Orange Chicken (Slow Cooker)

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Ingredients

:• boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks (I used four)

• 1/2cup flour
• coconut oil
• 1/2 Tbl. salt
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbl. ketchup
• 4 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

• 3 Tbl.  brown sugar 

1/2 to 1 tsp+ red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Toasting the Sesame Seeds

In a bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, ketchup, and teriyaki sauce . 

Pour the flour in a gallon sized  ziplock bag. 

Place the chicken chunks into the bag and shake to coat the pieces.

In a heavy skillet, heat a small amount of coconut oil. (I recently switched from Olive Oil to Coconut)

Shaking the excess flour from the chicken, lightly brown the chunks in the oil. (They do not have to be cooked through, as they will finish in the slow cooker.)

After the chicken is done cooking, pour the pieces into the crock pot.

Then cover the chicken with your sauce mixture and give the pot a stir.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3.

Pan toast the sesame seeds until they are lightly browned. Add about half to the crockpot during the last half hour of cooking. Reserve the rest to sprinkle over the chciken before serving.

 

Orange Chicken

I served this over rice with a side of steamed brocolli.



Enchiladas

This morning I checked my blog and realized I either have not posted the enchilada recipe, or else have not linked it to the menus one the side bar. And a co-worker or two was coming for the recipe. So, here it is.

Enchiladas

Ground beef

Ground pork (unseasoned)

Canned enchilada sauce

Condensed tomato soup

flour tortillas

shredded cheese (I like to combine co-jack and mozzarella)

onions, chopped (if desired)

In a skillet, brown the ground beef and pork together.

As it browns, in a separate bowl, mix together the canned enchilada sauce and condensed tomato soup. Do not water down the soup. Use a proportion of two of the smaller cans of enchilada sauce to one of the tomato soup... or one of the large cans of sauce to one can of soup. Stir these together.

Grease/ spray a casserole dish.

Drain the cooked meat.

Add enough sauce from the bowl to slightly moisten the meat.

Pour half of the remaining sauce into the greased casserole dish. (set aside remaining sauce).

Have your cheese in a bowl, handy to use.
Have the chopped onions in another bowl.
Using a plate to hold a tortilla, scoop about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the meat onto the tortilla.
Add a handful of cheese and some onion.
Roll the tortilla around the mixture and place it seam side down into the sauce in the casserole dish.
Repeat until you run out of meat and/or tortillas. (Any extra meat can be spread over the top of the rolled tortillas in the casserole dish.)
Pour remaining sauce from the bowl over the tops of the enchiladas in the casserole dish. Garnish with more cheese if desired.
Bake at 350* until hot and bubbly. (If you make ahead and store covered in refrigerator, the baking time takes longer than if you use the freshly cooked, warm meat. (DUH!)
Leftovers are really great the next day.

Yum the Garden- Green Beans!

Yesterday, Tom and the boys picked 30 ears of corn, and LOTS of green beans from our garden, in addition to the handful of jalapeno peppers.

The boys and I trimmed up green beans, saving some out for supper, but canning 5 quarts. We also had fresh corn on the cob with our supper, which was stuffed bell peppers on the grill.
Today, the guys picked both of the above containers full of green beans AGAIN. We pickled three quarts of green beans, and did three more quarts of beans with garlic and peppers, but no vinegar or dill.

Canning Green Beans

First of all, wash and trim/ cut your green beans. Loosely pack into sterilized canning jars (I use quarts, feel free to use pints!) to within 1" of the top of the jars.
 Add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of sea salt or canning salt in each jar. If desired, add a clove of peeled garlic and some pepper flakes.
Pour boiling water into the jars, to within 1/2" of the top.
With a rubber spatula, slide down the inside of the jars to release air bubbles.
Using a fresh new canning jar lid, close the jars and screw on the rings.
Place in pressure canner, and follow manufacturer's directions for pressure canning.
Cook 25 minutes after the canner rattles.
Allow to release pressure normally before removing lid.
Remove from canner (They will still be super-boiling hot) and place out of drafts, onto a cooling rack.
Once cooled, test for seal by gently pushing on the center of the lid. It should not move.
If it does move or pop, store in refrigerator and use within a few days.

Fresh Summer Salsa

Fresh Summer Salsa (Picante Sauce)



10 ripe Roma tomatoes (Any fresh ripe tomato will do)

4-6 tomatillos

1 or 2 Vidalia or other sweet onions
2-6 Jalapeno Peppers
1+ tablespoon chopped garlic
cilantro
salt
apple cider vinegar
Tortilla chips for dipping

I use a food processor for this recipe. Vary the speed/ pulse to get desired chopped consistancy of vegetables.
It is difficult to gauge the heat of jalapeno peppers, so start with one pepper and add more to desired heat intensity.
Wash and trim ends off of peppers and tomatoes. husk and trim the tomatillos. Peel onions down to the good part.
Since I don't have (gasp!) a garlic press, I used pre-chopped fresh garlic from a jar.

I don't care much for cilantro, but my family insists that this recipe *has* to have some.

Chop/prepare the vegetables in the food processor. Together or separately doesn't matter. Put into a large bowl- not aluminum and preferably not plastic!-

Stir together.

Sprinkle lightly with salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon for this recipe is what we used) and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar.

Adjust seasoning as desired. Remember, it is simple to add more salt/cilantro/ jalapeno... but difficult to remove it!

Cover and allow to set in refrigerator at least an hour- the flavors need to mingle.

Serve with tortilla chips.

This is a great summer snack- and fairly low in calories!

Lazy Lasagna

Lazy Lasagna

Frozen (or fresh if you prefer!) ravioli (I used both cheese and meat varieties)

left over spaghetti sauce (or canned)

cottage cheese 

eggs (beaten)

shredded mozzarella cheese

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour in a small amount of spaghetti sauce.

Lay out a layer of frozen ravioli in the sauce.

Mix together cottage cheese and eggs. (1 egg per cup of cottage cheese)

Pour a layer of this mixture over the ravioli.

Add a layer of spaghetti sauce.

Repeat layers.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake @ 300-325* for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until hot and bubbling.

This will cook more quickly if the ravioli is fresh or thawed.

I am claiming to have invented this recipe... I was looking to empty the freezer of on-hand items and had a few ravioli in two bags- one of meat and one of cheese filled ravioli. I had leftover spaghetti sauce, and a half a carton of cottage cheese that was nearing its expiration date. Lasagna came to mind, so I went with it!

The beauty of this recipe over regular lasagna is that I can make a small casserole dish of it and serve it for one meal. With my regular lasagna recipe.. I need company!

Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes

Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" strips (or 1 per person)

5 medium potatoes (or 1 1/4 per person)

olive oil

minced garlic

minced fresh rosemary (or dried)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Microwave the potatoes until done. Cut into cubes.

Saute the chicken breasts in olive oil until lightly browned.

Remove chicken from skillet, or push to one side.

Add potatoes and minced garlic to oil in skillet. Allow to brown, then turn. Add rosemary, and return chicken to skillet. Brown potatoes and turn again. When potatoes are nicely browned, it is ready to serve.

Daniel thought it would be good to add the chicken to our tossed salad, serving the potatoes (and side dish of corn) separately. It was very tasty!

"Swiss Chicken Casserole"

Swiss Chicken Casserole

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 can cream of chicken soup

4 oz. sour cream

6 oz. milk

4-6 slices swiss cheese

1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 box chicken seasoned stuffing/ dressing crumbs

1/2 stick (2 oz.) butter, melted

* 1/2 cup french fried onion bits

Now, shall I present the recipe as I made it, or as we decided later it would of been better?

The original recipe:

Spray a casserole dish with cooking oil.

Place the thawed chicken beasts into the dish.

Lay a slice of swiss cheese over each.

Combine the milk, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup.

Pour over top of chicken.

Mix together the melted butter and the dry stuffing mix.

Layer over the soup mixture.

Bake @ 350* 50 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

*********

The guys all voted I NOT make this recipe again, though I thought it was very tasty. I had fully intended to add the * french fried onions to the stuffing mix, but forgot.

I had toyed with the idea of cubing the chicken breasts, rather than leaving them whole. Dan suggested this as we ate, both of us agreeing it would of improved the overall flavor of the meal.

It is VERY simple, and was pretty tasty. My boys tend to dislike swiss cheese and also sour cream in anything. If you like them, give this recipe a try! If you do choose to cube the chicken, the cooking time should be reduced!