Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Let's just come out and admit it, fellow chicken lovers: chicken can be dry. It can be one of those things you put in your mouth, knowing that you can only chew each morsel a certain small number of times, or you will simply be unable to swallow it. And yet, I do like chicken breasts when they are cooked nicely and still moist and juicy (yes, yet another reason I'm not a vegetarian). I'm therefore always on the lookout for recipes that don't create slabs of chewy, dry chicken with the texture (and taste) of clumped sawdust, but through which I can actually celebrate my love of chicken. Many of these are slow cooker recipes, since I find the slow cooking process in an enclosed dish often preserves the moisture lost through other cooking methods. This recipe is an exception though, since it is a simple pan-fried chicken dish, but one with a lot of flavor. Moreover, it contains sour cream. If my son is informed there is sour cream in a dish, you can be pretty sure that he will eat it, and in large quantities. Not sure why. Not sure I need to know, quite frankly. If it works, don't question it.

The original recipe came from Clean Eating magazine. Now often I like my food dirty - yes, sugar and butter are staples in my house. I believe in everything in moderation though, and we can only continue to eat the unhealthy things if we balance out our diet with some healthier options, like this dish for example. The advantage of this one, is that no one knows they are being healthy.

Dijon Chicken
Serves 5

1 1/3 cups brown rice
5 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
1 1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBSP olive oil
2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 TBSP fresh chopped basil
4 packed cups spinach, coarsely chopped
4 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1. Cook rice according to directions, drain and set aside.
2. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with paprika, salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes each side, until cooked through. Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate. Cover and set aside.
4. Reduce heat to medium/low and add sour cream, mustard, lemon juice and basil to skillet. Stir until heated through, scraping off browned bits from bottom of pan (around 20 seconds).
5. Uncover chicken and slice into strips. Spoon 2 TBSP of sour cream mixture over the top, dividing evenly. Cover again and set aside.
6. Add rice, spinach and lemon zest to remaining sour cream mixture, along with 1/2 cup water. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Stir gently until spinach is wilted (about 20 seconds).
7. Spoon rice mixture on to plates and top with chicken.

I'm supposed to feed them as well?!

My husband is away this week for work. To put it bluntly, this means I am the only driver in the house, and spend much of my afternoon and early evening on the road somewhere between school, ballet, track, drum lessons, and basketball. And there is no drive-thru Starbucks for miles. Seriously. And then, as a loving parent, I'm supposed to give them a healthy, filling meal for which we can all sit down at the table together. This is me, briefly taking my eyes off the road to look at the camera and lament my fate:

Given the logistics of this gas-fuelled marathon, getting a meal on the table that does not involve tater tots and chicken nuggets, or a speedy trip to Chipotle or In'n'Out Burger is problematic. Don't get me wrong, all of those things are probably on the menu this week, but it's nice if we don't have to rely on them every night. Fortunately, I have my slow cooker and my bread maker, and a few recipes that involve just shoving everything into those machines (being just careful enough to remember which is which!) and letting them do their thing while I curse traffic lights, beg one child not to keep opening and closing the car windows, fight over which radio station to listen to, or reassure one child or another that everyone is late every once in a while, don't fret, they won't miss anything....

Some slow cooker recipes ask you to brown things, bring things to the boil, sauté etc etc before adding stuff to the machine itself. Whilst I love nothing more than stirring a bubbling pot or caramelizing the odd vegetable when I have the time, this week is not it. This recipe fortunately made no such demands upon my time. It also made quantities such that my family not only ate their fill at dinner time, but also have it for lunch today, and I have a tub in the freezer. The recipe comes from one of my new favorite books: The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. My only tweak was to add some more vegetables, since I needed a one-pot meal with no sides required!

Chicken Goulash Soup
Serves 10

8 cups chicken broth/stock
2 3/4lbs skinless boneless, chicken breast, chopped into 1" cubes
2 1/2 14oz cans diced tomatoes
1 1/4lbs peeled and diced baking potatoes
2 large green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
2 large onions, chopped
5 TBSP mild paprika
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP caraway seeds (optional)
1 tsp salt
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups chopped fresh kale (thick stems removed)
sour cream and chopped parsley to serve

1. Mix broth, chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, bell pepper, onion, paprika, garlic, caraway seeds (if using) and salt in the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours (or 3 hours on high).
3. Add spinach and kale and cook for 15 minutes on high until wilted.
4. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.

Every so often...

Every so often, I get it right as the chief nutritional provider in this house. It isn't an overly frequent occurrence, so my head remains its usual size, but just every so often, there is a moment, when it really looks like I know what I'm doing, when there is something on the table that is not only eaten by all, but enjoyed by all, and is a reasonably healthy offering. Like I said, not every day, but often enough that I keep on trying!

This dish was one such offering. As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, the Farrar juniors are not mad keen on anything which could be described as spicy. It isn't the flavor that bothers them, but rather the heat. The air of suspicion when presented with Thai or Indian food is palpable. What I liked about this dish is that it captured the flavors of Thai cuisine, but didn't have any heat. No chiles in sight. Obviously, there must be an antithesis to the Farrar family somewhere on earth, and if they are cooking this up, they could easily add a few chopped Serrano chiles to satisfy their less heat-averse palates. But for us, this did nicely. May it go down equally well at your table. And if it doesn't, just remember, every so often is good enough!

Slow Cooker Coconut and Peanut Pork
Serves 5

2 lbs pork tenderloin, chopped into 1" chunks
2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 14oz can baby corn spears, chopped
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped green (spring) onions
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
lime wedges
jasmine rice

 1. Place the pork, peppers, teriyaki sauce, vinegar and garlic in slow cooker stoneware. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Add peanut butter, corn and coconut milk to the slow cooker and stir well. Cook on High for 15 minutes until heated through.
3. Serve on a bed of jasmine rice, sprinkled with green onions and peanuts, and with lime wedges to squeeze over at the table.

Carnivores rejoice!

I know the vegetarian lifestyle is healthy, don't get me wrong, but I don't like 'forbiddens' in my diet. Not because I necessarily disapprove of vetoing things per se, but rather because I have zero will-power, so therefore giving up anything (except perhaps peas) would be nigh-on impossible, let alone unpleasant. I admire the strength of will exhibited by many of my friends (and indeed my own mother) when it comes to going vegetarian, and since they are all gorgeous healthy individuals, they are a great advert for a meat-free diet. But I will not be joining their ranks.

A good beef stew is one such thing which I confess I would not, nay COULD not, decide to forgo for ever and ever. So while I aim for our family to be meat-free at least two days per week (and often more), some days, we embrace our carnivorous tendencies wholesale, and indulge in some red meat. I console myself by often attempting to find more healthy recipes, which, while they include meat, have other more virtuous ingredients, like whole grains.

This recipe is one such example, containing as it does, hulless barley. It attracted me also because of the interesting combination of rosemary (which grows rampantly in our garden, so is technically free!) and orange. And because it comes from Judith Finlayson's The Healthy Slow Cooker, one of my favorite cookbooks, so it was pretty much a guaranteed winner. Thanks again Judith!

Beef and Barley with Rosemary and Orange
Serves 6

olive oil
2 lbs trimmed stewing beef, cut into 1" cubes
10 oz sliced cremini mushrooms (or any mushroom will do)
3 onions, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic (minced)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
1 cup hulless barley (you can use pearled, and it may take less time to cook)
3 cups beef stock
1 1/2 cups red wine
salt and black pepper
fresh parsley

1. Heat 1 TBSP of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the beef in batches (about 4 mins per batch). Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
2. Add another 1 TBSP oil to the same skillet and sauté the mushrooms until lightly seared (about 2 mins). Add to the slow cooker.
3. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan and cook until the carrots are softened (about 7 mins). Add the garlic, rosemary and orange zest and cook for a further minute. Add barley, orange juice, stock and wine and bring to a boil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, then transfer to slow cooker and stir well.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Garnish with parsley to serve.

Rave reviews!

Don't worry - I haven't lost my British talent for self-effacement . I'm not anticipating how all of you will feel about this dish, and 'blowing my own trumpet' (sorry Americans: can't use the word 'tooting' in my house - results in incontrollable giggles). I am merely giving an accurate representation of the reaction around our dinner table when its occupants were served up this little beauty:

Yes indeed. In fact, there were rave reviews after one bite, and then some of them actually stopped shoveling mid-meal to repeat their appreciation of the meal on offer. This does not always happen in our house. And to be fair, the occupants of my dinner table are not always the most discerning of foodies (current favorite for youngest son is cheddar cheese bagels spread with about 1" of nutella...or 2" if you don't whisk the jar away quickly enough). But, I have to concur with even the less understandable tastes around the table in this case, as this one will definitely make the menu in our house again.

It's also easy-peasy, coming from one of my favorite easy-peasy books: 9"x13" The Pan That Can. Yes indeed, it can, and it did it again. I did tweak a little, opting to use ground turkey rather than beef, as I just prefer it. I also added some fresh herbs, to give it a pop. I apologize to those reading from the UK, where I don't think you can get crescent dough in tubes (really, the Pillsbury Dough Boy wants to get on that asap). But I think you could take some fresh pizza dough and use that on the top to a similar effect. All you need to complete the meal is a good green salad, and there you go - just sit back and let those sighs of satisfaction and rave reviews from all around just wash over you. You've earned them.

Italian Crescent Casserole
Serves 6

2lbs lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 16oz jar (around 2 cups) of marinara sauce
3TBSP chopped fresh basil
3 cups shredded/grated mozzarella cheese
1 8oz tub low fat sour cream
1 8oz package of refrigerated crescent rolls (or fresh (uncooked) pizza dough)
2 TBSP melted butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190C).
2. In a large skillet, cook the turkey and onion until the meat is cooked, breaking up the meat as you go. Stir in marinara sauce, bring to a boil and then simmer until slightly thickened. Pour the meat mixture into a 9"x13" pan, and spread over the base of the pan.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream and the mozzarella cheese. Spoon this evenly over the meat in the pan.
4. Unroll the crescent dough and roll out  into a 9"x13" rectangle, pressing together the perforated lines. Place the dough over the cheese-sour cream layer.
5. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes (uncovered), until top is a deep golden brown.

Shhhh..let's keep this amongst ourselves...

I know I said I was going to go cold turkey on the new cookbook addiction. I know. Well, I fell off the wagon. Head first, in a fill-your-amazon-shopping-cart-and-click-on-checkout-before-you-can-change-your-mind kind of way. In my defense, one of my new purchases was The Great American Slow Cooker Book. It spoke to me personally! I love my slow cooker, I think it's great, AND I'm American... well, kind of, half, sort-of. If that isn't justification, then I don't know what is! So please don't tell. Anyway, now that the pages are well and truly thumbed, the only way I can redeem myself (apart from clearing enough space in the cookbook cupboard so that I can stow it away before my husband notices), is to use it to such good effect that its purchase seems not only inevitable, and evidence of an out-of-control compulsion, but also most fortunate, given that the delicious food on our table owes its existence to the recipes therein.

The first recipe I tried from the new book (by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, incidentally) is indeed worthy of the moniker 'great'. It is also unexpected. By the scratch marks on the base and the number of times I lift it's huge bulk out of the drawer, I consider my slow cooker well used, but I had never, until now, even considered roasting a whole chicken in there. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have to say, I will be doing this again. And soon. Not only is the chicken fall-off-the-bone delicious and moist, but it is also roasted on a bed of tomatoes and parsnips, which cook to perfection in the chicken juices, to produce an almost saucy garnish for the chicken. I served it alongside some roasted vegetables (recipe also below). Go on, oven-roasted chicken purists: venture into the unknown. It's a tasty place to be.

Roast Chicken with Parsnips and Tomatoes
Serves 5

1lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 2" segments
1/2 lb ripe cherry/grape tomatoes
4 fresh sprigs of rosemary
1 TBSP lemon pepper
1 tsp mild paprika
1 whole chicken (3.5-5lbs), skin on, any giblets/neck removed from cavity, and bird trussed

1. Arrange parsnips, tomatoes and rosemary in a layer at the bottom of a large slow cooker (6-8 quart capacity).
2. Mix lemon pepper and paprika together and rub all over the chicken, including inside the cavity. Set chicken on top of parsnip mixture in slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on High for 5-6 hours, depending on the size of the chicken. To see if it is done, use a meat thermometer to check that the temp inside the thickest part of the thigh is 165 degrees.
4. Unplug the cooker, uncover and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a board to carve (it kind of falls apart at this point, so those in favor of neatly carved slices will be disappointed).
5. Discard the rosemary sprigs and serve the parsnips and tomatoes with the chicken.


Oven-roasted Mixed Vegetables with Lemon and Chives
original recipe from Cooking Light magazine
Serves 6-8

1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
1 1/2 lbs fingerline potatoes, halved (or any other small potato in a contrasting color!)
1 lbs baby carrots, halved
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
1 TBSP olive oil
cooking spray
2 TBSP fresh snipped chives
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220C).
2. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Arrange in a single layer on one large, or two smaller baking trays.

All ready for the oven

3. Bake for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
4. Combine vegetables with remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to coat.

Boozy treat

I love nothing more than walking through the door after an afternoon of playing soccer mum (or drum mum, or dance mum, or basketball mum...) to the smell of something delicious that has been bubbling away for hours in the slow cooker. If that something happens to contain a large quantity of alcoholic beverage, then the smell is all the more delicious! Why, I feel more relaxed immediately! This recipe is for one such delicious something.

I've always loved Boeuf Bourguignon, and I think it is one reason I could never go vegetarian. There is just something about that combination of beef and red wine. And if you add those little pearl onions and cook them in the same boozy combination... well, that just tips me over the edge.

I've been trying to go cold turkey on my amazon cookbook habit, so the original recipe for this dish is from a book I've had for a few years called Slow Cooking Around the World by Carolyn Humphries. I confess I haven't tried many things from it, as it is almost completely devoid of pictures. When it comes to cookbooks, I need dribble-worthy photographs. However, I did make an exception this week, and I'm glad I did, because if this isn't dribble-worthy, then I don't know what is:

Beef in Burgundy with Pearl Onions
Serves 4

4 TBSP all purpose flour (plain flour)
salt and black pepper
1 1/2 lbs lean diced stew (braising) beef
3 TBSP canola/sunflower oil
2 oz diced pancetta
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
20 peeled pearl onions (thawed if frozen)
5 oz sliced mushrooms
1 1/4 cups red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 TBSP brandy
1 TBSP tomato paste/puree
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
2 TBSP chopped fresh thyme

1. In a large Ziploc bag, shake together the flour with salt and pepper. Add the diced beef and shake to coat with the flour mixture.
2. Heat 1 TBSP oil in a large frying pan/skillet and add the pancetta and carrots. Saute for 2 minutes or so, stirring, by which time the pancetta should be starting to brown. Transfer to the slow cooker stoneware. Add the raw mushrooms to the slow cooker also.
3. Add the onions to the same skillet and sauté until they are lightly browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
4. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and tip in the meat. Cook, stirring, until the meat is browned on all sides, then transfer to the slow cooker.
5. In a bowl, mix together the wine, stock, brandy, tomato paste/puree, mustard and sugar. Add any remaining flour from the Ziploc bag to the skillet, then pour in the wine mixture. Bring this to a boil, stirring, then mix into the ingredients already in the slow cooker. Stir in the dried thyme.
6. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or on high for 5 hours), by which time the meat will be meltingly tender, and the sauce rich and fragrant. Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta.