Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

Everyone in my family loooooves rice. Except me. So anytime I make Asian inspired food (I'm not naive enough to believe that this is an authentic dish), they all rave about it and I think it's just good enough. I doubled the recipe so we'd have enough leftovers for two meals. I'm pretty sure this would freeze well.

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 5
Salt and pepper
1 cup of honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Cornstarch
Sesame seeds

Place the chicken thighs in the crockpot insert and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the crockpot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours. When done, remove chicken from stock pot and cut into chunks. Prior to putting the chicken back in the stockpot, combine some cornstarch (I used a couple big tablespoons) in water and whisk it into the crockpot to thicken up the sauce a bit*. Throw the chicken back in and stir around to recoat the chicken in the sauce. Serve hot over a bed of white rice and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

* When I did this, it didn't thicken up the sauce very much and I was kind of disappointed. Then, for leftovers, I heated it back up in a skillet on the stove and the sauce thickened up much more to my liking. Next time, I'm going to pull the sauce out of the crockpot and thicken on the stove so it will be the way I want it.

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ***
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 17/20

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

I do love me a good philly cheesesteak sandwich!  The recipe I found seemed easy enough...and fast, too, since Eli now has baseball practice 2 days a week. I used Worcestershire sauce to moisten my meat and veggies, but next time I think I'll use just a little sauce and beef broth. I wrote the changes in below.

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 onions, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound thinly sliced roast beef
6 hoagie rolls, split
6-12 slices provolone cheese (We like our cheesesteaks reeeeeeaaallly cheesy!)
a couple of big splashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2-1 cup beef broth

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms, onions and green peppers in butter until tender. Break up the roast beef and stir into vegetables until hot. Moisten with Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, only using a little at a time. Split rolls and toast very lightly in the oven. On each roll, place some of the meat mixture and top with cheese. Toast until cheese is melted.

Adapted from OUR KRAZY KITCHEN

Family Rating:
Brad: ***
Jordan: ****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: ***
Overall Family Rating: 15/20

Roasted Chicken

Oh my heavens, this was fantastic! I wished I'd made two or three at once so we'd have all that yummy roasted chicken meat.

Roasted Chicken
3-4 lb. roasting chicken
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used a container from the produce section at Wal-Mart that was called "Poultry Seasoning" and contained rosemary, sage, and thyme. It was perfect for one chicken.)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper (I only used a 1/2 tablespoon because I don't love pepper.)
2-3 tablespoons vegetable and/or olive oil (The recipe called for canola, but I didn't have canola oil.)
1 lemon
1/2 an onion
3-4 cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken. (Make sure you check the insides in case you forgot to buy the chicken without neck and giblets. Blech!) Chop the lemon in half and stuff it in the chicken along with the onion and garlic. You won't be eating these so they don't have to be chopped. Mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl and rub all over the chicken. Be sure to get in all the little nooks and crannies. Place on a cookie sheet breast side up. (I always have to ask Brad which side is the breast side because I can't tell on a chicken. He told me to look for the tail part on the backside and that should go down on the pan. The tail is the little flap on the back and I think it's easier to identify.) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (It'll start spitting and browning pretty early, but that's normal so don't freak out. Also, this makes a mess in your oven! I wonder if putting in a roasting pan would work, thus keeping it from splattering all over the oven, but I'm worried it wouldn't brown up all nice and pretty with that crispy, yummy crust.) Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing. This is very important! It will make your chicken uber moist and delicious! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! Slice the chicken and try not to make it look like you cut it up with a lawnmower.

Family Rating:
Brad: *****
Jordan: *****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 20/20

Beef Stroganoff

I *love* me some beef stroganoff. And this isn't the fancy beef stroganoff. It's the one with three ingredients. I grew up eating it and it's one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Yummy.

Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. ground beef
1-2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I've done both. I usually use 8 oz. sour cream if using two cans and only 4 oz. if using 1 can.)
4-8oz. sour cream
cooked egg noodles

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add cream of mushroom soup and simmer until noodles are ready. Just before ready to serve, stir in sour cream. Taste to adjust seasonings (it usually needs a little salt and pepper). Serve over noodles.

Family Rating:
Brad: ***
Jordan: *****
Eli: ****
Phoebe: ***
Overall Family Rating: 16/20

Crockpot Carnitas

Despite the weird ingredients, this is soooo yummy! We usually freeze half after it's cooked because it makes so much. It makes really good tacos or quesadillas.

Crockpot Carnitas
3 pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder, Cut Into Cubes
¾ cups Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
½ whole Lime, Juiced
7 cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Cumin
¼ cups Cilantro, Chopped
¼ cups Chicken Or Beef Stock

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients and stir. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Shred with a fork and serve in hot tortillas with cheese, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.

Adapted from TASTY KITCHEN

Family Rating:
Brad: *****
Jordan: ****
Eli: ***
Phoebe: ***
Overall Family Rating: 15/20

Cheesy Polenta with Sausage Gravy

This was a recipe from my mom that looked interesting since Brad and I both really like polenta.  Her original recipe called for the polenta to be cooked in a crockpot, but I forgot to put it on so I just made it the traditional way in a stockpot on the stove.  


Cheesy Polenta with Sausage Gravy
1 lb. pound Italian sausages
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 large garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups canned peeled Italian plum tomatoes, crushed by squeezing with your hands over a bowl to catch the juice (I just used one big can)
Pinch or two of dried red-pepper flakes
A good palmful of dried Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked polenta

Cook the sausages in the simmering water in a large, heavy skillet over
medium heat until dry. Prick the sausages with a fork and let them
brown on all sides in their own juices. When browned, remove sausages,cut into slices,
and set aside. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot,
but not smoking, add the chopped onion and cook until soft and brown. Stir in sausage and brown all the way through. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Raise the heat to high and add the crushed tomatoes and the reserved juice. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add all seasonings and simmer while polenta cooks. Serve the sausages in the sauce over the polenta.

Cheesy Polenta
(I used some real polenta I found at the store, but it "set up" too firmly so I would use the PIONEER WOMAN'S polenta recipe next time. That's what you'll find here.)
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup (or more) grated Parmesan cheese

Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and extra tablespoons of water as needed. When polenta is done, stir in butter and Parmesan cheese. Check seasonings, and add salt to taste.

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ****
Eli: ***
Phoebe: **
Overall Family Rating: 13/20

Skillet Lasagna

This was quick and easy. I had thought about using RADIATORI pasta, but I'm glad I didn't because I liked the flat-ness of the big lasagna noodles all broken up.

Skillet Lasagna
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
Italian seasoning
coarse salt
sugar
fresh ground pepper
1/2-1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2-1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4-1/2 half cup Parmesan cheese
About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into thirds & fully cooked

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onions, and mushrooms and cook until browned/softened. Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, Italian seasonings, salt, sugar, and pepper. Cook mixture until it thickens up a bit, around 5 minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings. Add noodles to skillet and stir into the mixture well. Add scoops of ricotta cheese over the noodles; add in mozzarella and Parmesan. Stir loosely and cover pan. Cook about 2 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Adapted from THE REALISTIC NUTRITIONIST

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 18/20