Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

I love a good slow cooker recipe. There is nothing better than coming into the house at the end of the day and having the whole apartment smell amazing. Plus, slow cooker meals usually require fewer dishes to wash and the results are melt in your mouth delicious. In a quest to continuously expand our recipe repetoire, we tried two new recipes this week. This one needed no adaptations. It is great just as is. It’s like take out, but without the guilt.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

• 2½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken (I used chicken thighs), cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup honey
• ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp minced dried onion
• ¼ cup barbecue sauce
• ¼ tsp crushed red peppers
• 6 tbsp cold water
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• Sesame seeds
• Green onions, sliced
• A pinch of love

Mix honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, minced garlic, died onion, barbeque sauce and red pepper in a small bowl. In your crock pot, mix chicken and sauce until all the meat is coated. Cook on low for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the crock pot and set aside. Pour the leftover sauce into a small sauce pan. On low heat, mix the sauce, water and cornstarch until the liquid thickens.

Mix the chicken and sauce. Serve over brown rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions and love. Enjoy!

 

 

Soup’s On…Potato Leek Soup

This month’s cooking club theme was “colors.” Everyone had a different color that had to be the primary hue of the dish. My “color” was white. Have we settled that debate? Is that even a color?  Anyways, as the hostess, I was responsible for the main dish.  Given that our monthly soiree fell just a week after New Years, I assumed no one was looking for anything too indulgent…but still delicious.

I went with potato leek soup. This was a new recipe and my first time cooking with leeks. In case it was a total disaster, I made the recipe the night before.  The result was good…but lacking any wow factor. So on my way home from work the next night, I grabbed fresh pancetta at a local Italian grocery store. I crisped it up and crumbled it on top of the soup. It was just what the dish needed. Served with a side of fresh, crispy bread, this soup holds its own as a hearty meal. You can easily make it vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the pancetta (but you’ll definitely be missing out).

Potato Leek Soup with Pancetta

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 4 leeks (whites only), thoroughly washed and sliced
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 to 1/2 lb. of pancetta
• A pinch of love

In a large stock pan, sauté the shallot, celery and leeks until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, potatoes and seasonings.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are soft. When the potatoes are cooked, remove the pot from the heat and pull out the bay leaf.  Puree with immersion blender until smooth.

Return to low heat and add cream and love.

Before serving, brown up pancetta in a skillet, drain grease, chop into bits.

Sprinkle cooked pancetta on each bowl of soup. Enjoy!

 

Creamy Quinoa, Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

When you went out to dinner as a kid, did you have a standard order?  Growing up in a small New England town, dining options were limited. BUT, we had a Bertucci’s.  That’s right, home of the best rolls in the world. My standard order: half a dozen rolls, and the rigatoni, broccoli and chicken. It was creamy, lemony goodness. My perfect comfort food.

Living in Boston’s North End, today I have no shortage of Italian dining options. And the rigatoni, broccoli and chicken is a draw on any menu. But on a regular night when you’re not looking to splurge on calories this is a good substitute for the comfort food classic.

We’re back on our kick of trying out new recipes. This week we tried one slow cooker option and this casserole. This one is a bit more labor intensive, but can be made in advance. The base for this meal comes from a blogger’s recipe, but I did some doctoring to amp up the flavor and pack in a bit more nutrition.

Creamy Quinoa, Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

• 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ½ cup flour
• 1/2 – 1 cup water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons seasoning (like Emeril’s Essence or any basic blend you like)
• 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (any kind will work)
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/8 cup green onions, chopped
• 3 cups fresh broccoli florets
• A pinch of love

While the oven is preheating to 400°, bring chicken broth to boil. In a separate bowl, mix milk, flour and poultry seasoning. Add the milk mixture to the boiled chicken broth and stir until you get a creamy sauce.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the creamy sauce and water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I also added some shredded Gruyere to add to the creamy texture. Add the rinsed quinoa. Pour the quinoa mixture into a greased casserole dish (I used a square Pyrex). Top with sliced raw chicken, sprinkle with seasoning and bake for 30 minutes.

While casserole is cooking, blanche broccoli by submerging florets in boiling water for 1 minute and immediately rinse in ice cold water.

After 30 minutes, add broccoli and spinach to the casserole and mix well. Top with green onions and shredded cheese. Don’t forget the pinch of love.

Bake for 5-10 more minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Enjoy!