I love my crock pot. And I love finding new things to cook in it. I found this really easy recipe over on $5 dinners and adjusted it a tiny bit.

Easy Chicken & Dumplings

2 large chicken breasts, diced

I love my crock pot. And I love finding new things to cook in it. I found this really easy recipe over on $5 dinners and adjusted it a tiny bit.

Easy Chicken & Dumplings

2 large chicken breasts, diced
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 can cream of chicken soup or comparable substitute (normally I would not use a can and make sauce from scratch, but we got free soup at the grocery store yesterday)
Salt, pepper, other spices to taste
1 can biscuit dough

Throw everything but the dough into the crock pot and cook on low for about 8 hours. Add a little water, but not too much, as there will be liquid created by the cooking process and you want this to be creamy, not brothy. About an hour before serving, add the biscuits on top.

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Not a hit. We didn’t have lime juice so I improvised a marinade and it didn’t end up being flavorful. Plus the meat was kind of grisly and the veggies didn’t get cooked long enough. Oh well! Next time we’ll plan our time [...]]]>

Not a hit. We didn’t have lime juice so I improvised a marinade and it didn’t end up being flavorful. Plus the meat was kind of grisly and the veggies didn’t get cooked long enough. Oh well! Next time we’ll plan our time better and have the right ingredients!

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Instead of having what was planned tonight (lentil soup) we headed to Mighty Fine for some burgers, fries, and a chocolate shake. It was really good, plus they use all-natural ingredients so I didn’t feel disgusting after eating like I would if I had [...]]]>

Instead of having what was planned tonight (lentil soup) we headed to Mighty Fine for some burgers, fries, and a chocolate shake. It was really good, plus they use all-natural ingredients so I didn’t feel disgusting after eating like I would if I had scarfed the same food at some other restaurant which shall remain nameless. We’ll definitely be back there, and I’ll write a better review!

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The dough this time was made with white flour, wheat flour, and rye “flour”. (I took rye flakes and tried to pulverize them in the processor, but when you have a child who cries at the sound of it, only about half gets pulverized.) [...]]]>

The dough this time was made with white flour, wheat flour, and rye “flour”. (I took rye flakes and tried to pulverize them in the processor, but when you have a child who cries at the sound of it, only about half gets pulverized.) We’ll use the rest of the onion for fajitas on Sunday and the leftover sausage will go to breakfast tacos through the week.

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Central Market makes this awesome frozen pumpkin tortellini. The problem is, I couldn’t figure out what kind of sauce to put them in. Last time we did olive oil and herbs, and that was OK, but something wasn’t right about it. Cream sauce [...]]]>

Central Market makes this awesome frozen pumpkin tortellini. The problem is, I couldn’t figure out what kind of sauce to put them in. Last time we did olive oil and herbs, and that was OK, but something wasn’t right about it. Cream sauce makes sense, but there’s a problem with that as well: I suck at making cream or cheese sauces. I always follow the directions (at least I thought I did) but I end up with glops of cheese in a pool of liquid. Sigh. But for some reason I thought I would give it another go, and magically it all came together tonight.

Parmesan Lemon Cream Sauce
adapted from Dinner with Pati and Bruce

3 tbsp butter
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a bagged 4-cheese Italian blend)
salt, pepper, and parsley

Melt butter in a saucepan, then add the half-and-half and all the lemon juice.

Simmer on medium heat about 8 minutes. Cook pasta while sauce is simmering. Add 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir and remove from heat.

Drain pasta, return to pot, and stir in sauce and remaining cheese. Cook a couple minutes more until heated through. Serve with parsley sprinkled over the top.

http://www.stetted.com/index.php/2009/02/19/month-of-meals-pumpkin-tortellini-with-parmesan-lemon-cream-sauce/| © Megan Myers, stetted, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Super easy, way more healthful chicken strips:

1. Grab a slice of bread. Homemade if you can. Rip into chunks and toss into food processor, then process until it’s all crumbs.
2. Mix a dollop of yogurt with some milk (so [...]]]>

Super easy, way more healthful chicken strips:

1. Grab a slice of bread. Homemade if you can. Rip into chunks and toss into food processor, then process until it’s all crumbs.
2. Mix a dollop of yogurt with some milk (so it is a little runny).
3. Mix breadcrumbs with some paprika and pepper, or any other spices you’d like.
4. Dip chicken pieces into yogurt, then roll around in breadcrumbs.
5. Cook chicken on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

This was the first time I’ve made breaded chicken that actually had the breading stick to the chicken and not the pan. Plus the yogurt keeps the chicken juicy instead of it getting dried out. And my son, the chicken nugget maniac, enjoyed them as well.

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Garlic peppercorn pork roast cooked in the slow-cooker along with red potatoes.

A little salty for my tastes. I was going to make apple pork roast, but saw this at the store instead and grabbed it without checking ingredients on the marinade. That’ll [...]]]>

Garlic peppercorn pork roast cooked in the slow-cooker along with red potatoes.

A little salty for my tastes. I was going to make apple pork roast, but saw this at the store instead and grabbed it without checking ingredients on the marinade. That’ll learn me.

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Stuffed with rice, ground turkey, tomato sauce, and Italian cheese blend.

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Stuffed with rice, ground turkey, tomato sauce, and Italian cheese blend.

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I had been thinking about what to make for Valentine’s dessert for weeks. Cinnamon-orange creme brulee? Chocolate mousse parfaits? Flourless chocolate cake? Well, Joy the Baker came through for me again with this recipe for a chocolate cake with raspberries. I’ve mentioned Joy before. [...]]]>

I had been thinking about what to make for Valentine’s dessert for weeks. Cinnamon-orange creme brulee? Chocolate mousse parfaits? Flourless chocolate cake? Well, Joy the Baker came through for me again with this recipe for a chocolate cake with raspberries. I’ve mentioned Joy before. Every single thing she posts I want to make. Everything. This recipe makes the fourth of hers I’ve done, and that’s kind of saying a lot, since I only found her blog in December.

Anyway, this cake was so easy to make, and when I divided the recipe down to 1/4, it was exactly enough for my three tiny 4-inch cake pans. I cheated and used some canned frosting because I still have a bunch left from October, but who cares? The raspberries on top were tart and the perfect match for chocolate cake. I think this recipe would be great for cupcakes.

Oh, and the cake tastes pretty damn good when you microwave it for 20 seconds or so. Just sayin’.

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For Valentine’s Day instead of going out I made a “fancy” dinner at home. As in, we put the kid to bed, opened a bottle of wine, and ate later. OK, I also made foods we don’t normally have. I saw a recipe for lamb in [...]]]>

For Valentine’s Day instead of going out I made a “fancy” dinner at home. As in, we put the kid to bed, opened a bottle of wine, and ate later. OK, I also made foods we don’t normally have. I saw a recipe for lamb in Cooking Light a while back and I wanted an excuse to try it. This was pretty good, although next time I’ll see about grinding up the spices or something. I need to get a small mill for this, as the mortar and pestle doesn’t really do much for seeds except make a mess on my counter.

Rosemary, garlic, fennel, salt, pepper on the outside of the lamb. Served with fan potatoes, spinach salad, bread, and Menage a Trois white wine.

This was a very spendy meal, but considering the amount we would have spent on a dinner out, it was worth it.

http://www.stetted.com/index.php/2009/02/14/month-of-meals-lamb/| © Megan Myers, stetted, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
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