Lemony Chicken (Slow Cooker) w/Roasted Potatoes

Lemon Chicken is a dish that scares me a bit. I've made it twice before, one unimpressive and one awful. The first was just some Lemon Pepper seasoning, so kind of boring. The second was a recipe from my Biggest Loser cookbook that turned out WAY too lemony and just not good. So, once again, B was pretty skeptical, but he agreed to let me try it.

Lemony Chicken ("The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook; Margaret Kaeter, 2002)

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 c. sherry
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. crumbled dry oregano
• 1 tsp. grated lemon peel

4 to 6 quart slow cooker.

Wash the chicken breast; do no remove the bone or skin. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a medium-sized skillet. Saute the chicken until brown. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the chicken to the slow cooker. Add the sherry to the skillet and stir to lossed the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet (deglaze). Pour the sherry mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with the oregano and garlic. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Cut the lemon peel into 1/8-in. squares. Add the lemon juice and bits of lemon peel. Cook covered on low for 1 additional hour.

Roasted Potatoes:  Nothing special here. Just 2lbs. baby red potatoes cut into pieces. Toss with olive oil and whatever you like. This time I used garlic and onion powder and dried, minced onion and garlic. Put in sprayed baking dish. Cover and cook at 400 for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 20 to 25 minutes until slightly crispy.

Sissy's Variation:
I do not ever cook with chicken breast on the bone or with the skin. So, I just used 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I always have on hand.
I did use one extra clove of garlic because I love it so.
I did not have any sherry on hand, so I used a bit of white wine that I had in the fridge.
Because I used BLSL chicken, the browing step was a bit different. I couldn't let it get too brown or it would have cooked all the way through, so I just barely let it get brown. The BLSL chicken also does not give out good "bits" for deglazing, but there were some and I did want to utelize the butter flavor, so I still did that step.
Once I poured the wine mixture over the chicken, I didn't think there was quite enough liquid in there to keep the chicken from drying out--even knowing I would add the lemon later. Two things made me add some additional liquid in the form of chicken broth:  I have a larger (8 qt.) slow cooker than the recipe called for and chicken not on the bone tends to be a bit drier, especially in the slow cooker.
We were unable to eat the chicken the night I made it, so I stuck it and the juice in the fridge for the next night. Even reheated, it was so good. B ate it on sandwiches. I ate it with the juice drizzled over and for dipping. Yum!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I've seen BBQ pizza recipes before and for some reason, it just really sounded good on this night and I had everything on hand to make it except the dough. I do like to make my own pizza dough and make it frequently, but it can be a little time consuming on a weeknight, so I keep the refrigerated kind on hand for when the pizza craving attacks. I was very pleased with the outcome and Bill really liked, which was a huge plus.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:
pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
BBQ sauce
mozzarella cheese
sharp cheddar cheese
red onion, chopped

1. Spray grill with cooking spray and preheat grill. Season chicken with salt (or salt substitute), pepper, and garlic powder. Grill chicken until cooked through, turning as needed.

2. When chicken is almost done, coat lightly with BBQ sauce. Remove from grill to cool. While chicken cools, place pizza dough on pizza or cookie sheet.

3. Spread BBQ sauce on pizza dough almost to the edge, leaving a small crust. Sprinkle with a little bit of mozzarella and a large amount of cheddar cheese, enough to cover the BBQ sauce.

4. Cut chicken into small chunks and sprinkle over cheese. Sprinkle with a little more cheddar cheese and chopped onion. Drizzle with BBQ sauce.

5. Bake according to pizza dough directions, usually around 15 minutes.

Sissy's Variations:
For the BBQ sauce, I had both regular and hot and spicy on hand. I figured the hot and spicy would be too hot for spreading, so I used it on the chicken and the regular as the "pizza sauce." It was a perfect combo. I also used cheeses that were either low fat and/or made with 2% milk to cut back on calories. No problems with melting. And, of course, only half the pizza had onion, since I don't like uncooked onion.

An All-time Fave: Chicken Spaghetti

One of my very favorite dishes of all time is the Chicken Spaghetti my mom cooks. Now, the fact that it's something my mom cooks is something pretty amazing all by itself. My mom, you see, doesn't really cook. She married men who could cook, and that is where I learned much of what I know about cooking--from my dad and my stepdad, both of whom are great cooks. But, Chicken Spaghetti is something my got from her mom and she's been cooking it for me forever. We rarely get to eat it because nobody else likes it quite like we do; they just tolerate it.

Mom says she has the recipe somewhere, but I've never used. I just sort of go from memory and occasionally call Mom to make sure I'm not forgetting something. It's super simple and makes great leftovers. But WARNING it makes A LOT. I suppose there are ways to cut it down, but for us, it just doesn't work unless you make a lot.

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:
1 whole fryer chicken
1 lb. spaghetti
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
2 cans stewed tomatoes (Italian style or regular)
1 can sweet peas, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup (optional, use only if necessary)

1. Boil chicken in large stock pot until done (about 1.5 hours).

2. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Save broth.

3. Once broth cools a bit, skim fat from top and discard. Bring broth back to a boil and cook spaghetti in broth according to package directions. The pasta should absorb most of the liquid, leaving no need to drain. If there is too much excess liquid, drain off some.

4. Leave pot on burner and reduce heat to medium low. Cube Velveeta into pasta, stirring frequently to allow cheese to melt and to keep it from burning on the bottom.

 

5. De-bone and de-fat chicken and shred into pot. (I just pull the chicken off the bone, discarding the skin and fat, and shred with my fingers. Some people can't do that, so use your favorite method.)

 

6. Add tomatoes, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands or a fork. Allow to heat through.

 

7. Add peas just before serving.

 

 

Sissy's Variations:
The cream of chicken soup is used to thicken the spaghetti up if needed (as well as add some extra flavor). Mine was pretty thick this time on it's own, so I didn't use it. I had 2% Velveeta cheese on hand, so I used that without any difference in taste.

It was super yummy, as always. Bill even raved about it. And I will be eating on it for a week!

Stinky Cheese Chicken and Skinny Mashed Potatoes

That's the best way to describe Parmesan Crusted Chicken for me. I absolutely despise the way Parmesan cheese smells, especially when cooking, and I really don't like the way it tastes all that much, but sometimes it's awesome. I've done a lot of different version of Parmesan Crusted Chicken over the years, and this one is by no means original. It's just a compilation of so many different recipes I've seen and used.

The skinny mashed potatoes are all mine. I love mashed potatoes, but the way my grandmother makes them (the best EVER) would have me at least 50 pounds heavier if I made them on a regular basis. For a long time I didn't even realize I was making "skinny" mashed potatoes--I was just using low fat/low cal stuff I always have on hand. But I love them, so does Bill, and my little brothers still say I make the best mashed potatoes.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (I had three breasts)
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 c. grated parmesan/Romano/asiago blend cheese
1/8 c. Italian style bread crumbs
1/8 c. shredded parm/Romano blend cheese
garlic powder (to taste)
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
2 egg white, slightly beaten
splash of skim milk

1. Pat chicken dry and trim any skin/fat.

2. Heat oven to 375. Cover baking sheet with foil (for easy cleanup) and spray with light coat of cooking spray.

3. Mix flour, bread crumbs, cheeses, garlic powder, and pepper in shallow dish (a pie plate works well). In separate dish, beat egg whites with milk.

4. Dredge chicken through egg whites, allowing excess drip off. Coat chicken with cheese mixture. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle and press leftover cheese mixture on top of chicken. Spray with light coat of cooking spray.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and breading is a golden brown.

Sissy's Variations:
I think next time I will use a bit more bread crumbs. But other than that, it turned out great.

Skinny Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
potatoes of choice, peeled, and cubed
4 garlic gloves, cracked
skim milk
Smart Balance butter
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
garlic powder

1. Make sure potatoes are cubed pretty small for faster cooking. Place potatoes and garlic in pot and just cover with water. Cover pot and bring to boil. Cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Drain potatoes and put back in hot pot to get rid of excess moisture.

3. Add a splash or two of milk, about 1 tbsp. butter, and garlic powder (to taste) to potatoes and mash with potato masher.

4. Add more milk, but not so much that you can see the milk--too much milk with result in a gluey consistency. Spray with spray butter (5-10 sprays). Mix with hand mixer (or in standing mixer) until desired consistency--add milk as needed.

Sissy's Variations:
I change this up depending on the meal and what I have on hand. For this meal, I added parmesan cheese to go with the chicken. Next time I will add more.