Crock Pot Whole Chicken

This post was supposed to go live yesterday,

but I have been crazy sick the last few days

so I am just now getting around to posting.

My apology!

Years ago my brother told me about the blog 100 Days of Real Food

and how the Crock Pot Whole Chicken recipe is so easy and so tasty.

I tried it soon after we talked and have made it multiple times since.

Not only is it really easy to make, but it has so much flavor too!

It's become one of my favorite ways to make a whole chicken

and the best part is that the crock pot does most of the work!

The Goods:

Whole Chicken

Onion

Carrots

Baby Potatoes

Fresh Thyme

Paprika

Salt

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Black Pepper

Cut up your onion, carrots and baby potatoes, then place in the bottom of your crock pot.

You don't want these too small, but more like bite sized pieces.

Combine all your spices and then rub the mixture ALL over the cleaned chicken.

Place chicken on top of the onions, carrots and potatoes in the crock pot.

Cover with the lid and cook on high for at least 5 hours,

or until the chicken meat is falling off the bones.

After about five hours, you'll have super flavorful chicken, carrots and potatoes.

Totally optional - but I like to make a gravy using the liquid from the crock pot.

Make up a plate, grab yourself a drink and enjoy this yummy dinner!

Crock Pot Whole Chicken

Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Whole Chicken

1 Large Yellow Onion

4 Large Carrots

12 Baby Potoatos

4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

2 Teaspoons Paprika

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Onion Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1. Cut up your onion, carrots and baby potatoes, then place in the bottom of your crock pot.
2. Combine all your spice and then rub the mixture ALL over the cleaned chicken.
3. Place chicken on top of the onions, carrots and potatoes in the crock pot.
4. Cover with the lid and cook on high for at least 5 hours or until the chicken meat is falling off the bones.
5. Optional - make gravy with liquid from the crock pot.

Homemade Soup: Vegetable Soup!

Now that it's practically Summer, it's pretty warm out

so I doubt many of you are in the mood for some soup.

That's a shame because I recently made an AMAZING Vegetable Soup.

I researched recipes online for awhile and I didn't find anything I loved.

So, I combined two recipes (here and here) and sorta just did my own thing!

So take a look below at how I made my Homemade Vegetable Soup.

The Goods:

Frozen Lima Beans 

Frozen Corn 

Frozen Peas 

Spinach 

Garlic 

Onion 

Leeks 

Broccoli 

Green Bean 

Carrots 

Tomatoes 

Potatoes 

Parsley 

Salt 

Pepper 

Vegetable Broth

Chop and measure everything out.

Cook the leeks, onion and garlic.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes, carrots, green beans and broccoli.

Season with salt and pepper again!

Cook for three or so minutes.

Add the broth.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes, corn, peas and lima beans.

Stir and then add the spinach and stir again!

Season with salt and pepper once more!!!

It made A LOT!!

It was so light and delicious.

And I cannot wait to make it again!!

If soup isn't your thing during the Spring and Summer, 

remember this recipe and make it when you are in the mood for soup! 

Elina and Robyn Make...Gnocchi

It's been quite awhile since I posted about something delicious Elina and I made.
I'm sorry it's been so long, but I hope this amazing food makes up for it!

A few weeks ago, Elina and I were watching a show on the Food Network and they were making homemade Gnocchi. As soon as we saw this, we both looked at each other and had the same thought -
WE HAVE TO MAKE THIS SOON!

After doing a little research, we figured making gnocchi wouldn't be much more difficult than making homemade pasta and we've both done that numerous times before. The more difficult part was deciding what type of sauce to make with the gnocchi.

After each of us threw our a few ideas, we decided on ...

A Cheesy Garlic Cream Sauce!!!

Homemade Gnocchi with anything sounds great, but with a cheesy garlic cream sauce is sounds even better!
(Note: We didn't toss our broccoli with the gnocchi as this recipe indicates.)

The Goods - Part 1:

Flour

Eggs

Potatoes

Parmesan

Cream

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Lemon

The Goods - Part 2 (AKA Things we forgot in Part 1...):

Milk

Chicken Broth

Butter

Fresh Parsley

Peel, cut up, cook, drain, cool off and finally rice your potatoes.

Arrange your potatoes in a dome and create a well in the middle.
Add your egg mixture and start combining with your hands.
Gradually mix in cheese and flour until dough is slightly sticky.

Divide dough in sixths, roll out into 1/2 inch thick, then slice in 1/2 inch pieces.

Create indentations on each piece using fork tines.

We put our gnocchi on cookies sheets, then stored them in the fridge while we made the delicious sauce!

Now time, to make the sauce!!!

Melt butter and cook the garlic.

Stir in Chicken Broth and combine.

Whisk in Cream and Milk until incorporated. 

Add the parmesan right before combining with the gnocchi.

Bring water to a slow boil, add gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface.

Drain the gnocchi and combine with the sauce.

Finish off with Fresh Parsley.

Plate, add more fresh parm and serve with a crisp green salad!

The gnocchi and sauce were absolutely amazing!

After taking a few bites, we decided that the gnocchi were like little pillows of deliciousness.

And then we scarfed the rest down without saying another word to each other.

It was THAT good!

We were both very happy with the end result and knew we'd both be making this again.

In fact, we even had some uncooked gnocchi leftover that we were able to freeze for a later date.

Potato, Ham and Cheese Quiche

A few weeks ago, my friend Renee told me about a quiche she had made with ham. After hearing all about it, I KNEW I wanted to make myself a quiche with ham very soon! 

I couldn't wait very long - I made the quiche just a few days later and had it for dinner with Elina. My ham quiche was a little different than Renee's, but I'm sure both were quite tasty! 

The Goods:

Pie Crust

Eggs

Milk

Cream

Ham

Cheddar Cheese

Cubed Potatoes

Onion

Salt

Pepper

Mine had thick cut ham, shredded medium cheddar cheese, cubed potatoes and sauteed onions. 

Oh and eggs, of course eggs!

Once everything is prepped, putting the quiche together only takes a few minutes. But then you have to wait about 40 minutes to enjoy the deliciousness! 

It's worth the wait though, I promise!

Elina and I enjoyed the quiche with homemade salsa and a chopped salad.

Robyn Recreates Olive Garden Favorites

Yup, you read that right!!
I have recreated not one, but TWO Olive Garden dishes that are favorites to many!

While I haven't had Olive Garden in years, I still remember what their signature salad tastes like. I used to go there just because of their amazing salad and breadsticks.

The salad was all about the dressing and I think I got pretty darn close to the real thing. I was reassured when a girlfriend I had over that night agreed that it was pretty spot on! 

Sadly, their breadsticks wasn't something I made - I haven't taken that on yet!
(Who knows, maybe soon?)

The second Olive Garden knock off I made is something I made twice in one week and just couldn't get enough. I made Zuppa Toscana Monday night and again on Friday, which was perfect for the cold evenings we've been having.

And the finished product...

So, so, SO good!!!

Since I didn't make breadsticks, I did the next best thing and made savory monkey bread muffins. They were amazing and not a single one was leftover!!!

An Easter Feast!

This year wasn't the first time I spent Easter away from my family, but this year WAS the first year I decided to make myself my own Easter Feast!

Ever since I spent the first Easter away from my family, I've wanted to recreate an Easter "Dinner". And I say "Dinner" because to be honest, in my family Easter "Dinner" was always closer to 2PM.  To me - that's more of an Easter LUNCH! Does anyone else's family do this? And why don't we just call it what it is?!? Anyway... since I wanted to recreate an Easter Dinner, I decided it only made sense to serve it at a normal dinnertime! :) 

Elina, my favorite cooking partner and one of my best friends, helped me make the amazing feast! I've cooked an entire Thanksgiving Dinner, so I knew I could do this alone too, but let me tell you - Elina made it so much easier! It wouldn't have been the same without her!

Now that I've told you all about the feast, take a look at all the yummy food we got to enjoy!

Started it off the afternoon with some Mimosas! 

Piping the filling in the Deviled Eggs.

Garnished and waiting to be devoured. 

The Ham before putting it in the oven. 

Starting the Au Gratin Potatoes.

Carrots peeled and trimmed.

Mini Cheesecakes waiting to be topped with fruit!

The Finished Ham!

Almost time to eat...

YUMMMMM - Time to dig in!!!

Strawberry and Blackberry topped cheesecakes.

The entire dinner was DELICIOUS, but the ham was by far the BEST ham I have ever had. And it's even amazing as leftovers too! I can't take full credit for how tasty it was because we followed this recipe. 

Hosting My FIRST Thanksgiving!

I usually travel to see family for Thanksgiving, but this year I invited my parents to come visit me! They accepted and I was more than thrilled. I don't have a HUGE place, so I couldn't host too many people, but I decided to invite my grandma and cousin to come up as well!

The table all set.

In addition to hosting Thanksgiving, I did all the prep work and almost all of the cooking. It was a lot of work, but completely worth it! I have to give my mom the credit for the yummy gravy, and my grandma mashed the potatoes with some butter, milk, sour cream and seasoning.

ALL the yummy food!

Roasted Butternut Squash

French Bread Stuffing with Bacon

I LOVE stuffing...

but now I love it with bacon even more!

Cranberry Orange Sauce

Roasted Turkey Breast

It was SO moist and delicious! 

Green Bean Casserole

No Knead Clover Rolls.

I halved the recipe and STILL had a ton!!!

Potatoes Mashed by Grandma!

And Gravy made by Mom!

A holiday meal isn't complete without a Relish Tray.

My plate - YUM!!!

All in all, it was a VERY tasty meal and I can honestly say I look forward to doing it again!  Besides all the amazing food, I had one of the BEST Thanksgivings I've had in a long time.

My wonderful Thanksgiving guests!