Saucy Slow Cooker Chicken and Veggies

When you're busy, just toss everything into the pot and forget about it.  If you happen to walk by it halfway through the cooking time you can lift the lid and spoon some of the pan juices over the potatoes and veggies, but no worries if you don't.

2 stalks celery
4 chicken legs, split
4 potatoes
4 carrots
an onion or 2 cut in half
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup (spicy) ketchup
1/4 cup lemon juice
Tandoori spice or any spice you prefer
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
black pepper to taste

Spray the slow cooker with cooking oil then lay 4-6 inch pieces of celery on the bottom. Place the thighs and drumsticks on top in a single layer and sprinkle with tandoori spice. Add the onion halves.

Slice the carrots into 1" pieces and cut the potatoes in chunks a little bigger than that. Place in a plastic bag. Set aside.

Mix together the soya, honey, ketchup and lemon juice and pour about half in with the vegetables. Shake around to coat and dump in on top of the chicken. Pour the rest of the sauce into the slow cooker.

Sprinkle with the seasonings, cover and cook on high 3-4 hours.

Cabbage and Bacon

A simple dish that serves 2 as a main and 6-8 as a side.

4 cups cabbage, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 slices of bacon, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp salt
few grinds of black pepper
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
sprinkle pepper flakes (optional)

Brown bacon in a deep sided frying pan.  Add onion and garlic, browning lightly.  Deglaze the pan with white wine vinegar.

Add the cabbage and cook on low heat 25-30 minutes. Longer if you want the cabbage more tender, I like it tender crisp.  Toss in the seasonings and serve.

Pumpkin Pouding au Chomeur

Pouding au chomeur, or poor man's pudding, is a traditional French Canadian dessert adapted to pumpkin flavour here. If you want to try the original flavour use butter and egg instead of pumpkin and leave out the spices.

1 cup sugar
2 tbsps butter, softened (or 2 tbsps pumpkin purée)
1 egg (or 1/4 cup pumpkin purée)
1  3/4 cup flour
1  1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice

Syrup:
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups milk or cream (or combination of both)
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Cream sugar and butter (or pumpkin) together.  Add egg (or additional pumpkin).
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and spices.

Add to the sugar mixture alternating with the milk until combined. Pour into a greased 2.5 L baking dish. Set aside.

For the syrup:
In a saucepan bring sugar, milk and butter to a boil and simmer until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour over cake using a spoon so that where you're pouring doesn't make a hole in the cake. Do not stir.  As the cake bakes this syrup will go to the bottom to form a sauce.

Bake at 375 F for 30-40 minutes.

 Check for doneness with a cake tester or toothpick.

Serve plain or with whipped cream.

Romanoff Artichoke Baked Pasta

Vodka!!  Ok, I've got your attention.

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsps onion, chopped
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
3 tbsps tomato paste
3 oz vodka
3/4 - 1 cup 10% cream
salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper!)
1/2 lb penne
454 g canned artichokes (not marinated), reserve liquid
1  1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

In a deep skillet lightly brown the garlic and onion in butter and olive oil.  Toss in the cooked chicken. Add the tomato paste and heat through. Chop a couple of artichokes and mix together.

Deglaze the pan with vodka and add the cream.  Salt and pepper to taste.  As I said before, lots of pepper!  I like a lot of pepper in romanoff.

Meanwhile cook the penne as per package directions, drain and toss with the chicken and sauce. If you want the sauce a little thinner mix in 1 -2 tbsps of reserved liquid from the artichokes. Spoon into an oiled 8 X 8" baking dish. Cut the remaining artichokes in half and add to the dish.

Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Baked Sausage Stuffed Apples

Fall means apples. Apple picking, apple pies, apple crisp, applesauce. But here's a savoury way to incorporate apples into your meal.

8 small apples (or as many as you can fill with the filling)
3/4 cup sausage meat
1/4 cup finely chopped celery with leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1  1/4 cups chopped apple
1/2 tsp sage
salt and pepper to taste

Lightly brown the sausage meat, onions and celery in a skillet on medium heat. I have some sweet basil sausage meat which smells wonderful while browning, but you could use any flavour that suits your fancy. Actually a cheddar sausage might work really well with the apples.

While that browns, start prepping the apples. Cut the tops off the apples and let them soak in some salt water. Use a knife to cut out the core then use a small ice cream scoop or melon baller to remove more apple leaving about an 1/8" thickness.

Chop the scooped-out apple flesh to make 1  1/4 cups and mix that into the warm sausage mixture. Season with sage, salt and pepper. 

Fill the apples with the meat mixture and cap them off with the reserved apple tops. Stand in a baking dish and bake at 350 F for 35-45 minutes, basting with melted butter or pan juices until apples are tender.

Served here with Cranberry Herbed Rice.

Cranberry Slow Cooker Pork Loin

Had a little cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving....

3-4 lb boneless pork loin
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 tsp honey
sprinkle paprika
salt and pepper

Season the roast with salt and pepper then lightly brown in a skillet.

Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray and sit the roast in the bottom.

Mix cranberry sauce, ginger and honey together and spread over the top of the pork. Sprinkle with paprika, cover and cook on low 3-4 hours. 

Let sit a few minutes before cutting.

Slow Cooker Sweet Mincemeat

It's getting late in the season now, but if you still have green tomatoes this is an excellent use of them. And if you don't have a slow cooker you can find the original stovetop recipe link at the bottom of this page. 

3 cups chopped green tomatoes
3 cups chopped crisp apples (I used spartan)
1/2 cup raisins (I used sultanas)
1/2 chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped candied cherries
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsps Glayva (or rum)
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ginger

Combine everything in your slow cooker. The original recipe called for rum, but I didn't have any so I used Glayva.  If you've never heard of it it's a Scotch based liquor with hints of tangerine, honey and spices. Brandy would be great as well.

Set on high for 30 minutes covered, then reduce to low and continue cooking for 4 hours.  You can stir it once in the 4 hours but try not to do it more than that. After the 4 hours remove the lid, turn up to high again and cook an additional hour. It'll smell great by now! You can stir it several times if you like at this point. (And tasting is definitely recommended!)  

It's good to go like this, but if you prefer a thicker mincemeat mix 2-3 tsp of cornstarch in 1 tsp cold water.  Take a little of the warm juices and stir in.  Now stir this mixture into the mince in the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

Fill sterilized jars to 1/4" from top, cap and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes about 5 cups which you can use for pie or tarts.
Or even as an ice cream topping.....oh ya, I went there : )

Original stove top recipe:

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/11/green-tomato-sweet-mincemeat.html