Chicken in the (Crock) Pot

One of our favorites.  Chicken is moist and falls off the bone.  Lots off rich juices and schmaltz for making matzoh balls and soup from the leftovers.  Simple.

20 years old and still cooking.

Carrots("baby")

Onions (quartered)

Garlic (whole cloves, smashed to peel)
Potatoes (well scrubbed, in large chunks)
Celery (cut to the size of "baby" carrots)
1 Whole Chicken
salt, pepper, herbs

Bill's version: veggies on top.

Put vegetables in the slow cooker, place chicken on top. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper as desired. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours, high 8-10 hours.

Summer Veg Soup with Matzoh Balls

For the past week, the temperatures have been in the 90s.  Brutal.  Like the 9th circle of hell.  Cooking is not an option. 

BB and I try to live without the air conditioner.  When we do turn it on, we set it at 78-80 degrees, unless it is just unbearable.  The weather finally broke Tuesday night.  What a relief.  Last night the temperature dropped to 58.  It was perfect for sleeping.  Yesterday and today were comfortable, dry with bright blues skies and cotton candy clouds. 

This evening Bill and I went for a walk at sunset.  With the wind it was actually a bit cold.  It felt like a September day.  I made this soup for dinner.

Summer Veg Soup with Matzoh Balls

1 box of matzoh ball mix, prepared with 4 eggs, 1/2 C oil
2 T olive oil
1 garlic scape, minced
1 onion, Vidalia, chopped
bunch of peas in the shell sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
5-6 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 bunch of chard, sliced
1 potato, scrubbed and cubed
rind from romano cheese
shaved caciocavello cheese

Prepare the matzoh ball dough and refrigerate.  Meanwhile, saute onions and scape until softened.  Add pea pods and carrots, stirring to coat with hot oil.  let cook a minute then deglaze pan with 1 C water.  Add potato, salt and water to cover.  Place chard on top, cover and simmer 20 minutes.   After 10 minutes, stir the pot, replace cover and cook 10 minutes more.  Stir in cheese rinds.

Meanwhile, place a second pot with water and salt to boil. Remove matzoh ball dough from the refrigerator.  Divide dough into 8 large portions, and roll into balls.  Drop into boiling water and simmer 15-20 minutes.

Ladle soup into a bowl, then place a matzoh ball in the center and garnish with caciocavello cheese.  Serve hot or room temp.

The Dish Bitch
2 pots
spoon
ladle
slotted spoon
cutting board and knife

Passover

Passover began last Monday at sundown. DH was raised Jewish, and gets excited about seasonal foods and traditions around this time of year. He loves matzoh and we usually get a 5 lb (yes that's FIVE pound) bundles of Streit's every year. All of the local grocery stores have crazy specials, like spend $25, get FIVE pounds of matzoh free.

We celebrate Passover with his family on the day before Easter, then Easter with my family. It's a trip (Kosher Saturday, Italian Pork Fest Sunday) but that's our multi culti life.

Since Passover is also the first full moon after the vernal equinox, celebration is in order. We usually have a simple dinner at home, that gives a nod to Jewish traditions, and avoid leavened products for the week. It's a challenge to try new things, and incorporate our own habits and favorite meals. On Monday, I made Cabbage Borscht with Beef and Matzoh Balls. On the second night we had Matzoh Crusted Chicken Cutlets with Butternut squash. Both nights we had Seder Plate Salad (my creation of romaine, parsley, apples, walnuts, hardboiled egg and horseradish dressing).

Last night we had Matzoh Lasagna. It sounds weird, but when you consider no boil lasagna noodles, it makes sense. It was delicious, was easy, and we will definitely make it again.

Matzoh Lasagna
4 matzoh
1 jar of marinara sauce (we used Trader Joe's Tomato and Basil)
16 oz of ricotta
1 egg
3 T pesto (used Bill's homemade)
8 oz shredded mozzarella (Haolam Kosher for Passover)
grated pecorino romano to taste (Haolam Kosher for Passover)
black pepper

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" square baking dish with non stick spray. Mix 1 egg, pesto and ricotta until well combined. Cover bottom of baking dish with some sauce, top with 1 matzoh, 1/3 of ricotta, 1/4 of mozzarella, some romano, a sprinkle of black pepper and a bit more sauce. Repeat layering 2x more, then finish with 1 matzoh, the remaining sauce, mozzarella, romano and black pepper. Bake x40 minutes, turn off the oven, and go watch the sun set. When you return, remove the lasagna from the oven and serve.