Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (22 page)
Read Make It Fast, Cook It Slow Online
Authors: Stephanie O'Dea,Stephanie O’Dea
BALSAMIC CHICKEN WITH SPRING VEGETABLES
serves
6
The Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (mine were frozen)
2 zucchinis, sliced into rounds
2 yellow squash, sliced into rounds
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 head garlic, cloves peeled
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspooons gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt
black pepper
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the chicken into the stoneware. Put all the vegetables into a large mixing bowl with the peeled garlic cloves. Toss the vegetables with the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, add salt and pepper to taste, and pour on top of chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours. Serve with brown rice or quinoa.
BROWN SUGAR CHICKEN
serves
6
The Ingredients
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
2
/
3
cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup lemon-lime soda
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Plop the chicken into your crock. Cover with the brown sugar, black pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble! Cover and cook on low for 6 to 9 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached the desired tenderness. The longer you cook it on low, the more tender your chicken will be. Serve over a bowl of white rice with a ladle full of the broth.
The Verdict
It should be noted that this chicken has been named “Candy Chicken” in our house. I don’t think my kids have ever eaten so much chicken in their lives. If you are tired of dried out, boring chicken, you must try this. You simply must. Go.
Now
. Go to the store and buy the ingredients.
CAJUN ROASTED TURKEY BREAST
serves
4
The Ingredients
3- to 4-pound turkey breast
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 to 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon dried
1 cup chicken broth
The Directions
Use a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. If desired, remove the skin from the turkey breast (I always do). In a small bowl, combine the pepper, salt, cayenne, onion powder, paprika, thyme, nutmeg, and rosemary. Rub the mixture all over the turkey. Place the turkey into the slow cooker. If you have any extra mixture remaining in the bowl, sprinkle it on top. Add the chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
The Verdict
You can rub whatever herbs and spices you like on the turkey breast, but I was in a Cajun mood, and was pleased with this combination. I like turkey, but don’t like the dryness and blandness that sometimes (read: lots of times) comes along for the ride when making turkey. This isn’t possible when slow cooked. We ate this for dinner, then had cold sandwiches the next day.
CHICKEN ADOBO
serves
6
The Ingredients
3 to 5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup gluten-free soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup apple cider vinegar
4 bay leaves
1 yellow onion, sliced in rings
1½ cups shredded carrots
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. It’s best to marinate the chicken overnight in a large plastic ziplock bag with salt, black pepper, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, and bay leaves. In the morning, put the onion and carrots into your slow cooker, and pour the contents of the plastic bag on top. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Serve with rice.
CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
serves
4
The Ingredients
cooking spray
4 chicken breast halves, pounded thin
4 to 8 slices ham
4 to 8 slices Swiss cheese
1 (10-ounce) can cream-of-something soup, or alternative (see next page)
2 tablespoons low-fat milk
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Spray crock with cooking spray. Pound chicken breasts flat (put them in a plastic zippered bag before you pound so chicken juice doesn’t spray all over the kitchen) and put a slice of ham and one of Swiss on the top of each chicken breast and roll it up. Place into slow cooker, seam side down. If desired, top with another piece of ham and one of cheese. Continue with the other pieces. It’s okay to stagger-stack the chicken. It will still cook nicely for you.
Open a can of cream-of-something soup. Pour into the crock. Put the 2 tablespoons of low-fat milk into the empty soup can and swirl it around to get the remaining stuck-on good stuff. Pour that in, too. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has begun to brown on top.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIAL SOUP
The Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour (I used a gluten-free baking mix)
½ cup low-fat milk (I used soy milk)
½ cup chicken broth
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
The Directions
If you are a crazy Californian like me, and prefer not to use canned soup, make your own “special soup.” Make a roux on the stovetop with the butter and flour, and whisk in the milk, broth, salt, and pepper. Pour on top of the chicken. No need to add extra milk.
The Verdict
I liked that this chicken wasn’t breaded—I’ve ordered Cordon Bleu in restaurants before and the breading on it reminded me of a frozen chicken patty and it grossed me out. This was tender and quite flavorful. Adam was excited to take leftovers for lunch.
CHICKEN MASALA
serves
4
The Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup diced onion
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ cup plain nonfat yogurt
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken and onion into the stoneware. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes with the garlic and all the spices, reserving ½ teaspoon of garam masala for use later. Pour the tomato mixture on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks, and stir in the yogurt. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon garam masala, or more to taste. There is no salt added, so salt at the table to taste.
CHICKEN NUGGETS
serves
6
The Ingredients
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 cup bread crumbs, or a mixture of cracker, cereal, tortilla chip, etc. crumbs
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (optional—I threw it in; they’ll never know.)
cooking spray
aluminum foil
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Make sure the chicken is fully thawed. Cut the chicken into child-size pieces (about 2-inch squares). I found the smaller pieces cooked better than the larger ones. The larger ones also didn’t get crispy on top, so stick to 2-inch pieces.
In a bowl, mix the melted butter with the eggs. Mix together cracker and cereal crumbs with seasoned salt and garlic powder as well as the flaxseed meal, if using.
Spray your stoneware with cooking spray. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then toss in the crumbs. Put a layer of battered chicken pieces into the bottom of the crock. When the bottom is full, add a piece of aluminum foil. Poke tiny holes in the foil with a fork to allow steam to escape. I found that the layer with the most holes worked the best, and the layer with fewer holes resulted in a soggy topping, so the holes are important. I made 4 layers with 6 cut-up chicken breast halves. Cover your slow cooker, but vent the lid with a wooden spoon or chopstick. Cook on high for 2 to 4 hours.
The Verdict
These were really good. A few in the middle got soggy so I ate them, and gave the kids the ones that were crunchier. I was impressed with the topping, and the kids didn’t freak out, so they must have liked it too. My older daughter thought they were store bought—a pretty gracious compliment.
CHICKEN PARMESAN
serves
4
The Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large egg, beaten
½ cup bread crumbs (I use a food-processed loaf of brown rice bread)
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 slices mozzarella cheese
1 (25-ounce) jar pasta sauce
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Smear the olive oil around the bottom of your slow cooker.
Beat the egg in a shallow bowl, and set aside. Combine the bread crumbs with the seasonings and Parmesan cheese in a flat dish.
Dip the chicken into the egg, then into bread-crumb mixture, coating both sides. Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the slow cooker, staggering, if needed. Place a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken piece. Pour the jar of pasta sauce on top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Serve with your favorite pasta. We chose brown rice penne.
The Verdict
Chicken Parmesan is my comfort meal. I love Italian food, and this is one of my favorite dinners. It translates very nicely to slow cooking, and gives the chef the opportunity to get out of the kitchen and house. This tasted great, was really easy, and presented well. It is definitely something you can serve to company without hesitation.
CHICKEN TACOS
serves
4
The Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (15-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles (Rotel), and their juices
1 cup frozen corn
1
/
3
cup water
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
corn taco shells
favorite toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, ripe black olives
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the stoneware, and top with the entire can of tomatoes, corn, water, and beans. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
Shred the chicken with two large forks, and fill the taco shells. Add your favorite toppings, and enjoy.
The Verdict
I can always count on the kids to eat a lot when they are “in charge” of preparing their own dinner, and a taco bar is a great hands-on, meal-making activity. I appreciate how I can get the meat started early in the day and then shop for the fresh ingredients on my way home.
