Slow-cooked Chicken with Pan-seared Carrots and Leeks Spinach Salad

The Crockette® by Rival is a tiny 1-Quart slow cooker that was a garage sale find a few years ago and now has become my favorite cooking apparatus. With very little time left for cooking elaborate meals on weeknights, I look for short-cuts and prepare-ahead methods without sacrificing the variety or taste of our meals.

Before I hit the bed, I throw in a couple of small chicken breasts with some favorite rub or herbs into the Crockette and leave it on all night. With only one setting, and its unique ability to never dry out and burn the foods, this slow cooking renders the chicken breasts superbly moist, flaky, and tender by next morning. And sometimes, I've forgotten to unplug it when I rush off to work and it still keeps the chicken perfectly done till dinner time that evening.

I like to combine this juicy fall-apart chicken with a fresh warm salad for a filling weeknight meal. Carrots and leeks cooked in a high heat cast-iron skillet gives the charred rich flavor. Toss the hot carrots and leeks with a bunch of baby spinach leaves and allow the spinach to wilt a bit. Drizzle with red wine vinegar if preferred.

Buckwheat Oat Chickpea Flax Pancake with Collard Greens, Asparagus, Leeks

Growing up with an array of dosai made from the traditional rice and urad dal, as well as chickpea and sooji and anything else my mom felt like throwing together for an amazing experimental dish, I love quick pan fritters and pancakes and pan breads for a weeknight meal, along with vegetable curries and chutneys.

This time, I went with a combination of quarter cup each of buckwheat flour, chickpea flour, rice flour, oat flour, flax meal, and fine cream of wheat (sooji). To boost it a bit, I also added some cooked brown lentils leftover from making Mesir Wat.

For the vegetable side, wilted collard greens with leeks, zucchini, yellow squash, and asparagus  turned out perfect.

Ingredients:
¼ cup each of:
buckwheat flour
oat flour
rice flour
chickpea flour
cream of wheat
flax meal
¼ cup cooked seasoned brown lentils
¼ cup finely chopped radish greens or beet greens
¼ cup finely diced onions
salt to taste
water as needed to make a thick batter

oil for pan-cooking

Preparation

1. Combine the dry ingredients, mix well; add a little water at a time stirring gently to make a thick pancake-like batter
2. Heat a seasoned cast iron skillet to medium, and cook like pancakes
3. Serve warm with any favorite chutney or the Wilted Collard Greens-Leeks-Asparagus side

Wilted Collard Greens Leeks Asparagus Zucchini Yellow Squash 

Since there is no rigid combination here, use as much or as little of each of the above, chopped or sliced to desired size/length. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and wilt the collard greens; then add the other vegetables and saute till desired doneness. Season to taste.