Crockpot Hoisin Chicken

 
I love my crockpot, but I have to be honest, I have a hard time finding good chicken recipes for it.  So often the chicken ends up really dry.  Whenever that happens I am so disappointed, but I'm not willing to give up on chicken in the crockpot.  When I saw Cookin Canuck's recipe for Hoisin Chicken in the crockpot I immediately gave it a try.  It was super juicy and the flavor was good, but I made a few tweaks to suit my family's tastes and to minimize dishes (my favorite thing).

For those of you who aren't familiar with Hoisin sauce, it is a thick, dark, sweet sauce used in Chinese cooking.  My first introduction to Hoisin sauce was as a little girl with the minced chicken lettuce wraps at Panda Inn, yum yum!  It is the star of this Crockpot Hoisin Chicken, but the soy sauce, ginger, and chili garlic sauce keep it from being too sweet.

It has been super hot here so the crockpot allows us to have a delicious homemade dinner without me standing over a hot stove or heating up our house with the oven.  This Crockpot Hoisin Chicken is also incredibly easy to make.  

Start out by spraying your crockpot with cooking spray and then putting some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the bottom.  To be honest, I'm not sure if you need the cooking spray, but I always use it when I'm cooking with my crockpot to make for an easy clean up. 

In a large liquid measuring cup combine your sauce ingredients.  You will need soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chicken stock, a little bit of honey, some minced ginger (I used a frozen cube from Trader Joe's), and some chili garlic sauce.  We don't like things very salty so I used low-sodium soy sauce and chicken stock.  Mix all of your sauce ingredients together and then pour it over the chicken.

Put the lid on and cook on low until the chicken is cooked through.  The amount of time will depend on your crockpot and how big your chicken breasts are.  It took mine about 2 1/2 hours.  Once the chicken is cooked through, take it out of the crockpot to shred it. 

Combine some corn starch and water and then stir it into the sauce in your crockpot.  Add the shredded chicken back in, give it a good stir, and continue to cook for about 30 more minutes so that the chicken can absorb some more of that delicious flavor.  If you are nervous about dry chicken because your crockpot has let you down in the past, do not worry.  Look how juicy that chicken is!

I served mine with our favorite brown rice and quinoa blend and some steamed broccoli.  This chicken is so flavorful and delicious.  The next day I made a little salad with the leftovers, some lettuce, a little rice vinegar, some extra Hoisin, and a few peanuts.  No matter what you pair with this Hoisin chicken, it is absolutely delicious!

Crockpot Hoisin Chicken
Adapted From Cookin Canuck 
 

• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbls. honey
• 1 tsp. minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• 2 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbls. cornstarch
• 2 tbls. water

1. Spray your crock pot with cooking spray and place chicken in the bottom.
2. In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup combine soy sauce, hoisin, sauce, chicken broth, honey, ginger, and chili garlic sauce.  Pour over the chicken.
3. Cook on low 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until cooked through.
4. Remove the chicken and shred it.
5. Combine the cornstarch and water and stir it into the sauce.  Put the chicken back in the crockpot and continue to cook about 30 more minutes so it has a chance to absorb the sauce.

Quinoa, Beet, & Pistachio Salad

I love beets but they've always been something I've ordered out rather than cooked at home because I didn't want to deal with the hassle or the mess of cooking them myself.  Enter the beauty that is Trader Joe's.  They have these wonderful, ready to eat, peeled and cooked beets.  I love them!  I usually just eat them with goat cheese and salad dressing but I wanted to make a full meal with them.

Recently my mom was out visiting and bought a trio of nut oils.  One of the three was pistachio oil and I've been trying to decide what to do with it.

I finally came up with this Quinoa, Beet, & Pistachio Salad.  It is so, so good!  The quinoa gives protein so it is a complete meal.  Goat cheese is my favorite thing to pair with beets and it works beautifully in this salad.  Adding in some pistachios gives it crunch and some fresh arugula adds a peppery bite.

Start out by making some quinoa.  If you want to keep it vegetarian then cook it with water or vegetable stock.  I had a little bit of chicken stock that needed to get used so I cooked it in that with a few shakes of garlic powder.

While the quinoa cools, cut the beets into bite-sized wedges.  Then start your dressing.  Combine some pistachio oil, red wine vinegar, garlic salt, white pepper, oregano, a little dijon, and a clove of garlic.

Toss the quinoa with the dressing.  Add in the beets, some goat cheese, a few handfuls of arugula, and some pistachios.  Mix it all together and lunch is ready.  Enjoy!

Quinoa, Beet, & Pistachio Salad

• 2 1/4 cups cooked quinoa (3/4 cup dry quinoa, 1 1/2 cups liquid)
• 1 8-oz. package peeled & steamed beets
• 1/4 cup pistachio oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. onion salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachio pieces
• 1 to 2 cups arugula

1. Cut beets into bite sized wedges.
2. Make dressing: Combine pistachio oil through garlic.
3. Toss quinoa with dressing.
4. Add beets, goat cheese, pistachios, and arugula.  Toss until combined. 

I'm linking up with Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Create It Thursday, Project Stash, Pin Junkie, Pin It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Funday, Busy Monday, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad In Crafts, Create Link Inspire, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits, and Wake Up Wednesday.
 

Balsamic & Bacon Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

A while back I discovered this burger recipe that was topped with Balsamic & Bacon Caramelized Onions.  The burger was good, but the onions were out of this world!  We couldn't get enough. 

I was at Trader Joe's and picked up a block of this Cheddar and Gruyere melange.  It screamed out at me to be made into a grilled cheese and I knew that those onions would be the perfect complement to the strong flavor of the cheese.

Start out by making the onions.  Cut some bacon into small pieces and brown in a large pan.  While the bacon is cooking, slice up a red onion.  Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and drain off most of the grease from the pan.  Add the onions to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook over medium for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to get soft.

Add in some balsamic, a little dijon mustard, the cooked bacon, and some water.  Leave the pan uncovered and continue to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed (about 3 more minutes).  I highly recommend making a double batch of these onions.  You can freeze them for whenever a craving strikes.  I do!  Then just defrost them in the fridge, or stick them on the counter for an hour or so, and reheat in the microwave.

Once you have your onions ready take a nice crusty bread, I used sourdough, and slice it kind of thick.  You want to use something hearty to hold up to the juicy onions.  This is not the time for soft potato bread.

After you slice your bread, slice enough cheese to cover your bread twice, you will be putting two layers of cheese on each sandwich.

Butter one side of your bread, I actually used a few spritzes of spray butter, and lay it buttered side down in a pan preheated over medium heat and sprayed with cooking spray.  Lay down your cheese slices to cover the bread.

Then use a fork to scoop the onions on top of the cheese (this will help make sure there isn't too much liquid).

 
Put another layer of cheese on top of the onions. 

Top this all with another slice of bread with the buttered side facing up.  Cover the pan and continue to cook, checking every couple of minutes, until the bottom layer of cheese starts to melt.  Then use a spatula to flip the sandwich.

Cook until the cheese is melted.  Then use a spatula to slide the sandwich onto your plate.  I recommend letting it cool for a couple of minutes before digging in.

The sharp flavor of the cheddar-gruyere, the sweet and tangy flavors from the onions, and the thick crusty buttered bread combine to create grilled cheese nirvana.  Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Balsamic & Bacon Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese
Adapted from Tracy's Culinary Adventures

• Sourdough or other crusty bread
• butter or butter spray
• Cheddar & Gruyere melange
• Balsamic & Bacon Caramelized Onions
• 5 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. dijon

To make onions:

1. Cook bacon over medium heat in a large pan.  When cooked, remove to a paper towel lined plate and pour out all but 1 tbls. of bacon grease from the pan.
2. Add onions to the pan with the bacon grease and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove cover and stir in balsamic vinegar, water, dijon, and cooked bacon.  Continue to cook, uncovered, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes.

To assemble sandwiches:

1. Cut sourdough into thick slices and cut enough cheese to cover the bread twice.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Butter one side of the bread and place buttered side down in the pan.
3. Cover the bread with cheese slices.  Then use a fork to top cheese with Balsamic Bacon Caramelized Onions.  Place another layer of cheese on the onions.  Top it all with another slice of bread, buttered side facing out.
4. Cover the pan and cook until the bottom layer of cheese starts to melt.  Flip the sandwich and continue to cook until the cheese is melted.  

I'm linking up with Tasty Tuesday, Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Pin It Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper Saturday, Weekend Potluck, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad Skills, Create Link Inspire, Tasty Tuesdays, Two Cup Tuesday, Made By Me, Tasty Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, White Lights On Wednesday, and Wake Up Wednesdays, Project Stash, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, and Pin It Thursday. 

Warm Lentil & Arugula Salad

It's no secret that I love Trader Joe's.  They have so many wonderful products that make my life easier.  This recipe takes advantage of several of them.

My sister's neighbor gave her this really easy recipe for lentil tacos and while I love it, I think it is actually even better as a simple salad.  Just a few ingredients and you have a healthy and delicious vegetarian meal perfect for when you are short on time.

Start out by heating up a little olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add in a container of TJ's chopped onion, garlic, and shallot mix and saute until the onions are translucent.

Add in a package of pre-cooked lentils and use your spoon to break them up.  Add in some salt and pepper and a little cayenne if you want a bit of a kick.  Stir it every so often until the lentils are warmed through.

Put a bag of arugula into a large serving bowl.  Squeeze on the juice of a lemon, some olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and some shaved parmesan, romano, asiago mix.  Toss this all together.

Add the lentil mixture to the salad mixture, give it a quick toss, and lunch is served.

Warm Lentil & Arugula Salad

• 1 package onion, garlic, shallot mix
• 1 package pre-cooked lentils
• 1 package arugula
• 1 lemon
• 1 container shaved parmesan, romano, and asiago
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• cayenne (optional)

1. Heat 1 tbls. olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add in onion, garlic, and shallot mix, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
2. Add lentils to onion mixture, breaking them up with a spoon.  Add salt, pepper, and cayenne (optional) to taste.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until warmed through (about 5 minutes).
3. In a large bowl combine arugula with the juice of the lemon, 2-3 tbls. olive oil, the container of cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss well.
4. Add lentil mixture to salad mixture.  Toss and serve. 

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Pin Junkie, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Weekend Potluck, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Funday, Two Cup Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad Skills Party, Create Link Inspire, Made By Me, Tasty Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Create It Thursday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Project Stash, and Showcase Your Talent Thursday.

 

Arugula, Sun Dried Tomato, & Feta Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is one of my favorite party foods.  When I throw a birthday party, I tend to go all out (check out my Cars and Superman parties here: 1, 2, 3, 4), so I like foods that can be made in advance and don't need to be served hot.  This arugula, sun-dried tomato, and feta pasta salad is one I turn to again and again.  I regularly get asked for the recipe so I thought I would post it on here so that everyone can make it.

What really sets this pasta salad apart is the dressing.  It's based on a salad dressing that my stepmom makes.  The trick is a combination of two vinegars, red wine and rice wine.  A lot of pasta salads use a pre-made dressing but homemade dressings are super easy and make a huge difference.

Start out by cooking your pasta according to the directions on the pasta.  I used penne this time but any short pasta you like is perfect.  While your pasta is cooking make the dressing.  Combine some extra-virgin olive oil with equal parts rice wine and red wine vinegars.  Stir in a little dijon mustard, dried oregano, onion salt, and pepper.

Drain the pasta and then toss with the dressing while it's still warm.  Refrigerate the pasta until it is cool then add in a container of feta with mediterranean herbs and half of a jar of julienned sun-dried tomatoes.  I got my feta and my tomatoes at Trader Joe's.

Toss it all together and refrigerate until ready to serve.  You can make it to this point the day before.

Right before serving, add in about half of a package of arugula and toss it all together.  Then sit back and wait for the compliments to come rolling in.  This is the perfect pasta salad to bring to a barbecue this holiday weekend.

Arugula, Sun-Dried Tomato, & Feta Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. pasta, penne or other short shape
• 4 oz. oil-packed julienned sun-dried tomatoes
• 6 oz. package crumbled feta with mediterranean herbs
• 3 1/2 oz. arugula

For Dressing:

• 3 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbls. red wine vinegar
• 3 tbls. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. onion salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. While pasta cooks whisk together all dressing ingredients.  Drain pasta and toss with dressing while still warm.  Cover and refrigerate until cool.
3. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and feta and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Right before serving, add arugula and toss well.

I'm linking up with Wednesday Whatsits, Wake Up Wednesdays, Whimsy Wednesdays, Made By Me, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Pin It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Moonlight & Mason Jars, T.G.I.F., Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Funday, Busy Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tips & Tricks, Create Link Inspire, Mad Skills, and Lou Lou Girls.  

Spinach Quiche

I have a strange child.  He dislikes most normal kid foods.  He doesn't like chicken strips, he just recently decided he will tolerate pizza, and he loves vegetables.  For the last couple of years if you ask him what his favorite food is he will tell you quiche.  This of course is wonderful for me because it is pretty healthy and is really quick and easy to make.  Added to that, it is really good leftover so I can make it in advance if I need to.  It is also really easy to customize, in fact I almost titled this post Quiche, Any Way You Like It.

Start out with a pre-made pie crust.  If you prefer not to serve your family packaged foods, feel free to make your crust from scratch, but we are working on being imperfectionists in this house so pre-made it is.  Honestly, my best results are with the store brand crust from Stater Bros.  The Pillsbury one is good too, but in my house we go Stater Bros.  You will need to take the crust out of the fridge about 20 minutes in advance otherwise when you try to unroll it, it will stick together and you'll have holes to fix.  While your oven or toaster oven (I have an extra large toaster oven which I love because I can bake without heating up my house) preheats to 425, unroll your pie crust into a pyrex pie dish and prick it all over with a fork.  Bake your pie crust for about 8 minutes.  This will prevent you from having a soggy crust.

While your crust is baking it is time to make your filling.  Start out by pouring 1 cup of milk into a large measuring cup.  I use skim because that is what we drink but you can use whatever you have on hand.  You can use a bowl if you want to, but if you mix your filling in the measuring cup it is easy to pour into the crust and you have to measure the milk anyway so you are using one less dish.  Crack in 4 eggs.  Add in some garlic powder, white pepper, and onion salt.  Whisk it all together.

At this point you can add anything combination of cheeses, meats, and vegetables you would like.   Jake's favorite combination involves spinach and the Trader Joe's swiss & gruyere blend.  Josh likes it better when I add some crumbled cooked bacon or sausage but I usually keep it vegetarian because it's easier healthier.  I do not recommend using fresh spinach.  I am rarely a proponent of frozen spinach but when I use fresh it all floats to the top of the quiche and I like it mixed throughout.

If you want to be like me, pour about a 1/3 of the bag of frozen chopped spinach into a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Then drain the spinach and add it to the egg mixture along with the cheese.  My super easy way to drain the spinach involves using my plastic kid bowls and placing an empty one on top of the one with the spinach and then pressing down on it while I dump the water out.  This is way easier to clean up than how I used to do it (pressing it in a fine strainer).

By now your crust should be ready.  Add some cheese and the drained spinach to your egg mixture.   Then pour it into your crust.

Turn the oven down to 375 and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the eggs are set.  Then take it out and cover it loosely with a paper towel.  Wait 10 minutes, then cut and serve.  You can also make this in advance, refrigerate it and then reheat each piece in the microwave.  I love to take the leftovers for lunch the next day.  You have to love a one dish meal that can be so easily customized and is just as good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

*If you are going low carb you can make this without the crust.  Just skip the instructions about the crust, spray the pie dish with cooking spray, and follow the rest of the instructions.  You can also pour the mixture into muffin tins to make individual quiches and then freeze those to always have a quick breakfast on hand.

Spinach & Cheese Quiche

• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 1 cup skim milk 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. onion salt
• 1/2 cup shredded swiss/gruyere blend
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Unroll pie crust into pyrex pie dish and prick all over with a fork.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Then take it out and reduce oven temperature to 375.
2. In a large measuring cup whisk together milk, eggs, garlic powder, white pepper, and onion salt.
3. Put frozen spinach in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes to defrost.  Then drain completely and add to the egg mixture along with the cheese.
4. Pour into the prebaked crust and bake for 25-30 minutes or until eggs are set.
5. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving. 

I'm linking up with Tasty Tuesdays, Wake Up Wednesday, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesdays, Real Creative Life, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Create It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Pin It Thursday, Less Laundry More Linking, Pin Junkie, Link Party Palooza, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Best of the Weekend, and Show Stopper Saturday.

True Food Kitchen Kale Salad

Several months ago a friend and I met for lunch at True Food Kitchen.  On her recommendation I ordered their kale salad and absolutely loved it.  The restaurant isn't very close to me so I decided I would try to make it at home.  Luckily, they have their recipe online.   It is just as good at home as it was in the restaurant.

I made a few changes to the recipe.  True Food calls for using homemade bread crumbs and while I don't doubt that they are wonderful, I don't have the time or inclination for that.  Panko works great as a substitution.  I also used less breadcrumbs and less parmesan.

One of my favorite things about this salad is that it is good for days.  Most salads are gross the next day because they get soggy.  Kale is the exact opposite.  If anything it gets better with time.  I love to make a batch of this and then eat it for lunch all week long.  I usually serve it with a little grilled chicken for protein since I am pregnant, but it is delicious as is.

Start out by tearing up your kale, discarding the tough ribs.  My store didn't have Tuscan Kale so I bought the bag of organic, chopped Tuscan kale at TJ's.  If you do what I did, it is a little more labor intensive because you have to pick through it all to strip the ribs whereas if you buy it by the bunch you can just hold the whole leaf and strip it all the way down.

Once you have your kale prepped, mix up the dressing.  In a liquid measuring cup combine the oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Then pour this over the kale and toss to combine.  It will look slightly overdressed at this point, but trust me, it isn't.

Next add the parmesan and toss it again.  Now let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Finally add the breadcrumbs and toss again.  Let it sit again before serving.  I prefer to make it the night before.

As you can see there are only a few ingredients so it is important to use high quality ingredients.  This means extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and good parmesan.  I like to use Trader Joe's grated parmesan and romano blend.  I hope you love this salad as much as I do.

Kale Salad
Adapted from True Food Kitchen

• 4 - 6 cups torn Tuscan kale leaves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• salt & pepper to taste
• generous pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs 

1. Tear up the kale leaves, being sure to remove the ribs, and place in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Then pour over the kale and toss well.
3. Add parmesan cheese and toss well.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Add panko and toss well.  Let sit at least 5 minutes or overnight.

*Keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I'm linking up with Weekend Potluck,  Inspiration Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesdays, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wonderful Food Wednesdays,  Pin Junkie, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekeend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, and Sweet & Savoury Sunday.