If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be potatoes. Hands down. No need for discussion. Potatoes are so versatile and so comforting. The neatniks of the world say “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” I say a mouthful of scrumptious potatoes is as close to heaven on earth as you can get (with food).
What I like about rustic cooking is that it’s simple. There’s no fuss. And this recipe uses a slow cooker, which makes it almost effortless. The only work you have to do is quarter the potatoes and turn on your slow cooker. And as slow cooker recipes go, it’s relatively fast to cook. This is a great side dish for a pot roast or chicken. You could even cut up some oven-roasted turkey breast or chicken and add it to the mixture for a one-pot meal.
Baked potatoes with sour cream, crunchy tater tots, hash browns with scrambled eggs, au gratin potatoes with anything – I luv ’em all! So now you know just how much I love potatoes. Which kind of potatoes is your favorite?
4 slices thick-cut bacon, crispy and crumbled for garnish
Instructions
In a 4-quart slow cooker, add the edamame and potatoes. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Drizzle the oil mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat.
Cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, or until potatoes are fully cooked. Garnish with crispy, crumbled bacon and serve warm.
My immediately family is quite large. When we get together over the holidays, it’s like a yule tide flash mob has descended on Grandma’s house! Feeding this army can be a challenge, but we manage by dividing and conquering the holiday menu.
Grandma makes the turkey and dressing. My sister-in-law makes the desserts. My sister makes cheesy potatoes with help from my nieces. My brothers and I make assorted menu items to complete the smorgasbord. This year, I wanted to make a wild rice dish because my dad, who died in 1995, loved having wild rice at the holidays. Wild rice can take quite a while to cook, so it’s perfect for the slow cooker, which is great for transporting a hot dish on a road trip to Grandma’s.
I almost put bacon in this recipe, but because I was traveling with the dish I decided to go with Italian sausage instead. Bacon would have been great, but you wouldn’t want to put it in the dish until 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve. Otherwise it would lose it crunchiness. I’ve also tried versions of this recipe with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, but I find in general that vegetable broth has such a subtle flavor that it doesn’t hold up against the earthiness of wild rice. So a chicken (or turkey) broth is a better option.
For me the star ingredients are the edamame (possibly my favorite vegetable – after potatoes, of course!) and the sun-dried tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes pack a lot of flavor and it adds a nice counter-punch to the wild rice. This recipe makes at least 16 servings (I was feeding an army, remember), so if you have a smaller group just halve the recipe for your brood.
4 1/2 cups uncooked blend of wild rice, brown rice and red rice
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
42 ounces chicken broth
16 ounces edamame, shelled
16 ounces bulk Italian sausage
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Instructions
In a medium skillet, brown the Italian sausage and break into chunks. Cook thoroughly and remove from heat.
In a 6-quart slow cooker, mix all the ingredients. Stir to incorporate, then cover and cook on high heat for about 1 hour. Stir again. Set heat to low and cook for another 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be potatoes. Hands down. No need for discussion. Potatoes are so versatile and so comforting. The neatniks of the world say “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” I say a mouthful of scrumptious potatoes is as close to heaven on earth as you can get (with food).
What I like about rustic cooking is that it’s simple. There’s no fuss. And this recipe uses a slow cooker, which makes it almost effortless. The only work you have to do is quarter the potatoes and turn on your slow cooker. And as slow cooker recipes go, it’s relatively fast to cook. This is a great side dish for a pot roast or chicken. You could even cut up some oven-roasted turkey breast or chicken and add it to the mixture for a one-pot meal.
Baked potatoes with sour cream, crunchy tater tots, hash browns with scrambled eggs, au gratin potatoes with anything – I luv ’em all! So now you know just how much I love potatoes. Which kind of potatoes is your favorite?
4 slices thick-cut bacon, crispy and crumbled for garnish
Instructions
In a 4-quart slow cooker, add the edamame and potatoes. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Drizzle the oil mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat.
Cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, or until potatoes are fully cooked. Garnish with crispy, crumbled bacon and serve warm.
Given how bitterly cold it has been, my slow cooker is getting a solid workout this winter. And that’s okay. I find it to be therapeutic to have comfort food (especially soups) simmering in the slow cooker, filling up the house with a delicious, familiar smell.
You’ve probably noticed that I use edamame (green, baby soybeans) in a lot of recipes. I love edamame, and dare I say it’s probably my favorite vegetable. And it’s good for you.
Until a few years ago, I would have said potatoes or corn are my favorite vegetables. I still love them, but they rank a bit lower on the “good for you” chart.
I’ve been wanting to create a soup recipe that would be improved with the addition of the edamame. So I took inspiration from one of my favorite canned soups (chicken corn chowder) and decided to go vegetarian and amp it up with the edamame. I was really pleased with the results.
Cheesy Bacon-Corn Chowder
What makes this cheesy bacon-corn chowder so satisfying isn’t the edamame alone. It’s also the bacon and cheese!
Using a large slow cooker, add and stir together the corn, potatoes and edamame. Add the chicken broth, chopped onion, salt and pepper. At this point, you’re going to cover the pot and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours. Watch for when the chowder begins to boil. At this point, you’ll add the milk and cheese. Stir to incorporate and cover again, letting it cook for about 30 minutes or until the cheese melts completely. Stir the ingredients until blended.
I like a thick chowder, so I added a beurre manie (pronounced BURR-mahn-YAY), which is essentially a paste made by kneading together equal portions of flour and softened butter. A beurre manie is similar to a roux, except it’s not cooked. In a small bowl, knead together the butter and flour. Add about half of it to the chowder mixture and stir gently. Watch the consistency and add the remaining beurre manie, if needed, to thicken the chowder. Let it cook for about 20 minutes before serving.
Thick-cut bacon is one of my all-time favorites and my current favorite thick-cut bacon is from Patrick Cudahy. You can actually taste the smoked applewood when you bite into it. It’s totally bacon heaven! You can incorporate the crumbled bacon into the chowder. I recommend no more than 15 minutes before you are going to serve it, so it stays on the crunchy side. I like to garnish a bowl with a bit of crumbled bacon for extra texture, along with the fresh shredded Parmesan.
Cheesy bacon-corn chowder freezes well, so be sure to put a few servings in your freezer to enjoy the next time we have another polar plunge – which at this rate will probably be in early February!
Using a 4-quart or 6-quart slow cooker, stir together corn, potatoes and edamame. Add chicken broth, chopped onion, salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours. As soon as chowder begins to boil, add the milk and cubed cheese. Stir and cover for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until cheese melts completely. Stir ingredients until blended.
In a small bowl, knead together flour and butter. Add to the chowder mixture and stir gently. The combination of flour and butter, known as beurre manie, will thicken the chowder. Fold in the crumbled bacon about 15 minutes before you're ready to serve. [I prefer the bacon to remain crispy so I use it as a garnish on top of each bowl as it's served.]
Serve warm by the bowlful. Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired.
With the arrival of the new year, like many of you I am looking to recalibrate my food choices to make up for the over indulgence of holiday goodies. One of my go-to ingredients is boneless, skinless chicken breast. I’m also trying to make good use of my slow cooker, so I have more time to shovel snow! I’d be joking if we hadn’t received 13+ inches of snow in the last 2 days with about 6 more inches to arrive over the next 24 hours. I guess that will be my cardio workout.
Before the snow storm hit, I made my way to my local Sam’s Club to stock up on pantry items. You can always find some really good deals on quality ingredients, and I love discovering new products. One of the new product lines that Sam’s Club is carrying in 2014 is NatureRaised Farms® Boneless, Skinless Chicken. If you’ve never heard of or used NatureRaised Farms® brand before, their products are quite remarkable.
I always prefer to focus on fewer, high-quality ingredients in a recipe to get the best flavor and nutrients possible. That goes for any recipe, sweet or savory. The NatureRaised Farms® chickens are vegetarian-fed, antibiotic-free and cage-free. There are no fillers, preservatives or artificial colors either. So I picked up a few packages of the Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts to make a big ole batch of Crock Pot Chicken Vesuvio, Family-Style. If you’d like to try the NatureRaised Farms® product before you buy, a select number of participating Sam’s Clubs will have in-store product demonstrations on January 4. Or for more information about NatureRaised Farms®, visit their website or find them on Facebook and Twitter.
The Origin of Chicken Vesuvio
It may surprise you that Chicken Vesuvio was born in Chicago. It’s an Italian-American dish typically made from chicken on the bone and wedges of potato. Both are sautéed with garlic, oregano, olive oil and white wine, then baked until the chicken’s skin becomes crisp. The dish would often be garnished with green peas for color. In many Chicago restaurants, you’ll often find the “Vesuvio” technique applied to other foods like Steak Vesuvio or Vesuvio Potatoes. The origins of the dish are widely attributed to the Vesuvio Restaurant, which operated on Chicago’s Wacker Drive in the 1930’s. The original recipe can be a bit heavy, because of the richness of certain ingredients, including olive oil, white wine and lots of potatoes.
Crock Pot Chicken Vesuvio
I wanted to make a Chicken Vesuvio that offered a healthier option by using a healthier cut of chicken (skinless) and lower-sodium broth, as well as replacing some of the potatoes with other nutrient-rich vegetables that pack a real flavor punch, like edamame, sun-dried tomatoes and sweet peppers. And by using a crock pot to cook the dish instead of the oven, it uses far less oil, chicken broth and wine. That makes this Crock Pot Chicken Vesuvio more moist and delicious.
I always find it easier to execute a new recipe by getting all of my ingredients in order: mise en place. “Mise en place” is a French phrase which means literally “putting in place,” as in set up. In addition to the protein-rich, all-natural chicken, the other star ingredients of Crock Pot Chicken Vesuvio are:
new, red potatoes
sun-dried tomatoes
sweet red and yellow peppers
and my favorite, edamame!
Use a sharp chef’s knife to Julienne the peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as quarter the potatoes. Julienning is a simple technique that cuts food into short, thin strips. It not only looks great (we eat with our eyes first!) but also reduces the cooking time, while ensuring even cooking.
To get started, preheat a frying pan – lightly brushed with canola oil – on medium high heat. I used the sautée and browning setting on my 3-in-1 slow cooker, so I had one less dirty pan to wash. Score another point for Crock Pot Chicken Vesuvio! Take a barbecue or pastry brush and lightly coat one side of each chicken breast with canola oil. Then season the first side of the chicken breasts with a pinch each of salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Put the chicken breasts in the prepared pan, seasoned side down. Then repeat with canola oil and seasonings for the remaining sides of each chicken breast. Brown both sides of the chicken breasts (about 6 minutes per side).
Place the potatoes, edamame, peppers and sun-dried tomatoes inside the crock pot. Add the onion, garlic and remaining salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Pour in the chicken broth and white wine. [Because this dish requires less than a cup of white wine, I recommend picking a bottle of your favorite white wine to pair with this dinner. After pouring the half cup for the recipe, save the rest of the bottle to have with dinner!]
Gently stir until the ingredients are combined. Top the vegetables with the chicken breasts and cook for 3 hours on HIGH. You see, Crock Pot Chicken Vesuvio is really that easy!
Yield: 4 servings (1 chicken breast and approximately 1 cup of vegetables, each)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound small, red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 4 or 6 wedges each
12 ounces edamame, shelled
1 cup sweet yellow and red peppers, julienned
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
3 tablespoons minced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley, optional garnish
Instructions
Lightly coat a frying pan with canola oil and place on a stovetop burner, set at medium high. Warm the pan for a minute; you want it hot to properly sear the chicken breasts.
Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Using a barbecue or pastry brush, lightly coat the top of each breast with a thin layer of canola oil. Season with one pinch each of sea salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Place the chicken breasts in the hot frying pan, seasoned side down, and cook for about 6 minutes.
Immediately coat the remaining side of each chicken breast with canola oil. Again, season with one pinch each of sea salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Cover the pan with its lid until you're ready to turn the chicken breasts. After you turn the chicken breasts, cook for another 6 minutes, or until browned on both sides.
Place the potatoes, edamame, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic and remaining sea salt, black pepper and Italian seasonings in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add chicken broth and white wine. Gently stir to immerse vegetables evenly in the broth-wine mixture. This will help the vegetables to properly steam and cook evenly. Top the vegetables with the chicken breasts.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours (or LOW for 6 to 7 hours), or until chicken and potatoes are tender.
Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a serving plate. Top with juices from the slow cooker. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.
My immediately family is quite large. When we get together over the holidays, it’s like a yule tide flash mob has descended on Grandma’s house! Feeding this army can be a challenge, but we manage by dividing and conquering the holiday menu.
Grandma makes the turkey and dressing. My sister-in-law makes the desserts. My sister makes cheesy potatoes with help from my nieces. My brothers and I make assorted menu items to complete the smorgasbord. This year, I wanted to make a wild rice dish because my dad, who died in 1995, loved having wild rice at the holidays. Wild rice can take quite a while to cook, so it’s perfect for the slow cooker, which is great for transporting a hot dish on a road trip to Grandma’s.
I almost put bacon in this recipe, but because I was traveling with the dish I decided to go with Italian sausage instead. Bacon would have been great, but you wouldn’t want to put it in the dish until 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve. Otherwise it would lose it crunchiness. I’ve also tried versions of this recipe with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, but I find in general that vegetable broth has such a subtle flavor that it doesn’t hold up against the earthiness of wild rice. So a chicken (or turkey) broth is a better option.
For me the star ingredients are the edamame (possibly my favorite vegetable – after potatoes, of course!) and the sun-dried tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes pack a lot of flavor and it adds a nice counter-punch to the wild rice. This recipe makes at least 16 servings (I was feeding an army, remember), so if you have a smaller group just halve the recipe for your brood.
4 1/2 cups uncooked blend of wild rice, brown rice and red rice
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
42 ounces chicken broth
16 ounces edamame, shelled
16 ounces bulk Italian sausage
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Instructions
In a medium skillet, brown the Italian sausage and break into chunks. Cook thoroughly and remove from heat.
In a 6-quart slow cooker, mix all the ingredients. Stir to incorporate, then cover and cook on high heat for about 1 hour. Stir again. Set heat to low and cook for another 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
I first made this dish about five years ago and now make it about once a week. It’s great to have it on hand for a quick, hot lunch for those days when it’s hard to get away from the computer. But I don’t have a name for this dish, and I’m not sure what to call it. So I need your help to name this dish. As you’ll see, it’s not really a hash, or a stir fry, or a casserole. The marketer in me might call it a one-pot wonder or a skillet sensation, but that’s not a real recipe or dish name.
This dish is made with ground turkey, brown rice, edamame, chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup. Sounds like comforting food, right? It is. When I used to take this to the office for lunch and heat it up in the break room microwave, the smell would be so enticing that I always got questions about what I was having. I would joke that it was my version of Hamburger Helper. Except I could spell and pronounce the names of all my added ingredients! Growing up, I loved Hamburger Helper – and thought it was genius! But that was before I knew how to cook for myself and before I knew I could make something much, much more delicious and better for me.
I encourage you to try this dish for yourself – and tell me what you’d call it. Log in below and share your opinion for the best name of this dish.
Name This Dish!
In a large skillet, begin to brown the ground turkey on medium-high. Pour in the chicken broth and, using a cooking spoon or spatula, start to break up the meat. Add in the minced onions and garlic. Stir regularly until the skillet starts to boil.
Then add in the edamame and brown rice. Stir until well mixed, making sure there is still enough chicken broth to cover the ingredients. If necessary, turn down the heat to allow for the dish to simmer on the stove’s burner. Typically, it should take about 15 minutes or so for the rice and edamame to properly cook and absorb the broth. Stir regularly to ensure even cooking.
Watch the level of broth in the skillet. As soon as it almost disappears, remove the skillet from the burner and stir in the cream of mushroom soup until well blended. This dish is high in fiber (thanks to the edamame) and quite delicious.
