Slow Cooker Chicken

So today ended up turning into a much busier day then I had originally planned. I was going to roast a whole chicken that I had in the fridge, but wasn't going to be home long enough to keep an eye on it. To the internet! Food network once again just saved my dinner plans via the glorious crock-pot! This one came from Emeril Lagasse and was a really tasty and easy meal that fit into the comfort food category perfectly. Definitely try this recipe on a cool day when you want to come home to a hot meal! Here's the recipe:



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Take your whole chicken and remove the neck and giblets. Rinse the chicken well with cool water both inside and out then pat dry with a few paper towels. Place the chicken into the crock-pot and salt and pepper both sides generously. On top of and around the chicken, add 1/2 cup of diced onion, 1/4 cup of baby carrots, 1/4 cup of diced celery, the juice of one lemon, 3 sprigs of thyme, 3 pealed and smashed cloves of garlic, and a few dashes of onion powder (this was my own addition just to add another layer of flavor!). Turn the crock-pot up to high and allow the chicken to cook for approximately 6 1/2 hours. When the chicken is finished, remove it and the veggies and plate them up nicely. Pour the chicken juices and drippings into a sauce pan and skim off the fat from the top. Add 4 tsp of cornstarch to a small bowl along with a few tsps of water to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the heated juices in the sauce pan and stir together well. Heat the gravy for approximately 4-5 minutes or until it begins to thicken. Pour over top of the chicken and serve!

ENJOY!

G.F. Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is one of my favorite times of year! The leaves changing color, the days cooling off, and all of the phenomenal foods and flavors that comes along with it. One of the key tastes of fall is pumpkin, so I wanted to make a nice festive treat for brunch the other morning with two of my best friends! They turned out great and really were a great addition to my fall recipe list! Here's the recipe:



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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 2 tbsp of molasses (regular pancake syrup will work great too!), and one 15oz can of pumpkin. Set the bowl aside and get out another bowl. In the second bowl, whisk together 1 cup of brown rice flour, 1/2 cup of potato starch, 1/4 cup of tapioca flour, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. Then take 1 stick of softened butter and mix it into the dry mixture, the texture should be crumbly. Add in the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients a little at a time mixing well after each addition. Once all of the ingredients are added, beat for 1-2 minutes, until the batter is fluffy. Fill up the muffin cups until almost full. Bake for 25 minutes or until the center muffin springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

ENJOY!

Mojito Chicken

If you want a chicken dish that will knock your socks off, this recipe is it! It's another twist on one of Guy Fieri's recipes from Food Network, and you will not be sorry you tried it. The marinade alone will be something that will become a staple for how I prepare chicken in the future, and it would make veggies and shrimp taste incredible too! Please please please try it! Here's the recipe:

                                                                                     

Take a whole chicken and remove the innards entirely. Turn the chicken so that it is breast-side down and remove the backbone with a pair of kitchen shears. (This is really simple, just cut right up the back of the chicken from bottom to the neck on both sides of the backbone!). Rinse the chicken well with cold water and then pat dry with paper towels. Flatten the chicken so that the insides are facing the cutting board and the breast, legs, and wings are all facing you. You want your chicken to be able to lay flat in a skillet! In a separate bowl, mix together 2 tbsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tbsp of dried oregano, 2 tbsp of kosher salt, 1 tbsp of black pepper, and 1 tsp of paprika. Take your chicken, and shove the spice mixture up under all of the skin (this is key so make sure you lift the skin as much as you can without tearing it and coat it well!). Use the remainder of the spice rub and coat the rest of the chicken (skin, insides, everything!). Place the whole chicken into a resealable plastic bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. In a separate large bowl, mix together the following ingredients for your marinade, 1 cup of orange juice, 2 limes (juiced), 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp of sliced fresh garlic, 1/4 cup of dark rum. Add your marinade to the bagged chicken and let refrigerate for at least an hour. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.Take your chicken out of the bag and let all of the excess marinade drip off of it. While you're doing this, heat a large skillet to medium/high and add 4 tbsp of e.v.o.o. Place your chicken into the skillet skin side down first making sure that the entire chicken is laying flat in the pan. Allow for the skin to become golden and crispy, then flip the chicken over, add 1/4 cup of your used marinade to the pan, and cook until well seared. Place your entire skillet into the oven (make sure its oven safe first!) and cook the chicken for approximately 40 minutes or until your instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees. When finished, turn on the broiler and cook the chicken under it for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, serve, and

ENJOY!

Pot Roast (GF)

The gluten free queen is back in business! Apologies for the long sabbatical from blogging, but with the new semester starting up I've hardly had time to do anything for myself. The other night I decided I was going to use my trusty crock-pot so that I'd have a nice hot meal to come home to and I'm so glad that I did! Pot roast is so easy and delicious and I really encourage everyone to try out this recipe!



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In a large crock pot, chop up 4-5 medium sized potatoes (any kind will work, just make sure they're washed well!) Place them in the bottom of the crock pot. Next, dump a small bag of baby carrots on top of the potatoes. On top of THAT place your meat, any nicely marbled piece will work just fine! Now, because I make mine gluten free, I can't use the Lipton Onion Soup mix that so many others do (it contains barley!). So instead I roughly chop up one medium sized onion and throw that on top of the meat. I season the meat well with salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp of onion powder. Then I add 1 & 1/2 cups of water, and 2 tbsp of Gravy Master's liquid to the pot. Place the lid on to the crock pot and set it to low. Cook for 8-10 hours and

ENJOY!

Brick Chicken with Salsa Verde

For those of us who like to cook, it seems that our major commonality is that our televisions are always set to the food network! It's such an incredible resource for new recipes, new ideas, and new techniques to use in the kitchen. This recipe is a spin off of one of my favorite chefs, Guy Fieri's, recipe. It's skillet brick chicken and it's absolutely delicious! I made this as a "welcome to the apartment" dinner for our new roommate and she seemed to really enjoy it as well! Here's the recipe:

Take one pound of chicken (the recipe called for a whole chicken but I only had boneless skinless breasts on hand so that's what I used!). Slice two pockets on both the top and bottom of the breasts so that there is just a thin flap of meat on both sides, this is where you'll apply the rub so that it doesn't burn when it's cooked! In a small bowl, mix together 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp of dried oregano, 1/2 tsp of dried sweet basil, and 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. coat both pockets of the chicken (inside only!) with the rub. Heat up a skillet to medium high and put a splash of e.v.o.o. into it. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, then stack ANOTHER skillet on top of the breasts. Place a few bricks into the top skillet so as to keep alot of pressure on the chicken below. Allow the chicken to cook on each side for approximately 5-9 minutes or until cooked through. For the salsa verde to put on top, get out your food processor and blend together 1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp of minced garlic, 1 tbsp of sauteed chopped onion, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1/3 cup of e.v.o.o.. Blend until you've created a paste and top your cooked chicken with the salsa verde.

ENJOY!