Back in Action

Alright, so it's been a while but I decided to try the whole blogging about cooking thing once again.

In great anticipation for the fall, I couldn't wait to pull out my Crock Pot and get cookin'...for my first time back in the saddle, I thought I'd go ahead and make Lazy Chicken. I found this on crockpot365.blogspot.com, which has been a constant source of inspiration when I want to make something cheap and easy. There's nothing I hate more than going to the grocery store so I wanted to make something I already had in the house...hooray for using what you have!

Ingredients:

3 semi-frozen chicken breasts

Minced garlic (to taste)

Rosemary, basil, S&P, Italian Seasoning- all to taste

Medium size bottle of marinara or whatever sauce you like (I used a vodka sauce, yum)

1/2 medium size package of mozzarella cheese

1/2 box of rotini pasta

This morning before I left for work I threw three semi-frozen chicken breasts in to the crock and put some minced garlic on top for good measure. I sprinkled some rosemary, basil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning on top then dumped a bottle of marinara on top and turned the crock on low for 9 hours. At lunch I came home and tossed in half a package of fat free shredded mozzarella. Once I got home from work, I tore the chicken up with a fork and I cooked up the rotini until it was barely al dente, drained it then threw it in with the chicken and sauce for the last half hour or so and let it all hang out on "warm" while I went for a walk.

When I got home I dished up a serving for my friend and I and topped it off with some parm...it was a huge hit! Honestly, what could be better than a warm crock pot dinner and the premiere of Glee?? Not much, that's what. It might look a little funny in the picture...but it's pretty tasty!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday, which is why I am beyond excited that I was able to celebrate it three different times this year! First was my "Friendly Thanksgiving" (below) next was the Clear Channel Feast and finally, my family Thanksgiving gathering at my parent's house. The best thing about Thanksgiving is that you take seemingly healthy foods like green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries, etc. and add artery clogging goodness to them. There's nothing better than a dish with butter, honey, cheese, and something fried (but not all together)!

For the Clear Channel Feast each member of the station family brought a different dish, I must say that my personal favorite was the stuffing that my manager, Barb, brought. It was made with chestnuts and some sort of sausage- my grandmother always makes the world's greatest cornbread stuffing, but it was great to get to try something new! Alejandro brought home made (well, not made in his home, but made in some other home and sold to him in a parking lot) tamales, which were outstanding and made me wish for a Mexican heritage to call my own. My contribution was a whipped sweet potato and banana dish that I have been making for my own family for the last few years. Unfortunately, I would not be able to make it for our annual gathering as my cousin discovered she is allergic to bananas! I was happy to be able to once again enjoy it with my coworkers, though.

Lou V. getting ready to dig in at the CCR&O staff Thanksgiving!

This is the easiest thing in the world to make, and everyone always loves it!

What you'll need:

4-5 medium sweet potatoes

4 bananas

1 stick softened butter

1/2C honey

Topping:

1 & 1/2C chopped pecans

1 stick of softened butter

3/4C dark brown sugar

1/2C all purpose flower

Roast 4 or 5 medium sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 for about an hour, then toss in 4 bananas and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes and bananas from the oven, but don't turn the oven off.

While letting the potatoes and bananas cool, mix 1 & 1/2C chopped pecans, 1 softened stick of butter, 3/4C dark brown sugar, and 1/2C all purpose flour. This will be the topping, and it works best to just mix it together by hand.

When the potatoes and bananas are cool enough to handle, scoop the insides out in to a large mixing bowl, add 1/2C honey, and one stick of butter and whip until well mixed and smooth.Transfer to a greased, oven safe dish, cover with

topping and bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through.

State Fair Green Bean Casserole

For my family gathering I always make the same green bean casserole. It is always a big hit, and I'm pretty sure it's because it's about one step up from the food they sell on the midway. My dear friend, John Sawyer, and his mother came up with this one year and we've been making it ever since. It originally called for Kraft Garlic Cheese rolls, but they have since been discontinued. To make due, I've used a different fake cheese and two jars of minced garlic along with garlic powder. I find it's best to buy the garlic already minced, the fresh stuff is just to high class for this dish.

What you need:

6 cans french cut green beans

1 large Velveeta (don't be a wimp and get the reduced fat stuff)

2 jars minced garlic

2 cans sliced water chestnuts, chopped in the food processor

4 small cans Cream of Mushroom soup

3 large cans french fried onions

Garlic powder to taste

Melt the Velveeta and garlic together in a large pot, add green beans, water chestnuts, mushroom soup and 2 cans of the french fried onions. Mix well and heat through. Pour mixture in to a large, greased baking dish and cover with the final can of french fried onions. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly! Serve hot!

I like to make this the night before and let it set up in the fridge. Set it out on the counter and bring to room temp, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes right before serving. How can you not love something with that much fake cheese and fried goodness!?

Thanksgiving a little early

It's not that I don't love my family, because I do....really. But sometimes it makes me a little sad to think that some of the people I am the most thankful for are never at my Thanksgiving Dinner. This year, I decided to throw a little dinner party with all of the Thanksgiving fixins' and invite some very dear friends over to share in the fun. We each contributed a dish and since I was hosting I agreed to the turkey and stuffing. Now, considering that there would only be 6 people in attendance, there was no real need to get an entire bird so I went with just a turkey breast. Whoever came up with the guideline of a pound per person was lying...I got about 7 pounds of turkey and when dinner was over I'd say we had about 4 left over...so maybe half a pound per person.

I was a little worried because I've never made this before, but it turned out to be pretty idiot proof. I got two boneless frozen turkey breasts at the store, let them sit in my fridge for a day (apparently that's not long enough to thaw out...but I was short on time and high on luck) and then tossed the still half frozen bird parts in my crock pot, put in a stick of butter, half an onion (coarsely chopped) and two cups of white wine. They say never to cook with wine you wouldn't drink, and since the only wine I won't drink is Riesling (particularly from 2007) I am generally good with anything...however, I ended up using what turned out to be a very expensive Chard. What did I learn here? There is no difference between this turkey cooked in high dollar wine and the chicken I once cooked in Franzia Refreshing White in college, no need to get on your snob horse. I turned it on low for 8 hours and by the time I returned home from work they were cooked to perfection, unlike so many dry, gross turkeys I have eaten on Thanksgiving day, these bad boys were tender and delicious. And since my family wouldn't be in attendance, I was pretty sure there wouldn't be any sneezing on this one, either.

The stuffing was equally easy, dry some corn bread in the oven, saute a chopped apple, onion, celery, and add in some craisins then throw them in with the bread with a little poultry seasoning and bake for about half an hour. Add some butter to keep it from drying out, if you like.

It was a great night and I was so excited to be able to host such great friends. Everything was wonderful and I think our own family Thanksgiving feasts are going to have a lot to live up to. It was great to hear about everyone's traditions. it turns out Andrew and Katie have their Thanksgiving catered...not a bad idea if your not in to the cooking or the clean up part...or if you have 90 people like Katie has in her family. Liz has a modern family, her mother is hosting her dad, step-mother and step grandmother. Chella...I'm not sure, maybe they're making tamales? And Patrick is sure to be shooting video of whatever happens at his Turkey day.

Make it fast, Cook it slow...

Finally, I decided to attempt to make a nice dinner...only problem? I work until 5:30 and like to work out post-work...so what's a girl to do? The answer: a Crock Pot, some frozen chicken breasts, store bought pesto, a couple pieces of cheese and some sweet potatoes.

I found this dinner idea while I was surfing around the web trying to find a use for the bag of frozen chicken that I really, really needed to use. It originally called for home made pesto, but considering the state of basil this time of year, I just went with the store bought stuff. Here's how it goes:

4 chicken breasts (frozen or fresh)

4 slices of mozzarella cheese

2 small jars of pesto sauce

4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pricked with a fork

In your Crock Pot:

Place frozen chicken breasts (I used 3 because I ran of out room) at the bottom, put a slice of mozzarella cheese on each breast and dump two small containers of pesto sauce on top. Then put a layer of aluminum foil over the chicken and place the sweet potatoes on top. Put the lid on the pot and switch it on low for about 8 hours. My crock pot automatically switches to "keep warm" once the timer goes off, but some older models might not.

That's it...when I got home from work my house smelled so good that I was tempted to skip the gym and just eat dinner right then and there. Fortunately, I had already told my guests what time dinner was served, so I couldn't be rude and start without them! Dinner was incredible and it's definitely staying on the list to make again soon!

The great thing about crock pot cooking is that you decide early on what you're going to make, throw it in and when you get home from work you are all set to go...no need to run through the fast food place.

Next up: Cranberry Stuffing and Turkey breast for our Friends Thanksgiving Celebration....