A Savory Stew of our Favorites

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

"The Best Frosting I've Ever Had"

(As reported by pioneerwoman.com. I've actually never tried it.) **Does the period go inside or outside the parenthesis? I always get this mixed up and it bothers me!
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 5 Tablespoons Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 cup Butter
  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Homemade Ingredients

Check out this link!

The Tasty Kitchen

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Chickpea Noodle Soup

serves 6 (can easily be halved)

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
8-10 cups chicken broth --can use vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb pasta (I used whole wheat angel hair, broken in half)
2 15.5-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
black pepper, to taste
shaved Parmesan or Asiago cheese
(I think if you have fresh parsley--that would be good too)

In a large pot, heat olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Saute for a few minutes, then add broth. Bring broth/ garlic mixture to a boil, over high heat. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat to medium-high, and add chickpeas. Gently boil, 8-12 minutes (depending on what pasta you use), until pasta is cooked through. Season to taste with black pepper.

From: sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Faux-tisserie Chicken

1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker
Salt-based seasoning (Seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper with salt in it, etc. Just make sure salt is one of the first ingredients on the label.)
OPTIONAL:
Whole garlic cloves, peeled
Fresh herbs

Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it's not stewing in its own juices.


Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate. If you want (and I actually strongly recommend that you do UNLESS you're looking for a neutral flavor), pull the skin up all around the chicken. This does involve sticking your hand between the skin and the breast. Oooh, sounds dirty. Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. You can also arrange a couple sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under the skin. This makes a very pretty chicken when it's all cooked and adds a lot of flavor.

Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken. Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours.

From: ourbestbites.com