Steamer - Chicken with ginger and spring onions

ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts with rib bones and skin on
• minced ginger
• minced spring onions
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• parsley (for garnish)

directions

• boil water in the steamer
• wash chicken breasts
• pat dry and lightly salt the chicken
• place in large bowl with 2 slices of ginger
• steam the chicken for 30 minutes
• while the chicken is steaming, prepare ginger and spring onion mix
• mince the ginger and spring onions
• place in bowl
• heat olive oil in pan (smokes, but doesn't burn)
• pour over ginger and spring onion mix so that it sizzles
• add salt to taste
• when chicken is cooked, transfer from the bowl to cutting board
• use a meat cleaver to chicken across the grain into 1" pieces
• arrange chicken on plate and serve with ginger/spring onion sauce on the side
• place parsley on top for garnish

result

• oh so good, almost restaurant-quality, yummy yummy chicken
• would definitely make this dish again!!

Crockpot - Chicken with gravy and biscuits

ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
• 1 can cream of chicken, low sodium
• 1 can of water
• frozen vegetables
• black pepper

directions

• place vegetables in bottom of crockpot
• place chicken on top of veggies
• rub chicken with black pepper
• top with 1 can cream of chicken and 1 can of water (liquids will cover 70% of the chicken)
• cook on low for 4.5 hours
• (bought biscuits from Popeyes b/c didn't feel like taking the time to bake)

result

• tasted ok. the gravy was tasty and not too salty.
• the chicken was a bit dry though.

next time

• maybe i'll cook for only 4 hours next time.
• either that or i'll use bone-in chicken breast only (they seem to take longer to cook so maybe i won't overcook it?)

Bacon braised green beans (another side for my turkey!)

ingredients

• 1/2 - 1 lb string beans, ends trimmed
• 1 pack of bacon
• olive oil
• low sodium soy sauce
• veg msg
• 1 bag of onion crisps (can find in produce aisle, usually a salad topping)

directions

• cook bacon separately (microwave on plate until bacon is crisp)
• cut up bacon into strips

• heat pan with oil
• toss in string beans and stir fry
• stir in a bit of soy sauce and a pinch of veg msg
• be sure not to burn the string beans
• when almost cooked, add bacon and onion crisps

result

• obviously that was good otherwise it wouldn't make the list!
• just have to make sure the string beans aren't overcooked or burnt, has to be nice and crisp

Classic Mashed Potatoes (a side for my turkey)

ingredients

• 4(?) russet (plain brown) potatoes
• butter
• salt

directions

• peel and boil the potatoes until soft
• drain the water and mash with 1/2 to 1 stick of butter
• add salt to flavor
• add 1 cup hot milk, if desired
• mash until smooth and fluffy

result

• yummy potaters! yum!

Crockpot - turkey breast

ingredients

• (1) 3lb Butterball turkey breast, boneless, no giblets, pack of gravy
• 1/2 can chicken broth
• olive oil
• cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper

directions

• remove plastic packaging on turkey, including removing all the strings, and wash thoroughly
• transfer turkey to crockpot, skin side up
• rub in olive oil, salt, and pepper
• place garlic on turkey, and some digging into the turkey, some under the skin
• pour in half can of chicken broth (broth water level should cover half the turkey, not all of it)
• cook on low for 8 hours
• transfer turkey to another pot to cool down, then refrigerate
• strain remaining turkey juices (to remove fat) and pour into another pan. refrigerate for use later to make gravy using gravy packet that's included

result

• looks juicy from the broth, but not soggy
• haven't tasted it yet! will try when i get home....
• oh no!!! it was TOO SALTY! yikes! my first crockpot failure! oy!
• possibly overcooked? not as juicy as roasting in the oven. meat was still moist in a easily-splits-apart-with-your fork kind of way

next time

• DON'T season with salt. just use pepper only
• probably shouldn't use chicken broth either. using salt and chicken broth was probably overkill. i'll use water next time. it's easier to make it bland and then add salt later.
• maybe cook for shorter period of time. 6 hrs? 7 hrs? def less than 8 hrs...

Crockpot - chinese beef stew with radish

ingredients

• 2 lbs of beef stew meat, pre-cut into 1" cubes
• 1 radish, sliced in half, then into triangles
• slices of ginger
• few cloves of garlic
• 1 T hoisin sauce
• some low sodium soy sauce
• pinch of veg msg
• dash of black pepper

directions

• place beef on the bottom of the crockpot
• place the radish on top of the beef
• mix hoisin sauce and soy sauce with water, pour onto the beef (have enough water to completely cover the beef and veggies)
• cook on low for 8 hours

result

• tasted even better than the american style beef stew.
• still watery, but ok to have it soupy.

next time

• radish was cooked, but could have been softer. next time put radish on bottom and beef on top.

Crockpot - beef stew

ingredients

• 2 lbs of beef stew meat, pre-cut into 1" cubes
• 1 pack of McCormick's beef stew seasoning (the normal one and not the slow cooker one--couldn't find the slow cooker seasoning at the store)
• 1 bag of frozen stew vegetables (includes potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery)

directions

• place beef on the bottom of the crockpot
• place the frozen vegetables on top of the beef
• mix the beef stew seasoning with water and pour onto the beef (have enough water to completely cover the beef and veggies)
• cook on low for 8 hours

result

• tasted good! very tender beef and very well seasoned.
• a bit watery even though i had potatoes in there.

next time

• kim said can make it starchier by adding mashed potato flakes.

My new lifesaver -- a crockpot!

ok, i know i haven't been blogging at all. just didn't find the time. either that or facebook took away whatever free time i had. anyhoo. i'm gonna come back on here and write up random recipes i've tried. that way i won't forget how i made something.

i've always been thinking about getting a crockpot, but just never really did it. but then i talked to the paralegal, kim, at my internship and she totally convinced me to get one. she uses it all the time and had a lot of good recipes to share. i was sold!! i even got the same brand she uses so i can't go wrong. she mentioned that she lets it run while she's at work, but i still haven't gotten myself to do that yet. and she mentioned that b/c she has marble counters, she places the crockpot on top of a glass cutting board to be safe. i haven't tried that yet, but will see...

i've only used the crockpot 3 times and it's all been a success! the funny part is that i prep in the evening and let it cook overnight. must be the paranoia in me, b/c i'm worried about letting an appliance run for 8 hours while i'm at work. what if it caused a fire or something?!? so i let it cook at night, usually starting around 9 or 10pm. i set it on low and let it cook for 8 hours. in the morning, i transfer the food from the crockpot to another pot to let it cool down. i usually let it cool down for an hour before i put it in the fridge. then when i come home from work, all i have to do is reheat the food and dinner is served! yum!

the only really weird part is waking up to the smell of beef stew or whatever it is i made the night before. but other than that, it's been working well! :)

ok, so on to the recipes!!!