Slow-cookin' Chicken

Lemon-Herb chicken

Made: September 2, 2012

Ingredients

- 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 pounds chicken thighs &/or drumsticks, skinned
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Cooked rice (optional)

Directions

- For the rub, in a small bowl, combine the lemon peel, basil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper
- Sprinkle rub evenly over chicken, rub in with your fingers
- Place chicken in a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker
- Pour broth over chicken
- Cover and cook on low-heat for 4 1/2 - 5 hours
- Transfer chicken to a serving platter
- Skim fat from cooking liquid
- Spoon some of the cooking liquid over the chicken
- Sprinkle with extra lemon peel if desired
- Serve with rice (optional)

For just me and Mom, I used 2 legs & 2 thighs for the recipe, but kept the rub amounts the same to make sure they get all the flavor they could get. I was iffy about how much chicken broth was used since it didn't cover my chicken all the way at first, but once it started to cook, all 4 pieces fell into the broth and cooked nicely. The chicken was nice and juicy; but I didn't top with extra lemon peel. Just the broth cookings and served with white rice

(Recipe used: Better Homes and Gardens Hometown Favorites)

Cobs and Herbs

Herbed Corn on the Cob

Made: September 2, 2012

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 6 ears of corn

Directions

- Mix the butter, salt, pepper, parsley and rosemary in a small bowl
- Tear off one sheet of aluminum foil for each ear of corn (large enough to wrap the corn in)
- Spread 1 tablespoon butter mixture on each ear of corn
- Reserve remaining butter mixtuer
- Place 1 ear of corn on each piece of foil
- Roll up tightly
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 375 F
- Unwrap the foil and spread some of the remaining butter on top of each ear of corn

I've never baked corn on the cob before, but I think it came out yummy! The butter also pairs great with the corn; just overall quite delish :)

(Recipe used: food.com)

Biscuit pot pie

Biscuit-topped Chicken Pot Pie

Made: August 31, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 package (16oz) frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix
- 1/2 cup milk

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Combine chicken and broth in large saucepan, bring to boil over high heat
- Reduce heat to low, simmer 8 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink; stirring occasionally
- Stir in vegetables, soup, 2 tablespoons cheese, thyme and pepper, cook until heated through
- Transfer mixture to 8-inch square baking dish
- Combine baking mix and milk in medium bowl, mix just until combined
- Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls over chicken mixture
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese
- Bake 14-16 minutes or until bubbly and biscuits are golden brown

I didn't have biscuit mix, so I used dinner rolls in a tube to top my dinner with. It sounded better as a recipe really, this one will take a lot of tweaking. Like less thyme as that's all I really tasted throughout. It also didn't seem much like a pot-pie, like it needed more creaminess to the mix or even more chicken flavor. So to the drawing board it is! Although, this didn't take long to cook or prepare, so it's a quick and easy for dinner!

(Recipe used: America's Favorite Brand Name Recipes; 2012)

Corny meat

Meaty Corn Bread Casserole

Made: August 24, 2012

Ingredients

- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
- 1 3/4 cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1 cup water
- 1 envelope brown gravy mix
- 1 package corn bread/muffin mix (and ingredients to make mixture)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

- In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain
- Stir in the corn, water and brown gravy mix
- Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened
- Spoon into an 8in square baking dish
- Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions
- Stir in pepper and garlic powder
- Spread over meat mixture
- Bake, uncovered at 400 F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the corn bread layer comes out clean

Got a new cookbook in the mail today and opened up to this page; decided this would be for dinner! Came out nice and juicy. I used celery sausage instead of the pork sausage and seasoned my meat with seasonal and pepper while cooking to get it an extra punch of flavor.

(Recipe used: Taste of Home Almost Homemade)

Mac & chicken

Chicken, Macaroni, and Cheese

Made: August 20, 2012

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 12 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast; cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 6.5oz light semi-soft cheese with garlic and herb
- 1 2/3 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

Directions

- In a medium saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions; do no add salt & drain
- Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with cooking spray
- Preheat skillet over medium-high heat
- Add chicken and onion to skillet
- Cook for 4-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender, stirring frequently
- Remove skillet from heat
- Stir in semi-soft cheese until melted
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and flour until smooth
- Add all of the flour mixture to the chicken
- Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly
- Reduce heat to low
- Stir in cheddar cheese until melted
- Add cooked macaroni; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until heated through
- Stir in cherry tomatoes and serve

I omitted the onion, and instead of shredded cheddar cheese, I used some of the Velveeta block I had left over from a precious recipe. Overall, it was quite cheesy and good :)

(Recipe used: Better Homes and Gardens Homestyle Favorites)