Crock Pot Chicken with 32 Cloves and a Giveaway!

Yes, yes, I know, the dish should be Chicken with 40 Cloves, but the heads of garlic I had in the house weren’t that great and only yielded 32 good cloves.  So, here you have Crock pot Chicken with 32 Cloves (recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking).

I thought this dish was very tasty!  The chicken was so tender, perfectly flavored and the big hunks of soft garlic were perfect smeared on crusty bread.  Unfortunately, Hubby thought it was a little overpowering for his tastes.

INGREDIENTS
1 Whole roaster chicken, cut up into pieces
1 Large yellow onion
40 Cloves garlic, paper removed
1T. Olive Oil
2t. Salt
2t. Pepper (original recipe called for 1t.  I like pepper, so I added more)
2t. Paprika

DIRECTIONS
If using a whole roaster chicken, break it down into smaller, usable pieces – 2 breasts, 2 legs, 2 wings, 2 thighs.

Cut onion into half rounds and add to the bottom of empty crock pot.

In a separate bowl, combine chicken, garlic, spices and oil.  Toss to coat and add to crock pot.

Set crock pot to low and let it do its thing.  I had mine on the lowest setting for 10 hours, while at work, and kept it on warm for another hour before eating.

–

Husband Rating – 1 out of 5 – “I didn’t really care for this one.”

–

Now, onto the giveaway.  Today marks my one year blog-iversary!  I’m so proud of myself for sticking with it and trying so many new recipes in the last year!

Those of you that read this blog often know that I love garlic.  Love, love, love it!  So, for my giveaway, I’m going to share one of my favorite garlic tools…a terra cotta garlic roaster.

This baby can be used in the oven or microwave and produces the most wonderful roasted garlic!

So, to win this garlic roaster, leave a comment below with your favorite ingredient and why you love cooking with it – doesn’t have to be garlic. Don’t forget your email address so I know how to contact you if you win.

I will leave the comments open for 1 week and will draw a random number on Friday, August 21, 2009.  Good Luck!!

Read Full Post »

Crispy Onion Chicken

While helping my Dad (who is a loyal blog reader – “Hi Daddy!”) in the kitchen on Easter Sunday I was munching on the leftover crispy french fried onion straws from the green bean casserole and remembered this awesome recipe that’s on the back of the can.  I made it a long time ago but seem to have forgotten about it.  It’s so easy to make and is really tasty.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Can French’s French Fried Onion Straws
1 Egg
Black Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Ready two bowls (I actually like pie plates).  In one, whisk the egg with a few turns of black pepper.  In the other, add the onion straws and crush lightly.

Coat the chicken breasts in egg then in onions.  Place on baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees until chicken is cooked through – about 20 minutes.

Read Full Post »

Sausage, Pepper & Onion Grinders

Grinder, hoagie, sub, hero, zepplin, wedge…call ’em what you want.  I call ’em delicious!  This is one of Hubby’s favorite meals and it is so easy to make.  Until I get my sausage stuffer attachment for the KitchenAid Mixer, I use store-bought…but if you can make fresh…that would be even better!  I always serve our grinders with baked beans…not sure why…but it’s sure delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
1 White Onion
1 Red Pepper
1 Green Pepper
1lb Sweet Italian Sausage (we use the Perry’s brand)
Grinder rolls
Hot sauce for topping

DIRECTIONS:
Place sausage links in a pan with 1/4C water.  Cover and let them cook for 10 minutes.  Turn the sausages over, re-cover and continue cooking another 6 minutes.  Remove cover and allow the remaining water to evaporate.  Continue cooking the sausages (turning occasionally) until they are browned and have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Meanwhile, in another pan, combine sliced onion, green pepper and red pepper.  Cook over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes – until everything is soft and slightly browned.

Blot the cooked sausages on a paper towel and start making your grinder.  As you can see from the picture, Hubby likes red peppers and I like green.  That’s the beauty of this recipe – everyone gets what they like!

Note:  Save your leftover peppers/onions for a killer potato hash or egg scramble the next morning!

Read Full Post »

Pepper Pasta with Sausage

For some reason, when looking at this picture I just want to start singing Christmas carols.  “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” … in my bowl  🙂

Anyway, this is one of Hubs’ favorite dinners.  It was another Sunday evening creation that has made its way into our regular rotation.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1lb pasta – whatever you have is fine (I used thin linguine tonight)
1 package Sweet Italian Sausage
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Small White Onion, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
2 Cloves Garlic
1T Olive Oil
1T Butter
S&P to taste

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a separate pan (or in microwave), cook sausage until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.  Slice and set aside.

In another pot or deep skillet melt oil and butter over medium-high heat.  Add onions, red pepper and green pepper.  Cook 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften.  Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add sausage and pasta to the pan and toss to incorporate everything.  I finished the dish with about 1/4C of reserved pasta water – just to make a little ‘sauce’.

Read Full Post »

Flank Steak with Vegetables

So, it’s Sunday night…time to clean out the fridge. This is usually when Hubs and I come up with some of our best recipes (taking random things from the fridge and throwing them together). Tonight we had some flank steak and a bunch of leftover veggies…so here’s the result.

I rubbed the meat with chili powder, sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Then I cooked it up in my stovetop grill pan.

Then, we took all the leftover veggies from the fridge (3/4 of an onion, a red pepper, a yellow pepper and various hot peppers (jalapeno, habanero…etc…) and cooked them up in a pan.

Once the steak was done, and rested, we topped it with the veggies.

It was a really simple and easy Sunday night dinner.

Read Full Post »

Guacamole

This is Hubs’ favorite snack – with tortilla chips, of course. I leave out the tomatoes and double the garlic. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS
4 Avocados
1 Lime, juiced
1 clove Garlic, chopped
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 small White Onion, finely diced
1 Jalapeño Pepper, finely diced
1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS
Remove meat from Avocados, discarding pits and skin. (To safely remove pit, hold avocado firmly in your hand and hit the pit with your sharp knife. The pit will stick to the knife and expose the meat. To remove pit from knife, take two fingers and slide them down the blade, toward the pit, and pinch off the pit. It should come off easily). Add lime juice immediately, so the avocados don’t brown.

Add onion, jalapeño, cilantro, garlic and S&P. Mash with fork or potato masher. Serve immediately with your favorite tortilla chips.

Read Full Post »