Chicken Chili

A couple weeks ago at the farmers market, I bought a couple pounds of fresh navy beans.  Something that I discovered being a member of a CSA, was that fresh "dried" beans are so much better than beans from the grocery store!!!!  You don't even have to soak them.  I even talked mom into buying some.  Since I went to Sam's Club the other day, I had purchased a rotisserie chicken ($4.99 for a very large bird!).  So, this morning, I decided to make white chicken chili.  Of course, it helps if you check to make sure you have all the ingredients!  But when I looked in my cupboard, I didn't have green chiles.  So, I looked in my pantry and found a jar of medium hot Hungarian peppers (also from my CSA).  I've actually had them set aside because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them.  I figured they would be a good substitute.  Well, it only took an hour of simmering for the beans to cook and the peppers were better than green chiles!

White Chicken Chili

• 1 lb fresh "dried" navy beans*
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion*
• 4 medium hot Hungarian peppers**
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 3 cups shredded chicken breast
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

 Rinse the beans and sort.  Place in a large Dutch oven and add chicken stock.  Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook.  While beans are cooking, chop onions and peppers.  Heat olive oil in large skillet; add onions and saute until they become translucent.  Add the peppers, garlic and chickens and heat through.  Add these to the soup.  Add seasonings.  Bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are cooked.  Add water as necessary.

*Farmers market ingredients
**CSA ingredients 

Chicken Andouille Jambalaya

Yesterday we went to Sam's Club to pick up some items for John.  While there, I decided to get a chicken.  Of course, since I also recently got a big bag of quinoa, I figured today would be a good day for jambalaya.  So, when I went out to run errands today, I stopped at Eastman Party store and picked up a package of Adell's Cajun Andouille sausages.  I love doing this because it gives me a chance to use of some of the vegetables I put up in the freezer.  Today it was red peppers, corn and peas.  The combination turned out especially nice.  The only thing that might have been better was a bit of okra.  As always, the combination of Rotel and andouille sausage give this dish quite a nice bite!  The quinoa works so nicely for me, it allows me to have a "normal-sized" serving.

Chicken Andouille Jambalaya

• 2 cups white quinoa
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 (10.5 oz) cans Rotel tomatoes with chilis
• 2 cups diced red peppers
• 2 cups fresh sweet corn*
• 2 cups fresh sweet peas*
• 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 4 Adell's Cajun Andouille sausage links

Place all ingredients into crock of slow-cooker, placing the chicken and sausage on top.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours or until the quinoa is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed.  Remove sausages, slice into 1/4" pieces and return them to the crock: Mix well.

*CSA ingredients

White Chicken Chili

It must be winter. I was trying to decide what to make for lunch. Looking at my fridge, I realized I still had a lot of chicken leftover. Since the Cowboys/ Green Bay game was on early this afternoon, I decided something football appropriate would be good. I've never made white chicken chili before, but I thought it sounded good. Of course, I only had 2 cans of Cannellini beans, so I had to use pintos for the third, but I threw everything in the Crockpot and crossed my fingers. Of course, my corn craving was still hanging around, so after polling on FB, I added that. Then I couldn't get the seasoning right. So, back to FB and in the end, I finally got it worked out. I really like this stuff and now I know how to make it.

 White Chicken Chili

•  1 medium onion, diced
•  3 cloves garlic, minced
•  1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cans Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
•  1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
•  4 caps shredded chicken
•  2 (4-oz) cans green chilies
•  2 Tbsp ground cumin
•  1 tsp oregano
•  1/4 tsp cayenne
•  2 tsp smoked paprika
•  salt & pepper, to taste
• Sharp cheddar, for garnish

Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Cook onions and garlic until onion is translucent.  Add to Crockpot.  Add remaining ingredients, except cheese.   Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Adjust seasoning.  Serve topped with cheddar, if desired.

Chicken and Eggplant

I feel like it has been an eternity since I've posted here. Part of that was recovering from getting my knee replaced. And of course, I just got back from SAP training in Houston. So today, it was time to cook. I had gotten a nice eggplant and thawed the chicken I cooked before leaving for Houston. So, I put together a casserole. It turned out quite yummy and I will make it again!

 Chicken Eggplant Casserole

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 small onion
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
•  1 (15 oz) can tomatoes with Basil, onion & oregano
•   1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
•  6 oz cheddar
•  2 eggs, beaten
•  Parmesan cheese

 Dice eggplant and onion. Heat olive oilin large skillet. Cook eggplant and onion until onion is cooked.

 Preheat oven to 350 F.  Mix vegetables, tomatoes, chicken, cheddar and eggs in a large bowl. Pour into a prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 1 hour.

Taco Time!

I had been trying to figure out something different to use the corn in and wasn't quite in the mood for chicken tortilla soup (this is a default for me).  I decided to try making chicken taco filling in the crockpot.  It helps that they had chicken thighs on sale in the grocery store this weekend.  I do love cooking with chicken thighs.  I made some homemade salsa with some of the fresh tomatoes and jalapenos from the CSA and that is the base of the mixture.  Add some black beans and fresh corn and I think it's going to be a tasty mix!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Filling

• 4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin and fat removed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup fresh salsa* (tomatoes, jalapenos, green pepers)
• 1 tsp Cajun spice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh corn kernals*
• 1/2 Tbsp lime juice

Place chicken in crockpot and pour water and salsa over the chicken.  Next, add the spices, garlic, black beans, corn and lime juice.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.  The chicken should shredd very easily.  Remove the bones and thoroughly shred the chicken.  Serve in tortillas with your favorite taco toppings.

*CSA ingredients

The Southern Tour Continues: Corn

I guess I started a theme this week which was probably spurred on by the opening of Bayne's Apple Farm.  You see, the opening of the cider mills is my signal that autumn is upon us.  True, they haven't started selling cider yet (that will start Labor day weekend), but I did have a cider doughnut (the other requirement for autumn).  Given this event and having made corn pudding last weekend, I was reminded of my other favorite autumn food...one that is rather uniquely Southern.  We received corn again this week in our CSA shares and the vegetables which make Brunswick stew are corn and lima beans.

If you do not know what Brunswick stew is, there is a bit of history you need to know...and a decision to be made, which I still haven't quite figured out.  According to the stories, the origin of Brunswick stew can be traced to either Virginia or Georgia.  Each state has a city/town called Brunswick.  Each of these cities/towns claims to have created this lovely dish.  As a matter of fact, if you stop at the rest area off I-95 nearest Brunswick, GA, there is a stewpot monument explaining their version of the story.

Regardless of which state actually was responsible, one of my favorite things in the autumn near Richmond was when people would set up massive cast-iron kettles on the side of the roads out in the country and cook up stew...and then sell it by the quart.  I mentioned on my FB tonight that apparently the key to it was smoked paprika.  To this, I got the response "I thought the key was squirrel".  The rumor always was that the reason these roadside Brunswick stews were so good was because they included the local "roadkill" (squirrel or oppossum).  When we had a block party and made a big pot, we actually used shredded pot roast.

The interesting thing is that I could never quite get the right texture or flavor when I tried to make Brunswick stew at home.  Thus my comment above.  I saw something that suggested adding smoked paprika to the stew and sure enough, that did the trick.  I finally managed to make a Brunswick stew that is similar to the stews I remember from my days in Richmond, VA.

Brunswick Stew

•  3 ears of corn*, kernels cut from the cob
• 6 small to medium tomatoes*
• 1 (10-oz) bag frozen lima beans
• 1 small sweet onion*, thinly sliced
• 2 medium red-skinned potatoes*, diced
• 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.  Add chicken paprika and cayenne.  Cook, simmering, until vegetables are cooked and to desired texture.

*CSA ingredients

Spanish Rice Soup

There are certain vegetables that you get in surplus every year from your CSA.  As you can imagine, zucchini and summer squash are a couple.  What surprises me about our CSA is that there hasn't been an excess of greens.  We have had the greens attached to root vegetables (which is just fine with me if it means beet greens), however, other than some random kale, this CSA doesn't seem to go in for the greens.  I will say that I am grateful for that because, as much as I have grown to like greens, after a while, you run out of ideas. This year, it appears that the squash and zucchini will be the vegetable that I run out of ideas for.

To use up some of the squash, as well as fresh green beans and peas, that I received, I decided to make a chicken vegetable soup.  Yes, I do cheat and buy rotisserie chicken to use in things like this.  For the price, you can't beat pre-cooked whole chickens!  However, when the soup cooked, it was nice but not very hearty.  I figured I would take a look at my past stash and see what I could add to thicken it up.  I ran across a package of Lipton Spanish Rice and decided, hmmm, this might be nice.  Thus, Spanish rice soup was born.  Very hearty and tasty, I think I will have to freeze some of this because a small amount is enough to fill me up!

Spanish Rice Soup

• 1 small green zucchini*
• 1 small yellow zucchini*
• 1 small crookneck squash*
• 1/2 cup shelled fresh peas*
• 1 1/2 cup green beans, snapped*
• 4 cans tomatoes with basil & oregano
• 2 cans water
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 1 package Lipton Spanish Rice

Wash vegetables and drain.  Cut ends off squashes, cut in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/4 inch pieces.  Shell the peas and snap the beans into 1 inch pieces.  Place all the vegetables, tomatoes (undrained), water and chicken into crock of slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 1 hour and then reduce to LOW and cook 6-8 hours or until vegetables are cooked.  Turn cooker back to HIGH.  Add rice mix and cook for about 40 minutes or until rice is cooked.

*CSA ingredients

Nutrition (1 cup):
Calories, 190
Fat, 2.3g
Cholesterol, 15mg
Carbs, 34g
Protein, 9g

Bean Soup

I finally managed to do some cooking today.  I actually remembered to soak beans last night. So today, I made 15 bean soup.  I had chicken leftover, so chose that as additional protein and used vegetables that I had as well. This is a rather Italian style soup (I used Italian seasoning), so I also decided to garnish with parmesan cheese.  Very nice combination!

Italian-style 15-bean Chicken Soup

• 1 lb 15-bean soup mix
• 2 cups leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 cup mixed sweet peppers, diced
• 1 cup fresh corn
• 1 can roasted tomatoes
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 1 bag mixed baby greens (spinach, kale, Swiss chard)
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• Sea salt to taste

Soak beans overnight in about 6 inches of water.  Drain and discard soaking water.  Combine all ingredients except greens in Crockpot.  Cook on High for 3-4 hours or until beans are cooked.  Service with parmesan, if desired.

Quinoa Jambalaya

I know that I have posted recipes for jambalaya here before, but, honestly, this is a flexible recipe, just like my quiches.  I do, however, now always make my jambalaya with quinoa instead of rice.  There are several reasons for this.  First, quinoa doesn't seem to expand in your stomach the way that rice does.  Second, it has 4 grams of protein per half cup serving, so it makes the dish even healthier for me.  Third, quinoa is one of only 2 plant products that has complete protein: all amino acids needed in your diet are contained in this wonderful little grain!  It cooks up the same way that rice does, so it's a great substitute.

Quinoa Jambalaya with Asparagus

• 2 cups quinoa
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 cans tomatoes with chiles
• 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 pkg al fresco Chicken Andouille sausage
• 2 cups asparagus pieces
• 2 cups mixed bell peppers
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups corn

Combine all ingredients in crockpot.  Cook on LOW for 8 hours.  Remove chicken thighs and sausages; cool.  Shred the chicken and slice the sausages.  Return to the crockpot; stir to blend.

Pumpkin and Chicken

Okay, I am being terribly remiss in posting recipes again.  Today I needed to use a sugar pumpkin and some chicken that I had in my fridge.  While I looked for ideas, I roasted the pumpkin.

Roasted Sugar Pumpkin

• 1 medium sugar pumpkin

Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut stem end off pumpkin.  Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds and strings.  Separate the seeds from the strings and rinse; set aside.  Place pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a cookie sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool.  Remove flesh from skins and process until smooth in blender.


I looked at several different recipes for pumpkin chicken soups and stews.  In the end, I decided to go with a Chicken Pumpkin Chili that looked similar to Chicken White Bean Chili.  I have always liked that type of chili, but have never actually made it.  And it seemed to be the type of thing you could prepare the ingredients and then cook in a slow cooker.  I have spent part of the summer preparing vegetables and freezing them so that I would have everything on hand and decided to adjust the recipe to include some of my other favorite vegetables.

Chicken Pumpkin Two Bean Chili
Adapted from: http://picky-palate.com/2012/11/26/white-bean-and-turkey-pumpkin-chili/

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 cup frozen fresh corn
• 1 cup frozen fresh mixed peppers
• 1 4oz can green chilis
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Roasted pumpkin puree from 1 medium sugar pumpkin
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp cumin

Prepare vegetables (onions, celery, carrots).  Heat oil over medium heat.  Add prepared vegetables, plus corn and mixed peppers.  Saute until vegetables are soft.  Add garlic and saute another minute or so until fragrant.  Mix pumpkin puree and chicken stock in crockpot until well blended.  Add vegetables and remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook at HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce heat to LOW and cook 6-8 hours.

Gumbo

There are certain foods that I absolutely love, but I hesitate to make them because of the work that is involved.  Gumbo is one of those foods.  In order to make a proper gumbo, you must make a roux; and not only a roux, but a nice toasty, dark roux.  Roux, toasty ones, at least, require standing and stirring while it gets nice and toasty brown.  This is tough for me because it's hard for me to stand still for long periods of time because of my knees.  Yesterday, however, I found some BEAUTIFUL okra at the farmers market, so I took the plunge this morning and made gumbo.  It is finishing cooking in my crockpot right now.

Chicken Andouille Gumbo
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-andouille-gumbo/ 

• 12 cups water
• 3 pounds chicken parts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds okra
• 1/2 cupolive  oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 5 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely diced, reserve liquid as possible
• 1 mixed bell peppers, chopped 
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon file powder

1. Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; set aside.
3. Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes with their juices, bell peppers, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker and cook, covered, on HIGH for 1 hour. 
4. Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo.  Cover and cook, covered, for 1 more hour on HIGH.  Serve over hot rice or quinoa.

Mulligatawny Stew

I have seen recipe after recipe for Mulligatawny stew.  I don't know why, but when I was much younger, I thought this stew came from Australia, but I now know that the origin is actually Anglo-Indian.  The name, Tamil in origin, literally translates to pepper water.  While there is no traditional form, the recipe I followed today gets it's color and flavor from curry powder.  I have added mushrooms because I needed to use them up.  And I chose to use leeks instead of onions.  But it smells lovely and looks quite yummy.  Oh yeah, the thing that has always intrigued me beyond the curry base is the fact that almost every recipe calls for a tart apple.  I love curry and apples!

Mulligatawny Stew
Adapted from: 1001 Low-carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, pg 190

• 2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade)
• 2 cups shredded chicken (leftover rotissierie)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (original recipe calls for butter or ghee)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 2 ribs celery, diced (include leaves)
• 1 1/2 heaping tbsp curry powder (adjust this to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tart apple, chopped fine
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dehydrated lemon zest
• 1 cup evaporated skimmed milk

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks and sweat until softened.  Add the mushrooms, carrot, celery and curry powder.  Cook until the vegetables are fork tender.

Add stock, chicken, cooked vegetables, bay leaf, apple and seasonings to the crock of a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Then reduce heat and cook overnight on low.  Just before serving, add the evaporated milk and remove the bay leaf.

I Love Quiche

This morning, after doing Zumba, I knew I wanted eggs for breakfast. With a very large batch of Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash in the refrigerator, I thought I would break from my quiche habit and try a frittata. However, when I looked up recipes, I realized why I prefer quiche. I am a custard girl through-and-through! I love the creamy texture of custard and when I looked at the frittata recipes, I realized that they are closer to omelets than quiche. So, quiche it is! The other nice thing about quiche is that it is so very versatile, so you can use up things in your refrigerator and it is almost always good!

 Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Quiche

•  2 cups Mediterranean spaghetti Squash*
•  1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
•  5 large farm-fresh eggs*
•  1 cup 1% milk
•  salt and pepper

 Prepare a pie plate with cooking spray. Put spaghetti squash in bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. Blend eggs, milk and seasonings until well blended. Pour over squash. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA ingredients

Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash

As I've mentioned before, I really cannot eat pasta anymore. I do, however, like spaghetti squash. As I was going to look for an idea to make this weekend, my sister, Ann Moeller, pinned a recipe that not only looked very yummy, but I thought I had all the ingredients for. So, this morning, I set out to make it. To add needed protein, I added chicken, and I decided to use leeks and ramps (wild leeks) in place of the onions and garlic. Finally, the jar of olives I had were Spanish, not black, but the saltiness nicely balances the sweetness of the squash and leeks. I am guessing the original recipe is fantastic too, but my version was a tasty lunch!

 Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
 Adapted from: http://www.garnishwithlemon.com/2013/01/11/mediterranean-spaghetti-squash/

• 1 3-4 pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 small leeks,cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 bunch ramp leaves, shredded
• 2½ cups halved grape tomatoes
• 2 cups leftover chicken, shredded
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup halved Spanish olives
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the baking sheet. Bake until you can poke a sharp knife into the squash with little resistance, about 35-45 minutes. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Swear leeks in oil until tender. Add ramps, and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and chicken and cook briefly, about 1 minute. You only want to warm the tomatoes.
4. Use a large fork to shred the “spaghetti” from the squash and place the strands in a large bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Chicken Chard Quiche

Looking through my refrigerator, I find I have leftover chicken, ramps, bacon and Swiss chard. I thought that would make a very tasty quiche. If you've never had ramps, you are definitely missing out. The only thing that makes me sad about them is that they are only available a couple weeks a year. But I made pesto this year, so I will get to enjoy them longer. This quiche, however, uses the green leaves. I'll have to try it with the pesto sometime.

 Chicken Chard Quiche

•  1 cup cooked, leftover chicken*
•  4 slices thick-cut bacon*
•  1 small bunch Swiss chard
•  1 small bunch ramps leaves*
•  1 cup sharp cheddar
• 1/2 cup fresh shredded parmesan
•  5 eggs*
•  1 1/2 cup 1% milk
•  salt and pepper

 Wash Swiss chard and remove stems. Place chard and ramps in a microwave steamer with 1/4" water and cook on high for 2 minutes. Allow to steam while cooking bacon (1 minute per slice in microwave). Uncover vegetables and cool to handle.  Squeeze out moisture and chop into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle chicken, vegetables and bacon into pie plate. Sprinkle with cheeses. Whip eggs with milk and seasonings. Pour over fillings. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 35 minutes.

*CSA ingredients

Chicken in the Crockpot

I love 2 things; the chickens we get from the CSA and cooking them in the Crockpot! The farmers' Market at Case started up  2 weeks ago and I've been picking up fresh herbs from them. So this time, I placed some fresh thyme and fresh chives into the cavity before cooking and it turned out so yummy!

 Thyme and Chive Crockpot Chicken

• 1 farm-raised chicken*
•  5 sprigs fresh thyme
•  1 small bunch fresh Chives
•  salt and pepper

 Thoroughly dry the chicken inside and out. Place thyme and chives into cavity and place chicken, upside-down, into the Crockpot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook covered for 8 hours on low.

 Note: When done, I remove meat and return skin and bones to the crockpot with water to make stock. cook overnight, then remove bones and cook for rest of day. Cool; remove fat. Pour into ice cubed trays to freeze for later use.

* CSA ingredients

Chicken, Kale and Quinoa

I know I have been talking about this all week, so I finally centered on what to do with these ingredients. As I have mentioned before, I am not really able to eat pasta anymore. This makes me a little sad because I really like chicken noodle soup. I have been learning that high protein carbs are much easier for me. Today, I decided to make chicken soup with quinoa instead of noodles.

 Chicken Kale Quinoa Soup

•  3 cups cooked chicken*, shredded
•  4 cups homemade chicken stock*
•  4 cups homemade vegetable stock*
•  3 medium carrots*, sliced
•  1/2 large turnip*, diced
•  1 large bunch kale*, washed and torn
•  2 cups cooked quinoa

 Place first 5 ingredients into Crockpot. Cook on HIGH about 3 hours or until turnips are almost cooked. Add kale and cook until leaves are bright green. Add quinoa and heat through.

*CSA ingredients 

Pad Thai

The one thing that I do miss a lot since the surgery is pasta dishes. No, not just Italian dishes, but also things like Pad Thai. I really had a taste for it today and was in one of those "pity party" moments until I remembered that we bought a spaghetti squash over the holiday. I  had thought to make spaghetti while I was home, but just never had time. John made me bring the squash with me back to Cleveland and I promptly forgot about it. Once I realized I had it, I thought why not use spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles. To make things even more fun, I have tamarind juice concentrate, so I could make truly authentic Pad Thai. Here's how I did it.

 Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai

•  1 small spaghetti squash*
•  1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•  2 cups cooked chicken*, shredded
•  2 small carrots*, shredded
•  4 cloves garlic*, minced
•  1 egg*
•  1 Tbsp soy sauce
•  Pad Thai Sauce (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Wash spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and place cut side down on cookie sheet. Bake about 45 minutes or until fork pokes easily into squash. Cool about 10 minutes and then remove flesh from skins with a fork.
2. Beat egg with soy sauce. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Saute garlic in oil then add egg and scrambled. Add chicken and heat through.
3.  Add spaghetti squash and Pad Thai sauce; mix until coated. Add carrots and heat 1 minute longer.
4.  Serve with crushed peanuts.

 Pad Thai Sauce (with tamarind)
 1/3 cup fish sauce
 1/2 cup sugar
 1/2 cup tamarind juice concentrate
 4 cloves garlic*, minced

 Combine in a small bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved (heat may speed this up).



 Pad Thai Sauce (without tamarind)
 1/3 cup chicken stock*
 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
 1 Tbsp lime juice
 3-4 Tbsp brown sugar
 2 Tbsp fish sauce
 1 Tbsp soy sauce
 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

 Mix until sugar dissolves.

 Note: Both fish sauce and tamarind can be found at Asian supermarkets. The tamarind is very sour so you will have to adjust the sugar according to taste.However, if you don't like or are afraid to try tamarind, I have included a sauce recipe that uses rice vinegar and lime juice instead.

*CSA ingredients

Chicken

As you've probably noticed, I am partial to cooking my chickens in the crockpot. I like doing this for a several reasons: 1) it always comes out beautifully moist. 2) It's very hands off. I can put it in the crockpot and go on about my day. 3) I can then take the cooking juices and bones and make chicken stock.

I decided to do a different set of seasonings with this chicken.  For some reason, I am all about Italian seasonings this weekend.  I do have to admit, my apartment did smell wonderful when I got back from the movie, so I at least chose a nice fragrant combination.

Crockpot chicken

• 4-5 lb free-range chicken*
• Paprika
• Dried chives
• Italian blend seasoning

Remove neck and giblets from cavity. Dry chicken, inside and out. Place upside-down in the crock and season liberally with paprika, chives and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hour or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160.

Chicken Stock

Remove chicken from crockpot and cool. Strip meat from bones and return the bones to the crockpot. Add carrots*, onion* and celery (large chunks) to crockpot and enough water to fill. Cook several hour. Then strain stock and store.

*CSA ingredients

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Easy Crockpot Chicken

One of the frustrating things about summer for me is that I have no air conditioning in my apartment.  Last week, the temperatures averaged in the high-90's with a heat index in the 100's.  So, obviously, not the type of weather where you want to be firing up your stove or oven.  That is why I LOVE my crock-pot.  I have used a crock-pot since the day I moved away from home because of the convenience.  However, in the summertime, there are weeks where I would not have any home cooking if it weren't for the crock-pot!

This week, I had chicken thighs in my freezer and was really trying to figure out what to make.  I apologize because only one of the ingredients was actually a Fresh Fork product, however, by the end of summer, I can guarantee that almost everything in this dish could be from Fresh Fork.  It makes a really nice spicy chicken that you could serve over rice or noodles or put in tortillas for burritos or over tortilla chips for nachos.

Creamy Spicy Chicken

• 1-1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, frozen (may substitute 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken*)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles (substitute 1 large heirloom tomato with one hot pepper, diced*)
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn*
• 1 can Black Beans, drained & rinsed (substitued 2 C cooked black turtle beans*)
• 8 oz Philadelphia fat-free cream cheese (substitute fresh cream cheese, any fat content*)

Place chicken in bottom of crock-pot.  Pour remaining ingredients on top.  Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours, stirring every couple hours.  When finished cooking, remove chicken thighs and cool.  Shred chicken and return to mixture.  Allow to cool about 30 minutes before serving.  Serve over rice, noodles, in tortillas as tacos or burritos or over tortilla chips as nachos.

*CSA ingredients