Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

I love chicken cacciatore, but found the other recipe I tried just a little too labor-intensive for my taste...This one is really simple, and still delicious!

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken
1 c. chopped onion,
1 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 (6 oz.) cans of tomato paste
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. chicken broth

Place chicken, onion, mushrooms, salt, and pepper in crock pot. Combine tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, celery seed, bay leaf and chicken broth. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 7-9 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Remove bay leaf.

Notes: I used garlic powder instead of minced garlic, and it worked with the same measurement. I didn't have celery seed, so I omitted it, and that worked too. Also, the original recipe called for 1/4 c. chicken broth. I just happened to have 1/2 c. left over from a different recipe so I used it all, and it still was too thick to "pour" over the chicken, and turned out pastier than I expected. I might try using a whole can of chicken broth next time to make it more saucy, though it was tasty the way it turned out this time too. Also, we ate this with thin spaghetti, but I like chicken cacciatore with rice too.

Saltine Homemade Heath Bars!

So, I was eating tuna and crackers for lunch today, when I saw this recipe on the side of the box of saltines and decided to try it out. And it's great! I'm planning on making a bunch of goodies at Christmas time, and this is definitely going to be one of them!

1 sleeve (35-40) saltine crackers
3/4 -1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 10x15 in. cookie sheet with foil; spray very lightly with cooking spray. Cover cookie sheet with saltines. Boil sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Pour mixture over saltines and spread evenly. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit 1 minute, then spread melted chips with spatula. Sprinkle nuts over this and press down lightly. Cut on diagonal immediately or cool until firm, then break up. Pieces can be frozen.

Mango with Sticky Rice

I promise this is really not hard to make. The directions are just very clear. I also learned that you really have to use the sweet rice. I made it with regular Jasmine rice and it was fine, but not the same as the sweet rice. Usually to find the sweet rice, at least down here, you have to go to a Thai store. FYI

1 1/2 cups glutinous (sweet) rice 1 1/3 cups well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large ripe mangoes (chilled whole in refrigerator)*
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted lightly
Edible flowers or mint leaves for garnish

*Try to get yellow-skinned "Manila" mangos, if you can, as the flavor is stronger and more acidic than the green and red-skinned South American varieties. Fresh ripe peaches may be substituted for the mangoes.

To prepare the sticky rice: Working in the sink, put the rice into a large bowl with plenty of water; stir well by hand. When the rice has settled to the bottom, pour off most of the cloudy water, refill and repeat until the water runs fairly clear. Soak the rice in plenty of water (so the water is approximately 2 to 3 inches above the rice) for 6 to 8 hours, preferably overnight (the grains will absorb water and grow in size). When ready to cook, drain rice well in a sieve (I use a cheese cloth). Set sieve over a large deep pot of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more hot water if necessary). When rice is translucent and somewhat tender, it's done. NOTE: Can also use a shallow heat-proof dish on the steamer rack. You can also purchase the special sticky rice steam baskets (steaming baskets and pots are available from Asian markets).

While rice is steaming, in a small saucepan bring coconut milk to a slow simmer, stirring constantly (hard boiled coconut milk will curdle). Add sugar and salt; stirring until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Keep mixture warm. Reserve approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup coconut-milk sauce; refrigerate until cool and thicken slightly.

Transfer hot cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut-milk mixture. Stir well with a spoon to make sure all the grains are well coated. Let rice stand, covered, approximately 20 to 30 minutes, or until coconut-milk mixture is absorbed (the rice should be a little mushy). NOTE: Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.

Just before serving, peel mangoes and then thinly slice by cutting lengthwise through flesh to the stone; discard the stone. NOTE: Peel the mangoes carefully so as not to bruise the fruit. Slice in half as close to the seed as possible, then slice each half into 1/2-in (1-cm) slices.

Serve at room temperature. To serve, mold 1/4 cup servings of sticky rice in the center of individual dessert plates (an ice cream scoop works wonderfully). Drizzle reserved coconut-milk sauce over the rice mounds and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Arrange mango slices around the rice. Garnish with edible flowers or mint if desired.

NOTE: The finished dish can be kept, covered at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours. Do not refrigerate or the rice will harden!

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I got this from a friend who got the recipe at http://whatscookingamerica.net/Fruit/MangoStickyRice.htm

Jumpin' Chicken Tai

Picture soon to come

Ingredients:
1 lb. meat - Chicken/shrimp/pork
1 bag Guilin Rice Sticks

Fish Sauce

Limes
1 bag garden salad
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
butter
1 bushel cilantro

Sweet onion
1 onion
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 c brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Hot onion
1 onion
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 c sweet coconut

Directions:

Marinate Chicken/shrimp/pork in garlic, butter and soy sauce for a few hours. Make fried onion of your choice, sweet or hot. Cook chicken in a pan, meanwhile, cook rice sticks - they don't take long just 5 minutes or so.

Assemble:
On each plate layer in this order - Rice sticks, salad, meat, onion, cilantro, squirt of fish sauce, juice of 1/2 lime.

Vorkink Chicken - Chicken balls

This is kinda like Elizabeth's recipe below, but my version of it. Actually this one was stolen from an old roommate too.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package cream cheese
1 Tbsp onion flakes
2 cans crescent rolls
1 can cream of chicken soup
salt to taste

Directions:
Boil and drain chicken. Shred chicken; I actually just put it in the food processor for a second or two. I know, lazy me. Anyway, then add the cream cheese, onion flakes, and salt. Blend it all together and divide into little balls, about 16. Wrap the balls in the crescent rolls and bake in the oven at 350°F for about 11-15 minutes. Make sure to not burn the rolls. Make sauce by cooking 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1 can water.

Cafe Jessie - BBQ Shredded Pork

Okay, so I stole this from my old roommate Jessie, but it is seriously amazing. We made a ton of this last Spring and ate it for pretty much every meal for a week and were still wanting more. Now that's good eats!

BBQ Shredded Pork:

3 pounds of pork loin roast
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 can (8 ounces) of tomato sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 white onion (3/4 diced, 1/4 sliced)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano

Directions: Put sliced onions in the bottom of the crock pot. Cut
pork roast into 3 or 4 pieces and put into the crock pot. Mix all
other ingredients together in a separate bowl and pour over the meat
in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours then shred meat.
Cook for another hour or so. If it looks like it's getting dry add
more of whatever you want (I recommend some water and barbecue sauce).

Notes: Sometimes I soak the raw pork in CocaCola over night before
I cook it. Also, this last time I made it I put in more sugar than usual
and some honey to make it sweeter. I also added ground red pepper to
make it a little spicier, per Brad's request.

This is what homemade Cafe Rio looks like at our house. We love having this meal for dinner and it makes great left overs too!

My new favorite salad dressing..

Kraft Cesar Vinegarette...YUM! You should try it.