Sunday Supper

I love it when a complete dinner comes together with a little team effort.  One Sunday we decided to give a couple of recipes a try.  Hubby loved the idea of crockpot potatoes so I gave him  that to put together.  I wanted to give Ina's Lemon Chicken another try.  It was good the first time, why not try it again.  One issue we had we has was that my chicken breast did not have the skin on as the recipe suggested, but I decided to go ahead with the skinless breast knowing that it was probably healthier.  It is very difficult to find at our big grocery store, boneless chicken with the skin on.  That is something you have to special order and that is when we go to our little neighborhood store who has the real meat cutters working in the butcher shop.  They have the best quality of meats and prices lower than the big corporate store and have no issues with special orders. 

To round out dinner we had some fresh asparagus in the refrigerator just waiting to be roasted.  Roasting vegetables is one of the best ways to bring out the natural sweetness of the vegetables.  As a former picky eater, and some people would still say I am, roasting vegetables has been a way that I have added new ones to my repertoire!

The potatoes were wonderful.  It is amazing all of the stuff you can cook in your crockpot.  Just pinned a recipe on Pinterest for bread made in the crockpot.

Crockpot Cheesy Ranch Bacon Potatoes

adapted from Damndelicious.net

6 slices bacon

3 pounds red potatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix

2 tablespoons chopped chives

To cook the Bacon, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread bacon in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until brown and crispy, about 12-14 minutes. Let cool before crumbling; set aside.

 

Line a slow cooker with aluminum foil, leaving enough to overhang to wrap the potatoes on top, and coat with nonstick spray. Place a layer of potatoes evenly into the slow cooker. Top with cheese, Ranch Seasoning and bacon, repeating 2 more times and reserving 1/2 cup cheese.

 

Cover potatoes with aluminum foil and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook until melted, about 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with chives.

 

Lemon Chicken Breast (adapted from Ina Garten)

1/4 cup good olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 lemon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

 

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

 

Note: Now Ina has the chicken breast deboned but leaves the skin on, I didn't!

 

Balsamic Roasted Asparagus

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lay asparagus stalks on sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt over stalks.  Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Remove to platter and then drizzle balsamic vinegar over top.  Serve.