Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken

I've been working behind the fine jewelry counter at Macy's to help make ends meet until I can find something full time. I actually like it. Retail really isn't what I want to be doing, but as far as retail goes, I do like getting to play with diamonds and sapphires and gold and pearls. Especially when it comes to helping men pick out gifts for their ladies. But that's beside the point. Though I've left my availability pretty much open with Macy's, I tend to get scheduled for the closing shifts because that's what they need the most. I don't really mind it, except that it makes spending time with hubby in the evenings hard. I still try to get something together for dinner when I can, even if I can't be there when he gets home.

That's where the appeal of this meal comes in. It's really more of a technique than a recipe, but I do think it's worth blogging about because it is so easy, so versatile, and so yummy.

First, to keep the chicken from getting soggy, put a few balls of aluminum foil on the bottom of your crockpot (I added more after taking this picture). Then, to keep the chicken moist, pour in some chicken broth.

Next, prepare the meat. I'm using a whole chicken. Remove as much of the skin and fat as you can. If you leave it on there, dinner's going to be really greasy, so it really is best to get off as much as possible.

This step attracted some sad, starving critters.

After that, I seasoned the meat with some chicken rub.

Then I put the chicken in the crock pot. I put it in breast down, since the breast is the most vulnerable to drying out.

And I stuffed the cavity with an apple. Here it is.

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I'm not posting a picture of it stuffed in the bird because it was just too hard to get a picture of it, but it's not hard to imagine, is it? I just stuffed as much of the apple in the cavity as I could.

Finally, grab some BBQ sauce. You could make your own, or you could just use what you have.

I went ahead and dumped about 2 cups worth right on the chicken.

Then put a lid on it and walk away!

I have it set to "high" in this picture, but it really should be on low.

I wasn't going to be home when hubby got home and was ready to eat, so I set out some packets of BBQ sauce and wet wipes for him.

When I finally got home after my shift and put my own plate together, I was pleased with the way it turned out.

The chicken was falling off the bone, which made it really messy, but it was very tender and didn't require a knife. As for the apple, I didn't touch it because I thought the texture was kind of icky, but it was nice to boost the flavor of the chicken with it. But the chicken was moist and delicious.

And just wait until you see what I did with the leftovers!

Stuffed Peppers, Third Attempt

I feel like I owe an apology to Gina at skinnytaste.com. I tried her recipe for turkey stuffed peppers, using ground beef instead of ground turkey, and was pretty unenthused by the result. This was my post about it. I didn’t think the flavor was good enough, and the texture put me off, as well. I pretty much decided to go back to the first recipe that I’d tried, which I wrote about here, even though it was much more fattening.

But I decided recently to give Gina’s recipe another chance, this time with ground turkey, as she intended. Other changes:

• My cilantro was pureed and in a tube in the fridge, not cut up freshly on my cutting board. I think this led to me using a lot more of it.
• Instead of 1/4 cup of tomato sauce in the meat mixture, I used closer to a half cup. And I used leftover homemade pizza sauce instead of tomato sauce from a can. It was richer, sweeter, and spicier than plain old tomato sauce.
• I used fresh, homegrown garlic, rather than stuff from a jar.
• My cooked rice was fresh, hot, and fluffy, rather than cold and clumpy and straight from the fridge.
• I put a little bit more pizza sauce on top of the stuffed peppers before cheesing them up and baking them. Not a ton, maybe about a spoonful.

So, other than the meat change, not huge changes.

But the end result was SO MUCH BETTER.

For one thing, they were juicier. I’m not sure why. And the texture of the cooked meat was much less off-putting. I’m not sure if it was because it was turkey and not beef, or if I had cooked the beef a little long, or if it had something to do with the hot, fluffy rice and extra tomato sauce, but it was a definite improvement.

I’m pleased by the change because the texture is what I disliked the most last time. Now I feel like I can make this again.

As for the taste, I remember thinking it was bland last time. I didn’t get that sense this time at all. I’m not sure if it was using (probably) more cilantro, or using fresh garlic, or using the homemade pizza sauce and more of it.

Whatever the difference was, it was a good one.

So Gina at SkinnyTaste, I am sorry. Your recipe is damn good.

Pan-Seared Chicken with Shallots

I got a pretty unique package in the mail from my Aunt Nancy recently.

When I opened it up, this is what I found:

She had sent me home-grown shallots and garlic. After I trimmed them a bit and put them in bowls, this is what they looked like

I’ve never used shallots before and pretty much had no idea what to expect, so I peeled one just to see what it was like.

Then I may have nibbled a bit at it to see what it tasted like

Then I may have had to brush my teeth because it was both onion-y and garlic-y.

Anyway, I was on the lookout for recipes that used shallots. My Aunt Lilith was in town and described a dish that Julia Child made with chicken breasts and shallots. Not long after, I found a recipe that seemed to follow Julia’s pretty closely, so I decided to go for it.

The recipe called for four chicken breasts, pounded thin. Since my chicken breasts were pretty big, I elected to slice them into cutlets instead of pounding them. Make your big breast jokes now, I’ll wait.

I heated a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet with some olive oil.

While the butter melted, I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper.

Then I put the chicken cutlets in the pan to begin searing.

While they sizzled, I turned to the shallots. It was time to chop them up. Physically, they seemed pretty similar to garlic, so I treated them similarly. I crushed them slightly with the knife to loosen the skins and then peeled the cloves.

Interestingly, when I cut into them, I discovered that they’re more like onions on the inside, with layers. Very interesting.

Next, I got out some of the homegrown garlic and did the same to it.

I probably should have diced the garlic much more finely, but I was trying to watch a movie and make dinner at the same time, and cutting the garlic any finer seemed like too much of an effort at the time. That’s how I roll.

The chicken’s doing well. I flipped it over to cook the other side.

When it was just about cooked through, I took the chicken out and put it on a plate. It could have used another minute or two, but it was going to go back in the pan later so it didn’t need to be finished up yet.

To everything that was left in the skillet, I added the chopped shallots and garlic, plus a little basil from a tube of pureed fresh basil that I had in the fridge. The basil wasn’t in the recipe, but it seemed appropriate. Plus, my aunt had suggested adding herbs at this point. So I did.

Next, I added some white wine and let it warm up, and then some chicken broth. Because some reviewers complained that the sauce was too runny in the end, I thickened the chicken broth with some corn starch before adding it.

After about 5 minutes of simmering, I added two tablespoons of butter and reduced the heat to let it melt slowly.

Finally, when it was about done, I returned the chicken to the pan to let it cook in the sauce for a few minutes. The recipe didn’t say to do that, but my aunt did, and it sounded good to me.

And that was that!

I served with some boxed roasted garlic mashed potatoes (always surprisingly yummy) and sautéed zucchini and mushrooms. The dish was pretty elegant and is something that I would serve company. The flavor was rich and complex, and the creamy sauce would have gone nicely over rice or some pasta. The recipe is here and I’ll put it in the recipes tab, as well.

Now, what else can I make with shallots?

Baked Buffalo Chicken Dip

A backyard birthday party for a one-year old needed me to bring something for the grown-ups, and I figured that since we’re all Western New Yorkers, I couldn’t go wrong with Chef John’s (Food Wishes) baked Buffalo chicken dip. I don’t like to steal other bloggers’ recipes and basically repost their stuff, but this was another one that I just couldn’t resist. And I get the sense that he’s really cool and wouldn’t mind. Anyway, I NEEDED to make this.

I revisted Chef John’s January post before trying it out, though. I skimmed the comments and laughed when I saw that one woman had commented, “I don’t like chicken or hot sauce, so what substitutions can I make?”

She must have been disappointed by all the responses that suggested she substitute another recipe for something that didn’t involve chicken or hot sauce.

Ahem. Anyway.

I started with one rotisserie chicken. Wegman’s had many different flavors, but I went with plain.

I pulled off all the meat, discarding bones, skin, and tendons.

And then used a big knife to chop it all up.

Puppy sure loved this step. She would have loved it more if I’d dropped things.

To the chicken, I added my favorite ingredient! Lots and lots of cream cheese. You know it’s going to be good if it has cream cheese.

And then add Frank’s Red Hot sauce. I bought the biggest bottle of it that Wegman’s had. I’m not sure why, really, since it’s not something that I use often. But I know I will use it again and I will want lots of it. That’s how you know I’m a true WNYer.

Puppy is still hoping that I drop some. She doesn’t know that she won’t like the Frank’s.

This dip isn’t just about the chicken and hot sauce – it’s also about the blue cheese. I used both dressing and crumbles (the real good kind).

I may have put more in that measuring cup than I was supposed to.

Next, add some Old Bay seasoning.

And grate some pepper jack cheese, too.

Finally, add a generous sprinkling of cayenne pepper.

And then mix it all up. I mixed and mixed and mixed, and then tasted. I decided to add more cayenne at this point.

After I took that picture, I mixed again and added more cayenne again. And went through that process maybe 3 times. I just wanted a lot of heat, I guess.

Finally, I smooshed everything into a baking dish.

Sprinkled a little more cayenne on top, just to give people a visual warning about the potential for heat.

And then topped with a bit more pepper jack cheese.

At the host’s house, I stuck the dip into a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When it came out, it looked fantastic!

I didn’t take pictures of it being eaten, though. I was preoccupied with holding the baby birthday girl.

But the next day, when I heated up some of the leftover dip, I did finally take a picture or two.

Chef John did good. This was yummy! It was creamy and spicy. You could taste the blue cheese and the hot sauce and it was kind of like eating wings that had been put in the blender (minus the bones). And it’s addictive.

Definitely a keeper. I might have to make this a regular dish, maybe for football parties.

Have I mentioned how happy I am to be back in NY?