Slow-Cooker Garlic Chicken

As many of you know I love my slow-cooker. I literally use it at least once  a week. It wasn't always that way though. Growing-up I don't remember if my mother even owned a crock-pot. If she did I don't remember it being used. At all. I do remember the very scary old pressure cooker that she used at least once a week. The pressure gauge was the scariest thing and my mom made it worse by scaring me to death if I ever went near it. I was determined that it was going to fly off and attack me. I'm surprised that I don't still have nightmares about that kitchen tool. Luckily last year my mother-in-law was nice enough to give me a brand new pressure cooker/canner. My mother-in-law much like my mother loves her pressure cooker. She is always calling me and telling me about the meals she is making with it. One of my favorite dishes that she makes is a pork and chicken pasta sauce that is absolutely delicious. The meat literally falls off the bone. So last summer I learned to use the pressure canner and cooker and realized that it won't actually try to kill me in my kitchen. I still prefer my slow-cooker though and use it throughout the year. Last week I tried a new recipe for Slow-Cooker Garlic Chicken from Everyday Food Magazine, which looked simple and flavorful.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of 7 1/2 hours (on low), 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Instead of a whole chicken I chose to use half thighs and half drumsticks. I really hate cutting-up whole chickens and avoid it when possible. Since I don't eat gluten I substituted brown rice flour for the all-purpose flour used in the recipe. My chicken took a lot longer than the four minutes per side to brown suggested by the recipe. I would estimate it took a total of 15 minutes. At the end of the browning time I de-glazed the pan with the white wine, which helped to scrape up the leftover brown bits adding to the flavor of the dish. Finally, instead of serving the chicken over couscous I served it over brown rice. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and two boys really loved this recipe. The chicken turned out very tender and the garlic was delicious. I ended up adding cornstarch to finish thickening the sauce, which worked well poured over the rice. I always cook on low in my slow-cooker since it's easier to start a dish in the morning when my house is calmer. A very easy slow-cooker recipe that made enough for multiple meals.

For the recipe go to Slow-Cooker Garlic Chicken.

Pinto and Rice Burgers

When I turned 14 I decided I was a vegetarian. Having grown up in Seattle I was surrounded by vegetarians and vegans and I thought it was natural for me to become a vegetarian myself. My dad was a huge meat eater, but my mom was great about buying me ingredients to make my own meals. It was during these years that I learned to read and create cookbook recipes and modify ingredients to make dishes vegetarian. I stayed a vegetarian until I was in my mid-twenties. When I moved to West Virginia to attend graduate school I added meat back into my diet. Then I met my husband, who is obsessed with pork. My two boys have followed suit and definitely enjoy meat in their diets. While I do love meat, I also try to have at least 1-2 dinners a week that are vegetarian or vegan and our lunches 99 percent of the time contain no meat. With one of the highest levels of childhood obesity in my state I am determined to keep my kids from following this statistic. Veggie burgers are a household favorite so I was excited when the June issue of Everyday Food had a recipe for Pinto and Rice Burgers, which looked very easy and delicious.

This recipe has 10 ingredients, plus toppings. It takes 15 minutes of prep and cook time and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. For the toppings I used cucumbers, avocado, mayo and mustard. I found that the burgers took much longer than the 3 minutes per side suggested by the recipe. I prefer that my veggies burgers have a nice brown crunchy exterior so I let my burgers cook approximately five minutes per side. The bunches of scallion available in my area are huge so instead of an entire bunch I used five large scallions in total. Finally I ended up with 6 burgers in total, my family prefers larger burgers so I made mine slightly larger than the recipe. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Everyone in my family loved this recipe! The burger was not dry as many other veggie burger recipes can be and the avocado topping was absolutely perfect. The cilantro added great flavor, without the burger tasting too much like cilantro. The beans, cilantro, scallions and beans blended together perfectly and the burgers browned very nicely in the olive oil. I was very impressed by this recipe and will definitely make it again in the future.

This recipe is currently not available online, but can be found in the June issue of Everyday Food Magazine. Here is a link to another Rice and Pinto Bean Burger recipe.

Everyday Food Sauteed Zucchini, Peppers, and Tomatoes

I love really simple recipes. Sometimes the best dishes have few ingredients, letting the flavors shine through. I hate when vegetable dishes are smothered in too much cheese or have 20 ingredients virtually masking the actual taste of the vegetables. My favorite salads are basically vegetables, a little cheese and a light dressing, simple and delicious. This fall when Borders went out of business they had all their magazines on clearance and I picked up a copy of Everyday Food's summer special. I've used a number of the recipes and one that I have particularly liked is the recipe for Sauteed Zucchini, Peppers, and Tomatoes, which is simple, light and delicious.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes approximately 15 minutes to prep and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no recipe substitutions. I used cherry tomatoes since they are always easier to find than grape tomatoes. Instead of serving the vegetables on their own I stirred them into couscous and served it as a side dish. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I really liked the way this recipe tasted when stirred into couscous. By itself it was a little too soggy for my tastes., but it was great with couscous. The exact recipe isn't on-line, but the recipe that is available is almost identical except it lacks fresh oregano. This recipe is a great way to add more fresh vegetables into your diet and very easy to prepare.

For the recipe go to Sauteed Zucchini, Peppers, and Tomatoes.

Everyday Food Classic Cornbread

My husband and I have a serious disagreement over cornbread. I like my cornbread sweet and most of the time I add both butter and honey. My husband on the other hand prefers cornbread with less sugar and cooked with bacon fat. Luckily, we both love pretty much any type of cornbread regardless of whether it's perfect and I prepare it at least once a month. My two boys love cornbread even more than my husband and I and they have been known many mornings to have peanut butter sandwiches using cornbread. Since I make cornbread frequently I am always looking for new recipes to try that both my husband and I can agree upon. The January issue of Everyday Food Magazine had a recipe for Classic Cornbread which looked simple and promised to be tender and delicious.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. I takes 30 ,minutes of total time, 10 of which is active and makes 8 servings. All the ingredients are basic and I either already had in my pantry or was easily able to purchase. Make sure to not over mix the batter or the cornbread will turn out tough. I found that I needed to tent the top the last 5 minutes to prevent burning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As I expected my two boys devoured this cornbread. They also made peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast the next day using the leftovers and informed me that they were delicious. I liked that the cornbread held together well and didn't crumble to pieces. With 6 tablespoons of sugar this recipe is on the sweet side, but my husband ate it without complaints. A very easy to prepare cornbread recipe that worked well as a side for the Frito Pie I prepared as a main dish.

For the recipe go to Classic Cornbread.

Everyday Food Roasted Beets with Orange and Thyme

Growing up I hated beets. My mother would try over and over again to make me eat them and I stubbornly refused. It wasn't until I got married that I discovered that beets weren't just from a can or jar and could actually be delicious. In the last 8 years I have fallen in love with roasted beets and make them frequently. My two boys are hit or miss on whether they will eat them, but luckily my husband loves roasted beets and will eat them as many times as they are prepared. One of my favorite ingredients to pair with roasted beets are fresh herbs, so I was intrigued when the January/February issue of Everyday Food Magazine had a recipe for Roasted Beets with Orange and Thyme.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes approximately 50 minutes to prepare and roast and makes 4 servings. I actually had a hard time finding fresh beets locally. For whatever reason all my local stores were out of beets for over two weeks. Luckily, I was finally able to find them and prepared the dish. All the remaining ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding them and made no substitutions. I used local honey, I always try to use local honey when available. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Fresh herbs and roasted beets when paired together are delicious. This recipe is very easy to put together and has a nicely balanced flavor. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed these beets, I particularly liked the flavor from the grated orange peel and fresh thyme. Overall, a very simple roasted beet recipe.

For the recipe go to Roasted Beets with Orange and Thyme.

Everyday Food Roasted Squash with Parmesan Herbs

One of my favorite things about the fall is the abundance of inexpensive squash. For many years I only made acorn squash roasted with maple syrup or brown sugar. As I got older I branched out to other types of squash and absolutely fell in love with butternut and spaghetti squash. I love how easy it is to create a delicious pasta dish with roasted squash and how little effort it takes. The squash I use the most is butternut squash and since I use it so frequently I figured that it was time to try other squash varieties. Recently, Everyday Food Magazine had a recipe for Roasted Squash with Parmesan and Herbs, which looked delicious and different than my normal squash routine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes one hour and twenty minutes to roast the squash,15 minutes to prepare the dish and makes 6 servings. All the ingredients were easy to find at my local grocery store and I made no substitutions. I used flat leaf parsley, which is the only kind that my husband will eat, he doesn't like the texture of regular parsley. The longest part of this recipe is making sure to remove the seeds and scraping out the flesh of the squash after roasting. I actually added more than the recommended 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, my family loves cheese so I added more than twice the amount. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Getting my kids to try new types of vegetables can often be difficult on the best of days. This recipe was well received by both of my boys, they actually thought the squash was pasta. I liked that one squash made more than enough for my family of four and the taste of the fresh herbs was delicious. A great way to try new squash varieties and very kid friendly.

For the recipe go to Roasted Squash with Parmesan Herbs.

Everyday Food Spiced Roasted Chicken

We eat a lot of chicken in our household, and when I say a lot I mean a lot. My two boys love any type of poultry and will eat all the leftovers of a dish if given the opportunity. I love chicken also, but I tend to get bored with the same roasted chicken recipes, so I try to frequently change my chicken recipes and menu plans. The May issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Spiced Roasted Chicken, which looked promising for a change from my family's normal roasted chicken routine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients and the prep work takes approximately 10 minutes, with 1 hour and 20 minutes of total cooking time (if using a 4 lb bird). All of the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding them at my local grocery store. I did have to buy a 7 pound chicken, there were no smaller birds available. Due to the much larger size of my bird, than the 4 pound bird used in the recipe, I had to modify some aspects of the cooking. I started the recipe in a dutch oven as stated in the recipe, but the bird did not crisp up as much as I expected, so I switched to a roasting pan for the last hour of cooking time. Additionally, since I was using a much bigger bird, my total cooking time took an hour and a half longer. I followed everything else in the recipe as stated, with no modifications.

The chicken in this recipe turned out very moist. My two boys enjoyed the chicken immensely and I liked how tender the entire chicken was. The vegetables didn't turn out as well and we didn't eat them. They ended up softer than we prefer, but this probably had a lot to do with the increased cooking time due to bird size. This recipe creates a moist chicken, which if you use a bigger bird like I did, would make enough leftovers for multiple additional meals.

For the recipe go to Everyday Food Spice Roasted Chicken

Everyday Food Feta-Stuffed BLT Burgers

In the summer my family eats their fair share of burgers. I try to prepare burgers made with a variety of different meats and flavors so my family doesn't get bored. I have found a number of turkey burger recipes that we enjoy, but I have had a harder time finding a stuffed cheese beef burger that lives up to expectations. The burger either ends up greasy or the cheese is overwhelming. The June issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Feta-Stuffed BLT Burgers, which looked interesting and different from the usual stuffed burger recipe.

This recipe has eight ingredients and takes approximately 35 minutes to prepare. For the beef, I used chuck roast and ground it using my mixer attachment. I left off the tomato portion of the BLT, since my husband isn't a fan of fresh raw tomatoes, so I actually made a bl not a BLT. I had no problem finding any of the ingredients and used Boston lettuce, which is what was available. Instead of pan frying my burgers, I used my indoor grill in order that all the burgers would be finished at the same time, my two boys can be very impatient dinner guests. I served the burgers with buttermilk mashed potatoes and squash gratin using fresh vegetables from a friend's garden.

My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. Unlike previous stuffed burger recipes that I have tried, the cheese on this dish was not overpowering or greasy. The feta provided a nice contrast to the beef and my two boys got a kick out of the Boston lettuce, which they thought looked like 'baby lettuce'. This is a great alternative to overly greasy stuffed cheddar cheese burgers, and a nice change of pace from the usual BLT.

For the recipe go to Everyday Food Feta-Stuffed BLT Burgers .

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