Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken & Veggies

Sadly, I don't have a picture of my perfect little roasted chicken. As soon as I tried to take it out of the crockpot it fell apart. The chicken was good, but you definitely need to get the seasoning under the skin. I also put my veggies at the bottom with some chicken stock and they were tasty, but scary looking as they had turned kind of brown from the stock. Time called for me to do a crockpot meal, but next time I might just roast the darn thing.

Roasted Chicken & Veggies 

adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients

2-5 lb whole chicken (I chose 5 so that we would have leftovers)

3 TBS butter, softened

Salt 

Pepper

Salt-free all purpose seasoning

Onion

Whole carrots

Celery

Potatoes

Baby carrots

Directions

Rinse the chicken off. Rub him down with a little butter all over. The butter will harden as you rub him since he is cold. In the cavity, place 2-3 tops of the celery (like the part with the leaves), 1/4-1/2 of an onion and a carrot (unpeeled is fine) that has been quartered. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning. Obviously these are just what I like, you can pick any spices you want!

In the bottom of the crockpot, put some peeled and quartered potatoes and baby carrots. If you want to leave these out to cook later, wad up three sheets of aluminum foil into 3-4" balls and place in the bottom of the crockpot. Place the chicken on top of these.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This was very good. The only thing I would complain about is that it was too "gritty". I don't think that I left it in the blender long enough. This would not be my preferred method of pureeing the soup. My suggestion would be a food processor or a immersion blender. I would also probably use just slightly less broccoli. It might have been my fault for putting too much in. Otherwise, it was delicious. Very close to Panera's, but not quite. I may need to visit for a refresher!

Photo from Food Network

Broccoli Cheese Soup

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients 

6 TBS unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups fat free half-and-half

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth 

2 bay leaves

1 tsp Kosher salt 

1/2 tsp ground pepper

4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)

1 1/2 cups chopped matchstick carrots

1 1/4 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

Directions

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the chicken broth and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes. 

Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you'll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot. (Or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender.) 

**To reduce cooking time, steam the broccoli and carrots ahead of time so they are tender. Toss them in the pot to warm them and then puree. 

Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with cheese.

Enjoy! 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

One of our favorites. I often make this in the fall or winter on a Sunday. Not sure why it's always Sunday, maybe because it's a comfort meal. To me Sunday = comfort meals. It's so warming and filling. Hubby loves this meal! 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb package rotini pasta

2 cans (6 oz) chunk light tuna in water, drained

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Breadcrumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Boil the pasta according to package directions, but take 2 minutes off the cooking time. 

In a large bowl mix together the soups, tuna, cheese, milk, garlic and pepper. Once the pasta is done incorporate it into the soup mixture and coat well. Put the pasta mix in the 9x13 pan and top with breadcrumbs. I usually use enough just to lightly cover the top of the dish. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti &Turkey Meatballs

Y'all know I love my turkey! We just don't eat a lot of red meat here and I am often switching out turkey meat instead. So here is my take on meatballs...

Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 lb spaghetti noodles

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put the turkey, egg, breadcrumbs and cheese in a medium size bowl. Push your sleeves up and start working this together with your fingers. Once everything is well mixed, form the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs. Place them on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, put on a pot of water and boil your noodles according to the package. 

**A little trick for making the spaghetti sauce taste homemade is to put a little olive oil in it while it is warming on the stove. I prefer Prego, but you can use what your family loves best.

Enjoy!

How To... Make Homemade Pizza Dough

This crust was very yummy. I definitely want to figure out what Domino's does to their crust now and incorporate it. This does take some prep time as the dough needs to sit for a few days. Although I've seen others make and use it in as little as 2 hours. The recipe makes 2 crusts (large enough for a sheet pan), but we actually used it all in one meal. We each like our own pizzas and leftovers!

Photo from The Pioneer Woman

Homemade Pizza Dough

from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 tsp Active Dry Or Instant Yeast

4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1/3 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it.

***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Enjoy!

Gourmet Pizza

Can I just tell y'all that I absolutely love pizza with pesto and goat cheese? Like buckets of goat cheese. Oh and artichokes. As Rachael Ray says "YUM-O!". You just can't get this from a normal pizza place. Plus the one here in town that sells something slightly similar wants $20. No thanks! That is why this recipe is just perfect. You can make this yumminess at home and not pay a premium for your sophisticated taste buds. 

Gourmet Pizza

Ingredients

Homemade Pizza Dough

14 oz can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Baby spinach

7 oz pesto with basil sauce (I used Buitoni)

Goat cheese crumbles or slice goat cheese log

1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 475.

Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and use fingers to coat thoroughly. Remove HALF the pizza dough from the bowl. Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle, pressing with fingers to finish forming. Dough will be very thin.

Spread about 3/4 of the container of pesto on the dough. Cover with spinach leaves. I normally use enough to put one layer on the pizza - maybe 2-3 cups?  

Drain the artichoke hearts and use a paper towel to get excess moisture from the artichokes. Evenly sprinkle over the spinach. Top with mozzarella and then goat cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Weekly Menu - October 2-7

Hello? September? Where did you go? Doesn't it just seem like the second half of the year just flies by? I feel like just yesterday I started summer school and sat by the pool. Honestly, in Tennessee it's not hard to see the summer go with it's humid temps and stifling heat. I personally this that these next 3 months are the best of the year. I'm a sucker for the upcoming holidays!

Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs

Tuna Noodle Casserole 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Slow-Cooker Roasted Chicken

Pan-Grilled Snapper & Orzo