slow cooker chicken & mushroom stew, aka crustless chicken pot pie

i've only had chicken pot pie once that i can recall and it wasn't anything special. the filling was ok, somewhat flavorless, and the crust was a chewy, gummy, soggy mess. so when i spied this slow cooker version of chicken pot pie that purposely doesn't have a crust, i was sold.

i've made this twice in the last month and both times it has come out perfect. it's super flavorful, packed full of vegetables and satisfying. it doesn't hurt that leftovers reheat perfectly for lunch the next day. 

slow cooker chicken & mushroom stew
adapted from real simple
20 minute prep, 4-8 hours cook, 5 minute finish; serves 4-6

while many slow cooker recipes say to cook on low for 8 hours, due to our work schedule, i cook everything on low for at least ten hours, if not eleven, and have never had any problems. be sure to mix the flour really well or you may end up with small balls of flour in your finished stew.

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
4 carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs trimmed of excess fat
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen green beans
1/3 cup heavy cream

1. add the mushrooms, carrots, onion, thyme, and bay leaf to the slow cooker. sprinkle with the flour, add 1/2 cup water, and mix to evenly coat the vegetables with the flour. place the chicken on top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
2. cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
3. at least fifteen minutes before serving, add the peas, green beans, and cream and mix to combine. cover and cook until heated through. use tongs or a fork to break up the chicken into smaller pieces (it should fall apart under the pressure of a pair of tongs, just push into the thighs). serve hot. 

Bran Muffins

 I decided to make bran muffins so my husband would have something reasonably healthy to take to work for breakfast.  Originally I was going to make a recipe from AllRecipes, but there was a recipe on the bag of wheat bran (Bob's Red Mill brand, I found it in the organics section rather than the breakfast or baking section) so I just went with that!  Of course I ended up changing it slightly because I didn't have honey (or at least not honey I was willing to sacrifice to muffins- I do not use the $20 a pound raw local honey from the farmer's market for cooking!) and I left out the raisins but added more salt in an attempt to make a somewhat savory muffin.  Anyway, they turned out GREAT.  I mean, really good.  We just finished the last of them this morning and they were still perfect after spending the past week in the fridge.  They're flavorful, soft, moist, and a tiny bit sweet, but not dessert like.  Bran muffins sound like an odd thing to get excited about, but these are just so good.  They actually remind me of a nice honey wheat bread.  Great spread with a little butter, jam, or apple butter.  We had them for breakfast several days, but I also heated some up to go with dinner a couple of nights, because why not?  Most definitely a repeat!

Bran Muffins

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C wheat bran
1/2 C brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 C raisins (optional- reduce salt to 1/4 t if you use them)
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
1 1/4 C milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin tin.  Stir together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, beat egg lightly.  Stir in oil and milk.  Add mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Batter will be quite thick.  Spoon into prepared muffin tin and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

Yield: 12 muffins

orange creamsicle scones

jason and i spent a week in florida back in february. back when the winter is normally super cold and super snowy and we're dying for a break. back when you could have mistaken me as simply putting on a few pounds instead of obviously pregnant. on the second day we were there, we went to a small orange farm and picked oranges. every day for the next week, we ate oranges for breakfast and before we went to bed. we had so many left, i took a half dozen home in my carry on. they were still delicious, sweet, and juicy enough for the juice to run down my arms and drip off my elbows when i ate them once i was home in new york. 

the weekend we got home i was craving scones - lightly sweetened, moist, and fluffy - for breakfast. so i decided to pair one of my florida oranges with one of my other favorites, vanilla, into a perfectly sweet tart scone. i adapted the basic scone recipe i always use and they turn out light and moist every time. i can't stand a dry, dense scone (like you sometimes get at the big name coffeehouses and bakeries) and this base has never disappointed me. 

orange creamsicle scones
30 minutes, makes 8 scones

for the scones:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
zest of half an orange
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

for the glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1. preheat your oven to 375F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest together.
3. using your hands or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. add the milk, orange juice, and vanilla extract and mix just until combined.
5. turn the dough out onto the baking sheet and use your hands to form it into a rough circle or square. cut into about 8 equal pieces.
6. bake for about 15 minutes. transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before glazing.
7. to make the glaze, whisk the sugar, vanilla, and orange juice until smooth.
8. once the scones are cool, drizzle with the glaze. eat immediately or let the glaze set at least one hour. scones are best eaten the day they are made. if storing, avoid air tight containers as the glaze will soften and get soggy.

2013.06.03 this is searching for dessert's pick for the secret recipe club! 
2013.09.09 this is jessie weaver's pick for the secret recipe club!

slow cooker lasagna soup

i've professed my love of lasagna a few times already, i just wish it didn't take all afternoon to put together. enter deconstructed lasagna, a short cut version i made last october that has all the same flavors of layered lasagna without the fuss of layering noodles, sauce, and cheese. i didn't think it could get any easier, until i stumbled upon this slow cooker version a few weeks later and mentally tucked it away. until a couple weeks ago, when it was cold and dreary and winter looked like he still wanted to rear his ugly head. there's nothing better than coming home to a slow cooked dinner on those days.

this slow cooker soup version of lasagna is so simple, so obvious, i can't believe i hadn't stumbled upon this idea sooner. but am i ever glad i did. but i was skeptical at first, of using raw ground beef. every other slow cooker recipe i've seen that uses ground beef starts by browning it in a skillet, and this one did not. i was worried i would come home to big chunks of meat floating around in my soup - or worse yet, one big chunk of meat sitting in the bottom. but neither of those happened. the meat cooked up in nice, small pieces. if i hadn't known, i would not have guessed it went into the cooker raw.

since we aren't fans of ricotta around here, we topped ours with a heavy spoonful of bechamel instead.

slow cooker lasagna soup
adapted from back to her roots
10 minutes before prep, 15 minutes serving prep; serves 8

1 pound meatloaf mix or ground beef
2 large onions, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
6 ounces tomato paste
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken broth
10 ounces fusilli or another short cut pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups 2% or whole milk
pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese for topping

1. crumble the meat into your slow cooker and add the onions, cloves, oregano, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken broth. cook on low at least 6 hours or up to 10.
2. when the slow cooker has about 30 minutes left, add the pasta and mix to combine.
3. when you add the pasta, make the bechamel. melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. when the butter is melted, whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two until golden brown. whisk in the milk and cook over medium to medium low heat, whisking frequently, until it thickens. this should take about five to ten minutes. season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
4. to serve, add a serving of soup to a bowl. top with about a quarter of a cup of bechamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Shrimp Scampi

 My husband is completely crazy about shrimp.  He might like it even more than dessert!  His mom likes to tell the story of when they took him to a restaurant as a one year old and he scarfed down more shrimp than everyone else in the family.  Sadly, I don't cook shrimp all that often because I absolutely hate cleaning it, but today we saw easy peel shrimp on sale at the store and I decided to give it a try.  With a pair of rubber gloves to shield me from the horror, pulling off the shells wasn't bad at all!  Paul rejoices since this probably means shrimp more often!

Anyway, when I saw the shrimp I immediately thought of this recipe.  The first time I made Shrimp Scampi was the day after Christmas of 2006 when Paul flew down to Washington to meet my family for the first time.  We went snowboarding with my brother and cousin that day, then I made this for dinner since he loves pasta almost as much as he loves shrimp.  It was completely delicious and a great end to a very busy and wonderful day.  This recipe (tweaked from this AllRecipes recipe) is really easy and quick to make, but it always seems really special when I make it.

I should mention that this is not a really strong tasting pasta dish.  The flavors all work together perfectly- the wine, parmesan, shrimp, butter, pepper, and parsley truly turn into something magical- but the flavors are not as bold as those found in some Shrimp Scampis I've had at restaurants.  If you want to punch it up, at the end you could add things like lemon juice, diced fresh tomato, and red pepper flakes.  Mind you, I've never made it that way because we love it as is, but I am certain it would be delicious.

Quick note:  On AllRecipes, a lot of the reviewers complained that the wine in this recipe is overpowering.  I've always made it with the full amount and we've never found the wine overpowering, but if you're sensitive to that kind of thing, you may want to use 3/4 C.  I'd imagine a big part of it is the type of wine used.  So far I've always ended up using an inexpensive white wine (tonight was a cheap pinot grigio) but a good quality wine probably tastes stronger.  Use your own judgment!

  
Shrimp Scampi

2  8 oz packages fresh linguine (the kind sold in the refrigerated section of the store OR homemade)
6 T butter
1 lb peeled and cleaned shrimp
4 cloves minced garlic
3/4 to 1 C white wine
 salt to taste (I use 1/2 t)
1/4 t pepper (freshly ground is best)
3 oz by weight freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1 oz set aside
3 T minced fresh parsley

Cook linguine in lightly salted water while you make the scampi.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp and garlic, and cook just until shrimp is pink on both sides.  Add wine and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to cook off some of the alcohol.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Add drained linguine and toss thoroughly to coat.  It will look very runny, but don't fear!  Stir in 2 oz of the cheese and all of the parsley.  The melted parmesan will thicken it up perfectly.  Serve with the rest of the parmesan to sprinkle on top.

Yield: 5 servings

White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

These are incredible! The contrast of the white chocolate, the chunky nuts and the dense, dark brownie is amazing in itself. But then, to top it off, white chocolate fudge... wow! Brownie heaven!

Makes 16 squares


for the brownies:
1 pack My Secret Kitchen Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Mix
100g butter, melted
3 medium eggs
100g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
125g white chocolate chunks

for the white chocolate fudge topping:
200g white chocolate
2 tbsp evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
50g butter, melted
25g white chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 150°C (gas mark 2). Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm square pan. Prepare the brownie as directed and stir in the macadamia nuts and the white chocolate chunks. Bake as instructed and leave to cool completely.

Prepare the fudge topping by melting the 200g white chocolate with the evaporated milk over a double boiler, or gently in a microwave. Keep beating the fudge topping until it becomes smooth. Stir in the vanilla essence and the melted butter. Cool slightly before pouring over the top of the cooled brownie, rolling the pan from side to side to get an even layer (easier than using a knife) and leave to set.

When completely set, drizzle the 25g melted white chocolate in a criss-cross pattern over the top. Leave to set again (putting it in the freezer helps) before cutting into 16 squares.

Perfect Mango Posset

Award winning recipe from consultant Becky Boast.
A simple recipe for what, in our opinion, is the perfect posset!

Makes 6 large or 12 small desserts

600ml double cream
150g caster sugar
juice of 1 large lemon
⅓ bottle of My Secret Kitchen Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce

to decorate:
blueberries
sprig of mint
drizzle of My Secret Kitchen Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce

Pour cream into a large pan with the sugar and warm gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and leave for exactly 3 minutes without stirring.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce. Pour into ramekins, glasses or teacups, then drizzle a small amount of Mango Mojito over the top. Refrigerate for 4 hours until set.

Decorate with blueberries or dark chocolate and a sprig of mint. Serve alongside My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Bergamot Shortbread.