Mayday Pictures

One of my most complimented meals is also one of the easiest to make. And actually, it’s two, or even three, meals. I start with a whole chicken that I cook in a crock pot. Cook time is variable depending on the size of the chicken. If you use something small like a Cornish hen, it takes less time to cook. If you use something larger such as a turkey, then obviously, it will take longer.

For a regular sized whole chicken, put it in your crock-pot on low and let it sit for about 7 hours. You don’t need to add anything, but sometimes I like to add a Swanson’s flavor boost pack or a small amount of chicken broth. If you want to spice it with salt and pepper, or garlic, or whatever you favorite spice is, give it a shot.

Once the chicken is finished cooking, and delicious, there are several things you can do with it. I always keep the legs and thighs to the side and try really hard not to munch on them. You’ll also want to leave the left over stock in the crock pot, but make sure you get out any tiny bones that might’ve fallen in while cooking. Sometimes I eat the breasts and sometimes I turn them into a great homemade chicken salad. When you are separating the pieces, make sure you keep the large bones and the bits of fat and skin that fall off. They’ll add extra flavor to the homemade chicken stew.

For the chicken stew, my recipe isn’t really a science. It calls for faith, imagination, and trust in your palette.

You can use the bones or not, but if you do, add them back to the stock. Then, add a couple of cans of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom to the left over stock/drippings from the chicken in the crock-pot. Use as much as you want. If you have a large crowd, use a lot and add more chicken stock.

I also add a combination of vegetables from the freezer like Lima beans or green beans, canned vegetables such as corn, and fresh vegetables like okra or zucchini.

If you are using frozen vegetables, add them first, so they’ll have a little more time to thaw out. Fresh and canned vegetables can go in about 15-20 minutes later depending on what temp you are using. I normally go with high on the crock-pot, unless I am just super relaxed and have time to kill. While you’re waiting for those to thaw in your stew base, pull the chicken, fat and skin off the bones. I like to cut up the skins into tiny little pieces. Set the meat to the side.

If you decide to use pearl onions or something of the like, maybe potatoes even, you’re going to want to either cook those with the chicken or cook them in the stock until they are done before adding the other ingredients. I also recommend sauteing them first and then adding them if you just don’t have time to wait for them to get soft. They take forever, and uncooked onions can ruin the entire dish.

After you add your fresh or canned vegetables, wait for about 10-15 minutes, again, depending on how high of a temperature you are using. Once you see the vegetable are cooked, add the chicken. Let a little time pass to get the chicken warmed up again, and then you can enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is it is easy to make. You can add the ingredients you want, and you would really have to try hard to screw it up. It a great comfort food for winter, or in case you are like me, for whenever you’re feeling down and need a little “foodie pick-me-up”. AND, it’s cheap. You can get a chicken from around $3 to $10 bucks depending on where you are shopping, frozen vegetables are hella cheap, and we should all have a crock-pot.

This past weekend, I had a special request from the boyfriend. He does the low carb thing and wanted me to make some low carb pimento cheese so he could binge on something that tastes good. I was skeptical, but it turned out pretty good. I made a double batch and added my own twists and turns. Here’s my recipe:

2 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 packages of cream cheese at room temperature (easier to mix together when it’s not cold)
2 jars of pimentos (4oz jars)

It’s important that you don’t buy previously shredded cheese as it supposedly comes with an added chemical for sealing and can ruin the dish. The good news was that I got to buy a pretty cheese shredder for my kitchen. The bad news was that I had to shred the cheese which took a lot of muscle and a good bit of time.

First, mix up your cream cheese with an electric mixer (another kitchen tool I got to add to my collection this weekend). Make sure it’s nice and smooth. Then, you’ll blend in the shredded cheese with your mixer until it’s all mixed in. Next add the pimentos and stir it all up. Since this is homemade pimento cheese, it’s going to be a bit more creamy than what you’re used to buying at the store, don’t worry though, it will taste pretty good.

Once you are done mixing everything up, cover it and put it in the fridge for an hour or two. Serve on crackers or as a yummy spread added to a sandwich, or like my boyfriend does, eat it with a spoon.

I also hear you can add a tablespoon or two of garlic powder if you want a little kick of flavor.

Enjoy!

::Postscript::

If you enjoy a more spice in life, here is a recipe for Deep South Chipotle Pimento Cheese. I haven’t tried myself it yet, but I am definitely going to and, just so you know, this chef always has excellent recipes.

How to Make OreOMG Little Pies

This is an easy recipe for beginner cooks who want to make a delicious treat.

The good thing about this recipe is that it’s pretty flexible. You can add or remove like ingredients or change portions based on the number of cups your have available in your cup cake pan.

So let’s start with the ingredients.

36 Oreo cookies (1 package)

40-ounce container of creamy peanut butter — It’s important to note the deliberate specification of the peanut butter container…the size matters because you will be using the lid as a cookie cutter for the pie crusts.

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 refrigerated pie crusts — I like Pillsbury, and they normally have good coupons in the newspaper.

So first, you need to pull your pie crists out of the oven so they can get to room temperature. (It’s much easier to work with at room temperature) Next, you should preheat your oven to 350F.

Start by unrolling your pie crusts. Utilizing your peanut butter top, cut out as many 4 inch rounds as possible between your two crusts. Place one in the bottom of each of your cups in your cupcake pan. You can make it with the entire side covered with pie crust, or just the bottom. Either way is good.

Next, you’ll want to start adding about a teaspoon of peanut butter to the top of several Oreos. After you’ve completed enough to have two in each cup, you’ll need to start making stacks of two so that you have two portions of Oreos and two portions of peanut butter per stack.

Delicious and Easy OreOMG Little Pies

After that, start placing the stacks in the pie crust-lined cups.

The next part is the most tedious. With the remaining pie crust, cut 1/4 inch strips to be used to top each pie. Use your own judgement as to length.

Place in a weave-like design on top of each pie. Dress with melted butter and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.

Then comes the oven.

You can bake em for about 25 minutes and they should be ready to go. Make sure the tops are slightly browned. Let them cool before removing them from the pan.

They can be served alone or warm with a tiny scoop of ice cream to garnish.

Enjoy!