Tomatillo Chicken and Rice - Crock-Pot Cooking

The two winners of the Novica gift certificates have been chosen. Each of the 270 comments in the drawing received a sequential number at the time it was posted. The winners were chosen by a random number generator which selected the numbers 229 and 71. Congratulations to Aisling and Discovery Woman. I will be contacting you soon.



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...One of the perks of age is learning to cast away the things that aren't important. That helped this morning as I took a look around the house, assessed what I saw and declared an end to Christmas preparations. Basta! The day was crisp and clear and meant to be enjoyed. I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. I had a wonderful day. I accomplished nothing of importance but had an awfully good time doing nothing at all. I walked some along the river, lunched with a friend and relished the luxury of a midday nap. Dinner, too, was stressless. It was a crock-pot creation that turned out well enough to share with you. If you are looking for a quick holiday meal, I think you'll enjoy this simple dinner which has a Southwestern flair. If you'd like to make your own tomatillo salsa, a recipe can be found here. The recipe for the chicken appears below.

Tomatillo Chicken with Rice...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 cups tomatillo salsa
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-1/2-in. pieces
1 can (15 oz.) corn, drained
1 can (15-oz.) hominy, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.5-oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed
2 cubanelle peppers, chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
3 cups cooked rice

Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients except cilantro in a 4 to 5-quart slow cooker.
2) Cover and cook on high 3 to 3-1/2 until chicken is cooked through.
3) Stir in cilantro; serve over rice with lime wedges. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja - The Perfect Pantry
Slow Cooker Mulligatawny - The Ungourmet
Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches - Jane Deere
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork - Never Enough Thyme
Slow Cooker Pork Chops - The Hungry Housewife
Crock-Pot Chili - Taste and Tell

Crock-Pot Dried Apricot Jam

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have a huge store of dried apricots in the pantry. I used a dehydrator for the first time last summer and my over zealous experimentation led to storing far more of the fruit than I could sensibly use. To make matters worse, I forgot the fruit was stored and didn't find it until I began to clean the pantry today. The apricots still retained their color, so I decided to use them to make some jam and a glaze for tarts that I'll be baking later in the week. I have a crock-pot recipe that uses dried apricots to make jam. The recipe is really easy and the only trick is cooking the jam to the consistency you want. No pectin is used in this recipe because apricots are high pectin fruits and the jam will "set" of its own accord if you cook it long enough. If the jam will be kept in your pantry, make sure you sterilize the jars and caps you plan to use for storage. I actually prefer frozen jams, so I bypass that step and make quick work of the very few steps needed to make these beautiful preserves. The frozen preserves retain a lovely amber glow that is muddied in the sterilization process. I can't over emphasize how important it is to cut or shred the fruit into small pieces. Whole apricots are neither attractive or spreadable. They are actually too large to be used to make either jam or preserves. For those who may not know the distinction between jellies, jams and preserves, I have a super short primer. A jelly is made from fruit juice and has no trace of fruit in it. Jam is made by boiling bits of fruit and preserves are basically the same as jam except chunks of fruit are used. The fresh jam will keep in the refrigetor for up to a month and it can be safely frozen for up to a year. If you wish, small amounts or herbs or spices can be added to the completed jam. Here's the base recipe.

Crock-Pot Apricot Jam...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/4 pound dried apricots
2 cups sugar
3-1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1) Chop apricots finely using a knife or food processor. Place in a 3-1/2 quart crockpot with sugar and water and stir to combine. Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 2-1/2 hours, stirring twice during cooking. Uncover and add lemon juice and salt> Cover again and cook on high 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
2) Ladle preserves into clean, hot jam jars, seal tightly, and keep refrigerated up to 1 month. You can process the jars in a boiling water bath if desired, but follow instructions from your county extension agent carefully. The jam can also be frozen, Yield: 4 to 6 pint jars.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Pumpkin Butter - One Perfect Bite
Tomato Jam - One Perfect Bite
Popovers and Strawberry Butter - One Perfect Bite

This recipe is also being linked to:

Crock Pot Wednesday - Dining with Debbie

Kobe Kiwi Wings with Japanese Relish - Outdoor Wednesday

I know I should look at them and think, "All things bright and beautiful. All things great and small." I've really, really tried, but they look like buzzards and I'm simultaneously trying to figure out how they got here and how I can get rid of them. Did you know they can fly? Years ago a wall street broker, long since gone to his just reward, was sure that "...in a high wind even a turkey can fly." He was spot on, about bad stocks and the other turkeys. They can fly at 55 miles an hour for short distances. These new members of our wildlife menagerie, probably escapees from a nearby raptor center, started me thinking about birds and winged creatures that cannot, for one reason or another, fly. Some years ago I developed a crock-pot recipe for chicken wings and my over stimulated sense of the absurd decided to call them kiwi wings because the donor chickens could no longer fly. I'll tell you more about the wings below. The turkeys, by the way, are fine.




This very simple recipe was developed to provide an alternative to standard, albeit delicious, hot wings. These wings are cooked in a two step process that utilizes the broiler and a slow cooker. While they lack the extreme heat of the more familiar version, they are hot and decidedly Asian in their flavor. The broiler is used to give the wings color. If you don't mind beige wings this step can be bypassed. The finished wings are sprinkled with an Asian relish patterned after one that comes from Kobe, Japan. The wings will have more flavor if allowed to marinate before cooking. Your preparation time will be about 20 minutes and the wings can be on the table, start to finish, in three hours. While these were developed to be served as an appetizer, when served with rice, they make a wonderful light meal. Here's the recipe.

Kobe Kiwi Wings with Japanese Relish...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 pounds chicken wings
1/2 cup Japanese (shottsuru) or Thai (nam pla) fish sauce
1 cup Asian sweet chili sauce (i.e. Mae Ploy)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Relish
1/4 cup minced scallions (white and tender green)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (optional)

Directions:
1) Cut wings into pieces at joints; discard wing tips or reserve for stock.
2) To make marinade, place fish sauce, chili sauce, lime juice, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch in a small (1-quart) bowl. Whisk to combine.
3) Place wing pieces and marinade in a 1-gallon resealable storage bag. Seal and shake to coat all pieces with marinade. Refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.
4) Preheat oven broiler. Coat insert of a large (6-quart) slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
5) Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve marinade. Transfer chicken to rack of a large broiler pan. Broil about 6 inches from heat for 5 minutes per side.
6) Meanwhile, pour marinade into a medium (2-quart) saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for about 10 minutes to thicken mixture.
7) Dip chicken pieces into thickened marinade. When coated, transfer to slow cooker. Pour remaining marinade over chicken, cover, and cook on HIGH for 2 hours.
8) Just before serving, combine scallions, ginger and parsley in a small bowl. Toss to combine.
9) Transfer wings to a serving platter. Sprinkle with relish and sea salt (if using). Serve hot. Yield: 10 appetizer servings.

This recipe is being linked to:

Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

Crock-Pot Wednesday an event sponsored by Deb at Dining with Debbie.