Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken

I found this recipe on one of those facebook posts, you know the ones that circulate through all of your friends, well this post actually caught my eye.  The picture of the chicken looked great.  The facebook page is Holly's Fitness & Healthy Living (I like to give credit where credit is due).  I made this recipe yesterday but due to a crazy schedule I couldn't post it last night, so here it is tonight, which really isn't so bad since we had leftovers.

The recipe is super simple.  The only thing I did not add was black pepper which is due to my allergy.  I also used a whole chicken that I cut up into pieces (reserving the backbone and neck to make broth for soup).

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (make sure that you have pure balsamic vinegar, a lot have other ingredients in them  - so check the label)
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 24 ounces) or breasts (again I used the whole cut up chicken)

Combine the first five dry spices in a small bowl and spread over chicken on both sides.  Set aside.  Pour olive oil and garlic on the bottom of the crock pot.  Place chicken on top.   Pour balsamic vinegar over the chicken.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.  Serve.

To go along with the chicken I fixed steamed fresh green beans and heirloom potatoes.

Potatoes
1 large bag of mixed heirloom potatoes, diced (these potatoes were of the purple, pink, gold variety.  All had a purple or pink/red skin)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
sea salt
In a large cast iron skillet that has a lid.  Heat olive oil and garlic in pan over medium high heat.  Add cut potatoes.   Stir.  Continue to flip/stir potatoes so that they won't stick.  Add about 1/4 cup water and cover skillet with lid.  Cook for about 5 minutes and stir.  Check doneness of potatoes.  If still a little too crunchy add a little bit more water, cover and cook some more.  When they are almost done, remove lid, add a little salt to taste, stirring to continue to cook until all water is gone.  Serve.

Standing Rib Roast with Horseradish Crust

Last Saturday we traveled to our local farm Mountain Run Farm to get some meats to fill our freezer.  When getting the items we wanted I found this magnificent looking rib roast.  We were having company this weekend and my thought went immediately to hum I think I could make this for our guests.  This is the meal I made last night.

I searched for recipes to make.  There are several out there but I came across this one done by Tyler Florence and it a Food Network recipe.

This is the recipe as written, I will leave my notes on the side of what I did)
Standing Rib Roast with Horseradish Crust
1 - (3-rib) prime rib beef roast, about 6 pounds.  (My roast was a 4 rib and was over 7 pounds)
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
Needles from 2 fresh rosemary sprigs (I used 3 large sprigs)
Leaves from 4 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 cup sea salt
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks (I used 3 large carrots)
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks (I used 3 parsnips)
1 red onion, halved (I used 3 small ones)
1 head garlic, halved
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lay the beef in a large roasting pan with the bone side down.  (The ribs act as a natural roasting rack).
In a small bowl mash together the garlic, horseradish, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a paste. Massage the paste generously over the entire roast.  Scatter the vegetables around the meat and drizzle with a 2-count of oil.  Put the pan in the oven and roast the beef for about 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours for medium-rare (or approximately 20 minutes per pound).  Check the internal temperature of the roast several place with an instant read thermometer; it should register 125 degrees Fahrenheit for medium rare.  Remove the beef to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes.  The internal temperature of the meat will continue to rise by about 10 degrees.  Remove the the vegetable and set aside.
(I used a probe thermometer to help me keep track of how the roast was doing as it was cooking, I didn't want to continue to open the oven door.  Once the roast was close to the temperature, I used the instant read thermometer).  I served the vegetables with the meal, they vegetables had a nice caramelized quality.
Another Note: This is a great recipe to place into the oven and have fun with your guests.  I then got our guests involved in the rest of the cooking process which was a lot of fun for everyone.

Mashed Japanese Sweet Potatoes

2-1/2 pounds of Japanese sweet potatoes

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup coconut milk mixed with 1/4 cup water or 1/2 cup half and half (I went with the coconut milk)

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into large cubes and drop them into boiling water.  Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain and return to the pan.

Shake the potatoes in the pan over medium heat until the excess moisture evaporates.  Reduce heat to low and add the butter to the potatoes; mash light with a potato masher.  Gradually add the coconut milk, mashing lightly between additions, until the potatoes are smooth and creamy.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

This is the same recipe I made the other night but I decided to leave the vanilla out of the recipe and just opt for salt and pepper.

Steamed Green Beans

We still have some green beans coming out of our garden so I made some steamed green beans to go along with this meal. 

Place green beans into a steamer and cover.  Place steamer over a pan with about 1 inch of water.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.   Cook until beans are tender.  Remove from heat, place beans into a bowl, add a little bit of butter and some sea salt.  Serve

Citrus Glazed Black Cod with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans

I went searching the Internet for dinner recipes and ideas.  I found two recipes for tonight's dinner on the Internet, not the ton of cookbooks I have on my shelf (which I really need to use more often).  The first recipe for the Black Cod came from Martha Stewart and the second for the mashed sweet potatoes came from a fellow blogger, blog name Jan's Sushi bar.  I knew that I wanted to bake the cod and was looking for ideas when I came across the recipe.  The other, you know how we love Japanese sweet potatoes, so I looked for mashed recipes and saw this and thought this is perfect.

Citrus Glazed Black Cod
4 - 6 ounce black cod filets
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (I used the juice from the whole lime)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I use Tamari)
Thinly sliced mint leaves, for garnish
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish (I didn't actually have any fresh scallions so I chose to use some dried chives)
Coarse Salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray baking dish with cooking spray.  Season fish with salt and pepper and place in prepared dish.  Meanwhile, add brown sugar, lime juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and a pinch of salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Simmer until thick and syrupy, 4 to 5 minutes.  Spoon about 1 teaspoon of glaze evenly over each cod filet; reserve any remaining glaze.  Transfer baking dish to oven and bake until opaque and just cooked through, about 12 minutes.  Garnish with mint and scallions; serve with reserved glaze.
***I only used 2 pieces of fish but made the entire amount of glaze.

Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2-1/2 pounds of Japanese sweet potatoes
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut milk mixed with 1/4 cup water or 1/2 cup half and half (I went with the coconut milk)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into large cubes and drop them into boiling water.  Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain and return to the pan.
Shake the potatoes in the pan over medium heat until the excess moisture evaporates.  Reduce heat to low and add the butter and vanilla to the potatoes; mash light with a potato masher.  Gradually add the coconut milk, mashing lightly between additions, until the potatoes are smooth and creamy.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
***Since I was only cooking for 2 I cut this recipe in half.

Steamed Green Beans
We are still getting green beans out of our garden and so there is nothing better than fresh beans.
Place green beans into a steamer and cover.  Place steamer over a pan with about 1 inch of water.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.   Cook until beans are tender.  Remove from heat, place beans into a bowl, add a little bit of butter and some sea salt.  Serve