunchier texture when baked. To coat, give the chicken a final dredge in the buffalo marinade and them toss in the breaking, coating liberally. Gently shake off the excess and place into a bag sheet that has been sprayed Liberally with the cooking spray. Continue until all the chicken has been coated and then give the chicken a light coating of oil by spraying with the cooks spray. This will help the chicken to brown evenly whilst baking.
Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes at 425 degrees.

Honey Oat Flapjack

This is a recipe from my childhood. British Flapjack is an oat bar made with golden syrup, butter, soft brown sugar and porridge oats (oatmeal). It is absolutely delicious and probably one of my Dad's favourite sweet snacks. As a teenager growing up in the U.K it's one of those recipes that everyone was taught to make at school in Home Economics and it's something I still make now I've moved Stateside. It's sort of a crossover between a cereal bar and a cookie. 

I prefer my flapjack ,ade the traditional way with golden shrup but I make my flapjack for Miss E with honey and either brown rice syrup or maple syrup instead of golden syrup.

Recipe:

1/4 cup of Clover Honey

1/2 cup of Maple syrup

1/2 cup of soft brown sugar

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)

2 1/2 cups of oatmeal (not quick cook)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a saucepan melt the butter, sugar, honey and syrup over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the oatmeal.

Pour into a buttered 8x8 baking dish lined with parchment or non stick pan and bake for 30 minutes until lightly golden brown and slightly puffed.

Allow to cool fully before cutting into 2 inch squares. Serve warm or cold.

Optional: 2 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cup of raisins

10 minute mac and cheese

If there's one thing I can do, it's knock up a super fast macaroni and cheese. One of my favourites and definitely one of Miss E's favourites, I decided to whip up one for lunch today. This macaroni really can be made in 10 minutes...so there's really no need to reach for that box of Kraft.

1 cup dried quick cooking macaroni
2 tbs of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups of whole milk
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of frozen peas (optional)
1/4 cup of Parmesan

Pour six cups of cold water into a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the quick cook macaroni and cook according to instructions. My macaroni cooks within 7 minutes!

Whilst the macaroni is boiling melt the butter in a smaller pot over medium high heat and add the flour. Whisk together to form a roux. Allow to cook for a minute whilst stirring. Pour in the milk, I use mine straight out of the refrigerator. Just make sure not to pour it in too quickly, and whisk vigorously whilst pouring to avoid lumps. Dont panic if it looks like youre sauce is forming lumps. Just make sure you keep whisking and the sauce will smooth out. Stir for an additional 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened and bubbling slightly. Remove from the heat and add the cheddar cheese, stirring until melted, add the salt and pepper. I sometimes add 1/4 cup of frozen peas or sweat corn for a vegetable serving for miss E. 
If you're trying to be a little more health conscious, you can substitute 1/2 the cheddar cheese for a couple of tablespoons of parmesan and add 1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard to boost the flavour.
Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Serve immediately with a little Parmesan.

Crockpot roasted chicken and mushroom risotto

Yesterday's Lentils were a huge hit with Miss E and using the crockpot definitely free'd up a lot of stirring at the stove time. Now, my daughter is an Angel, but when it is time for Momma to head into the kitchen to make dinner, she turns into a monster and cooking can become quite stressful, I love her curiosity for food, and so recently I have taken to pouring Cheerios into a large cooking bowl and giving her a wooden spoon to stir whilst mommy cooks. 

I love Risotto but I hate making it, all that stirring at the hot stove is just too time consuming especially when E has a meltdown, or needs a diaper change or wants to be picked up. It's a dish you kind of have to babysit and frankly I don't have the time.

I saw the delectable Ina Garten make a oven baked risotto and I thought, hmmmm, why not use my crockpot instead.

Recipe

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of arborio or risotto rice

4/5 chicken thighs (one small grocery package)

3 cloves of garlic crushed

1 small onion finely chopped

4 cups of low sodium organic chicken broth

1 cup of white wine (optional) or water d. 

2 cups of baby portobello mushrooms

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 tsp chopped rosemary

1 handful of fresh chopped parsley or 2 teaspoons of dried.

1 cup of Grated parmesan cheese

Add the olive oil to the crockpot and stir in the garlic, and arborio rice, stirring well until the grains are well coated with the oil. Add the onions, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Add the white wine/ water and three cups of chicken broth. If using dried parsley add this now, if using fresh parsley add at the end of cooking for a fresh amd bright flavour. Stir the risotto well and cover, cook on a low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, season the chicken liberally with the remaining teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and bake for 30 minutes, after 30 minutes add the sliced mushrooms to the baking dish stir and coat with the chicken juices and return to the oven for 15 minutes. The chicken should read an internal temperature of 160degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the chicken to cool, after the 1 1/2 hour cooking time add the remaking cup of stock and cook for an additional 30 minutes, shred or chop the roasted chicken and add to the risotto along with the oven roasted mushrooms and pan juices. Before serving stir the risotto for 5 minutes to encourage the startches to release, giving a creamy consistency and add the Parmesan cheese.

Lorien's slow cooked lentils and beans

We spent a weekend gorging on copious amounts of unhealthy food, snacks and beverages as the parents in law came to stay, so all of our diets went out of the window, partly due to convenience, partly due to laziness but mostly due to having an excuse to pig out. So, after stodging up on jelly filled donuts, ice cream, key lime pie, Chinese food and BBQ ribs, today is a day for lighter and more healthy fare.

I know my husband will pull a face but I'm making slow cooked lentils and beans to serve with chicken for dinner.

Now, I'm not the nutritionist, that's Loriens job, but she introduced me to this recipe and honestly. Hate to admit it, but..I'd never eaten lentils before! My mother would buy them when we little but not for eating, usually to weigh down parchment when blind baking a pie crust. My sister and I used them when making home made maracas....but otherwise, I'd never really considered them as Part of our regular menu.

So, lentils. Lentils are a bean and part of the family of legumes.
This nutritional information chart taken from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2 shows the nutritio al value of one cup of cooked lentils.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Amounts per 1 cup (198g)

Calorie Information Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Calories 230 (963 kJ) 11%   From Carbohydrate 161 (674 kJ)   From Fat 6.3 (26.4 kJ)   From Protein 62.0 (260 kJ)   From Alcohol 0.0 (0.0 kJ) Carbohydrates Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Total Carbohydrate 39.9 g 13% Dietary Fiber 15.6 g 63% Starch ~ Sugars 3.6 g Fats & Fatty Acids Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Total Fat 0.8 g 1% Saturated Fat 0.1 g 1% Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g Total trans fatty acids ~ Total trans-monoenoic fatty acids ~ Total trans-polyenoic fatty acids ~ Total Omega-3 fatty acids 73.3 mg Total Omega-6 fatty acids 271 mg Learn more about these fatty acids and their equivalent names

Protein & Amino Acids Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Protein 17.9 g 36% Vitamins Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Vitamin A 15.8 IU 0% Vitamin C 3.0 mg 5% Vitamin D ~ ~ Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) 0.2 mg 1% Vitamin K 3.4 mcg 4% Thiamin 0.3 mg 22% Riboflavin 0.1 mg 9% Niacin 2.1 mg 10% Vitamin B6 0.4 mg 18% Folate 358 mcg 90% Vitamin B12 0.0 mcg 0% Pantothenic Acid 1.3 mg 13% Choline 64.7 mg Betaine ~ Minerals Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Calcium 37.6 mg 4% Iron 6.6 mg 37% Magnesium 71.3 mg 18% Phosphorus 356 mg 36% Potassium 731 mg 21% Sodium 4.0 mg 0% Zinc 2.5 mg 17% Copper 0.5 mg 25% Manganese 1.0 mg 49% Selenium 5.5 mcg 8% Fluoride ~ Sterols Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Cholesterol 0.0 mg 0% Phytosterols ~ Other Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV Alcohol 0.0 g Water 138 g Ash 1.6 g Caffeine 0.0 mg Theobromine 0.0 mg

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2#ixzz2NtpW6C00

They are rich in protein, B vitamins, Amimo Acids and trace minerals. I grew up on meat and potatoes and whilst my daughter E loves her smashed potatoes, I was looking for a carbohydrate replacement that provided better nutrition ounce for ounce..besides sweet potatoes that is!!! Lentils are rich enough in protein that they make an excellent meat alternative too, but in this case I'm going to also be making some baked chicken to serve alongside, or...my husband really will pull a face.

Slow cooked lentils and white beans

These really are delicious, I make a large crock pot full and save the leftovers to either freeze or refrigerate and they reheat easily for a quick and nutritious lunch for E. I sometimes add a small spoonful of cream cheese or sour cream to give them a creamy consistency.

2 cups of dried lentils
1 can of organic white beans, drained and rinsed.
2 1/2 cups of organic low sodium chicken broth
1 cup of water
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1 small onion finely chopped
1 large can of organic diced tomatoes
2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
1 tbs of honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
2 tsp of dried oregano
1/2 tsp of ground coriander
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
2 bay leaves.
1 small handful of chopped fresh sage (optional)
1 small handful of fresh chopped parsley (stirred in at the end of cooking)
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
place all the ingredients in a slow cooker, omitting the fresh parsley.
Cook on low heat for 8 hours.
At the end of the cooking add the chopped fresh parsley and serve alongside your entree.