Authors in Bloom Blog Hop - Cabbage Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette

I'm thrilled to join in the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop, which is being coordinated by Tiffany of A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews. Tiffany is one of the Fool's Gold Varsity Cheerleaders, and I'm so happy that she invited me to participate in this fun blog hop.


Here's how it's going to work. The blog hop will run from April 9-April 18. Each participating author will share a recipe or a gardening tip and will give away a prize. I'm giving away a copy of ALREADY HOME, my 2011 women's fiction book. (My latest women's fiction novel is BAREFOOT SEASON, in stores now!) For a chance to win a signed copy of ALREADY HOME, join the Members Only section at www.susanmallery.com, then leave your email address in a comment here. Don't forget to leave your email address - that's how we'll be able to verify that you're a Member. This contest is open internationally.

April 19 update...

And the winner is....

jpart2121@aol.com - check your email for a message from my assistant! Congratulations!

You can also collect a brief phrase at each blog, the put them together for a chance to win the grand prize, a Kindle Fire or a NOOK - winner's choice! Here's my secret phrase...

Line 47: Odd to compare girls to flowers.

Recipe: Cabbage Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette

• ½ head of cabbage, sliced thin or shredded
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 1 stalk of celery, sliced thin
• ¼ C walnut pieces
• ½ C blackberry vinaigrette (Recipe at BlackberryIsland.com/recipes.html)
• Variation: 1 C cooked turkey or chicken, chopped

Toss all ingredients. Makes 4-6 side salads or 2 main dish salads.

The Best Chicken Noodle Soup Ever from Christine Rimmer

Today, I'd like to welcome my good friend Christine Rimmer, who is one of my favorite Special Edition authors - and one of my favorite people! Christine's latest book is THE PRINCE'S SECRET BABY. The title makes me all quivery because I adore a royalty story, and I adore a secret baby story. This book has both, told in the heart-tugging, emotional way that only Christine Rimmer can tell it.

Christine is going to share her recipe for the Best Chicken Noodle Soup Ever, but first...

Three Random Questions for Christine Rimmer

What is one thing you love about yourself?
My vivid imagination. Luckily, I became a writer. I could have gotten into all kinds of trouble otherwise.

Besides the grocery store, where do you shop most often?
I love the farmer's markets we have all over my new hometown of Portland, Oregon. You never know what you might find there. The best goat cheese you ever tasted, a terrific homemade hummus. The possibilities are endless. I also like our local natural foods chain, New Seasons Market. New Seasons has a great deli. And they make an effort to provide quality local organic meats and produce. And some really good, reasonably price wines, as well.

In THE PRINCE'S SECRET BABY, Prince Rule Bravo-Calabretti visits Dallas to meet the mother of his toddler son. How did Sydney become his baby’s mother if she’s never met Rule before?
I love this question. But I'm not going to answer it. Because I think it's better for readers to discover the answer in the book. To tell would definitely be spoilerish. But I promise, there is a valid reason that she has his baby without knowing that he is her child's father--and Rule's decision to hide the truth eventually gets him into some seriously hot water with Sydney.

Recipe: Best Chicken Noodle Soup Ever

I know, I know. We all think of chicken soup as a winter thing. But I like it in April, too. I like it year-round. Especially this recipe. It essentially takes two days—because you have to make the broth first and then cool it to skim off the fat. But it really is a simple process. And it is soooo good. Enjoy!
--Christine Rimmer , www.ChristineRimmer.com

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 medium carrots sliced into quarter-inch rounds
3 celery stalks, CUT into quarter-inch slices
1 (5 ½ to 7-pound) chicken
2 quarts chicken broth
Up to 1 quart cold water
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
5 sprigs fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups egg noodles
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces. (Yes, you can buy an already cut-up chicken. Just be sure it still has bones and skin and don’t cut off any extra fat. The fat adds flavor and then you skim it away later.) And of course, always be careful to wash hands, cutting tools and surfaces thoroughly after handling poultry.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a stockpot. Add onions, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until soft, approximately 10 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces to the sautéed veggies and pour in the broth. Add enough cold water to cover veggies and chicken by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam that rises to the surface. Add the parsley, thyme and bay leaf (You will remove these later, so if you tie them together or bag them in culinary cheesecloth, removal is easier). Reduce heat to low and simmer until the chicken is very tender, about 2 hours. (I put the lid on for this. My mother always simmered the soup uncovered. Your choice).

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard parsley, bay leaf and thyme. Degrease the soup. (If you don’t mind skimming it hot, that’s fine—or if you have one of those fat-separating cups, even better. I like to chill the broth and the chicken overnight and then put the broth in the freezer for a few hours the next morning. The fat is thick and floating by then and easy to spoon off.)

Discard the chicken skin and bones and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add the noodles and cook according to instructions on the noodle package (3-10 minutes). Stir the chicken back into the soup, add salt and pepper to taste, serve hot.

The soup will be good refrigerated for four days or so. You can freeze it for up to three months. Makes 12-15 servings

Blackberry Chipotle Chicken Tacos and Other Blackberry Recipes

On March 27, my next book – BAREFOOT SEASON – will be released. BAREFOOT SEASON is the first book of my Blackberry Island series. Blackberry bushes are a good metaphor for the Blackberry Island stories. The Blackberry Island slogan is “Where Life Is Sweet” – and it is – but before you reach that sweetness, you might have to fight your way past a few thorns. That’s certainly true for my characters.

Michelle and Carly grew up on Blackberry Island, as close as sisters, but their friendship was destroyed by betrayal. As young adults, just as the women began to reconnect, they both fell deeply, desperately in love with the same man. He proposed to Carly, then seduced Michelle. As BAREFOOT SEASON

starts, Michelle returns to Blackberry Island for the first time since she betrayed her former friend. She has spent the past ten years serving in the Army, and she’s been battered physically and emotional by her last tour in Afghanistan. The women will have to fight their way past the thorns in their relationship to find the sweetness of friendship again – with the help of two terrific men and a dog who needs a second chance. (I do love a happy ending!)

Blackberries abound in the Seattle area. They’re considered a nuisance by some people because it’s hard to figure out what to do with the overabundance of fruit growing in your own back yard.

So you know I had to come up with some delicious blackberry recipes! You’ll find the actual recipes – including printable versions of them – at www.blackberryisland.com. While you’re there, read the first chapter of BAREFOOT SEASON, and put a note on your calendar for release day, March 27.

The blackberry recipes include:

• Blackberry Chipotle Sauce 
• Oven-Baked Pork Chops with Blackberry Chipotle Sauce 
• Blackberry Chipotle Chicken Tacos 
• Quick & Easy Blackberry Cobbler 
• Make-Ahead Berry French Toast Casserole 
• Blackberry Mousse Parfaits 
• The Bramble Fizz (alcoholic drink) 
• Blackberry Vinaigrette Cabbage Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette 
• Cinnamon Pita Chips with Walnut-Blackberry Dip 
• Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Blackberry Relish 

Cheaters Chicken Stroganoff from Laura Marie Altom

Welcome to Laura Marie Altom, whose latest book is A BABY IN HIS STOCKING, a heartwarming Christmas romance. (How cute is that cover and title?!) In a moment, Laura Marie is going to share an incredibly heartwarming Christmas story from her own life. Seriously, it's going to melt your heart. But first, here's a little bit about A BABY IN HIS STOCKING:

Wyatt Buckhorn is only a pal. If sharing scorching kisses that leave a woman feeble-brained means they're pals! But that's all the oilman-slash-rancher can be to Natalie Lewis. Five months pregnant and jilted, Natalie refuses to trust any man, least of all a man who is the definition of playboy. Throw in that every run-in turns into a fiery encounter, and "just friends" gets complicated. Which is a shame, because Natalie's life is messy enough.

Besides, she knows Wyatt's secret--he's sterile, and so enforces a strict kid-free rule. But when circumstances have them caring for a whole clan of Buckhorn youngsters over the holidays, Natalie sees a side of Wyatt that's definitely kid-friendly. Weakening defenses, and even weaker knees, have Natalie determined to destroy Wyatt's anti-family policy . . . before he leaves town for good.

A Chat with Laura Marie Altom

Share a special holiday memory with us.

When our boy/girl twins were high school freshmen, our son asked if a friend could stay with us for two weeks. His mother had just been evicted and he had nowhere to go. Of course, we welcomed him into our home. He was skinny and literally had nothing except the clothes on his back and a few extra, threadbare shirts. Two weeks flew by and Russell grew more at ease in our home. When the time came for his mother to get him, he became sullen. Only she didn't come.

Months passed and she still hadn't picked up her child. By this time, I was mad. How could a mother do this to her kid? My husband and I called a family meeting and had a talk with our twins about how they wanted to proceed. Would they be okay with us claiming Russell as our own? They agreed and we hired a family law attorney. Russell's mother finally made an appearance--in court. With a simple signature, Russell officially became our son.

We wanted that year's Christmas to be extra special. What could we possibly give Russell to show him how much he'd grown to mean to us, and how permanent his new home was? We decided to give him a kitten, but that was easier said than done! You would think in a town the size of Tulsa, Christmas kittens are easy to find--wrong! LOL!! Hubby and I drove for an entire day to pick just the right kitty.

For two days, our dogs pitching a fit, we hid the kitten in the master bedroom. Keeping the secret was so much fun, and when it came time for Russell to be given the coveted last gift of Christmas morning, we placed Foxy in his arms. That was such a special year. We take for granted how blessed we are to have the basics, but seeing our lives through Russell's eyes, everything felt new.

Russell and our twins are now college sophomores. Like any family, we've had our share of emotional ups and downs. With Christmas 2011 fast approaching, I'm excited to put all of the year's worries aside to instead focus on what's truly important--family.

These are pics of Foxy then and 23lb Foxy now!! She dwarfs our Yorkie, Daisy!!

If you were to win an all-expenses paid vacation, where would you like to go?
Bora Bora!!! I have a serious thing for palm trees, and that crazy aqua-colored water you only see in the tropics. My idea of the perfect day would be exploring some isolated cove, snorkling and lounging and maybe picking up a few shells. If a hunky waiter wanted to bring fancy umbrella drinks, that would be great, too!!

Your parents sent you to a dude ranch when you were a kid. Did that experience inspire your Buckhorns series?
Hmm, wish I had some great romantic tie-in, but nope, the Buckhorn Ranch is WAY ritzier than the place I stayed!! LOL!! I do have magical memories, though. Learning to barrel race, escaping our cabin in the middle of the night to stare up at the stars, jumping into the pool on sweltering Oklahoma summer afternoons. Dude ranch was the best!!

Cheaters Chicken Stroganoff

Since Hubby's an engineer and works a traditional nine-to-five day, I always feel a little guilty for living the writer's lifestyle of lounging in my PJs all day. Sure, I might be typing away, but still, I know I've got it pretty good!! LOL!! As such, I pretty much always have dinner ready for when Hubby gets home. We've been married 22 years, so I guess he likes my cooking!

I loathe following recipes--it's way more fun to just play, so this is my much easier take on a traditional beef stroganoff that usually gets me nice, clean plates. To my way of thinking, that's the best compliment my family can give!!

That said, here are there ingredients. Feel free to add more or less of everything. For me, it's all about personalizing it for your family's tastes.

• Three or four skinless, boneless chicken breasts split and diced into bite-sized cubes • One diced medium sweet onion • 1/3 of a stick of butter. • Salt to taste

Melt butter in a generous skillet, then saute chicken and onion until chicken is cooked. Sprinkle salt over all a few times while stirring.

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup • 1 cup sour cream • 1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine • 1 small can of mushrooms or 1 cup fresh (If using fresh, saute them with the chicken and onions.)

When chicken is cooked, add remaining ingredients and stir. Now's the time to get out your tasting spoon. You might want to add more wine or salt.

I usually pair this with a fresh veggie, or as in the picture, a light spinach side salad. A nice glass of wine is always yummy!! Hope you enjoy!!

Did Laura Marie's adoption story touch your heart? Be sure to post a comment here to let her know. And don't forget to buy A BABY IN HIS STOCKING!

Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Pie

Read free excerpts of Susan Mallery books at www.susanmallery.com! (Plus, you’ll find more free recipes there, too.)
Here we go again! ONLY HIS was released yesterday, which gets my emotions all in a tangle. It’s very much like Christmas morning. After you’ve spent months on a handmade gift, you wonder whether your loved one will treasure it. Anticipation and excitement mingle with nervousness as you watch your loved one’s face, interpreting every nuance of expression. Does he love it?
The difference is, of course, that I can’t see readers’ expressions to interpret their reaction to ONLY HIS. I have to rely on the sales numbers for the first week to tell me the story. If readers love Fool’s Gold as much as I do, and if they’ve been eager to get their hands on Nevada Hendrix’s story, I’ll know it because they’ll rush out to buy the book this week. But until I know, all I can do is try not to fret too much. Comfort food helps.
I was in the mood for chicken pot pie, but I wasn’t in the mood to spend all day in the kitchen. So I came up with this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Pie. It took less than ten minutes to put together, and then I turned on the slow cooker and forgot about it until dinnertime. And it was good!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Pie

1 lb. uncooked chicken, cubed
1 family-sized can (26 oz) cream of chicken soup
½ C white wine or milk
1 can corn, drained
1 16-oz bag of frozen peas and carrots
1 small onion, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme
½ t sage
½ t pepper
3 red potatoes, sliced thin
Put all of the ingredients except the potatoes into the slow cooker. Mix well. Layer the potato slices on top of the chicken mixture. Cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Dana Marton's Stovetop Chicken Casserole

My friend Dana Marton is the author of fabulous romances filled with international intrigue. Her heroes are powerful, dangerous men with hearts of gold and a desire to serve and protect their country, their family... and the women with whom they fall in love.I recently had the pleasure of reading the first two books of Dana's latest ebook trilogy, Agents Under Fire, starting with GUARDIAN AGENT and continuing with AVENGING AGENT. If you love romantic suspense, you must check out these books!

Amazon: GUARDIAN AGENT, AVENGING AGENT
Barnes and Noble: GUARDIAN AGENT, AVENGING AGENT

When she's not writing, Dana uses her creativity in other ways... such as creating this delicious Stovetop Chicken Casserole. Mmmmmm! It looks as creamy and delicious as the heroes in her books. And now here's Dana Marton...

Recipe: Stove Top Chicken Casserole

(As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I came up with this stove stop recipe when my husband broke my casserole dish, and found that I can make something very similar in less time than it would take in the oven. Which leaves extra time for reading!)

4 chicken breasts chopped into cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 package of your favorite noodles (I used wide egg noodles)
1 can of Cream of Broccoli soup
1 cup of milk
1 package of frozen broccoli
Grated parmesan cheese

Take a large non-stick skillet, add olive oil and chicken. Salt, then cook over medium heat. When the chicken is almost done, add frozen broccoli, soup and milk, and stir well. Cover with lid. While that cooks, prepare and drain noodles. When both the meat and the broccoli are ready, stir in hot noodles. Cook for 5 more minutes without the lid. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Anyhow… that’s what someone watching me would see while I cooked this. Now here is how it goes in my head. Yes, writers’ brains are that weird.

Love is a Complex Dish

(a story of romance and danger)

“Help!” she cried, despair burning through her.

And he was there, once again, to save her.

“Agent Broccoli,” she sighed his name with relief, even as the dancing flames surrounded them. Did this mean that he’d forgiven her?

He cut the ropes that bound her and dragged her out of the smoke-filled Parmesan Pantry, the cheese store that had been in her family for three generations. Then he dragged her into his arms. “I’ll always be there for you.” His seductive voice whispered into her ear. “And not just because you’re a hot chick. I love you.” His olive color eyes darkened as he kissed her.

But, as the last time, a new wave of attack interrupted. He pushed her protectively behind him to face their evil enemy.

He charged at Wide Noodle, fury pushing him forward, his masculine lips twisted into a growl.

Lord, she loved those lips, his wild, full head of hair, those wide shoulders… She loved everything about him.

“I love you!” she called after him, admitting it at last. She was done pushing him away.

He fought with renewed strength, ignoring his injuries, until Noodle lay limp at his feet, begging for mercy.
His reinforcements were arriving by then, and carted the villain off to the Skillet County Jail.

Then it was just the two of them, and she threw himself into his arms, where they finished that kiss at last. Love really was the salt of life, she thought, dazed by the emotions that swirled through her. She knew now that what she had with him was worth fighting for. She was never going to run from love again.

Hope you enjoy both the dish and the story!
Author, Dana Marton
www.danamarton.com

Curry Chicken Enchiladas

ALREADY HOME was released last week, and I’m thrilled to finally get the book into readers’ hands. Jenna, the heroine of ALREADY HOME is a chef who has lost her confidence in the kitchen. Her ex-husband, also a chef, made fun of her every time she tried something innovative, and she began to believe him when he said she had no talent. So she gives up her lifelong dream of being a chef and opens a retail kitchen store in her Texas hometown.


Through the course of the book, she’s challenged in more ways than she can count by the unexpected and unwelcome arrival of her birth mother. Through the turmoil, she rediscovers her love of adventurous cooking. I won’t go into details about how this happens because I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Let me just say there’s a first date involved, with a fabulous, handsome man.

One of Jenna’s innovations is Mexican/Indian fusion cuisine. In the book, she came up with a recipe for Curry Chicken Enchiladas. When I wrote that scene, these enchiladas didn’t exist, but I knew readers would ask me for them. So I came up with this recipe, and I have to say, it turned out even more delicious than I’d hoped! Enjoy!


Click here to read Chapter 1 and 2 of ALREADY HOME for free: www.alreadyhomenovel.com

Recipe: Curry Chicken Enchiladas

3 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (no seeds for mild, all seeds for hot)
½ t sugar
1 t cumin seed
2 T curry powder
1 bay leaf
½ t grated fresh ginger root
6 oz can of tomato paste
8 oz plain, unsweetened yogurt
½ C canned coconut milk
1 lb cooked chicken, cut into ¼-inch chunks
1 C cooked rice
¼ C cilantro
4 oz can of diced green chilies
4 oz shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
8 corn tortillas

Heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, and jalapeño until onion is translucent. Add sugar through coconut milk and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside ½ C of the yogurt sauce. To the remaining sauce, add the chicken, rice, cilantro, chilies, and half the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the tortillas with a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds. Divide the chicken mixture evenly into the corn tortillas and place them seam-side down in a lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Pour the reserved yogurt sauce over the enchiladas. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and cook until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

Serve with naan chips, peach salsa, and spiced chickpeas and tomatoes. More free recipes can be found at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php.

(Confession: I forgot to take a picture, but the enchiladas looked like this stock photo I bought online. Next time I make them, I’ll get a picture. In the meantime, if you make them, I’d love for you to send a photo to my assistant at jenel@susanmallery.com.)

Hummus Chicken

You can download a printable version of this recipe for free at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php. Lots of other delicious recipes there, too!

Since I started this cooking blog, the funniest thing has happened: I imagine flavors more than I ever did before. It used to be when I imagined a flavor, it was the flavor of my favorite dish in some restaurant, and the only way to get it out of my head was to visit that restaurant. But now, I imagine flavor combinations that I’ve never tasted before, just wild ideas that pop into my head. The combinations don’t always work – my husband will attest to my many failures.

But sometimes, wow. They’re as delicious in real life as I imagined them to be. One example is the Shrimp Margaritas appetizer I concocted. And the Snap Pea Cheese Canoes. (My imagination didn’t serve me nearly as well with my Tater Salad, potato salad made with Tater Tots, which tasted so horrible that I put it in the “Don’t try this at home” category.)

I am very proud to share with you my delicious recipe for Hummus Chicken, which happily tasted even better in my mouth than it did in my head. And it’s super easy, with just four ingredients.

Recipe: Hummus Chicken

3 – 4 pounds of boneless chicken breasts
4 oz prepared hummus
1 T mayonnaise (I used fat-free)
½ t cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice each chicken breast in half.

Mix together the remaining ingredients. Spread some of the hummus mixture inside each chicken breast, fold the halves closed, then spread some on top of each chicken breast. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and put it into the oven.

Bake until the chicken is cooked thoroughly, about 50-60 minutes.

Quick & Easy Chicken Cheesy Soup

You'll find a printable version of this and many other free recipes online at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php.

Last week on Facebook and Twitter, I asked my fans to tell me one thing they enjoy about winter. (I needed a pick-me-up. I don’t enjoy being cold, and Seattle at this time of year is cold and wet and gloomy.) Several people said “snow.”

That did nothing for me.

Someone else said curling up with a good book next to a roaring fire. Now we were getting somewhere. As you might imagine, I do love a good book. But still, I’d rather read that good book in the summer, when the days are long and the skies are blue.

Finally, one of my Twitter followers said that what she enjoys about winter is a bowl of thick soup. I perked up. Most of the year, I’m not into soup. I could take it or leave it. But on a cold winter day, a nice, thick soup warms me up from the inside out.

Unfortunately, by this time, it was already getting close to dinner. I wasn’t willing to put off the soup for another day. I needed to find something good about winter now, darn it! So I came up with a recipe for a hearty, delicious soup that took just half an hour from start to finish.

How is that possible? Because the soup is only sort of homemade. There are so many cans of food in it that I thought about naming it Can-Can Chicken Soup.

I settled on the name Quick & Easy Chicken Cheesy Soup because rhyming is fun.

Recipe: Quick and Easy Chicken Cheesy Soup

1 whole rotisserie chicken
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of corn or Mexicorn
1 can diced green chilies
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chicken broth
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
2 C milk

Tear the meat off the chicken bones, chop, and put into a heavy-bottomed soup pot with the accumulated juices from the chicken. Stir in all remaining ingredients. (Don’t drain any of the cans except for the black beans. Just open them up and add them to the pan, juices and all.) Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.

This recipe can be made in the slow cooker. Just toss all the ingredients in a slow cooker and heat on low until warm all the way through.

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin (Chicken with Wine)

On my Facebook page, several readers asked for more free slow cooker recipes. I love them, too. The prep work is a snap, the aroma drifts through the house all day, and the end result can be amazing. Slow cooker recipes are especially wonderful during these cold months.

I was in the mood for something simple. Something like you might find on a stove top in a French countryside kitchen, a few fresh ingredients that come together in the perfect combination of flavors.

I suspect that true aficionados of French cuisine probably don’t use Onion Soup Mix, but I’m a fan. I’m all about quick and easy recipes, and onion soup mix is a short cut to flavor. Ranks right up there with the best inventions of the 20th Century.

Coq au vin. Chicken with wine. As soon as the thought occurred, I knew I had a winner. And I was right. You know that aroma I was talking about? My house smelled incredible all day Sunday. So good! And the flavor was amazing.

I’m very proud to share my recipe for Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin with you. You can find a printable version of this recipe at www.susanmallery.com.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin

3 lbs chicken bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
8 oz whole mushrooms
2 stalks of celery, cut into one-inch chunks
1 small onion, sliced
1 can of Campbell’s golden mushroom soup
½ can of dry red wine
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 bay leaf

After washing the mushrooms, toss them into the slow cooker whole. Layer the onion slices and celery chunks, and then place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables. Mix together the soup, wine, bay leaf, and onion soup mix, then pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

I ate this by itself, but I do think this would taste even better served over rice. It would be good over mashed potatoes, too, but in that case, I think you would want to thicken the sauce with cornstarch.

Pesto Panko Cheesy Chicken Rolls

You can now get printable versions of these recipes on my website. Go to www.susanmallery.com, hover over Members Only Lounge, and then select Recipes. You don’t have to join the Members Only Lounge in order to get the recipes, but it’s free, so why not? While you're on my site, you can read Chapter 1 and 2 of SOMEONE LIKE YOU for free. SOMEONE LIKE YOU is being reissued today with this fabulous new cover.

Recently, a foodie friend with a more sophisticated palate than mine raved to me about the miracle of Japanese Panko style bread crumbs. She said baked chicken coated in Panko crumbs would turn out really crispy.

And you know how much I love Crispy Baked Chicken.

So Panko was floating around in the back of my mind when I happened across this recipe for Pesto Cheesy Chicken Rolls. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? And it’s low carb, too… but still, I had to mess with it. After all, I had that Panko floating in my head.

I did follow the recipe for the first few steps, and I discovered something about myself: I am not good at pounding chicken. Boneless, skinless breasts, I mean. Although I suspect I would not be good at pounding a live chicken, either.

Not a theory I ever intend to test.

In my recipe – which turned out delicious, by the way – I used Homemade Pesto that I had in my freezer, but you can use a jar of pesto. I also added some sliced mushrooms inside the chicken breasts, but you can skip them if mushrooms make you wrinkle your nose. You can also make this with traditional bread crumbs if your store doesn’t have Panko style. But then you have to change the name of the dish.

Pesto Panko Cheesy Chicken Rolls

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ¼ inch thickness
1 C pesto sauce, divided
4 slices of mozzarella cheese
¼ C mushroom slices (optional)
2 T mayonnaise
1 C Japanese Panko-style bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1 tablespoon of pesto with the mayonnaise and set aside. Divide the remaining pesto equally between the four chicken breasts. Top with mushrooms and cheese. Roll up tightly and secure with toothpicks. Cover the outside of each chicken breast with mayonnaise mixture, then roll in bread crumbs. Place on an ungreased baking sheet with a rim so the juices don’t overflow. Bake until done, about 40-50 minutes.

Flour-Dusted Roast Chicken with Asparagus in Lemon-Curry Sauce

Yesterday, THE BEST OF FRIENDS was released, and I wanted to celebrate with a really good meal. In the morning, I happened upon a Food Network show on which they were making roast chicken with olives and onions. I came upon the show in the last few minutes, so I didn’t know how to make their recipe, but roast chicken sounded like a very nice way to celebrate my latest book. (Read Chapters 1 and 2 for free here: THE BEST OF FRIENDS excerpt)

One of the most popular recipes I’ve shared so far was the Crispy Baked Parmesan Ranch Chicken, and I wondered if there was a way to roast a whole chicken and make the skin as crispy and delicious as it was on that recipe.

My flour-dusted roast chicken recipe turned out delicious. It would be wonderful served with mashed potatoes and gravy made from the drippings. If only carbs weren’t evil.

I served it with roasted asparagus and red pepper, and a lemon-curry sauce of my own devising. I actually devised two versions, one with wasabi, then decided I liked this one best. So I threw out the other one, only to realize I had thrown out the one that I preferred. Then I had to throw out the wasabi one, wash all the bowls and measuring spoons, and start from scratch. Which means that I can say definitively that this recipe is reproducible.

Flour-Dusted Roast Chicken

One 4-5 pound roasting chicken

¼ C all-purpose flour

2 t season salt or garlic salt

¼ t cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Place half of it in a bag that’s large enough to hold the chicken with room to spare. If you have nothing else, a plastic grocery bag should work, though you’ll want to work over the sink in case there are any small holes. Put the chicken in the bag, then toss in the rest of the flour mixture. Shake to coat the chicken all over. Remove the chicken from the bag and shake off the extra flour.

Lightly oil the rack in a roasting pan, and place the chicken breast side up on the rack. Roast on the lowest rack of the oven, basting occasionally with its own juices, until the thigh temperature reaches 170. The chicken will take about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Asparagus in Lemon-Curry Sauce

Lemon-Curry Sauce:
¼ C mayonnaise

¼ C plain, unsweetened yogurt

1 t curry powder

1 t soy sauce

1 t honey

1 t lemon juice

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Roasted Asparagus and Red Peppers:
1 lb. asparagus

1 red bell pepper

To prepare the asparagus, snap off about one inch at the bottom and discard. Snap the remaining asparagus spear into two pieces. Slice the red bell pepper thin. Toss the asparagus and the pepper with about half of the lemon curry sauce. Lay in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the asparagus is crisp-tender. Arrange a serving on a plate and then drizzle it with lemon-curry sauce.

Crispy Baked Parmesan Ranch Chicken with Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Is there a limit to the number of words that are allowed in a recipe title? At first, I was going to call this new recipe Ranch Chicken. Simple, right? But then I decided to add Parmesan – both to the recipe and to the title. Parmesan Ranch Chicken.

Then when the chicken was done, and it came out so delicate and crispy, I thought, “Well, I have to add ‘Crispy’ to the title. They need to know that right up front!”

Parmesan Ranch Chicken sounds good, but Crispy Parmesan Ranch Chicken sounds delicious! Then I realized that you might wonder what made the chicken so crispy. Did I deep fry it? No! I baked it. And it still turned out delicate and crispy. It’s much healthier than deep fried chicken, and it tastes incredible.

But I thought that Incredibly Delicious Crispy Baked Parmesan Ranch Chicken was going a little too far.

Crispy Baked Parmesan Ranch Chicken

Serious bottle of ranch mix from Sam's Club

2 lbs Chicken breasts with bones (skin optional)
1 C Ranch dressing
1 C Flour
1 t Dry ranch mix
1 t Black pepper
2 T plus 1 t Parmesan cheese, shredded, divided
1 T Olive oil for drizzling

Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag and add ranch dressing. Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours. (8 hours or overnight would be even better.) Drain.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a clean, dry Ziploc bag, add the flour, ranch mix, pepper, and 2 T of Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Add the chicken pieces one at a time, close the bag, and shake to coat. Place the chicken pieces on a cookie sheet with raised edges. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon of Parmesan cheese, then drizzle with oil. Bake until the pieces are golden brown and reach the desired temperature, about 40-50 minutes.

The chicken recipe used only a small portion of the Parmesan cheese. Plus, in my refrigerator, I had a bunch of asparagus. So I Googled asparagus+parmesan and found this recipe for Parmesan Roasted Asparagus from PickyCook.com.
It was so easy, and it cooked at the same temperature as the chicken. While the chicken started cooking, I prepped the asparagus and then put it in about 20 minutes before the chicken was done. My house smelled amazing.

I love it when a plate comes together! This is seriously some of the best chicken I’ve ever had, and I made up the recipe. I’m so proud of myself. Or should I say full of myself?