April 29: Vegetarian Paella

I decided not to make this recipe this year. Maybe next year.

ETA: 4/28/14
I actually did end up making this recipe last year. I found these photos, so here they are. I gathered up these ingredients:

I sautéed some onions, peppers, and garlic in olive oil:

I transferred it to the crock pot, stirred in some converted rice, broth, white wine, turmeric, salt, and red pepper flakes. I cooked it on low for 3 hours, then added garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts and peas. Without stirring, I cooked it on low for 30 minutes more:

I served it with a roasted chicken:

This paella was better than expected. I liked the garbanzo beans; they gave it a nice meaty flavor.

April 28: Braised Italian Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives

I got the ingredients for this recipe, but then I went on a diet. I haven't made it yet, but probably I will sometime this week.

ETA: 4/28/14

I took these pictures a year ago. I just never got around to adding them here. So here they are:

After gathering the ingredients, I dredged 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs in flour:

The chicken was seared in hot oil, then transferred to the crockpot:

I added diced tomatoes, red wine, kalamata olives, and garlic, then I cooked it on low for 4 or 5 hours:

I added rosemary and red pepper flakes to the chicken, cooked an hour longer, then cooked up some linguini:

The chicken and sauce was served over the noodles and sprinkled with Parmesan:

I think I remember this food tasting really good. I would make this recipe again!

April 27: Lemon-Dilled Parsnips and Turnips

I made this for lunch on Friday. It is from the "patio party foods" section of the cookbook. I gathered up the ingredients:

I combined 2 cups chicken broth, 1/4 cup chopped green onions, 1/4 cup dried dill, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1 tsp minced garlic in the crockpot:

I peeled and chopped up 4 turnips and 3 parsnips and added them to the crockpot:

I cooked that on low for 3 to 4 hours, or you could cook it on high for 1 to 3 hours. I dissolved 1/4 cup of cornstarch in 1/4 cup water and stirred it into the crockpot. I cooked it for 15 minutes longer:

I served it along with some leftovers for lunch:

Nobody liked this recipe very much except the baby. I thought it was okay, but still didn't eat much. I'm sorry that a lot of it went to waste. But that happens sometimes.

April 26: Southwestern Salmon Po-Boys

My DMIL doesn't like sea-food, so we had leftovers for dinner instead of the salmon.

ETA: 4/28/14

I made this recipe last week for Wednesday lunch. It was a quick one. It only took about 1 1/2 hours. I gathered up these ingredients at about 10:30:

I sliced up some peppers and onions and arranged half of them on the bottom of the Crock Pot:

I seasoned the salmon with salt, pepper, and southwest chipotle seasoning, laid it on top of the veggies, and added the rest of the veggies on top:

I cooked it for 1 1/2 hours on low. Meanwhile I spread the buns with chipotle mayo. When all was done cooking, I spooned some cooking liquid onto the bottom of the buns, the piled up the fish and veggies:

I thought this one was delicious. My husband didn't try it, because he was at work, but even the kids ate it up!

April 25: Cinnamon Latte

I made this in the morning two days after my in-laws got here. My father-in-law liked it a lot. Here are the ingredients:

I brewed 6 cups of double strength coffee, then blended the coffee, 2 cups half & half, a cup of sugar, and a tsp vanilla in the crockpot. I added 3 cinnamon sticks and cooked it on high for 3 hours.

I served the latte in mugs with whipped cream and additional cinnamon sticks for garnish:

This coffee was super sweet. It was good, but I think next time I would cut the sugar in half. Also, if I'm making it for myself, I would switch to decaf. I'm just not used to that much caffeine! DH thought it was too sweet, but DFIL really liked it.

April 24: Cream Cheese Chicken with Broccoli

This chicken is from the "lighter bites" section of the cookbook. It calls for light cream cheese, but I missed that and bought regular. So it's not as light as it should have been! First I gathered the ingredients:

I cut 4 pounds of chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. I tossed the chicken with olive oil and Italian dressing mix. I cooked that in the crockpot on low for 3 hours.

I cooked some sliced mushrooms and chopped onions in a skillet for 5 minutes:

I added a can of cream of chicken soup, a bag of broccoli florets, 1/4 cup sherry, and a package of cream cheese to the skillet.

I heated that up and transferred it to the crockpot, then cooked it on low for an hour:

I made some linguine and served the chicken and sauce over the pasta:

The kids seemed to like this one:

 

I really liked this one. DH and his parents didn't like the mushrooms much, but they really liked the rest of it.

April 23: Boneless Chicken Cacciatore

This chicken cacciatore recipe is from the Winter "meaty main dishes" section of the cookbook. Here are the ingredients:

I browned up 12 halves of boneless skinless chicken breasts:

Then I put them in the crockpot. I added 4 cups marinara sauce, a cup of coarsely chopped onion, a cup of coarsely chopped green pepper, a can of sliced mushrooms, 1/4 cup red wine, 2 tsp each minced garlic, dried oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. I let that cook on low for 5 to 7 hours, or you could cook it on high for 2 to 3 hours. I served it with bread on the side:

This cacciatore had a really good flavor. I loved the combinations of the spices - oregano and thyme and the wine. We all really liked it and we will make it again. We all especially liked that it was boneless.