Friday, January 31, 2020

Squash and Lentil Curry in Crockpot By Vicki Delany


As I’ve mentioned before, I use my crockpot a lot. I live alone, meaning I cook for one, and I’ve found that I can make big batches of delicious stews and curries in the crockpot and freeze individual servings for instant and tasty meals later.  Nothing could be much easier than this vegetarian curry.


Ingredients

3 cups (750 ml) vegetable broth
1 can (14 oz/398 ml) diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz/398 ml) coconut milk
1 cup (200 g) dried green lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (95 g) dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
2 cups (280 g) peeled, seeded and diced butternut squash
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
Salt and pepper

Preparation

In the slow cooker, combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours. 

Serve with rice or naan. 




Ingredients

Chop vegetables

Mix spices

Into the pot it all goes



The finished product

Now Available: There's a Murder Afoot, a Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany


Thursday, January 30, 2020

Greek Lemon Chicken with Artichokes and Tomatoes #recipe @LucyBurdette


LUCY BURDETTE: Do you remember the Silver Palate lemon chicken recipe? I made this at the end of summer for our supper club and it was a huge hit. That got me started on baked chicken with more flavor, and I found this one-dish dinner on the chunky chef. I thought I could do even better. The artichokes add a ton of flavor, and having lots of little tomatoes from the garden did too. But you can use any grape or small tomatoes...

Marinade:
2 lemons
1 tsp oregano
lemon zest (which I forgot!)

4 chicken thighs, bone in skin on
3/4 uncooked brown rice
1.5 c chicken broth
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic (or one large)
small jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 cup cherry tomatoes
4 lemon slices


Marinate the chicken in juice of two lemons plus one teaspoon oregano--from an hour up to overnight. Before you squeeze the lemons, cut four thin slices from the center and set aside. The zesting should come now too if you like a stronger lemon flavor. Pour the juice into a ziplock, add the oregano, then add the chicken and refrigerate.



Pat the chicken dry and discard the marinade. In a large cast iron or other skillet, brown the chicken skin side down, set aside. Saute diced onion, add garlic and rice, add broth bring to a boil. Nestle chicken in with tomatoes artichokes and lemon slices.

cover and cook 35 min at 350, uncover and bake 15-20 longer until chicken is brown and rice tender

Serve this with tsaziki sauce if desired (best part for me!) and a green salad or vegetable.





Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series, featuring fiesty food critic Hayley Snow. Number 9, A DEADLY FEAST, is in stores and online everywhere. THE KEY LIME CRIME will be published next summer. 


"Hayley and Nathan make an appealing pair, and the food descriptions and Key West atmosphere are equally enticing—a sure bet to draw readers of foodie mysteries."

—Booklist

Please follow Lucy on FacebookInstagramBookbub, or Twitter!

I'm super-grateful to have my next book, THE KEY LIME CRIME (July 2020), available for pre-order!



You can order it at an independent bookstoreBarnes and Noble, Amazon, and anywhere books are sold!


Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Super Bowl Mini Crab Cakes Appetizer, Gluten-free #recipe from author @DarylWoodGerber



From Daryl:

I don't know about you, but I will be watching the Super Bowl. At the risk of alienating some of my fans, I have to admit I'm a 49er fan. They have been my team since I was a little girl growing up in San Francisco.  Go Niners!


No matter what, you always need appetizers at a Super Bowl party, even if the party is for one!

These mini crab cakes make the perfect party appetizer.  All the flavors of crab in bite-sized portions.  Serve with homemade aioli, and voila.  Yum!

Mind you, they can be messy because you have to saute them. So plan ahead if you want to make them and then clean up the area. They reheat well in the oven.

Have fun!

Mini Crab Cakes – gluten free

(yield: 16)

2 6-ounce cans lump crabmeat
1/3 cup gluten-free Panko * I like Ian’s.
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1 large egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced *you can omit if you have a garlic issue
1/4 cup mayonnaise *I use Best Foods, which is gluten-free
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (found at the fish counter)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper, ground
1/2 cup panko, extra for dredging the crab cakes
2 tablespoons olive oil

Aioli

1 cup mayonnaise * see above
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper, ground

To make the crab cakes:

Combine all the crab cake ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into small cakes.  Dredge with the extra panko. (They will be soft. It’s okay.) 

Heat olive oil on medium-high in a large sauté pan.  Sauté crab cakes in oil until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes a side. Serve with aioli sauce.

To make the aioli:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.







Don't forget to order the first book in my new Fairy Garden mystery series, 
A SPRINKLING OF MURDER, coming June 2020.
You can read all about it and order it on various sites 
on my website HERE
Plus I've posted a few of my fairy gardens.


And here are a few of my other books...


Order FAN MAIL, the second in series, trade paperback and e-book: HERE




Order SIFTING THROUGH CLUES, the 8th Cookbook Nook Mystery, trade paperback and e-book HERE

SAVOR THE MYSTERY!
 
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Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Cleo Coyle's One Hour Chicken Soup for the (Cold and Flu Suffering) Soul + #Giveaway News!



Here in New York City, we're keeping a close eye on news about the (Wuhan) coronavirus (aka) COVID-19. No doubt, many of you are monitoring the news, as well.  Confounding the situation (as authorities have noted) is the fact that this is also the season for the common cold and flu. While chicken soup isn't going to solve our serious global health concerns, it is a solution if you or your loved ones are suffering from sore throat and congestion. Why? Because...

The science is in, and it seems our grandmothers were right. Studies have shown that properties in chicken soup relieve cold and flu symptoms. Chicken soup not only contains immune boosting properties, it has cold-fighting compounds that (among other things) help soothe sore throats and clear nasal congestion. You can read more here, though...
Frankly, I didn't need to read the scientific research to know homemade chicken soup has healing powers. By the time I slurp down a single bowl of the stuff, I begin feeling relief from a stuffy nose or sore throat. When my husband caught a cold (thanks to me), I felt terribly guilty and was only too happy to bring him a bowl of my chicken soup. I swear, I barely made it back to the kitchen before I heard him crying out from the bedroom:

"This is great! It's helping! It's helping!"

Whether you make this soup for yourself or someone you care about, I sincerely hope it brings you good feelings and good health! 

~ Cleo 





A RECIPE NOTE FROM CLEO 
Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here and here.

A common method for making chicken soup is to throw the chicken and veggies into the pot and turn up the heat for about 4 hours. 

I prefer my method, which is done in one hour, and is just as healthy. Just be sure to use white meat chicken. Properties in the white meat are especially helpful for cold and flu sufferers; they also have anti-cancer properties, and that's why I specify using 1/2 of a whole split chicken breast. 

Now let's get our soup on!






Click here for
the free PDF.




Cleo Coyle's 
One Hour Chicken Soup

Makes about 2 quarts (about 6 servings)

Ingredients: 
2 quarts (8 cups) cold water
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
1/2 of a whole, split chicken breast, bone in, skin on (see image below)
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
5 to 6 ribs of celery, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 peeled carrots, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 envelopes of Goya's Sazon without Annatto (or see my note
       below for other options)** 

Finishing salt (such as French Grey or another coarse sea salt)



**Note: This soup will be bland without seasonings. Although Goya Sazon without Annatto is my favorite, you can substitute 2 bouillon cubes combined with a spice blend that includes onion and garlic powders and ground black or white pepper. Certainly, add any other herbs or spices that you enjoy (e.g. cumin, paprika, thyme, rosemary).




DIRECTIONS: 


Step 1: Pour the cold water into the pot. Throw in the smashed garlic and bay leaves. Bring the water to a brisk boil. Place the chicken into the pot, skin side down. (The meaty part of the breast should be submerged in the water.) 


From ingredient list, this is what you want:
1/2 of a whole, split chicken breast, bone in, skin on.


Boil uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the meat is tender enough to come off the bone and be shredded with two forks. The water in your pot will boil down during this process. Add in fresh water to replace the water lost, but do not add more water after this step.


Step 2: When the chicken is cooked enough, remove it from the pot. Add the chopped vegetables, and seasoning (Goya Sazon without Annatto or 2 bouillon cubes and your own spice mix), and boil for another 10 minutes. While veggies are cooking, remove the skin from the breast and the meat from the bone and shred the breast meat. 


Step 3: When the carrots are fork-tender (10 minutes of cooking should do it), remove the bay leaves from the pot, and add the shredded chicken. If your split chicken breast was particularly large, hold back a bit of the chicken meat from the soup because you don't want to overload it. Add only enough to keep the ingredients balanced.(*Note: If you'd like to make this a chicken noodle soup, this is the point where you'd add your noodles and cook until they're soft.) Cook the soup for another 6 to 8 minutes. I like to serve the soup with coarse salt on the side. Then salt to taste and...slurp with joy!











🍴

To download this recipe
in a free PDF you can print,
save or share, click here.

Click here for
the free PDF.


Eat (and read) with joy!   

New York Times bestselling author
of 
The Coffeehouse Mysteries &
Haunted Bookshop Mysteries


This is us >> Alice and Marc.
Together we write as Cleo Coyle

Visit our online coffeehouse here.
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JANUARY E-BLAST.

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RECEIVE THE LINK
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The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling
works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark 
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
18 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.


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GIVEAWAY  NEWS!

In Cleo's new
E-Blast
, you will find...

TWO (2) BREWED AWAKENING
BOOK AND TOTE PRIZE PACKAGES!

+ Each winner will also receive
a pound of the outstanding premium
Hampton coffee that was featured in
Brewed Awakening...

HOW TO ENTER:
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
TO CLEO'S NEWSLETTER AND
ENTER HER 2 GIVEAWAYS.


When you subscribe, an auto-reply
will be sent to you with a link to Cleo's
January E-Blast. Details on entering
her two contests are inside.


(You must be a subscriber to win.)


Good luck! ~ Cleo