Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken

It is crock pot season!  My new goal is to fit in some healthy home cooking by doing a quick grocery shopping on Tuesday nights (my grocery store has cheese plates and wine that you can enjoy there, so it's not too bad), and to throw things together Wednesday morning for consumption the rest of the week.  It had to be planned because things have gotten so busy schedule-wise in my house that we found ourselves eating take-out just too often.

One of my favorite recent recipes (and these are so easy) is this Moroccan Chicken with sweet potatoes.  One of my students came in for lesson and said, "It smells even better today!"  So.

Moroccan Chicken
A perfect five syllables
A tasty haiku

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs bone-in skinless chicken thighs (if you can have a glass of wine while the butcher at your grocery store skins the chicken for you - even better)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (this is a new addition to my spice drawer)
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 15oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 15oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• cooked couscous or quinoa for serving
• sliced almonds to garnish

1. In a large ziplock bag or tupperware, combine chicken thighs with cumin, coriander, pumpkin-pie spice and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper.  Refrigerate overnight.
2. In slow cooker bowl, combine chicken brother, tomatoes, beans, sweet potato, onion and apricots.  Place chicken in slow cooker bowl on top of vegetables.
3. Cover and cook 5 hours on low or until chicken is cooked through or until you get home from work later.  At this point, you could remove the chicken and debone it and skim and discard the fat from the cooking liquid.  Or you could just call it a day and dig in.
4. Serve chicken and vegetables over cooked couscous or quinoa, drizzle cooking liquid over to and garnishing with sliced almonds.

Banana Cream Pie

I have been making this pie for a while now.  I wish I had the picture my Dad took at my first attempt to make it - when I somehow got whipped cream all over the kitchen.  Alas, I have become good at this pie and have no more disastrous anecdotes to share.

Too pretty to eat

But the first bite is sublime

Never leftovers

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter + 1 Tbsp non-melted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 medium bananas
• 1 lemon
• apple jelly

1. Preheat oven to 375degF.  In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs (to make: blend in a blender or place in a strong bag and rolled fine with a rolling pin), 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter.  With back of spoon, press into bottom and side of pie dish, making a small rim.
2. Bake 8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
   
3. In 2-quart saucepan with spoon, mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and salt.  Stir in milk until smooth.  Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes).  Boil 1 minute.  Remove immediately from heat and set aside.  ***
4. In cup with wire whisk, beat egg yolks with small amount of hot milk mixture.  Slowly pour egg mixture into saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.  Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly until very thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.
5. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.  Pour into bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.
6. Peel and slice 3 bananas over bottom of piecrust.  Top with filling.  Chill until set, about 2 hours.
7. Whip the heavy cream and spread evenly on top of pie.
8. To garnish, grate peel of lemon; sprinkle around top edge of pie.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into bowl.  Into juice, peel and slice 1 banana; toss to coat; drain on paper towels.
9. Arrange banana slices in center of top of pie.  
10. In 1-quart saucepan over low heat, heat 1/3 cup apple jelly **** until just melted; brush over banana slices.  Chill.

***   If using Gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Bob's Red Mill brand, add 1 Tbsp psyllium husk powder at this point in the recipe.

****  Apricot jelly is lovely in place of apple jelly.  And microwaving is fine instead of heating over the stovetop.

This recipe is adapted from the 1989 Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook.  My first grown-up cookbook.  Previously, I used one illustrated with Disney characters.

Emergency Dessert

Coconut Flakes, toasted in the broiler.  Sprinkled on top of....
One scoop of vanilla ice cream...
Drizzled with honey.

My favorite ice cream is Coconut Bliss Vanilla Bean.  FYI.