Sweet Baby Ray's Slow Cooker Chicken

Wow - talk about a popular recipe!  Seems like everyone loves this one!  To link to the original posting of the recipe with photos, click here.

 

Ingredients:

·         4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

·         1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce

·         ¼ cup vinegar

·         1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

·         ¼ cup brown sugar

·         1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1    1.  Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.

2    2.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. 

5 Year Anniversary Week: Day 1 - Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf!

This week officially marks the 5 year Anniversary of my cooking venture!  How exciting, right?  On April 19, 2010 I made my very first radio appearance with B.J. Williams and George Mason Dixon during their afternoon show on WDUN.    It was called "What's for Supper?" back then and just like we do today on "Cooking with Crevolyn," we talked about the easiest, freshest and most delicious recipes around.  

I am most thankful for the folks at Jacobs Media who jump-started me down this path that I love. Over the past five years we have discussed and I have cooked hundreds of recipes.  I've had the absolute blast of my life talking on the radio,  publishing a cookbook, talking to civic groups, writing a newspaper column, communicating through this blog and best of all, I've met the most wonderful people.   I must agree with Ms. Julia Child, when she said "People who love to eat are always the best people."



So for the next week,  I'll be bringing you some of the most popular recipes of the past five years.  Believe me, this was no easy task narrowing down over a 1000+ recipes to just seven.  
Just a note, the first three years of recipes are archived over on the J&J Foods website, under the What's for Supper Archive tab.  The past two years of recipes you can find right here on this site.  

So without further adieu, here's our first entry, Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf.  You can probably see why it's so popular - bacon and cheese in  meatloaf form.  Yes, please!

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Ingredients:

  1/2 pound ground chuck
 1/2 pound ground round

 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

 1 (8-ounce) package sharp Cheddar, grated

 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

 1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted

 1/4 cup mayonnaise
 1/4 cup barbeque sauce 

 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

 1/2 cup ketchup

 2 tablespoons prepared mustard

 1 (3-ounce) can French fried onions

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck and ground round and next 9 ingredients, mixing well.
3. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.
4. Press meat mixture into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf and place on a rack in a broiler pan. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

Strawberry Lemon Cake Bars with Lemon Glaze

These little bars are the best combination around - strawberries with the zing of lemon!  I told Darrell when I first made them that they reminded me almost of a shortbread.  Shortbread is traditionally one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour.  While this recipe doesn't follow that formula to a tee, it does have similar elements.   And the glaze makes them super moist.  So far, I've had one with a glass of milk and one with a cup of coffee.  I can highly recommend both.   You really do need to make these. 

Ingredients:
· 1 cup butter, room temperature
· ¾ cup sugar
· 1 egg
· Zest of 2 lemons (approx.. 2-3 tablespoons)
· ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
· 2 ¼ cups flour
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ½ teaspoon salt
· ¾ cup fresh strawberries, diced
· 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg, lemon zest, and ¼ cup lemon juice. Stir until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir until just combined. Gently fold in strawberries.
4. Press dough into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.
5. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Pour over cooled bars. Cut and serve.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
· 2 packages chicken flavor Ramen noodles
· 1 cup sliced almonds
· ½ cup vegetable oil
· 1/3 cup rice vinegar
· ¾ cup sugar
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon pepper
· 2 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled, and cubed
· 2 packages cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage, about ten cups)
· 1 package shredded carrots (about 2 cups)
· 3 -4 green onions, sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Break up ramen noodles onto jelly roll pan, reserving seasoning packets for dressing. Stir in almonds. Place in oven and toast about ten minutes, stirring halfway through, until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Once noodles and almonds are cooled, store in large zip-lock baggie.
3. In quart size mason jar, place both seasoning packets from Ramen noodles, oil, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Put lid on tightly and shake vigorously until well blended. Set aside.
4. Mix chicken, cole slaw mix, carrots, and green onions in a very large bowl. Stir well. Shake dressing again and then pour over all. Stir to coat.
5. Transfer to 9x13 dish or large serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Let sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend. Just before serving, top with toasted noodle and almond mixture.

Spring Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:
· 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
· 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
· 1 teaspoon soy sauce
· 1 teaspoon white sugar
· 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed
· 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
· ¼ cup slivered almonds, roasted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk together the rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and mustard in a medium bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Set aside.
3. Place asparagus in a single layer on a large baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Place roasted asparagus in a large bowl and drizzle with dressing. Toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and almonds to serve.