WIP recipe: crock pot lemon chicken / tofu

NEW BLOG FEATURE: Work In Progress (WIP).

Thus far, I've opted to post a recipe either immediately after the first time I try it (regardless of whether I am going to make additional changes) or I put it on hold until I perfect it. Sometimes these on-hold recipes don't get posted, and when every new recipe I try isn't good enough to post, I end up not posting anything.

So my new blog feature should solve this problem. I post a recipe in progress, with my thoughts on how I might change it for next time. I want you, my readers, to post suggestions on how you would change it, and let me know whether you tried it or not and what you liked or didn't like.

Excited? I am.

Ok, now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

I think I've turned into (to quote one of my friends) "what the trendy kids are calling" a flexitarian. Philosophically, I'd prefer to be vegetarian for all my scads of personal reasons. But I do eat meat occasionally for various other personal reasons. One of those reasons is that Kyle enjoys chicken. And he has compromised his eating in a big way for several years to adapt to what I like, so I don't mind compromising the other way every once in a while.

Which is why I tried a crockpot chicken meal a few weeks ago. Pinterest has made me very intrigued about crockpot meals... the idea of throwing a bunch of food in a pot, leaving it alone for a while, and having a dinner made when you're ready is kind of awesome. So I tried it out with this lemon chicken recipe.

The first one I looked at was overly simple. Just butter and italian seasoning mix. The second one was trying to imitate Chinese style lemon chicken, so I didn't copy that one exactly either. I took inspiration from both and came up with my own version. The first version was pretty tasty to Kyle, but I didn't like the chicken taste (go figure). Kyle suggested I could add tofu to the crockpot and solve the taste + vegetarian problem. So that's what I did the second time I tried the recipe. And you know what, I LOVE lemon tofu.

This recipe is a Work In Progress because I'm still working on:

• Amount of oil/liquid to use. The first time was nice and moist, and I used 2T oil & 2T margarine, for just chicken. The second time was kind of dry, and I used 1T oil & 1T margarine, for chicken and tofu. Suggested changes: I am thinking of adding water/broth next time I cook chicken and tofu together to keep the chicken moist. Also, for tofu alone I would need to add extra liquid because there would be no chicken fat.
• How to arrange the chicken and tofu. Four pieces fit nicely in my crockpot, but once I added tofu I didn't know what to do. I put the tofu on the bottom and laid the chicken on top, but I think this contributed to the chicken being dry because it was out in the air instead of in liquid. Suggested changes: I'll probably pile the tofu on top of the chicken instead of the other way around. And I'll rearrange/flip them periodically to ensure proper flavour coatage. Lastly, the addition of water/broth should further fix this problem.
  
• I'm considering further additions. A clove or two of garlic makes a lot of sense. And it would be nice if I could cook a side dish in the crockpot at the same time. I could pile some chopped potatoes, onions, carrots and other veggies on top after a couple of hours of cooking and then it would all be ready at the same time.

Side dishes:

The recipe goes well served over rice or quinoa (or a mixture of the two), where the sauce flavours the rice. For greens, I like greek salad, which goes really well with the lemon flavour. I used this salad dressing, but with 3 T white vinegar and 1 T balsamic because we don't have red wine vinegar. We forgot to add the oil for dinner but it was surprisingly tasty (and strong!). But it was even tastier the next day for lunch when I actually remembered the oil.
The second time we made the recipe, I was pressed for time and ingredients, so tossed a potato and two carrots in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and threw them in the toaster oven at 400 F for 45 minutes.

Notes about the recipe:

We used pre-seasoned breasts from costco. I find them really salty, so I don't add any salt to the crockpot. You might want to adjust if you're using non-seasoned chicken.

Also, I'm writing up the recipe how I made it for both chicken & tofu, but I tried to make it clear how you would modify for one or the other. Let me know if something is unclear.

The nutritional information is based on 1T oil and 1T margarine. The tofu one is calculated without chicken fat, so it's an underestimate if you cook them together like I did.

Eat Your Greens - Crockpot Lemon Chicken

1. Servings: 1 breast

Calories	175	Sodium	449 mg
Total Fat	8 g	Potassium	70 mg
Saturated	1 g	Total Carbs	9 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	1 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	7 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	19 g
Cholesterol	85 mg
Vitamin A	8%	Calcium	4%
Vitamin C	22%	Iron	5%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Eat Your Greens - Crockpot Lemon Tofu

1. Servings: 1 slice

Calories	170	Sodium	83 mg
Total Fat	11 g	Potassium	238 mg
Saturated	2 g	Total Carbs	11 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	1 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	7 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	9 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Vitamin A	6%	Calcium	25%
Vitamin C	21%	Iron	13%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Crock Pot Lemon Chicken and/or Tofu
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 2 quick (plus cooking time)
Ingredients: 1 easy
Source: modified from Stephanie O'Dea A Year of Slow Cooking and The Queen Bee's Hive

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Tbsp margarine
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces (but any chicken pieces should work, really)
• 1 brick of tofu, sliced long-wise into 1/2" slices
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• juice of two lemons
• 1 tsp lemon zest, very finely chopped
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
  
• 1/2 tsp dried poultry seasoning
• 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1.5 Tbsp brown sugar
• salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Add margarine and olive oil to the crockpot.
   
2. Add chicken breasts on top.
   
3. Mix together liquid seasonings in a separate bowl. Add zest, spices, brown sugar. Pour over chicken.
4. If you're cooking tofu and chicken (like I do), add the tofu after an hour or two of cooking the chicken, once the chicken is starting to look a bit more cooked. (It weirded me out to put tofu on top of raw chicken).
5. Cook in crockpot: 3-4 hours on high, and 4-6 hours on low. (less time for tofu)
6. See Side-dishes, above, for serving suggestions.

recipe: nic & kyle's vegetarian chili

(Originally emailed Apr. 2, 2008)

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

I've added two new people to the list. Julie, from my lab (I've added you in case you find some recipes for your sis or for CR), and Dane who I know from Laurier people (hey, you said you wanted a recipe!). The background info: I (try to) send out a vegetarian recipe every week, seeing as Kyle and I usually try at least 1 or 2 new recipes per week, and I hope that someone out there actually finds something they like.

Today I will share with you my recipe for vegetarian chili. I grew up with my mom's chili recipe: simple, tasty, hearty, but full of meat. And it turns out that it doesn't work well as chili when you just omit the meat. I have tried time and time again to make vegetarian chili and it nearly always ends up tasting "off" and being overly liquidy. So I did some investigative work (including Wikipedia and some recipe sites), plus some trial and error, and finally settled on a vegetarian chili recipe I like. Kyle says it's the best food I make. I don't have a meat substitute in it (I've tried it and I didn't like it), but you could always try that if you wanted. I usually serve this chili with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll chop up some avocado and mix it with lime juice and serve that over top of the chili. I guess green onions would also work as a garnish. We make fresh french crusty bread for dipping.

Some comments from now me (as opposed to me writing in April of 2008). I was searching for this recipe today and I couldn't find it (can't find any recipes in our recipe box since I decided to "re-organize" it. Grr. Then I checked my second go-to spot: my blog! And I realized to my astonishment *gasp* that I haven't posted our chili recipe. As you've already read, Kyle and I developed this recipe together, but the other cool news about it is that we served it at our wedding! The caterer at the Toronto Zoo (Compass Canada) was really great about it and they made our chili for us. How cool is that?

Now as it turns out, Kyle and I have different methods of making this chili. And... his tends to end up better than mine. So I'll intersperse the Kyle Method below.

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

Nic & Kyle's Vegetarian Chili
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 3 somewhat quick (quick to throw everything in a pot, but long time to let it simmer)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: my mom, plus inspiration from various places

crockpot chili, by me

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 chili or jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 large cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1-2 splashes red wine
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1 squeezed lemon (or about 2-3 Tbsp of lemon juice)
  
• few grinds/shakes of black pepper

1. Saute garlic, onion and pepper in a bit of oil for a few minutes - until fragrant and onions are soft. But don't brown garlic.
2. In crockpot or slow-cooker, combine remaining ingredients and add onions and garlic.
3. Set crock pot to high until chili starts to boil, then turn heat down.
4. Boil for several hours. Throughout the day, scoop off the liquid that rises to the top and RESERVE. Do this before you stir it because it's easier. (Kyle method: don't scoop off liquid until the very end)
   
5. Before serving, mix some (> 1 Tbsp) cornstarch into the mug of reserved liquid and add gradually back into the chili until the chili is thick.
6. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, lime-y avocado cubes, etc. Also, fresh bread.
7. Yum.

A Delicious Mix of Pureed Vegetables

(originally emailed on 2008-12-28)
Happy holidays everyone!

I kid you not about the name of this recipe. It sounds odd, and it ends up looking pretty weird too. But I found it really tasty (once I added a few extra things) when served with pita bread. It takes a long time to make, but it's mostly chopping and then let everything simmer for an hour, so it's not bad. I've even had success with for crockpot cooking, too (I'll add directions at the end). I'll point out the extra ingredients that I added.

Also, the previous post contains a lot of information on Iron. Apparently it is somewhat easier to become anemic if you are vegetarian, because the iron in plants is more difficult to absorb than that in meat. I did some research to find out some facts about iron, as well as some of the foods that are rich in iron. Some of them were really surprising.

A delicious puree of mixed vegetables
Effort: easy
Ingredients: very common (fresh dill is the most difficult, but it's essential so don't omit it! and garam masala can be picked up at any bulk barn)
Cookbook: World vegetarian (Madhur jaffrey)

• 1/4 cup peanut or olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, pealed and chopped
  
• 1 fresh hot green chili (use more or less as desired)
  
• 1 med. onion, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, trimmed, well washed and chopped (note: a bag in the produce section is about 8oz. we used that amount and it worked out well)
  
• 10 green beans, cut crosswise into fine rounds
  
• 1 med. carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and then cut crosswise into fine slices
  
• 1 med. potato, peeled and cut into small dice (Note: if you cut the chunks small enough, you can leave the peel on for extra nutritiousness - including iron)
  
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped (instructions on how to peel tomatoes here)
  
• 1 med zucchini, cut into small dice
  
• 1 very well-packed cup of chopped fresh dill
  
• 1/2 cup yellow split peas (we couldn't find any so we substituted lentils which we boiled for 10min before adding)
  
• 3 cups water
  
• 2 tsp salt
  
• margarine / butter (Nic's addition)
  
• garam masala (Nic's addition)
  
• baguette and/or pita or other flatbread (to eat the puree with)

1. put oil, garlic and chili into a very large pan (we used a wok) over med-high heat.
   
2. when garlic is golden, add onion, spinach, green beans, carrot, potato, tomatoes, zucchini, dill, split peas/lentils, and 3 cups of water. Stir and bring to a simmer
   
3. cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 30min.
   
4. -turn heat up slightly to med-low, uncover partially, and continue to cook for another 30min.
   
5. add salt and mix.
   
6. mash vegetables together until you have a coarse puree (I used one of those hand-blenders that you can use to make milkshakes with. i didn't blend it to homogenization, though)
   
7. serve in bowls. add some margarine to each bowl to help make the flavour "deeper" or "more savoury". sprinkle with a little bit of garam masala, until you like the taste. eat with bread, pitas, flatbread, etc.

Crockpot Directions

1. put oil, garlic and chili into a medium pan over med-high heat.
   
2. when garlic is golden, add onion, green beans, carrot, potato, tomatoes, and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes
   
3. Put spinach, dill, and split peas/lentils into the crockpot. Add the other veggies from the pan, and 3 cups of water. Stir and bring to a simmer.
   
4. Cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 30min.
   
5. turn heat up slightly to med-low (or the higher crockpot setting), uncover partially, and continue to cook for another 30min.
   
6. add salt and mix.
   
7. mash vegetables together until you have a coarse puree (I used one of those hand-blenders that you can use to make milkshakes with. i didn't blend it to homogenization, though)
   
8. serve in bowls. add some margarine to each bowl to help make the flavour "deeper" or "more savoury". sprinkle with a little bit of garam masala, until you like the taste. eat with bread, pitas, flatbread, etc.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and what you think of it. I'm curious if these are useful at all!