Dukan Diet

Good morning! Its the first day of school in our house, and Im typing super quick to get this recipe out to you so I can bask in the fact that the baby is napping, the sun is shining, and the HOUSE IS QUIET.

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 or one thigh per family member)
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup  soy sauce (La Choy or Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey


The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker (if using a 6-quart, this will cook faster. Check after 3 hours on high, 5 hours on low).
Put the chicken into your cooker. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, then pour evenly over the top.
Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 (Id go with low---).
Serve with basmati rice and steamed or roasted vegetables.

The Verdict.

My kids adore this chicken. The ketchup and honey taste a bit like barbecue sauce, but slightly more tart. The basil gives it a different, herby flavor which I like a lot. If you are into freezer meals, this is a great candidate--- load all the ingredients into a freezer bag (raw chicken, the sauce ingredients) and then freeze. Thaw the bag overnight in the fridge, then plop the ingredients into your cooker for a fast morning plug-in.

Enjoy!

Ive been doing a GiveAway a Day for the whole month of September. Today Im giving away 5 copies of my new book, Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life. Click on over for your chance to win!

Day 182.

We eat a LOT of chicken in our house. I grew up on boneless, skinless chicken, and we had it quite often. When I started cooking and shopping for my own family, I followed suit and make sure that we have plenty of chicken parts in the freezer.

The problem with eating a lot of chicken is that you get bored.

Really bored. And you start to hate chicken.

and maybe you begin to kind of want to gouge your eyeballs out with a fork at the idea of another boring dry chicken meal.

This is not a boring dry chicken meal. This is the opposite. This chicken is juicy, full-of-flavor, and downright adventurous.

I was inspired by reading this post at Sunday Nite Dinner. I still have fish sauce in the house from when I made the Pho, and was excited to have another use.


The Ingredients.
Adapted from Sunday Nite Dinner.

Were home from BlogHer, safe and sound. We had an absolute ball---thank you so much for your well wishes. The live blogging transcript of the Food Blogging During a Recession is here, thanks to Chefdruck Musings. I wrote a tiny bit about our trip on Totally Together Journal, and Alanna did a Food Blogger recap on BlogHer.

On the plane ride home, I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and now I want to move to a sustainable farm. Like, NOW. Take me. Teach me. I want to know more! For the time being, were going to hit up our local produce stand, farmers market, and look into CSA delivery. I cant wait to learn as much as I can about growing vegetables, and want the kids to grow up knowing where food comes from.

On that note, I made a completely organic (except for the chicken, because it was Foster Farms and already in the freezer and Im a die-hard cheapskate and couldnt not eat it) dinner. In the slow cooker. Slow cooking is known for fast, friendly meals, but that doesnt mean that the food needs to be processed or not healthy. Ive made TONS of healthy food in the slow cooker, and you can too.

once in a while, Buffalo Chicken Wing soup is okay, though. right...?

The Ingredients.
serves 4.

for the pesto:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
4 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh basil
2 tablespoons pinenuts, or walnuts, or sunflower seeds
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 chicken thighs, or breast halves
sliced mozzarella cheese (I used string cheese!)
aluminum foil or parchment paper
4 small sweet potatoes, washed well, skin on

The Directions.

I used a 6 quart slow cooker. In a food processor or blender, combine the ingredients for your pesto. When liquidy, taste. If you need to add more citrus or salt or pepper, do so now.

In the bottom of a large slow cooker, arrange your chicken pieces. Mine were still frozen. Layer on slices of mozzarella cheese. Pour pesto evenly on top. Cover with a layer of foil or parchment paper. Scrub sweet potatoes well, prick with a fork, and lay them on top of the paper or foil. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. If your chicken is frozen it will take a bit longer.

If youre using fresh chicken, and your sweet potatoes are quite large, you may choose to swap layers, and put the sweet potatoes on the bottom. Newer slow cookers cook from the sides as well as from the bottom, but some people swear the stuff on the bottom cooks faster.

Carefully remove the sweet potatoes with tongs, and remove foil or parchment. The steam that comes out will be quite hot, keep small children away.

The Verdict.

We all loved this meal. My kids put cinnamon on their sweet potatoes, and enjoyed eating the skin--for the first time. I was thrilled. The chicken was fully cooked, and the pesto had a good bite from the garlic that was balanced by the citrus. I used limes instead of lemons, and enjoyed the limey flavor. Lots of pesto calls for gobs of Parmesean cheese, which I opted to not use to 1) keep it a bit lighter and 2) to save a trip to the store. I served it alongside some leftover Quinoa Salad from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.

This was a great dinner.

somewhat related recipes:

Layered Dinner
Use your Slow Cooker as a Smoker
Cedar Planked Salmon
Chicken Adobo
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chili, Lime, and Cumin

Day 249.

Chicken pot pies are a staple in a lot of homes---it started as a way to use up all the leftovers from the fridge, but now has changed into a meal made all on its own.

I havent had very many pot pies. Ive never ordered one at a restaurant, and am only really familiar with the frozen ones put out by Marie Callenders. I figured that since the tamale pie and the bbq chicken topped with cornbread transferred so nicely to crockpot cooking, a chicken pot pie would too.

Adam thought it tasted like stuffing. It kind of did. My taste buds are all out-of-whack from a funky cold. Everything kind of tastes like metal.

The Ingredients.

Filling:
--2 chopped up skinless chicken thighs or breast halves (raw, but chopped up)
--1/2 cup chopped carrots (these were fresh, but frozen would work)
--1/2 cup frozen corn
--1/2 cup frozen peas
--1/2 t marjoram
--1/2 t thyme
--1/2 t celery seed
--1 t onion powder
--canned cream-of-something soup (or see homemade alternative down below)
--2 T low fat milk

Homemade Soup Alternative:
make a roux on the stove top with the butter and flour, then whisk in the other ingredients.

--1 T butter
--3 T flour (Pamelas or other GF baking flour)
--1/2 cup low fat milk (I used soy)
--1/2 cup chicken broth
--1/4 t salt
--1/4 t black pepper

Biscuit Topping:

--2 cups biscuit mix (I used Bobs Red Mill biscuit mix. I much prefer Pamelas but my favorite store has been out of it for a few weeks)
--1/2 T white sugar
--1/2 cup melted butter (thats a whole stick)
--3/4 cup low fat milk (stick with 2% or lower; I used soy)

The Directions.

Im already tired of typing. This is a long one. Sorry.

I used a 4 quart crockpot for this recipe. There really wasnt too awful much filling---I used what I had on hand, but if you have a large family or would like leftovers, Id double the filling.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Chop up the chicken and put it into the crockpot. Dump in the vegetables. Add all of the spices. Stir in the cream-of-something soup and add 2T of milk to the can, squish it around to get all the good stuff out of the can, and pour in the rest. Stir well.

In a mixing bowl, make up the biscuit topping. The dough will be pretty playdoughy, and I pretty much mixed it with my hands. Spread the dough on top of the chicken and veggie mixture.

Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, or on low for 6-7. This is done when the biscuit topping is golden brown, and is hard to the touch in the middle. I cooked ours on high for 4 1/2 hours, and it got a bit too crunchy on the very edges.

If you find that your crockpot seals really well and you have a bunch of condensation building up, you can prop open the lid with a wooden spoon or chopstick. I tried the paper towel trick with this dish, and wasnt impressed. I laid a double-layer of paper towels over the top of the crock, then put the lid back on. The condensation made the paper towels really wet, and they drooped into the food. Also, when I took off the lid and then removed the towels (they were very wet and very hot) I got a blast of steam on my hand that hurt. Im going to stick with venting with a chopstick.

The Verdict.

This was neat to try, and Im glad that I did, but I dont see making it again unless someone specifically requests it. Were just not huge chicken pot pie people. My brother really likes chicken pot pie though. I should make it for him. I love it that with stuff like this you can play around and use whatever meat and veggies you have in the house.

The filling was good. Adams right, it tastes like stuffing. Is that the marjoram?

I love grilling, and here are 25 of my favorite recipes for healthy carb-conscious grilling!



Click to continue reading

This easy and delicious chicken recipe is a good reason to grown French Tarragon in your garden!

Click to continue reading

This Green Chile and Chicken Mock Enchilada Casserole has all the flavors you love in green chile chicken enchiladas, minus the carbs!

Click to continue reading

Chicken, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing!

Click to continue reading

Chicken and Pinto Bean Soup with Lime and Cilantro is made from leftover rotisserie chicken!

Click to continue reading

Low-Carb and Gluten-Free Chicken salad gets festive with Christmas colors!



Click to continue reading