Crock Pot Roast Chicken

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest and it is amazing. I have tried a few recipes off of the site and had some hit and miss results... this one is definitely a hit! I found the recipe here, and to be honest I didn't change a thing.

Spice Rub

• 3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Clean your chicken and remove giblets and neck.  Rub spice mixture all over the chicken, if you have the time you can let the chicken marinate over night but you don't have to.  Dice up1 onion and put at the bottom of the crock pot.  Place spiced chicken on top of onions.  There is no need to add any liquid.  As your chicken slow cooks you will be amazed on how much juice you will end up with.

Slow cook on low for about 8 hrs.  You can use a thermometer to check to see if your chicken is done.  It should read 180 deg.  Or even simpler, wiggle a leg and if it’s loose, it’s done!

This chicken was moist and had amazing flavor! We served it with mashed potatoes and corn :)

Mangia!

Beef Stew

When I make beef stew I am immediately transported back to my parents kitchen, watching my mom on a cold Saturday make this and thinking "I hope I can be that good one day". <3 My mom is really the reason I love to cook, because watching her you could tell she loved to feed people. So beef stew is one of those recipes I actually don't have written down, so dear blog readers this is a first :)

Ingredients

• 1-2lbs stew meat
• 2 tbs flour
• 1-2 tsp black pepper (you can add more or less depending on your taste)
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2-3 potatoes peeled and chopped
• 4-6 cups beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Directions

Put roughly a tbs of oil in a pan, when warm put in strew meat. Sprinkle with flour and pepper. Saute until brown. De-glaze with beef stock, make sure to scrap the bottom of the pan. Simmer for an hour and a half to 2 hours. Add in veggies and remaining spices. Simmer for another 30-40 minutes. Serve with pasta, rice or biscuits.



Mangia!

Soup!

I love soup! I don't know where this love came from but even as a kid I had a strong love affair with soup. I remember the first thing I ever cooked when I got an apartment was soup. As I got older I leared that homemade soup is SO MUCH better then the stuff out of a can. Since Fall has set in here in Southern NY and Winter is not far behind I  have broken out the big soup pot and started looking for new recipies. Recently I make Minestone soup, it came out great and it was so simple. I found the recipe here. The only think I changed was I added sausage (because Josh won't eat a meal with no meat) and a subsituted kale for the spinach as I think it holds up better in a soup. Oh and I did it on the stove and not in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 small bunch of kale chopped
• 1lb sausage (or ground beef)

Directions

 Saute sausage or ground beef til brown. Add in carrots and onion and saute til slightly soft. Add in tomatoes, broth and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer about an hour or so. 30 minutes before you want to serve chop zucchini and kale and add to the pot along with beans. Serve with any noodles you like or rice.

My best customer <3

Mangia!