Crockpot, Main Dish

Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless; frozen is fine)
2 heads of garlic
carrots (however many it will take to make about 3-4 cups chunks)
3/4 cup to 1 cup wine – red, white, or a combination thereof
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions
Put the chicken breasts into the slow cooker and sprinkle them with the salt and the pepper.

Separate and peel the garlic cloves (leave whole), and peel (or just wash) and cut carrots into bite-sized pieces. Dump these on top of the chicken.

Pour the wine over the top of everything. Place lid on slow cooker, and cook on low for roughly 8 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta.

Desserts

Apple Walnut Cake

Recipe comes from Stephanie Phelps.

Ingredients
4 heaping cups grated apple (or summer squash)
2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake rounds and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix shredded apples with sugar and spices.

Add eggs and oil, and stir well.

Mix in flour and nuts; stir until blended, and pour into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (or until knife inserted in center comes out clean).

Main Dish

Farmers Market Frittata

Feeds 6 – 8

Ingredients
8 eggs (can also sub 2 egg whites for 1 egg for some of these)
6 slices bacon
1/2 pound mushrooms (whatever kind you like), sliced thin
1 onion, chopped
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1 sweet potato (about 6 – 8 ounces), cubed

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cook bacon in large oven-safe skillet over low to medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon; pat gently to remove grease, and crumble when cooled. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the skillet.

Increase heat to medium-high and add sweet potato; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 4 -5 minutes). Stir in the cabbage, onion and mushrooms, then cook until browned, and vegetables have reduced in size (they will all give off a lot of liquid), about 4 – 5 minutes.

Whisk all eggs together in large bowl, then pour slowly over the vegetable mixture so that it is evenly covered. Sprinkle crumbled bacon evenly over the top (bacon will sink into the egg mixture).

Cook over medium-high heat until edges begin to set, but center is still runny (about 4 minutes).

Remove from heat and place skillet in oven. Bake until center is set and edges are golden brown (10 – 15 minutes). To check, give skillet a gentle shake; if center jiggles, it needs a bit more time.

Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, then serve.

Season with salt and pepper to taste at the dinner table.

Main Dish

Slawed Fish Sandwiches

Adapted from this recipe, to make much simpler and lighter.
Servings: 8

Ingredients
4 tilapia filets (or any firm, white fish), about 1 pound
8 rolls, halved and toasted
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons pickle relish
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 head (about 1 pound) cabbage, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix mustard, relish, and honey well in small bowl and set aside.

Cut each tilapia fillet in half. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. In a skillet spritzed with nonstick spray, cook the tilapia pieces over medium heat, about 2 minutes on each side, until done.

Assemble sandwiches (on toast or rolls) as follows: spread mustard mixture liberally on the roll, then place 1 tilapia piece on the rolls, and top with a generous handful of shredded cabbage.

Serve with plenty of napkins (this will be messy!)

Desserts

Sugar Cookies

Makes about 8 dozen

These cookies are not the plain, boring, flavorless sugar cookie you find in the store; these are soft and delicious, with just a hint of spice. Try them plain, decorate them with frosting, or just top them with a sprinkling of brown sugar before you bake them.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups shortening
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
2 cups sour milk or buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
5 – 7 cups flour

Directions
In large bowl, cream together sugar and shortening. Stir in salt and nutmeg and mix well. Then add eggs, milk and baking soda, and slowly add in about 5 cups of flour to thicken.

Roll out dough, cut into shapes, and bake in 400 F oven for 8 – 10 minutes, or until edges are pale golden brown.

Main Dish, Soups and Stews, Vegetarian

Chickpea Noodle Soup

I started with this recipe, then went from there.

Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients
2 cans chickpeas (garbonzo beans), rinsed and drained
8 ounces wide or spiral noodles
1 bunch kale, washed and chopped fine
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped fine
2 large celery ribs, washed and chopped fine
6 cups water
2 cubes vegetable bouillon

Directions
Pour six cups of water and vegetable bouillon into large pot and bring to a boil, to dissolve.

Add carrots and celery; cook about 5 minutes, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Stir in kale and noodles; reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, or length of time as called for on noodle package.

When noodles are done, stir in chickpeas, then cover and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Note: We use Ronzini Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat noodles for this; could use regular egg noodles instead, if preferred.

Crockpot, Preserved Foods

Apple Butter

Recipe adapted from here
Makes 6 – 8 pints

Ingredients
5 – 6 pounds of apples – mix of varieties is best
1/4 cup water
1 – 3 cups of sugar (to taste)
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Core, peel and chop the apples. Fill the crockpot as full as you can get it, while still allowing the lid to fit. Add 1/4 cup water; cover and cook on medium heat overnight, or until the apples are completely soft.

Puree apples to desired consistency (I prefer my apple butter completely smooth; you may want to leave yours chunky) and return to crockpot.

Stir in 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar, cloves, and allspice. Resume cooking (on low to medium heat) with lid off for 4 – 8 hours, or until butter has reduced to desired thickness.

Add additional sugar, cinnamon, and salt to taste (types of apples have varying sweetness, so you should taste first, then adjust accordingly).

Sterilize pint jars and lids. Fill jars with apple butter and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Preserved Foods

Vanilla Peach Jam

Recipe slightly modified from the Peach Pie Preserves recipe found here

Ingredients
8 cups of peeled, sliced peaches
5 Cups sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the peaches and 2 cups of sugar in a large pot over medium heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. When peaches are soft enough to crush against the side of the pot with a spoon, stir in the remaining ingredients. Mix with a potato masher if you like your jam chunky, or if you’re like me and prefer your jam smoother, blend with a blender or food processor. Cook over medium heat another five to ten minutes until jam thickens to desired consistency (test by putting a small spoonful on a plate and allowing to cool), stirring regularly to avoid burning.

Pour into sterilized glass jars (follow manufacturer’s instructions for sterilizing jars and lids) and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 8 half-pint jars of incredibly delicious jam.

Option:
Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to jam if desired (or try some other combination of your favorite spices)

Soups and Stews, Vegetarian

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients
6 cups fat free, low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup fat free milk
4 tablespoons fat free sour cream
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
5 cups broccoli florets
1 cup potato flakes

Stir together onion, garlic, and broth in large pot. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Stir in potato flakes and milk, then add broccoli and simmer 10 minutes more, covered.

Puree soup in blender or food processor. Return to pot, stir in sour cream. Serve warm.

Side Dish, Vegetarian

Japanese Cucumber Salad

Ingredients
2 medium cucumbers
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sesme seeds, toasted

Directions
Combine vinegar, sugar in salt in medium bowl and stir to dissolve.

Wash cucumbers thoroughly, then slice as thin as possible. Add cucumber slices and toasted sesame seeds to vinegar mix; toss well to combine.

Serve immediately.

A collection of some of our favorite recipes