Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

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 Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
We've been using our crockpot quite a bit lately. We've also discovered the wonderful boneless skinless chicken thighs from one of our favorite grocery stores (or go-see store as our toddler calls them). The benefit of cooking the thighs in the crockpot is they dry out less and are more flavorful than the traditional chicken breasts. Cooking Light's crockpot recipes have become a go-to source. I did not expect this recipe to be as good as it was. Even the toddler ate some of it!
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Instructions
  1. Combine 1/2 cup water and flour in your favorite crockpot, stirring with a whisk. (Note: You can also use corn starch, which we will do next time.)
  2. Stir in stock and next 8 ingredients (through mushrooms).
  3. Add chicken thighs to the stock mixture; submerge in liquid.
  4. Cover and cook on LOW 7 1/2 hours (ours cooked about 9).
  5. Remove chicken.
  6. Leave whole or chop if using boneless skinless. If using bone-in, wait for them to cool, then remove bones.
  7. Add oil and pasta to slow cooker sauce; cover and cook on HIGH 15 minutes or until pasta is done to your liking. (It took a little longer than 15 minutes for us.)
  8. Stir in spinach until wilted.
  9. Divide pasta mixture and top evenly with chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes

My opinion:
I didn't expect the capers to add so much to the dish. It was the right amount of salt and sweet from the tomatoes. The pasta cooked perfectly. Next time, I will use the corn starch and reduce the amount of liquid a little for the initial cooking phase. If we need more to cook the pasta, I'll add more at that time. All in all a good, flavorful dish that is perfect for a weeknight.

 

Yum

Updates for Instapot:

Cook the vegetables and first 8 ingredients. Then pressure cook for 6 minutes, quick release, if using chicken remove veggies and cook chicken (favorite way is 7 minutes per pound of breasts with just enough stock or water to cover), remove and drain. Then shred the chicken or leave whole. Readd the veggies and sauce, add the chicken, then the oil and pasta turn to sauté. When it bubbles add the pasta and turn to warm then add the lid. Check after 10 minutes for pasta tenderness.

Best Gazpacho

Gazpacho
I know I said this was the best gazpacho recipe and I promise I still really like that one. This one is a teensy bit better and reminds me of a bowl of gazpacho from a restaurant in my hometown that doesn’t exist anymore. It’s the perfect HOT summer dinner. We found this gem hidden in a Mexican cookbook that we bought years ago:
Perfect Mexican
Now the serving suggestions include:
Screen Shot 2015-07-14 at 3.00.04 PMBut truthfully, we don’t bother because the model didn’t include the garnishes and it’s just as good.

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 Best Gazpacho
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My opinion:
Some people keep this extra chilly by serving an ice cube at the bottom.
Best Gazpacho
Instead of crusty bread (because I’m still limited in my wheat and gluten intake) we served it with corn quesadillas! Delicious!
Enjoy!
Corn Quesadillas

p.s. Summer 2016 update: even our toddler loves this gazpacho, which she calls “sauca!” She’s been practicing using a spoon on her own and if we keep this a bit on the chunkier side, she’s 90 percent successful! 

French Lentil Soup

French Lentil Soup
Sometimes it’s a challenge to find foods that fit the No Six diet (no: dairy, wheat, eggs, fish, soy or peanuts) I’m on for Baby A. Luckily, I have a forever patient husband who is willing to search things out. He found this wonderful French Lentil Soup recipe, originally from Bon Appetit and with a few tweaks, it was wonderful.

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 French Lentil Soup
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Instructions
  1. Heat bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Leave the bacon grease in the pan and add the olive oil.
  3. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic.
  4. Sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
  5. Add 4 cups stock, lentils and tomatoes with juice and bring to boil.
  6. Reduce heat to medium–low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
  7. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth.
  8. Season with salt, pepper and the Balsamic vinegar.
  9. Ladle soup into bowls.

My opinion:
Like any good soup, this isn’t much to look at, but it is delicious. It is hearty and filling and all around wonderful. I can’t wait to be able to eat warm pita with it!

Mexican Black Bean Soup with Sausage Recipe

Mexican Black Bean Soup with Sausage
It’s been a roller coaster of spring-like temperatures and freezing, regular February temperatures around here the last few weeks. That plus the lovely no six diet (no: dairy, wheat,eggs, fish, soy or peanuts) diet I’m on to help baby A’s digestive issues means we’ve had to get very creative with dinners. Luckily for me, J has taken the changes to our culinary repertoire in stride and has come up with a lot of alternatives to our favorite dishes. He found this lovely one from Food and Wine magazine.  Since I was baby A wrangling, I only got a picture of the finished product.

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 Mexican Black Bean Soup with Sausage Recipe
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Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
  2. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until softened, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and the chipotle or ground chipotle, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the black beans and chicken stock and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes.
  5. Using a potato masher, coarsely crush some of the beans (we skipped this step).
  6. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat.
  7. Add the sausage and cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
  8. Add the sausage to the beans.
  9. Then add the lime juice and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. Simmer the soup for 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, or longer if you'd like!
  11. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve, passing the sour cream and lime wedges separately.

My opinion:
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this ended up being very filling and just the right amount of heat to warm me from the inside. It’s absolutely a soup we will add to the rotation, even once we (hopefully!) can start adding the no items back to my diet.