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Baked Parmesan Chicken Caprese Recipe

I hope you all had a lovely Fourth of July and that you had a day off of work at the very least. If there’s one thing I think many of us need more of it’s a little rest and relaxation. We had a nice mellow day with friends and no work all day at all. Nice. In fact, I even watched a little tv while I was putzing around the house before going out. Computer time has wiped out my tv time in the last few years, so watching tv is a real treat for me. Although it’s funny that when I have time off from work (i.e. cooking), I choose to watch the Food Network or the Cooking Channel. I have my favorites to be sure, but some of the really popular shows I just don’t get.

Can anyone explain the appeal of “Chopped?” I’ll tell you one thing — it’s not “reality” tv. What’s reality about being given a bunch of ingredients not normally found in a regular person’s pantry and being forced to have to make something tasty out of it given the resources of an unbelievably stocked pantry? I have learned so much from watching Ina and Giada and Tyler, but there isn’t much I get out of seeing what three chefs can do with graham crackers and squid in 30 minutes. Does that show talent? What do you think?

Let me tell you what I think takes some skill — making dinner for my family on a typically insane weeknight. You think the judges on Chopped are tough. Ha! They eat everything, even cheese, unlike Mr. Picky. Try making dinner for Daughters #1 and 2 and Mr. Picky under a time constraint. During the girls’ finals week earlier last month, I had a day that did not go as planned and I found myself in a dinner prep predicament. We always eat dinner together every night around 6:30/6:45 and I thought this was one of those nights, but no. Daughter #1 had a study group at 6:30 and Daughter #2 switched her music lesson without telling me and she would be coming home at 6:15. I found all of this out at 4:30 and I had soccer carpool to do. Oh sure, easy, right?

Do the contestants on Chopped have two teenage girls yelling at each other about the last ugly photo one posted of the other on Instagram? They do not. And Mr. Picky is not bouncing a basketball in the kitchen while the chefs are trying to figure out what to make for dinner very quickly with the contents of a very basic pantry. Bounce, bounce, bouncety-bounce! Ok, think. Do some prep now, then you have 15 minutes when you get back from soccer drop-off before driving to music. “But the picture you posted of me was much worse than the one I posted of you!” Bounce, bounce, bouncety-bounce! I have chicken, tomatoes, white rice is fast, thank goodness I washed lettuce yesterday. “Mommmmmmm, did you see what she’s getting away with? So many people liked that picture already!” “Really? They liked it? That’s good, right?” “OMG, Mom! No they didn’t like it! Make her delete it!” Bounce, bounce, bouncety-bounce! I can bread the chicken now and bake later. “I am NOT letting her drive me to school anymore.” Whoa there, missy. Now you’ve got my attention. “Delete it this minute!” Bounce, bounce, bouncety-bounce! “STOP PLAYING BALL IN THE HO– USE, MR. PICKY!!!!” Can you imagine doing this sober? Why don’t I drink? I need to rethink that.

I know this isn’t just my house, or maybe it is and I am deluding myself. But I think a lot of home cooks have skills that you just can’t learn in culinary school or by watching some pros on tv. I managed to pull something together that night that we ate at exactly 6:15 and we all liked it! I would have likely gotten “chopped” on tv for something so unoriginal, but this is the kind of food we like to eat and it’s reasonably healthful. One of the reasons this worked for me that night is because I was able to bake the chicken instead of sautéing/frying it. I didn’t know if it would work, but I learned the technique of getting crispy breading by greasing up the chicken with some fat before dredging it from an old Gourmet magazine recipe. That way, I didn’t have to babysit it on the stovetop, plus baking is more healthful than frying and MUCH less messy! This would also be a great method to use when cooking for a crowd.

Speaking of cooking for a crowd, for the next episode of “Chopped,” I’d like to see a challenge where the chefs have to prepare a dinner party for 12 guests in Los Angeles. “Oh, sorry, no gluten for me.” “If you don’t mind, I don’t eat dairy. Or meat. Or eggs.” “I’m easy. I eat everything except nuts. I am deathly allergic to all tree nuts. Deathly!” Now that’s something I would watch!

5.0 from 2 reviews

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Baked Parmesan Chicken Caprese

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed (about 4 ounces), optional
2 -3 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil, plus more for coating chicken and pan
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large leaves of fresh basil, chopped
¾ teaspoon sea salt, divided
⅔ cup panko bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Pecorino-romano or Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon paprika
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a baking sheet generously with olive oil. You can line your baking sheet with parchment paper if you want and then brush the parchment with oil.
In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, mozzarella, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, basil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
In a shallow dish (such as a pie plate), combine the bread crumbs, cheese, and paprika. In another shallow dish, pour a few tablespoons of olive oil.
Slice the chicken crosswise in half so that you have two thin cutlets. Check out this post for a visual on what I'm referring to. You can remove the tenders if you wish and coat those separately. Sprinkle one side of the chicken pieces with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. This is the total amount of salt and pepper for all the chicken.
Dip the seasoned chicken first into the olive oil and turn to coat. Then dip chicken into the breadcrumb mixture and press to coat both sides completely.
Place the breaded chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Turn chicken with a spatula, not tongs which might break the breading, and bake another 3-5 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
Remove garlic cloves from tomato mixture and discard. Spoon tomato mixture on top of chicken.

Notes

This serves our family perfectly with no leftovers, but we're not big meat-eaters. If one chicken cutlet is not enough per person, then increase the chicken and breading ingredients.

Roasted smashed potatoes recipe

Everyone thinks it’s so funny when I whine that I don’t get invited much to peoples’ houses for dinner. There is an assumption that I’m an accomplished chef and I must have such high standards for eating therefore it’s too intimidating to have me over for dinner. Ha! Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’m a home cook who never went to culinary school and I don’t ever make recipes with three sauces. I could never work in a restaurant or hotel or be on one of those shows where you have to figure out what to do with octopus and cornflakes in 20 minutes. Just for the record, I love simple food. I don’t need anything fancy or chef-y. I am very easy to please as long as it’s fresh and natural. And I’ll bet that you are as good a cook, if not better than I am. Anyone can have a food blog, friends!

What I do love is sharing recipes that work for me, because I think we’re a lot alike. And it makes me happy if more people are cooking at home, even if I’m not invited. Wink, wink. These roasted smashed potatoes are my favorite kind of recipe — uncomplicated, tasty, easy and healthful. They go with whatever I’m serving and every single person in my family loves them. If you’ve never made smashed potatoes, you are totally missing out. They’re both fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside and if you add enough salt, damn delicious. I could just eat a half dozen of these and some scrambled eggs and call it a night. If you invited me over for dinner and made these potatoes with scrambled eggs, I would be in heaven. Yep, that’s all it takes.

The other night at our dinner table, there were several ways to eat these. My husband makes up for my dairy abstinence by melting cheese on everything, including these potatoes. Mr. Picky dipped his in mustard and Daughter #2 topped hers with guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Daughter #1 and I ate these plain and simple. I’m going to start teaching the little miss how to make easy recipes like this because she’ll be off to college before I know it. Sigh. Wait, what am I talking about? Yippee!

These are divine out of the oven, but I don’t love potatoes reheated. To do some of the work ahead of time, boil the potatoes and refrigerate them. Then, smash them and roast them to crispy perfection. What is great is that you’ll use the whole potato, since most of the nutrients are in the skin or just underneath the skin. And if you follow the Body Ecology Diet, red new potatoes are the only potatoes permitted since they have the fewest sugars of any potato. Just an FYI. Of course, most of you are not on the Body Ecology Diet, so use whatever baby potatoes you can get your hands on, like Yukon Golds.

When I taught in France last year, I did some roasted potatoes in duck fat, which I know doesn’t sound healthful, but to be honest, I think animal fats can be good to cook with at high temperatures, unless you’re a vegetarian. Unsaturated fats (vegetable oils) can oxidize at high temperatures (above 350 degrees) which create free radicals. Yuck! Those are pro-inflammatory compounds that will age you from the inside out. Saturated fats don’t do that. Listen, I use olive oil at higher temperatures sometimes if it’s the only fat that works, but you’re better off with coconut oil, ghee or duck fat, in this case. Do what you’re comfortable with because you’ll love these no matter what!

4.5 from 2 reviews

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Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds baby potatoes, such as red-skinned or Yukon Gold (about 15-18)
1 Tablespoon kosher salt for boiling the potatoes
4 Tablespoons fat of choice, divided (e.g. olive oil, duck fat, or ghee)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
½ teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scrub the potatoes and place them in a large pot with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Fill the pot three-fourths with cold water. Place the pot on the stove over high heat. Bring the water to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes. You should be able to insert the tip of a paring knife easily into the center of a potato.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and shake to get off as much moisture as possible. Place the potatoes back into the pot and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Roll them around to coat with the oil.
Arrange the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and evenly space them apart from each other. Take another large rimmed baking sheet and position it right on top of the potatoes and press down, smashing the potatoes to about a half inch thick. Remove the top baking sheet.
Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on top of the potatoes and sprinkle with the chopped thyme and salt and pepper.
Bake until potatoes are golden and crisp. I took them out after 30 minutes, but you can go much longer if you want them really crispy. Serve hot or warm.

duck fat olive oil pepper potatoes rosemary salt thyme

Savory Muffins with Spinach, Roasted Peppers and Feta Recipe

If you read my last post, you know that we haven’t gone out for Mother’s Day in several years and this Sunday will be no different. Truth be told, I couldn’t be happier for several already mentioned reasons. I am, however, definitely not cooking on Sunday, but instead leaving that to the men for this one and only day. But if I were cooking, I would make these fabulous savory muffins and serve them with a very veggie frittata. Can you tell I am pushing a low-glycemic agenda this week?

Have you ever had too much sugar and carbs at brunch that the entire rest of the day you just felt “off?” Done it, hate it. I always have a hard time bouncing back after starting the day with chocolate chip French toast, a blueberry crumb muffin, fruit salad and a mimosa. No, friends, that is not a balanced meal. Instead, I make a concerted effort to balance out the token coffee cake with plenty of protein and hearty, savory fare.

If my husband brings in bagels, I make sure there’s wild smoked salmon and sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Yogurt gets placed next to the homemade granola and there’s always a savory egg dish of some sort. Even if I’m serving a crowd, I’ll double frittata recipes and bake them in large rimmed sheet pans. Yes, you can do that!

Muffins and quick breads are very popular for brunch, and I have several recipes on this site, but I think these with spinach and roasted peppers are so delicious and a fresh change of pace from the ones you would normally expect. They’re also fairly easy to put together. In fact, you can combine your dry ingredients the day before and have your spinach, feta and peppers prepped and ready to go, so that all you really need to do is stir everything together and bake the morning of Mother’s Day. Like most muffins, these are much better fresh out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, just store them in the fridge and warm them in the oven for a few minutes. These are also the perfect match with any egg dish, whether simply scrambled or baked in a fritatta. My most favorite frittata is this one with Swiss chard, but the one I just posted the other day with asparagus and artichokes is a close second. Certainly, these muffins aren’t just for brunch, but make a great little extra something with a bowl of soup or in the next day’s lunchbox.

In the same way I love looking at what’s in people’s grocery carts (is that creepy?), I love hearing about your menus for holidays and special occasions. Do share with me what you’re planning or what you would love someone to make for you!! Happy Mother’s Day to all you beautiful mamas!

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Savory Muffins with Spinach, Roasted Peppers and Feta

Author: Pamela, adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves: makes 12 standard muffins

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (or a combo)*
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
¾ cup whole milk or unsweetened plain, hemp milk
½ cup unrefined olive oil
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 cup thinly sliced spinach leaves
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup chopped roasted red peppers or drained mild Peppadew peppers

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 standard muffin cups with unbleached parchment paper liners (or cut parchment paper squares to fit.)
Whisk flour, baking powder, paprika, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl.
Whisk milk, oil, maple syrup and eggs in a large bowl and combine well.
Add dry mixture to wet and stir until just combined. Fold in spinach, feta and peppers.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. I use a large ice cream scoop to do this.
Bake muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack or eat warm. Best eaten the same day that they’re made.

Notes

*To make these gluten-free, substitute wheat flour with 2 ¾ cups King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten-free Flour + 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum.

eggs feta milk olive oil paprika roasted peppers spinach whole wheat pastry flour

Moroccan carrot and beet salad recipe

London has been amazing! Freezing, but amazing! At least we were prepared with our winter outerwear for the unseasonably cold temperatures. We have seen so much and the kids have really enjoyed it all. After our month in Europe this summer, we learned a bit about how to keep the kids engaged and not wanting to kill each other. We also learned that Mr. Picky, who is 9, has a 1 1/2 hour time limit in any museum (2 hours if he just ate breakfast.) Whatever we didn’t get to see will just have to wait until our next visit.

This week we have also booked a private guide each day, which has taken the pressure off my husband from whatever palace or neighborhood we are checking out. Besides going to many of the major sites, we also had a tour of London’s East End and its many outdoor markets, a rock tour (think The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, not One Direction), and a Shakespeare tour. All worth it and much more interesting for the kids! We are leaving London today for Chewton Glen in Hampshire. My husband visited when he was a child and loved it. I’m hoping it’s still as wonderful 30 years later and I’m hoping we make it in one piece since my husband will be driving us there. On the other side of the road. You know I’ll give you all the details either way!

Now I hope you didn’t think I was going to scamper about England this week and forget about you cooks. Rubbish! Although I’ve been tweeting what I’ve been up to and posting a few things on Facebook, I didn’t want the week to go by without something for you to try in the kitchen. Believe me, after a week of scones and mash (not at the same time, of course), I’ll be ready for a few salads like this when I return home.

First of all, if you think you hate beets, you may not hate them raw so stay with me here. This salad converted everyone who thought s/he didn’t like beets. I am fairly obsessed with chopped and grated salads. One of my favorites is my grated carrot salad with avocados and sunflower seeds. I love vegetables cut into small bits so that you get a lot of different flavors in one bite. And grated vegetables can actually be a totally different experience from their whole counterparts. This is completely true with respect to carrots. If you haven’t tried the carrot salad I just mentioned, you absolutely must!

The one thing you do need to do for this salad is go into your garage behind the piece of exercise equipment, pull out the Cuisinart box and find the medium grating disc which I’m hoping you didn’t throw out thinking you would never use it! If you did, go to the manufacturer’s website or thegourmetdepotco.com where you can buy missing or broken parts to almost any appliance. The grating disc is amazing, one of my favorite kitchen tools especially since I broke up with my mandoline. No love lost there. I use my grating disc to make very quick work of shredding cheese, onions, potatoes, zucchini, apples, cabbage, and of course carrots and beets. One tip I can give you is that many food processors give you the option of feeding your food through the wide part or the much narrower feed tube. In the case of carrots, I like to process them horizontally the wide way for longer shreds for a salad and through the feed tube for short shreds which are better for carrot cake or carrot muffins.

I was doing a Moroccan-inspired menu last month and I desperately wanted to include a carrot salad. Many Moroccan salads are too sweet for me and include dried fruit plus lots of honey in the dressing. In my opinion, carrots and beets are already rather sweet, so this salad is dressed with a cumin-orange-lemon dressing, a little tart and just a little sweet. You can leave this as grated veggies and dressing for a fab 5-minute salad or make a little extra effort and add the delightful fresh herbs which turn this into something really awesome. I eat this without feta since I’ve gone dairy-free (moment of silence), but if you can handle a little goat or sheep cheese, add it and you won’t be sorry! Either way, this is a juicy, crunchy, thirst-quenching, gorgeous salad which happens to be super nutritious and alkalizing.

I have served this salad with all sorts of fish dishes, simple roast chicken, frittatas and vegetable stew. I’m sure it would be great with lamb or grilled beef kabobs. My point is that you don’t have to be eating a Moroccan meal to enjoy this. A little heads-up about eating red beets, though. If you’ve never tried them, just be aware that when you eliminate, there will be a tinge of hot pink/red. I can’t tell you how many stories I heard of people calling their doctors or googling “hot pink poop.” On the other hand, eating beets can be a good indication of how efficient your digestive system is. If you see beets later that day or the next, things are moving nice and quickly. But if it takes 4 days for those beets to appear again, you probably need a little more fiber and water in your diet. Just a thought.

Ok, that’s all I have for today, friends. I’m leaving the hustle and bustle of London for the English countryside and hoping to make it in time for Afternoon Tea which has become my favorite way to wind down after a busy day. I know some people like a glass of wine at 5, but I’m not sure they’ve tried sitting down to tea with a warm homemade scone. Brilliant!

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Moroccan Carrot and Beet Salad

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 pound carrots, peeled
¾ pound fresh beets (about 2 medium beets), trimmed and peeled (with a vegetable peeler), greens saved for another use
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (measured after it has been chopped)
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon paprika
6 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (I like goat feta)(optional)

Instructions

Using the shredding disc of your food processor, shred the carrots and beets. Transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl.
Add herbs to serving bowl.
In a medium bowl or in a screw-top jar, combine lemon juice, orange juice, sea salt, cumin, paprika and olive oil.
Pour enough dressing on top of carrot mixture to coat lightly and toss to combine. Add more if desired.
Add feta on top of salad and taste for seasoning. If you dress the salad early, the dressing will pull water from the vegetables and make a pool at the bottom of your serving bowl. You can just serve from the top or pour off some of the liquid no problem.

Notes

Salad can be dressed the day before and herbs and feta added just before serving.

For a delicious, spicy note, add about ¾ teaspoon harissa to the dressing.

beets carrots cumin feta lemon juice mint olive oil orange juice paprika parsley

Minted Sweet Pea Dip

In as much as I promote buying and preparing fresh produce, I really have no problem with using frozen sometimes. Frozen vegetables are supposedly picked at their peak and frozen immediately, allowing less deterioration of nutrients. I can’t, however, say the same about canned. Thumbs down on that one. In general, I tend to use frozen vegetables more in cooked dishes than in raw. There are quite a few frozen vegetables which are staples in my kitchen including artichoke hearts, edamame, corn, chopped spinach and especially peas.

Believe me, I adore fresh peas. If they are picked off the vine and prepared right away, they can be so amazingly tender and sweet. But if they’ve been sitting around for too long, those sugars become a little starchy. Plus, they do take a bit of time to remove from the shell, which sadly I don’t have the leisure to do on a busy weeknight.

Peas are a great source of protein and fiber, so I love adding them to pastas, soups, stews and grain-based dishes for a complete protein. Peas also contain substantial amounts of many other vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins C and K, as well as Folate and Manganese. I post the contents of my kids’ lunch boxes every Monday on Facebook, so I know many of you saw a lunch Mr. Picky made a month or so ago with frozen peas as the entrée and frozen corn as the side dish. (They defrost by lunchtime!) That was by far the quickest healthful lunch we’ve packed all year!

Although fresh peas come into season in the Spring, I use frozen the whole year long. I first taught this delicious dip in a December holiday hors d’oeuvres class, but I made it recently for a dinner and it really sang spring. This dip is a bit like hummus, the Mediterranean dip made from pureed chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste) and garlic, although not quite as thick and rich.

Instead, this has such a lovely light, fresh flavor from the mint and lemon zest. It would be such a nice addition to your Easter festivities, whether you’re doing a brunch, lunch or dinner. Even if you have your whole menu planned, I bet you have almost all the ingredients to make this dip today. Best of all, it can be made in about 5 minutes or less. Seriously! You can definitely serve this dip with pita chips or toast points. But I love it with crudités like carrots or endive leaves or my favorite (and more indulgent), slices of grilled baguette. If you have some nice Pecorino-Romano cheese, shave a little sliver onto each crostini and you will be in heaven!

I wish you all a beautiful and joyous Easter. My husband and I were feeling brave enough to take the three kiddies to Europe again, so we’ll be in London for the next week. I hope to post some pictures of our adventures on Facebook! Always interested to hear about your faves and must-sees!

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Minted Sweet Pea Dip

Author: Pamela, adapted from My New Roots

Ingredients

2 cups fresh (already shelled) or frozen green peas, defrosted (original recipe used 3 cups)
zest of one lemon
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, chopped
¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 Tablespoons raw tahini
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Crostini
French baguette, cut into ½ inch slices
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (optional)

Instructions

If using defrosted frozen peas, skip to Step 2. If using fresh peas, fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Plunge them into the ice bath to halt the cooking process. Drain well and pat dry.
Place all the dip ingredients in a food processor and puree. Serve with crostini and/or raw crudités. If you assemble the dip on crostini, you can also shave pecorino or parmesan on top of each hors d’oeuvre or sprinkle grated cheese on top and drizzle a good olive oil over all of them.

Notes

Crostini Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Brush each side of bread with olive oil and place on pan.
Bake for 15 minutes, turning after 7 or 8 minutes. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for several days.
Or preheat a grill over medium heat and grill the bread (brushed with a little olive oil) until slightly charred on both sides. This only takes a couple of minutes.

garlic lemon mint olive oil peas tahini

Slow cooker whole chicken and stock recipe

Daughter #2 asked me the other day if I was “ever going to put that thing away?” She was referring to my slow cooker, of course. Not that Daughter #2 is complaining since she’s the first one to the dinner table every night and has always been the easiest one to cook for. But she had a point. That slow cooker has has become part of the family!

But I wasn’t about to shelve my new baby so soon. Just when I thought cooking a whole chicken couldn’t get any easier, I decided to put my Easy No-Fail Roast Chicken method to the test in…the slow cooker. Believe me, I don’t normally mess with the easiest, most popular dinners in my repertoire. But roasting a whole chicken is something that needs to be started well before I get home some days and I need a back-up. That and I was on a roll and feeling lucky, so I figured this was going to work like everything else I’ve been trying. I decided to prep the chicken in basically the same way I do an oven-roasted chicken — rubbed on the inside and out with some kosher salt early on, stuffed with a bit of fresh thyme and some crushed garlic and cooked on a bed of onions. I usually add cut lemons to the cavity, but I was nervous that cooking the lemons for a long time would result in a bitter taste, so I left those out. The only other change I made was to rub the outside of the chicken with a little olive oil mixed with paprika so that the skin would get a little color and not be pale and unattractive.

The conclusion is that I think I should call this recipe “Easier than Easy No-Fail Roast Chicken and Still So Darn Good.” The chicken was predictably fall-off-the-bones. In fact, I had a hard time getting the chicken out of the slow cooker in one piece! My kids love super soft meat and my husband likes chicken that is beyond well done. I’ve made chicken once or twice a week for the last 17 1/2 years and he has asked me every single time if the chicken is cooked through. No comment on whether or not that is annoying since my husband occasionally reads my blog AND Valentine’s Day is coming up. Get my drift? My point is that this chicken satisfies everyone, including me since it takes all of 5 minutes to prep and you can do it 8 hours before you want to eat dinner. “Is this cooked through?” “Darling, it’s been cooking for 8 hours.”

So you all know I am completely obsessed with making homemade chicken stock. I swear, if teaching cooking classes and blogging doesn’t work out, I will go into the homemade stock-making business. The world must know the goodness of homemade stock somehow! So before I served this chicken to the family, I removed and reserved all the bones. I put the bones back in there with a chicken back I had in the freezer plus some stock veggies (onions, carrots, celery) and water and I made chicken stock overnight. It was delicious. And because there was no skin and foam and such, it turned out to be such a clear stock with minimal fat. It’s crazy not to try this! (Sorry I don’t have photos. It was too dark in my kitchen and the images didn’t turn out well.)

Cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker opens up so many possibilities for what you can do with the meat. You don’t have to cut the chicken into traditional breast, thigh, drumstick pieces. You can use the meat just as you would rotisserie chicken meat and heaven knows there have been more articles on what to do with rotisserie chicken meat than how to get your baby to sleep through the night. Just to remind — chicken soup, enchiladas, tacos, pot pie, sandwiches, salads and so on. For those of you who do not have a slow cooker and feel excluded, please revisit the Easy No Fail Roast Chicken Recipe. I still love you and I will put away the slow cooker and come back to you. Eventually. Wink, wink.

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Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and Stock

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 whole roasting chicken, about 4-5 pounds (save the neck for stock)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
½ bunch fresh thyme or a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil
1-2 teaspoons paprika
1 brown onion, peeled and sliced into thick slices
For the stock:
Some additional bony chicken pieces if you have them, such as backs, necks, wings and/or feet, up to 2 pounds
2 brown onions, cut into large pieces
3 carrots, cut into large chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into large chunks
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
water (amount depends on size of your slow cooker)

Instructions

When you get home from the market, unwrap the chicken and remove any giblets from the cavity. Save the neck for stock.
Take a heaping tablespoon of kosher salt and rub it around the inside of the cavity. Any remaining salt on your hands can be rubbed on the outside of the chicken. Rewrap the chicken and refrigerate until ready to cook. This can be done up to two days in advance.
The day you are making the chicken, remove it from the wrapping and sprinkle a few pinches of black pepper, as well as the garlic and thyme in the cavity of the chicken.
Truss the chicken by tying the legs together. Rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil and paprika.
Place the onion slices on the bottom of the slow cooker insert and place the chicken on top of the onions. You do not need any liquid, I promise. Cover and cook on LOW for 7- 8 hours or HIGH 4-5 hours.
Serve with the cooked onions and pan juices, if desired.

Notes

Leave whatever you didn’t use in the slow cooker (juices and onions).
Remove all the bones from the entire chicken and place in the slow cooker with any additional chicken parts you have, including the neck from the chicken you just cooked. Add vegetables, vinegar, and enough water to come up to about an inch from the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or overnight. My slow cooker automatically goes to WARM mode after 8 hours.
Strain and use immediately if you don’t see too much fat at the top or cool slightly and refrigerate. When cold, skim and discard any fat from the top. Stock can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

chicken garlic kosher salt olive oil onions paprika

Broccoli stalk soup recipe

This month I’ve been teaching a broccoli and cauliflower stir-fry in my classes. I am using only the florets since I know the stalks aren’t as popular in my house. It’s all very well and good, except for the fact that I’ve been left at the end of each week with a heck of a lot of broccoli stalks. I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that I am a compulsive use-everything-you’ve-got kind of a cook. I absolutely hate to waste food! In fact, I started a tradition in the house called “Frittata Fridays.” That’s when I pull together bits of leftovers and random vegetables and turn them into breakfast. Everyone’s happy!

So in order to not throw away the perfectly good broccoli stalks, I have been juicing lots of them into our juices. But there’s only so much of that I can take. What else could I use them for? On a whim I decided to see if I could turn the stalks in a pureed soup like my Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup, which is one of my absolute favorites. My biggest concern was that the stalks wouldn’t have enough flavor and the soup would taste like nothing — WRONG! It was delicious. Warm, rich, creamy and using one of my favorite soup-thickening techniques (cooking and pureeing Yukon Gold potatoes with the soup), it tasted like there was lots of cream or butter when there was none.

Nutritionally speaking, the stalks are quite comparable to the florets, which is awesome since broccoli is once of those super foods you should be eating a lot of (and not throwing into the garbage!) In fact, I’m big on the whole cruciferous family of vegetables which includes all the cabbages, kale, bok choy, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collard greens and more. These vegetables contain incredible amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, cancer-fighting compounds, and even protein. Load up, people!

I enjoyed this soup straight away with an extra pinch of flaky sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. My husband stirred into his bowl a big pinch of shredded raw cheddar cheese and thought that was great. For the girls, I made them grilled raw cheddar cheese and kale pesto sandwiches on spelt bread and they loved dipping those into the soup. Even Mr. Picky finished his entire bowl — plain of course, with absolutely nothing added. This was a winner all around!

4.9 from 16 reviews

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Broccoli Stalk Soup

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or unrefined cold-pressed olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 ¼ - 2 ½ pounds broccoli stalks, ends and any tough woody layers removed
1 large Yukon Gold potato, about 8 ounces, peeled if desired and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
2-3 teaspoons sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter or warm the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, covered, until tender and translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add the broccoli, potato, stock and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower to a simmer. Cook partially covered until potatoes and broccoli stalks are tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Taste for seasoning.

Notes

You can stir in shredded cheese before serving, garnish with grated Parmesan or Pecorino, top with grilled cheese croutons or chopped chives

broccoli butter chicken stock garlic olive oil onions potato vegetable stock

Kiwi salsa recipe

Have you ever looked at recipe and thought there was an ingredient that could be omitted no big deal? But then afterwards you realize that maybe it was there for a reason. I swear I don’t think I zested a piece of citrus for 20 years because I didn’t know any better. Entire recipes, too. Sometimes I’ve passed on recipes that I learned later were really great. I’m still learning what kinds of recipes work for my family and me and it always helps to get recommendations from friends who eat the way we do.

I was at the farmer’s market a few weeks ago buying pomegranates and a woman standing next to me asked me what I was going to do with all of them and how one eats pomegranates. I was very enthusiastic giving her all sorts of suggestions from yogurt parfaits to salads to cocktails, all very standard and common, I’ll admit. Then this other woman out of the blue asked, “have you ever tried pomegranates in guacamole?” Show-off. No, I haven’t nor had I ever heard of such a thing. I thought to myself it sounded a little out there and I planned on NOT trying it any time soon. So I took my pomegranates home to my granola and greens and that was that.

Then last week I was teaching at my friend Lisa‘s house and she was telling me about her CSA boxes and how exciting it has been receiving such great produce every week. Lisa said she had gotten so many kiwis the last few weeks that she was forced to find a few new delicious ways to enjoy them, including an amazing kiwi salsa with pomegranates. Light bulb. Oh really? Tell me more. She had made a very easy chunky salsa that was more tart than sweet, but had creamy avocados and crunchy pomegranate seeds. The universe was telling me to make this no matter how crazy it sounded. I love kiwis as much as the next person and you know I am mad for pomegranates and avocados, so how bad could it be?

A few nights ago I planned on pan-seared wild halibut with the salsa plus some cilantro rice and cauliflower. I wouldn’t say that fish gets everyone super excited in our house, except me of course. And Daughter #2 is still on her anti-seafood campaign. But everyone FREAKED out over this salsa and the fish. My husband said, “I have to say I am delightfully surprised by how much I like this. This salsa is fantastic.” He’s really not as dorky as he sounds. He and Mr. Picky polished off their fish and salsa and then proceeded to finish the remaining salsa with tortilla chips. Mr. Picky even suggested making the salsa with fish tacos. Success!

This was not as sweet as a mango or pineapple salsa, which the hubby doesn’t care for. Instead kiwis and pomegranates are both a little tart, probably more tart than a peak-of-summer tomato. And it’s a great option for the winter when all these ingredients are in season. Plus, it’s super nutritious! Kiwis, pomegranates and jalapenos are loaded with Vitamin C and antioxidants. And avocados have amazing healthful fats and Vitamin E. All great beauty foods! I made this two hours ahead of eating it in the 15 minutes I had between coming back from dropping Mr. Picky off at soccer and picking up Daughter #2 to go to music lessons. What is better than fast and easy? I think I’m I’m going change up our standard Super Bowl fare and make a bowl of this. It’s a new year people and I’m going to act like it!

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Kiwi Salsa

Author: Pamela, adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Serves: makes about 1½ cups

Ingredients

1 cup diced peeled kiwifruit, about 3-4 kiwis (don't choose kiwis that are too soft)
¼ cup pomegranate seeds (see how to seed a pomegranate)
½ an avocado, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon thinly sliced green onion (white and light green parts)
½ Tablespoon minced fresh, seeded jalapeno (or more or less according to your desired heat level)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (about 6 sprigs) -- you can add more, but I was rushing to finish this
1 teaspoon unrefined extra-virgin olive oil
a few pinches of sea salt or to taste

Instructions

In a medium bowl, gently combine all ingredients so you don’t mash the avocado and kiwi. Taste for seasonings, specifically jalapeno and salt, and adjust accordingly. I like to let salsas sit for an hour or so to allow the flavors to meld. Keep covered so the avocado doesn’t brown.

avocado cilantro jalapeno kiwi olive oil pomegranate scallion