Awesome Slow Cooker Chicken

Kuddos to the Husband for finding this totally awesome recipe. Oh so easy, oh so yummy, oh so little effort is required. Pat dry, mix, pour, turn on, go to work, come back, eat. Done! Oh, you will need to come up with something on the side. We had baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.

• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, skin removed
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

Remove skin from chicken and empty inner cavity of contents within. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and place inside the slow cooker.

In a bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over chicken and cover.

Cook chicken on low setting for 8 hours or 4 hours on high setting.

P.S.: You will have a fair amount of chicken left over. I use it to make my MIL's chicken curry salad: shred chicken or chop into small pieces, add grapes (cut in half or in quarters), chopped nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts), raisins (if desired) and chopped celery (if desired). Add enough sour cream and mayo (half and half in proportion) to get desired consistency. Generously sprinkle with curry and stir it all up. Serve on buns, in pitas or simply eat with fork.

Pinto Bean Burgers

This was a pretty yummy recipe, although the presentation is not the best. These were also tough to flip, which negatively affected the presentation. But the flavor was great. I will try rinsing and draining the beans next time to see if it would improve consistency.

• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 hamburger buns (whole wheat), toasted (if desired)
• Lettuce leaves (if desired)
• Chipotle ranch dressing

[the original recipe calls for making your own chipotle mayo, but I could not find the ingredients, not even in Whole Foods]

1. To prepare burgers, combine the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Add pinto beans and corn; partially mash with a fork. Divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each portion into a patty and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan and cook 4 minutes on each side or until thoroughly heated. Place patties on the buns; top each patty with the dressing and lettuce (if desired).

Yield: 4 servings

Overnight Orange Pecan Toast

Super easy, super yummy, make-the-night-before morning meal. Don't make sticky buns--make this instead. No regrets, I promise.

Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 large eggs
• 12 (1-inch-thick) slices of bread (I tried whole wheat for a slightly healthier version)

1. Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over sugar mixture.

2. Combine rind and next 7 ingredients (rind through eggs); stir with a whisk. Arrange bread slices over pecans in dish; pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least one hour).

3. Carefully turn bread slices over to absorb excess egg mixture. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield: 12 servings

Christmas 2006 Cookie List

With the holidays behind us, I wanted to post some feedback on my Christmas 2006 Cookie Bake-a-thon.

1. Sugared Cranberries (from Cooking Light)
A-maz-ing. Simple, delicious, pretty much guilt-free and great for gift-giving. Definitely making these again next year.

2. Spiced Maple Pecans
Also great for gift-giving and SO addictive. We could not stop eating those.

3. Cookie Dough Truffles
Very tasty, although quite rich. Coating them in chocolate is a pretty time consuming (albeit easy) process. Don't know if I would make these again--unless I really crave them next year. I would give it a solid B.

4. Death by Chocolate Cookies
Total chocolate overload. So, so, so good. Definitely making these again, although they did not feel very Christmasy... Maybe I will add some dried cranberries or cherries next time. Funny enough, these are now called chocolate bliss cookies, which is true, but they are deadly, so I like the original title better.

5. Pecan Date Bars (from Cooking Light)
Quite tasty, reminded us a lot of the pecan pie. Very sticky and messy to eat, so these would not be good for gift-giving. Will probably make again though. How often do you get to use dates?

6. Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Cooking Light)
These were a bit of a disappointment. They were very chewy (which is good), but just didn't wow me at all. They looked nothing like the picture on the Web site, so I am wondering if I used a wrong kind of oats. I feel like I should try these again--they sound so good in theory...

7. Coconut Biscotti (from Cooking Light)
A solid, tasty biscotti recipe, particularly enhanced by coating half of the biscotti in chocolate. Glad I tried it and will probably try it again. However, this recipe does not beat my 2005 favorite, chocolate cherry biscotti.

8. Pumpkin Walnut Loaf (from Cooking Light)
Definitely a winner. Will most definitely be making it again. Perfect for gift-giving. Note to self: triple the recipe next time so that you have enough to give away.

There were two items that I didn't have a chance to make even though they were on my list. I simply ran out of time.

1. Kringla
This Scandinavian cookie is not one of my favorites, but Husband loves it for sentimental reasons, so I will continue making it.

2. Apricot Cream Cheese Thumbprints
These are awesome. Great pasty texture. Love the tart taste of the jam. Must put these on top of the list in 2007.

Tofu in Caramel Sauce

This is a very tasty tofu recipe. Our entire family loves it. Serve with whole grain rice and stir-fry veggies, or with fried rice.

Adapted from Sunset magazine

• 1 pound extra firm tofu
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1. Cut tofu into 2- by 3-inch, 1/2-inch-thick slices and pat dry.

2. Place sugar in a large frying pan over medium-high heat; shake pan often until sugar is melted and amber colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup hot water (mixture will bubble vigorously) and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

3. Stir in soy sauce, shallots, ginger, and garlic; stir often over high heat until boiling. Lay tofu pieces in a single layer in sauce. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Then turn pieces over; simmer until hot and coated with sauce, 3 to 4 minutes longer.

Yield: 4 servings