Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

This is all approximate and you can change is up as you desire.

2 packages brussel sprouts - cut in half if large
3 large beets - peeled and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes
3 medium sweet potatoes - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 small to medium parsnips - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Turn oven to 425.  Mix veggies SEPARATELY with olive oil and place on baking sheets.  Don't mix them together as they will all good at different speeds.  The brussel sprouts will cook in 10-15 minutes depending on size, the potatoes and parsnips in 15 -20 min and the beets will take a good bit longer, maybe like 25-30 minutes depending on size.

Dressing - I have no idea on the amounts.  I just combine it all until it tastes about right.
Balsamic vinegar
a little bit of honey
a little bit of creamy mustard
nutmeg
taragon
salt
pepper

Combine veggies and mix with dressing.  The beets will turn it all rather pinkish, so I might wait until you serve it to stir it all together if presentation matters.  Otherwise, just mix it all up.  I love this dish, warm, at room temp and cold out of the fridge.  It's a win all the way around.

Butter Chicken

This was easy to put together, and very tasty!  Especially considering there is no butter in this recipe :)  I actually doubled this.  *I also have the All-Clad slow cooker, which cooks "hotter" than most slow cookers.  Check your dish, as it can be done in as little as 3 1/2 hours.*  Also, to make it more "saucy", I took the chicken out and used my immersion blender to puree the sauce.  It was a nice touch!  Hope you enjoy.  -Denise

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 14 ounce light coconut milk
6 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
kosher salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
3 lbs. BL/SL chicken breast, cut in 2" pieces
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped, fresh

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in saucepan Add garlic and onion.  Cook and stir frequently, until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add in coconut milk, tomato paste, flour, garam masala, curry powder, and ginger powder.  Stir until well combined and slightly thickened in about 1-2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place chicken in slow cooker Add sauce mixture and toss to combine.

4. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours.

5. Serve immediately.  Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

First I have to mention that I noticed that nobody has posted here for over a year! I am missing sharing recipes with all of you, and I know of a couple that I'm hoping someone will post soon... In the meantime...

Andy and Laurel's family were in town, so we had a great cousins gathering. I made this pulled chicken recipe that I also made for Alayna's first birthday party, and was reminded why I like it--super flavorful. If you make it the crock-pot way, you get that great grilled flavor, but also that nice moist texture from the crock pot. I also like that it's possible to do the whole thing in advance, in stages, and just heat it up in the crock pot the day you want to use it. Pulled this from the pages of Cooking Light.

I tripled the recipe this weekend, with no problems. Froze leftovers to use on baked potatoes, bbq chicken pizza, bbq chicken tacos, etc.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken:

2 T dark brown sugar (I used a little less)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground chipotle chili pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used boneless breasts, but cut them into thirds so the rub would cover more of the meat).

(This makes a great rub for just grilling any time, too.)

Sauce:

2 tsp canola oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 T dark brown sugar (I used a little less)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1 cup ketchup

2 T cider vinegar

1 T molasses

(Makes a great BBQ sauce on its own.)

These are the original instructions, then I'll list the way I did it in the crock pot, which I think turned out much better, and much easier...

1) Combine the first 7 ingredients to make the rub. Coat chicken in rub and grill.

2) Meanwhile make the sauce. Saute onions in oil 5 min. or until tender. Stir in the brown sugar and the next 5 ingredients (through pepper); cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and molasses, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

3) Shred the chicken with two forks. (I found it very difficult to shred chicken off the grill, versus quite easily shredding the crock pot chicken.)

4) Stir the chicken into the warm sauce.

Serve on buns of your choice. I've used wheat buns, and/or Hawaiian rolls. Add pickles, and sliced red onions.

Crock Pot Method:

1) Make the BBQ sauce as described above, and set aside. (Or make it in advance and put in the fridge until you're ready to use it.)

2) Coat the chicken with the rub.

3) Sear the chicken on the grill so that both sides have nice grill lines, but do not cook through. Put the chicken into the crock pot.

4) Cover the chicken with all of the prepared BBQ sauce. (I actually added a little water here, afraid it might not be enough liquid. I think it would have been fine either way, though.)

5) Cook on high for 5 hours.

6) Remove the pieces of chicken with a slotted spoon, and shred with two forks.

7) Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and stir to incorporate it into the sauce.

8) Keep on warm setting until ready to serve.

You can also do all of these steps a day in advance, then put the crock pot insert into the fridge. The next day, return the insert to the crock pot, and cook on low a few hours to reheat the meat. I added a little water when I did this, which worked well.

Serve on rolls with pickles and red onion.

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

This came from Ina Garten (Food Network), and it is so tasty. Next time I think I'll try it with just chicken breasts because I don't love breaking down a chicken...but it was pretty great.

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves
2 (3 1/2 lbs) chickens, cut into eighths
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablesponns Cognac, divided
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes per side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5-10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 T of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining T of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 min. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

Mrs. Rigg's Sugar Cookies

Mrs. Riggs didn't know she would become this famous. Laurel had her as a teacher growing up, and she makes amazing sugar cookies. Beautiful, perfect to cut out and use at school for the kiddos. That's what we'll be doing! Emma and I will be making them to share with her soccer team on Saturday. Maybe I'll be able to add some pictures to this post! Thanks for sharing this recipe Laurel.

Mrs. Rigg's Cookies

1c margarine

1c sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 c flour

Cream margarine and sugar together.

Blend in egg, salt, and vanilla.

Add flour and stir until combined.

Put in fridge overnight.

Roll our 1/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.

FROSTING

2/3 c crisco

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4-5 T milk

Cream crisco and 1/2 sugar. Add vanilla. Then add milk and remaining sugar, alternating bit by bit until combined.

Pizza Dough, You Too Can Make!

This is Cynthia Pedregon's Pizza Dough recipe from her 1994 cookbook. I have a friend who wanted this recipe, and I thought that perhaps it was time to post on the ol' blog. It's easy to make (and multiple crusts too), and easy to adapt to the GF peeps. I hope you enjoy.

Denise

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This is the basic pizza dough recipe. You may make variations on it by using chopped herbs in the crust. I like to sprinkle chopped rosemary, sea salt and and olive oil around the rim of the crust just before baking - this make a softer crust.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- 1 cup warm water

- 1 tablespoon yeast

- 3 cups flour

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 cup olive oil

METHOD:

1. In a measuring cup, lightly stir the sugar, water and yeast and set aside to rise.

2. Measure the flour and salt into a food processor and blend. Slowly pour in yeast mixture and then 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix until dough just forms a ball. Avoid overworking the dough.

3. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a large mixing bowl. Gather the pizza dough to form into a ball. Turn dough until it's coated with olive oil. Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes. If you are unable to use the pizza dough immediately, you may punch the dough down and turn it over to rise up to a total of four times.

4. To shape the pizza dough into a 12" round, place a ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Using the heel of your hands, press the dough into a circle.

NOTES:

Corn Meal Pizza Dough:

1. Instead of 3 cups flour, use 2 cups flour and 1 cup yellow corn meal.

2. Follow Pizza Dough recipe instructions.SOURCE: Cynthia Pedregon

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How I Learned to Like Kale

You may or may not know this about me: I am not a big fan of vegetables. I have grown so much in the 11 years that Matt and I have been married...mainly thanks to Myra, who has always cooked me amazing dishes, filled with incredible veggies. Not only has she cooked for me (and my family), but I have been able to learn how to cook from her.

That said, now that we live in Vancouver, which is one of the "greenest" places I have ever been, we are exposed to all sorts of Farmer's Markets and local produce. The one vegetable that I've never been able to eat is kale. I mean, WHY? I think it can retain it's shape for years if left unattended! (ask me why I know this sometime).

On our recent trip down to the States, I picked up a Bon Appetit magazine. In it was this article:

http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/10/how_i_learned_to_love_kale

Which led to this recipe being made for dinner on Sunday night. Let's just say, I could have licked the pot clean. I hope you enjoy!

Spaghetti with Braised Kale

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Recipe By: Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

1 pound lacinato kale (2 bunches), large center ribs and stems removed, cut crosswise into 1/2" slices

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, finely chopped

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 pound spaghetti

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

finely grated Parmesan Cheese

PREPARATION:

Rinse kale. Drain; transfer to bowl with some water still clinging.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Add sliced garlic and sprinkle with salt; cook until onion is golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add kale and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss until wilted, about 3 minutes. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until kale is very tender, stirring occasionally and adding water by teaspoonfuls if dry, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in medium pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add cooked spaghetti to kale mixture in pot. Add lemon juice and 2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid; toss to combine, adding more liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Sprinkle spaghetti with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes:

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

One serving contains the following: (Analysis includes one tablespoon parmesan cheese per serving.)

Calories (kcal) 420.6

%Calories from Fat 31.3

Fat (g) 14.6

Saturated Fat (g) 2.8

Cholesterol (mg) 5.0

Carbohydrates (g) 59.2

Dietary Fiber (g) 5.6

Total Sugars (g) 3.1

Net Carbs (g) 53.6

Protein (g) 15.4