Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Crock Pot 6 Comments

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This is an oldie but goodie that I haven’t made in a while.  I had a busy day and planned on attending our local high school’s swim meet (to see a friend’s daughter who was on the other team) and to cheer on our team.  I love being able to throw all of the ingredients into the crock pot and having dinner ready when we are!  I just prepared some brown jasmine rice earlier so that I just had to heat it.

1.5 lbs of boneless chicken tenders
3/4 cup of raw honey or regular honey
1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup low sodium organic ketchup
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 green onions, diced for topping
Toasted sesame seeds, topping

Directions:

Into your slow cooker add the chicken.  In a small bowl combine the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil and garlic.  Whisk until combined.  Pour over the chicken.  Then add the onions on top and red pepper flakes.  Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.  Serve over rice, brown rice, quinoa, noodles or whatever you wish.  Top with green onions and sesame seeds.

— Knead to Cook

White Wine Braised Chicken with Thyme.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Valentine's Day 6 Comments

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Braising meat, if you’ve never done it, is so easy and such a flavorful way of cooking a typically low cost meat (red) but I opted to use some chicken for this recipe.  It’s flexible, work with what you have on hand.  You can braise this on the stovetop or in the oven, like I did, for a minimum of 2 hours but up to 4-6.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Chicken breasts and thighs (one piece per person as a guide)
1/2 roughly chopped yellow onion
1 large or 2 medium carrots, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour (I used King Arthur’s)
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
8 olives, various Mediterranean, pitted
(2-3 cups) White wine, I used Pinot Grigio (anything you would drink)
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

First your going to start by browning the meat.  In a large Dutch oven heat some olive oil in the bottom of the pan.  Let it get hot and then add the meat.  AVOID overcrowding, working in batches, and let the meat sear on each side for at least 5-6 minutes.  You want a good crust on the meat, which adds the deep flavor to the final dish.  Then flip and repeat.  Remove and set aside.  Working until all of the meat is completed.  Then add the onions, carrots and garlic.  You may need to add additional olive oil, if so, splash some in.  Cook the veggies for 6 minutes.  Then add the tomato paste and flour.  Give it a good stir.  Then add the chicken back in, now is okay to overlap and overcrowd.  Add the olives, thyme and white wine (don’t be shy with the wine).  Cover.

Add to the oven and let it braise for hours.  I let it go all afternoon (6 hrs) just checking on the liquid level every hour.  Add additional wine as necessary.  You don’t want to the meat to dry out.  I would suggest having at least 4 inches of liquid in there at all times.  Remove and let rest for 10 minutes.  Then serve.  I served with sesame zucchini slices.  It is heavenly!

— Knead to Cook

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Crock Pot, Mexican 9 Comments

 

 

Tonight, again, I’m out doing a presentation and won’t be home for dinner.  Coincidentally, I’ve also had several requests for more crock pot recipes, so I thought I would feature one of my favorites.  For some reason, I haven’t made this in quite some time but I really do love the combination of cilantro and lime.  I pair this up with some brown rice or quinoa and you have a wonderfully easy, and flavorful dish.

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken breasts, washed and trimmed
14 ounces of chopped tomatoes
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 onion, chopped
1- 14 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)
Salt and pepper
Dash of cayenne

Directions:

Place everything in the crock pot and give it a good stir to coat everything and mix all of the spices.  Cook on low for 4+ hours.  Serve over brown rice or quinoa.  You can also chop the chicken and use in fajitas or tacos.

— Knead to Cook

Homemade Chicken Broth & Soup.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Soups 4 Comments

Yesterday I made a roasted chicken that I purchased from my local Amish farmer.  I roasted it yesterday and then I wanted to make chicken stock and soup from the carcass. I know, many people just toss the carcass out without much thought but I promise, if you try this recipe, you’ll never do that again!  Plus I got two meals for 5 people for $11!  Can’t beat that with a stick.  Ha!

 

I’ll write this up in easy step-by-step instructions.  Take creative license with it as you need to as I encourage that!

Place your Dutch oven (I use a Le Creuset Dutch Oven) over a medium flame on your stove.  Into the pan add your chicken carcass (with much of the meat removed) and add 10 cups of water.  Then add 2 or 3 carrots, thick slices, 1/2 of of onion, 2 celery stalks with leafy tops, 4-6 sprigs of Rosemary, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Once it boils, turn it down to the lowest setting and cover.  Let this simmer for 2-6 hours.  Add additional water as needed.

Once the simmering stage is complete, strain the broth (reserving it) and discard the other items.  At this point, you can store/freeze the broth or you can choose to make soup.

If going the soup route, return the broth to the dutch oven.  Add carrot slices (3 carrots), 1/2 diced onion, 4 celery stalks with leaves and season as necessary.  I don’t keep the vegetables I cook the broth in because they tend to get really slimy and my kids won’t eat it.  If you don’t mind, add those veggies back in to the broth.  Make your choice of noodles and you have dinner!

I hope you give this a try… it is unbelievably good.

 

— Knead to Cook

Juicy Roasted Chicken.

by Filed Under: Chicken 2 Comments

Today I ran quickly to the farmer’s market fully knowing that I needed a great dinner that I wouldn’t have to babysit.  I’m the process of painting pretty much all of my house and trim – so no time to waste.  I went to my favorite Amish farmer and picked up this sweet little chicken and knew I wanted to roast it for dinner tonight and make broth and soup with it tomorrow.  Two meals from one bird… can’t beat that!

This recipe, as many of my recipes are, is quite flexible.  First, wash the bird and remove the “inner package” of goodies from the bird.  Thankfully, my father was around to do that for me (big happy dance).  Place the bird in a large enough roasting pan and then surround it with fresh veggies, fruits and herbs.  You can also stuff the cavity with these items as well.  I used a fresh pomegranate, 3 apples sliced, 4 carrots that were sliced, one onion, 4 stalks of celery that were chopped, a few sprigs of Rosemary and salt and pepper.  I also rub the skin (and under the skin as well) with butter.  Give it a good massage.  Then I pour about 2 cups of chicken broth in the roasting pan.

Place this in an oven that is preheated to 375 degrees.  I cooked this for about 2.5 hours (because I filled the cavity it will take longer).  Cook until the temperature reaches 180 degrees and juices run clear.  Remove from the oven and tent with foil to let it rest.  Then slice and enjoy.  This juicy chicken will have you coming back for more.

Once your done, use the carcass and extra meat for chicken noodle soup.  That’s my plan for tomorrow.  Recipe to follow.

 

— Knead to Cook

Outta the Ballpark BBQ Pulled Chicken.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Giveaway!!! 26 Comments

This post is sponsored by Outta the Ballpark BBQ sauce.  They generously sent me four bottles of their incredibly clean bbq sauce and I had to whip up a great lip smacking recipe that the family would love AND that was easy.  Lots of appointments this week after school so a crock pot recipe was necessary.  Along with them sharing BBQ sauce with me – they are going to share some with you guys!  2 bottles (spicy and regular) and two mini bottles (spicy and regular) to one fan of Knead to Cook’s Facebook page and who lives in the 48 contiguous states.

To enter:  Leave a comment on this post or on this post on Facebook to enter.  Be a fan of Knead to Cook and Outta the Ballpark BBQ facebook pages.  Reside in the 48 contiguous states.  A random winner will be selected on Thursday, October 5th at 9 pm EST.  The winner must email robin@kneadtocook.com to provide their shipping address within 48 hours of being announced.  If the winner fails to do that, another winner will be selected.  

This recipe is super easy!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Outta the Ballpark bbq sauce
1/3 cup of chicken broth
6 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
Directions:

Place all of your ingredients into your crock pot.  Turn to the low setting and give all of the ingredients a good stir.  Cover and let cook for 4 – 6 hours.  Remove and place the chicken in a bowl.  With two forks, shred the meat.  Ladle some of the sauce over top of the chicken and serve on a bun.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Chicken Piccata.

by Filed Under: Chicken 2 Comments

Tonight we are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary at home with our family before we go out of town.  I wanted to make a fun dinner that the entire family would enjoy.  My kids love lemon, I knew this would be a hit.  It’s funny, I haven’t made chicken picatta in so long.  This dinner is very easy to make and makes a great weeknight dish.  Perfect served with vegetables or over pasta.Ingredients

10 chicken tenders or you can use 4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to season
Olive oil (4 tablespoons- divided)
4 tablespoons of butter
All purpose flour (I used King Arthur’s)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of rinsed capers
Sliced lemons

Directions:

In a larger size skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 pats of butter over medium heat.

While that’s heating, season your chicken with the salt and pepper. Place your flour in a bowl.  Dredge your chicken on both sides and dust off.  Then place the chicken in the hot oil/butter.  Repeat.  Let cook for 4 minutes or so on each side.  Remove and place on a platter.  Once one batch of chicken is cooked, add 2 tbl of olive oil and 2 pats of butter back in the pan and repeat with the second batch of chicken.  Cook again, 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Remove and set on a platter.

Into you plan, add the lemon juice, chicken stock, garlic and capers.  Bring to a boil and scrape down the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Let this reduce by half.  Add the chicken back to the pan and let heat throughly.  Remove and place the chicken on a platter and top with fresh lemon slices.

— Knead to Cook

Chicken Jambalaya.

by Filed Under: Chicken 2 Comments

Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of seafood but I love jambalaya.  I always have fun with this recipe, adding chicken, sausage or whatever I have on hand veggie-wise.  Tonight I made it with fresh chicken from the Amish farmer.  This is one of those great one pot dishes you make and let simmer on the stove until everyone is home for dinner.  Super easy, so tasty and the leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day.  Great fall weather meal.

 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1.5 lbs of chicken thighs (skin and bone removed)
1/2 cup of yellow onions, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bell pepper (I used red), chopped
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of chicken broth
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1-2 tablespoons of Sriracha sauce
2 bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and ground pepper
1 cup of brown rice

Directions:

To your hot skillet add the butter and olive oil.  Cook the chicken until juices run clean then add the onion, celery and pepper.  Sauté for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Add the tomatoes, broth, garlic, spices, Sriracha (hot pepper sauce), bay leaves and rice.  Bring it to a boil and then add the rice.  Cover and reduce the flame to low/simmer.  Cook for about 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Taste, adjust spices, remove the bay leaf and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Braised breast of chicken with tomatoes & garlic.

by Filed Under: Chicken Leave a Comment

 

Even if you don’t enjoy cooking, OR you think you aren’t a good cook (does this sound like you?) you have to try this recipe!  It is so simple and cooking slowly over a low flame for several hours yields a tender, juicy – unbelievable dinner.  I promise!

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts – I used organic, skinless breasts (4-6 of them)
2 pounds of fresh tomatoes (if fresh isn’t available use a large 28 ounce can of crushed or chopped tomatoes)
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Chicken broth
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

In a large, heavy weight Dutch oven over medium heat, pour a little bit of olive oil to brown the chicken.  Once hot, place the chicken breasts in to brown.  Leave the breasts on one side for about 4-6 minutes or until golden brown.  This step won’t cook the breasts through but will brown them to add a nice crust.  Then flip and repeat on the other side.  After that, add the remaining ingredients.  Pour about 1/2 cup of chicken stock in the pan and cover.  Let this simmer for 2-6 hours.  Just keep a watchful eye on the liquid amount in the pan.  Add addition stock as needed.  The chicken will steam and be unbelievably tender.

Serve over rice, pasta or as I’m doing tonight… mashed yams.

 

— Knead to Cook

Grilled chicken topped with a lemon balsamic sauce.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Sauces, Vegetarian 1 Comment

LEMON addict warning!  I have a problem.  I grilled some chicken and thought a nice light, bright lemony sauce would be lovely paired with my pistachio-mint tabbouleh salad.  Summer bright flavors!

I grilled some breasts of chicken (seasoned only with salt and pepper). Grilled until thoroughly cooked.  Set aside to rest for 6-8 minutes.  Then get started on the super easy sauce.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 tablespoon of a better quality balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of a good dijon mustard (I used Maille)
Zest of half lemon
Pinch salt

Directions:

Whisk all of the ingredients together.  Top your chicken, vegetables, fish or whatever you like and enjoy!!

 

— Knead to Cook