Pomecranapple Chicken

This was the recipe on the opposite page of the Turkey Madeira. Well, actually the recipe was "Chicken in Pomegranate Sauce" but once I started making it I realized that I did not have the 1 cup pomegranate juice that it called for, so I substituted 1 cup cranapple juice instead.

Another slow cooker recipe! I really like cooking in the slow cooker because I don't have to be home all while it is cooking. It is great for throwing together in the morning before I go to work, and having a nice hot meal by the time I get home!

1 lb chicken
1 pomegranate
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 cup 100% cranapple juice
2 cinnamon sticks
salt and pepper

You can use any cut of chicken for this. I used regular chicken breasts because the meat will be tender enough to take off the bone with just a fork and there are a lot of fantastic nutrients that are added to the meat and sauce from the bones while it cooks - wouldn't want to miss out on that!

Salt and pepper the chicken and place in the slow cooker. Add onion, all the arils from one pomegranate (I bought some back before Christmas and they kept very well in the veggie drawer in my refrigerator), cranapple juice, and cinnamon sticks - seriously.

Cover the pot, set to low, and cook for 8-10 hours. Just in time for you to get home for dinner - unless you are a masochistic commuter!

I served this with a side of whole kernel corn mixed with sea salt and a couple tablespoons of dried cilantro - yummy! And raw baby carrot sticks, as you can see.

This was very similar to the Apple and Herb Chicken I did a while back, but with a little more tanginess due to the cranberry juice.

It was very good, not as good as my Apple and Herb Chicken, but I think I would make it again before I would make the Turkey Madeira. Next time I would add some actual cranberries to the pot for added zip!

Turkey Madeira

We were having a slow day at work so the girls were leafing through our recipe magazines for dinner ideas. Blue saw this recipe in the slow-cooker magazine and rushed it back to my desk. And she was right to do so, because it certainly looked intriguing.

I had just purchased asparagus (what luck), but had to go to the store after work for the turkey breasts and mushrooms. It wasn't until I got home and was getting ready to make it that I realized that the reason that it is called "Turkey Madeira" is because it is made with Madeira wine. I had no idea what Madeira wine was, much less did I have it. A little research was called for.

Turns out that Madeira wine is from a place called Madeira, an island situated in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Canary Islands. During the shipping/exploration age it was THE place to stop before heading out for a long voyage to The Far East. They produced a fortified wine (wine mixed with a stronger alcohol, such as brandy, for longer and easier storage) which initially was considered average, but on a fluke, a ship returned to Madeira after crossing the ocean twice with a good amount of the wine still on board. The wine had drastically improved in flavor. They began experimenting with the aging of the wine, trying to replicate the heat, humidity, and motion of the travel on a ship. Before refrigeration, it was the most popular wine - because it does not have to be refrigerated after opening! It can last up to a year without refrigeration after opening. MY KIND OF WINE!!

So, turns out that I really did need to get this wine. I was very lucky that my liquor store had this wine in stock - and one actually from the island of Madeira!! SCORE!!

I rushed home with my treasure and prepared to make this dish. First I opened the bottle of Madeira and had a healthy sip. YUM! It's a tiny bit dry but sweet with layers of spiciness. It's like the Coke of wines. I reiterate: MY KIND OF WINE!

• 1/2 cup Madeira wine (1/4 more than the recipe asked for - it is good wine!)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (I used 1 bouillon cube dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water)
• 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms (the recipe called for porcini, but I couldn't find any and our local co-op has some very nice baby bellas)
• 1 medium chopped sweet onion (the recipe called for thinly sliced onion, which would have been terrific; but I had accidentally chopped my last onion before I noticed the words "thinly sliced")
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless turkey breast
• 3-4 TBS parsley
• 1/2 cup half-n-half
• 8 spears fresh asparagus
• corn starch or flour
  

Mix the wine, mushrooms, onion, and broth. Slice the turkey breast into 1" strips, placed them in the bottom of a crock pot, and pour the wine mix over the top. Set this on low and left it cook for about 5 hours.

Mix parsley and half-n-half (again, I used the singles since that is what I had) and mix it into the crock pot. Then chop asparagus and throw that into the crock pot. Let it cook an hour or so more.

If you want a thicker sauce, scoop out the turkey and asparagus into a serving bowl, pour the liquids into a sauce pan, added a little cornstarch mixed with water (or you could use flour) and heat it until it thickens.

I made my own noodles for this with flour, salt, water and oil. It was my first time making noodles and I'm not sure that I would make them again - but my family like them.


Here is a picture without and with the gravy.

Generally, I was expecting this dish to have more flavor. It was good, but not really a WOW. It is classic Midwest cooking. I would add more wine next time - maybe even marinade the turkey in it. But as it is a fairly good crock-pot recipe, it deserves a place in the rotation.

Spinach Pesto Quiche

There was a sale on eggs and I suddenly had the flavor of fluffy eggs, bacon and basil with a light, buttery pastry in my mouth.

QUICHE!!

I have only made quiche once; and although it wasn't terrible, it wasn't the best.
But this time, it was AWESOME!!!

The Pastry
Start with the pastry. It is very important that the butter be cold and that you do not over mix. The thing that makes the pastry flaky is the tiny bits of un-mixed butter melting and expanding, leaving air pockets.

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick COLD butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbs ICE COLD water
  

Mix the salt and flour well. Cut the butter into the flour until just crumbly. Whisk the egg yolk and water and mix lightly into the flour mix. DO NOT OVER-MIX! Just mix it until everything is incorporated. Some recipes will have you roll it out at this point, but then you risk over-working the dough. I just pushed it into the bottom of the pan in which I was baking the quiche until it was evenly distributed across the bottom and sides.

Bake it slightly at 425F before putting in the filling.

The Filling

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups light cream (the only cream that I had was half-and-half singles - the kind that you use for coffee. 48 of them equals 2 cups :)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cheese (usually, you would use Swiss - for this I used my four Italian cheese mix)
• 2-3 tablespoons minced sweet onion
• 1-2 tablespoon minced garlic
  
• 1 cup chopped, raw spinach (I probably used more than this)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (and I probably used more than this too)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4-1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
  

Saute the onion, garlic and pine nuts. Whip the eggs and cream. Mix in all other ingredients, as well as the sauteed ingredients. Pour into the lightly browned pastry crust and bake in a 425F oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350F and bake for another 30 - 45 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

This was even great as left overs!

Pan Pizza

I love Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. I have been trying to replicate the crust for years. It has been slow going even with my awesome baking ability and my ace-in-the-hole - my husband was a Pizza Hut deliverer for four years.

The other day I stumbled upon a combination of ingredients that I think come pretty damn close.

I used a bread machine to make the dough - why not if you have one, right?

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 TBS sugar
• 1-1/2 cup flour
• 1-1/2 tsp dry yeast

Place the ingredients in the machine in this order (for most machines - check your machine for specifics). Set your machine to "pizza dough", if it has that setting; otherwise "dough", or you could just be sure to take the dough out after the first rise if it is a really basic machine without any extra settings. You will want to push the ingredients from the corners of the pan as the dough mixes to be sure that every thing mixes in.

This is a really loose, sticky dough; but, it could still be made by hand. You will have problems trying to knead this, so I would recommend just mixing it well.

When taking the dough out of the bread pan, carefully remove the mixing blade first without tearing apart the dough - once the dough is torn it is VERY DIFFICULT to get back together. Use a lightly oiled silicon spatula to pull the dough away from the edges of the pan to get at the blade below. Once the blade is removed, reform the dough into a solid mass before putting it into a well oiled pan. I used my cast iron skillet.
Very nice.

Carefully push the dough, without tearing it, to fill the bottom of the pan evenly. Let the dough "proof" (as they say in the pizza biz) for a half hour before putting any toppings on it. I turn on the oven about fifteen minutes into the proofing to be sure that the oven is good and hot before I put in the pizza - 350°F to 375°F.

The sauce goes on first. I usually make my own, but I used a jarred spaghetti sauce for this one, any one you like should do. Then cheese. I like to use a few different kinds of cheese for more intricate flavor. We used Hormel turkey pepperoni, YUM!!!

Bake for 20-30 minutes. The pan gets really hot so be careful taking it out. Use a spatula or knife to run around the edge of the pizza, then slide the pizza onto a cutting board. I used a chefs knife to cut this bad-boy.

Although it is not exactly like Pizza Hut Pan Pizza, it was excellent. Thumbs way up from the family. I made an extra one and brought it to work, where I got all very good reviews including a "I have to tell you, YOU are the absolutely BEST pizza maker I know!!! I am in love with your pizza!!"

Awe shucks!

Turkey Meatballs

These meatballs I made on the spur of the moment. We needed something to eat and I was sick of boxed meals.

1 lb ground turkey
2 tsp dried rosemary
1/3 sweet onion, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 sleeve saltines, crushed
1 TBS oregano
1 TBS basil
salt & pepper
2 TBS olive oil

In a bowl I mixed the ground turkey, egg, saltines - crushed, onion, garlic, rosemary, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

Form the mix into bite-sized balls and place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F for about 20-30 mins.




These came out slightly crispy on the outside which was fantastic. I served them with spaghetti pasta and marinara sauce. The meatballs were YUMMMY! I will definitely make these again, but I would serve them with a sweeter sauce next time.

Creamy Italian Chicken Soup

This is another of my invented recipes. Despite the name, this has no dairy in it. The creaminess comes from throwing the broth into a blender.

• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 32oz stewed tomatoes
• 1/16 cup Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp sea salt
• dusting of cayenne pepper
• 1 sweet onion, chopped and carmelized
• 4 carrots, chopped

Put everything but the carrots in a crock pot and cook on high for about an hour.

Separate the chicken from the broth. Place the broth, chunks and all, into a blender and "liquify" for a minute or so until smooth.

Throw everything back into the crock pot with carrots.

Let this cook on low for another few hours.

When we got home and were hungry cause it smelled SOOO GOOD!! Although the picture doesn't show it, I did cook up some egg noodles to add shortly before serving. This soup was a big hit with my family. My son ate almost all of it!

Pesto Bread

I was at a kiln firing party this weekend. Someone brought some wonderful toasted bread topped with pesto. I loved it so much that I decided I had to try to figure out how to make it.

It was actually quite easy.

• 1 loaf Italian or French bread sliced into 1/4-1/2 slices
• 3-4 cups fresh basil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1-2 TBS olive oil
• 1/8 cup pine nuts
• sea salt & pepper
  

Slice the basil and mince the garlic. Mix in bowl with pine nuts, a little salt & pepper, and just enough olive oil to coat.



Pile the pesto mix onto the slices of bread and lightly drizzle a little more olive oil over all.

Bake for about 25 minutes at 350F.



You can eat this straight up or sprinkle with some Italian cheeses like Romano, Parmesan, and/or Asiago. I had a four cheese mix (with all of the previously mentioned cheeses plus Provolone).

Mmmmm!!