A Duck's Oven

A food and travel blog with comforting, simple recipes.

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on the table

Let’s face it: getting dinner on the table after a long, busy day is no simple task. A Duck’s Oven is here to help you make meal time the easiest and most exciting part of your day.

Recipes

*Old* Lemon Garlic Crock Pot Chicken

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To see my updated version of this recipe, click here.

Alright, I’ll admit it. I’ve been holding out a bit. Cookies and cupcakes are nothing, simply boredom treats. Admittedly, I have not had access to my own cooking supplies, but yesterday I decided it was time to man up and make something real. So, I made dinner for my family last night, to take the ease off my darling mother.

My mom was very excited when I told her I was going to make a crock pot chicken. I asked how many breasts she thought I should cook, I said I was thinking three or four since my dad is off hunting and it would just be my mom, my brother, and I. After she poked some fun at me, she said at least six, and that she’d prefer eight. Yes, eight chicken breasts for three people. Alright Mom, whatever you say! Now I’m glad I did because we ended up feeding my dear friend Kimmy and my brother’s friend Zach. But we’ve still definitely got leftovers.

I always think it’s necessary to throw some veggies into the crock pot along with my meat of choice, so today I chose onions, red potatoes, and carrots.

Now dump all of those deliciously fresh veggies into the crock pot. Have your mom juice a lemon or two (I chose two). Set that aside for now.

Now, season all four (or eight, in our case) of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Lightly brown the breasts in a nice big skillet in two tablespoons of butter. Since I couldn’t fit all the breasts in the skillet at once, I added a little bit of butter as I went.

This is when it starts smelling really good. Put all those nicely seasoned breasts into the crock pot. It was definitely a struggle to fit them all in there.

Now, deglaze the same skillet, without washing any of the buttery, herby goodness away, with a half a cup of white wine. Add the lemon juice, some chicken broth (I like this stuff), and garlic and bring to a boil.

Mmmm. Alright, so after you bring this fragrant goodness to a boil and the garlic has started to brown, dump it onto the chicken and veggies in the crock pot. I had to add the rest of the box of chicken broth, and it still didn’t quite cover all the chicken. If you’re only doing four breasts you should have plenty, though.

I let it cook on low for about six hours. I say the longer, the better, and it made the house smell divine. Here it is at about hour three.

Once the liquid started getting all bubbly, it covered the chicken entirely.

Six hours later, here’s what we’ve got.

My mom made beautiful fall decorations for her space at Monticello (which you should check out, by the way) and I felt like I should include them in these photos some how 🙂

And that I should include Kimmy, too.

I love crock pots.

Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Crock Pot Chicken
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 tsps. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
2 chicken breasts, fat trimmed
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cloves minced garlic
Chopped veggies of your choice; potatoes, carrots, and onions suggested

Directions
Place chopped veggies in the crock pot. Next, season the chicken breasts with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Brown both sides of the chicken breasts in the skillet and place in the crock pot. Without washing the skillet, deglaze it with white wine. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and minced garlic. Bring to a simmer. Pour chicken broth mixture over chicken and veggies in the crock pot. Cook on high for three hours or low for at least six hours.

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

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I spent the day in the kitchen (well, my parent’s kitchen) today experimenting. The result were some yellow cupcakes and chocolate cream cheese frosting. Mmmm. Kimmy, my mom, and I all feel a bit gorged from stuffing our faces.

So I guess I’ll provide you with some pictures and a recipe then 🙂

I halved this recipe, by the way. I’ll put the full recipe at the end.

So, take some butter and some sugar.

Cream the butter until it’s nice and fluffy, like this.

Add the sugar and beat that until it is fluffy once again.
Add the eggs, one at a time and beat after each addition. The best part of being home is the farm fresh eggs.

Aren’t they pretty?

So, mix until it looks like this.

Next, alternate adding flour and milk.

Start with the flour and end with the flour, and mix well. Add some vanilla.

Spoon batter into a paper-lined cupcake tin.

Now pop them in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for fifteen minutes. While those are cooking, make the frosting.

Here’s what you’ll need, plus a quarter cup of chocolate powder (the chocolate was a snap decision).

Cream the cream cheese and butter.

Add powdered sugar.

Add cocoa powder.

Yum. Now spoon that frosting into a bag. Or if you’re fancy, pull out your pastry bags. I like the ziploc variety, and I put it in a cup.

Now, you have this.

Now decorate some cup cakes, and ta da!

So yummy! I hope you enjoy 🙂

Yellow Cupcakes
Modified from Bakerella

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter (room temperature)
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs 3 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream for about 7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each egg is added. Add flour and milk (alternating to creamed mixture), beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla to mix.
Divide batter equally into paper-lined (or sprayed) cupcake tins. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cupcake springs back when you push it.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Oregon Coast Cake and Cupcake Camp

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Oh my goodness…

Do you love cupcakes? Do you love famous people who make cupcakes, such as those on TLC’s Cake Boss? Then check this out…

A cake and cupcake camp is happening HERE at the Oregon Coast! I’m thinking I’ll definitely need to check this out. Here’s a link for more information.

Now I’ll have to test all my cupcake recipes for the best to bring… I’ll certainly have a happy boyfriend and roommate over the next two weeks. I would love to take a few of the classes mentioned, too… Who wants to go with me? 🙂

Chocolate Chip Buttermint Cookies

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I wanted to try something new that would be easy to make at my parents’ house and use only a few ingredients, so I decided to try a recipe in my new Yummy Soup! cookbook for my Mac (an awesome application for all you Mac users who like to cook!). Only five ingredients in this recipe- powdered sugar, butter, flour, peppermint extract, and chocolate chips. The peppermint flavor was very subtle, and they had a shortbread texture.
Since I was home, I got to use my mom’s pretty Kitchen Aid:

I’ve had the pleasure of inheriting her old Kitchen Aid, which still works beautifully and you’ll see many pictures of in the future.
So, to make these delightful cookies start by creaming the butter and confectioner’s sugar.

Next, blend in peppermint extract, then gradually add the flour and mix it well, followed by the chocolate chips.

Roll the dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Next, dip the bottom of a cup in sugar (or you could use sprinkles!) and gently press the balls so they’re about a half inch thick.

Pop them in an oven heated to 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes, and they’re good to go!

I’m very happy with today’s experiment! The taste was light and subtle and they took care of my mom and I’s chocolate cravings!

Chocolate Chip Buttermint Cookies
Adapted from Gracious Rain

Ingredients:
1 cup Butter, softened
½ cup Confectioners’ Sugar
1 ½ tsp Peppermint Extract
1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Chocolate Chips
Sugar

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioner’s sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Gradually add flour and mix well. Add the chocolate chips. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.