Easiest Crockpot Chicken

This dish is super-easy, and will make your whole house smell good. The chicken ends up very moist and with a subtle sweet-and-sour flavor. Plus, it's all from scratch, and only takes 20 minutes of prep time.

1 3-pound whole chicken
1/2 cup broth
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbs. minced garlic
Serve with cooked rice

1. Remove skin from chicken and empty cavity of giblets. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel, and place inside the slow cooker.

2. In a bowl, stir together the broth, olive oil, honey, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken and cover.

3. Cook chicken on low setting for 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours.

4. To make gravy, let the fat separate out from the cooking liquid. Skim off the fat and put two cups of the remaining liquid in a saucepan. Slowly add 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken, stirring to incorporate the cornstarch. Simmer to condense.

5. Serve with cooked plain rice, topped with gravy.

French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon

Serves 8

For the cake:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 and 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 cup canola oil

For the glaze:
Juice from 2 lemons
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, and zest, mixing to just combine. Add the oil and stir to incorporate. At first, it will look like a horrible, oily mess, but keep stirring, and it will come together into a smooth batter. Pour and scrape the batter into a buttered 9-inch round cake pan (after buttering, I sometimes line the bottom with a round of wax or parchment paper, and then I butter that too).

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Cool cake on a rack for about 20 minutes; then turn it out of the pan to cool completely.

When the cake is thoroughly cooled, combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl and spoon it gently over the cake. The glaze will be thin and will soak in like a syrup.
Serve.

Toni's Cranberry Salsa

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup horseradish
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
To serve:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
crackers

1. Mix the sauce ingredients together, place in a covered container, and refrigerate overnight or at least four hours (the time allows everything to meld and mellow).

2. When you are ready to serve place the cream cheese on a plate, and pour the salsa over the cream cheese.

Recipe (and photo) from theroastingrambler.blogspot.com

Frozen Yogurt with a Few Variations

Makes about 1 quart.

3 cups strained or Greek yogurt (see below)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla (if using). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

To make 1 cup (240g) of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth. then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups (480g) of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. So, for the above recipe start with and strain 6 cups of yogurt.

Try adding your favorite flavors to this: pureed kiwi, honey, lavender blossoms, rose water, cardamom, olive oil, cinnamon and clove, lemon zest, Nutella, you get the picture.

Recipe from David Lebovitz's book "A Perfect Scoop".