Fauxtisserie Chicken

My sister recommended this from ourbestbites.com -- their Fauxtisserie Chicken. 

I tried it.  It couldn't be easier.  It couldn't be yummier.  It was exactly like one you would buy. 

I have done it twice now.  Both times I use my "giant" crockpot (my electric roaster) and did 2 chickens at a time.  The first time I put them in frozen, sprinkled them with chicken fajita seasoning, set it at 350 for about 6-7 hours.  It was fabulous.  We used the chicken for mexican burritos.

Today I put them in (and they were not frozen).  I sprinkled them generously with Lawry's seasoning salt. I set the temp at 275 for 8-9 hours.  They were great!!!  We had them for Hawaiian haystacks (and lots of leftovers -- for enchiladas tomorrow!)

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

1/2 cup dried minced onion

2-3 tsp minced garlic cloves

2 cans of sliced carrots

3 carrots, sliced

2-3 red potatoes, cubed

2 cans (15-oz.) black beans (or kidney beans which is more traditional -- but I didn't have them)

1 can (15-oz.) garbanzo beans

1-2 cans (28-oz.) diced tomatoes, according to your taste

1 can (15-oz.) tomato sauce

1 can garlic basil flavored tomato paste

1 lb. browned italian sausage

2 T. parsley

1 t. oregano

2 t. basil

1 tsp celery salt (since I didn't have celery)

(I would have added 2 bay leaves but I didn't have those either)

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 T. beef base

4-5 c. water

1 box cooked pasta

Combine ingredients in crock pot (meat can be added later).  Cook until vegetables are tender.  Add cooked pasta shortly before serving, quantities according to your taste. 



Here is my "crock pot". I gave up on real crock pots and now use this roaster. It works perfect! I can control the temp so much better. I have plenty of room to make something that will feed my family and guests! And it is easy to clean since the bowl lifts right out!

Shrimp and Penne Pasta

I knew I wanted to have shrimp for dinner tonight. I knew I also had penne pasta. So I searched "shrimp penne" and this recipe caught my eye "Butter and Garlic Shrimp Penne".  I had most of the ingredients and the recipe seemed quick and light.  I am pasting her recipe below and then I am putting in my changes. 

INGREDIENTS:
5 garlic cloves, minced (about 5 teaspoons)
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp (21 to 25 count), peeled, deveined and each shrimp cut into 3 pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
1 pound penne pasta
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup clam juice (you can find this by the tuna, usually)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with 2 teaspoons of the minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let the shrimp stand in this mixture for 20 minutes at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the rest of the oil (2 tablespoons) over medium-low heat and add the smashed garlic cloves. Stir the mixture now and then to prevent the garlic burning and cook until the garlic is light and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and use a slotted spoon to take out the garlic, leaving as much oil as you can in the skillet. Throw the garlic away and set the skillet aside.
In a large pot, bring at least 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt once the water comes to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is tender (look at the package directions as each brand of pasta can differ). Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water in a small bowl. Once drained, throw the pasta back into the pot.
While the pasta is boiling, return the skillet with the oil to medium heat and add the shrim with the marinade to the skillet, making sure the shrimp is in a single layer. Cook the shrimp, without stirring or moving them, until the oil starts to gently bubble, about 1 to 2 minutes. Now you can start stirring the shrimp and continuing to cook until the shrimp is just cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. It will cook fast so be careful not to overcook or the shrimp will turn tough.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a medium bowl. Add the remaining 3 teaspoon minced garlic and the red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the flour and stirring constantly, cook the mixture for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken broth and cook, whisking constantly, for 1-2 minutes, until the clumps of flour incorporate and become smooth. Whisk in the clam juice and parsley and cook until the mixture begins to thicken 2-3 minutes. Take the skillet off the heat and whisk in the butter and lemon juice. Add the shrimp and sauce to the pasta, adjusting the consistency with the pasta water if it is too dry (I didn’t need to add any pasta water to mine). Serve immediately.

Now -- here are the adaptations I made and I thought the result was perfect.
1.  I used lime juice because I didn't have lemon juice
2.  I used water with 1/2 tsp of chicken boullion instead of chicken broth
3.  I used water with 1/4 cube of fish boullion instead of clam juice

Homemade doughnuts

After eating very delicious homemade doughnuts at a friend's house this week, I really wanted to try making them myself. However all the recipes seemed like they would take a while (make the dough, shape the dough, let it rise) and let's be honest -- if I was going to pull this off for breakfast it needed to be alittle bit faster than that. So I went with the easier way -- I used pillsbury biscuit roll -- the kind in the tube. They were amazingly yummy. Simply cut out the donut hole, fry, turn when brown, and then dip in cinnamon sugar or glaze (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla). ''
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Orange Peel Shrimp (or chicken)

This was both easy and delicious. I had orange peel shrimp at PF Changs the other night and then came home talking about it. So I was surprised when the bottle of Yoshida's marinade sauce had a recipe for orange peel chicken. I followed it and it was perfect!


Prepare the orange peel marinade.
1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
the zest of one orange
1 cup of yoshida's marinade sauce

I did double this so that I would have it for both the chicken and the shrimp.

I marinated 4 raw chicken breasts in this for about a half an hour and then baked it at 350 for 30 minutes. I sliced the chicken into strips.

In a saucepan, I sauteed a bunch of frozen vegetables (from the costco stir fry bag) in just the Yoshida sauce. Once they were cooked I added the shrimp (which was already cooked and soaking in the orange marinade) to the pan to just warm it up.


Then I served it all over rice.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This was seriously good. Lillian had been telling me how good Trader Joe's Enchilada sauce was and so I bought it. But I didn't really feel like making enchiladas. So I came up with this.


4 cans chicken broth
1 bottle Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce
1 zuchinni diced
1 carrot diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1-2 cups cooked diced chicken breast

Simmer until the veggies are soft. Serve with strips of flour tortillas, grated cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, sour cream, avocado, and chips!

My new favorite salad

Lettuce
Grapes
Craisens
Pears
Gorgonzola cheese
Almonds (or any other nut)
Salad dressing --combine in blender
2 cups red wine vinegar
4 shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbs grey poupon mustard

Once well blended, turn blender to low and drizzle in
3/4 cup olive oil

(this dressing recipe easily makes 50 servings but it stores well in the fridge)