4 STEP Simple Chicken Thigh and Veggie Soup in the Crock Pot

This is a super easy dish to prepare in the crock pot for busy days! It’s healthy and prepared in four simple steps. Cooking this dish with bone in thighs give it a great flavor and is easier than other methods where you have to cut, cube, brown, pull etc…

Prep: 10 min

Cook Time: 7.5 hrs on LOW

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Free-Range chicken thighs, most of fat removed (as much as you can) I just peel it off with my hands and discard.
• 32 oz Kitchen Basics no sodium chicken broth
• 32 oz Kitchen Basics regular beef broth
• 3 Large organic tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups or 1.5 cans).
• 4 Stalks of celery, sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 Can of black beans
• 1.5 C. Corn, fresh is best (or one can).
• 2 Limes, juiced
• 1 TBS Sea salt, fresh ground pepper, mexican oregano, and chili powder (1 TBS each of these).
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Cumin powder, freshly ground is always better 🙂
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 TBS Zestybeandog Fine Herb Blend (Coming soon for purchase).

Instructions:

1. Cut produce that needs to be cut up and place in crock. Empty (drained) can of beans into crock as well.
2. Skin chicken thighs and place in crock.
3. Add stock to crock.
4. Add spices. Cook for 7.5 hrs on LOW or 4 on high. Chicken should come right off the bone.

Serve with a little Monterrey Jack or cheese of your choice and crackers if desired. Watch for the bone. I serve one thigh for each person with the soup, the meat comes off the bone very easily.  You can remove bone from thighs if desired before serving.

Veal (Humanely Raised) Stew Forestière

I haven’t had veal since I was a young child (about 16 years or so)… when I found out how they were raised I couldn’t eat it any longer. Today when I was at the grocery I found some humanely raised free roaming veal stew meat on sale because it needed to be sold by June 7th. I’ve seen it before but it was always an expensive addition to my grocery list of already expensive free-range meats like bison and chicken so I never bothered…

Forestière:

[ah lah foh-rehs-TYEHR] French term meaning “of the forest,” referring to dishes (usually poultry, meat or game fowl) garnished with butter-sautéed potatoes or potato balls, bacon or salt pork and wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, morels and porcini.

Prep: 15-20 min

Cook Time: 2.5-3 hrs

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1lb Veal stew meat, HUMANELY RAISED from a REPUTABLE SOURCE
• 2 TBS Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 C. shallots, diced
• 2 Cloves garlic, diced
• 16oz Container of fresh mushrooms, your choice or a blend
• 1/2 C. Dry sherry or Marsala wine
• 2 C. Chicken stock
• 6-8 Thyme stems, take off the stem
• 4 Slices Prosciutto, or other aged ham of choice
• 1 TBS Butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 TBS flour
• 1/4 Sour cream, I used light (you can use cream for this as well).
• 1/2 TBS Fine herbs
• Egg noodles * if desired- get a good quality brand

Instructions:

1. In a medium to large brasier, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Sear the cubes of meat on all sides until brown, don’t worry about cooking the meat all the way through. Remove meat to a plate.
2. Add a bit of olive oil and lower the heat to medium-low. Add the shallots and the garlic and sweat very gently for 1-2 minutes, until the shallots are translucent, and the garlic is fragrant.
3. Add the mushrooms to the pot, and turn up the heat slightly. Cook until soft and a touch brown around the edges. Season with fresh sea salt and ground pepper.
4. Deglaze the pan with the cooking sherry. *Take the pan off the heat, and add it in. Turn the heat up so that the sherry simmers and reduces. Now add the meat back into the pot.
5. Add the chicken stock and the thyme and bring to a boil over high heat. When the pot boils, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 2-2.5 hours.
6. Pre-Heat oven to 450 degrees, spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray, PAM. Lay out 4 slices of Prosciutto on the baking sheet, and place in the 450°F oven for 10 minutes until crisp. Allow to cool. Brake the crispy ham into pieces.
7. Make a beurre manié by smashing together the flour and the butter. Stir into the stew, and let it simmer a few minutes until the stew has thickened. Take the pot off the heat, and stir in the sour cream. Add the crispy pieces of ham on top along with the fine herbs.
8. Serve on top of egg noodles if desired.

Super Healthy Chicken and Veggie Soup

This low fat treat is great for a cold night like tonight!  It’s got OVER 10 veggies in it! 🙂

 

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20-30 min

Serves: A lot 6-8?

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• 1/2 head of purple cauliflower, broken down into small florets (JBG*)
• Broccoli florets, same amount as above (JBG)
• 4 carrots, sliced (JBG)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 squash, sliced
• 1/2 bunch mustard greens, chopped (JBG)
• 2 handfuls of collard greens, sliced
• Green Onion, chopped for topping (JBG)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 TBS fresh ginger, minced
• 3 limes
• 1 lemon
• 5 sprigs of thyme, pulled off stems
• Salt,  pepper, and cayenne  to taste
• 6-7 C. Chicken Stock, use a good quality one (without MSG) or homemade, I used 7 cups because I had extra in the fridge but two boxes is equal to 6 cups.
• 1 tsp butter

Instructions:

1. Cook onion and garlic in 1 tsp of butter until browned
2. Pour chicken stock in a large stock pot and turn on medium high, once onions and garlic are done transfer to stock pot with broth.
3. Wash all veggies and slice, cut, break up accordingly.
4. Transfer veggies to pot along with citrus juice and simmer for about 20 min.  Then season broth with spices to taste.
5. Cut up chicken breasts and let them cook for about 5 min or until done.

Serve with crackers or toast if desired.  Also this is great without chicken too!

*JBG means these veggies are locally harvested organic produce from Johnson’s Backyard Garden

Vegetables