Monday, October 29, 2012

Spiced Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes



Ingredients
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1 (32-oz.) container beef broth
1 (3-lb.) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 sweet onions, cut into eighths
2 cups cubed butternut squash (about 1 lb.)
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
2 celery ribs, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preparation
1. Whisk together first 2 ingredients until smooth.
2. Sprinkle beef with flour, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.
3. Cook beef, in batches, in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes or until browned. Place in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Add sweet potatoes, next 8 ingredients, and broth mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH 6 to 7 hours or until tender.

Comments
Published in Southern Living's NOVEMBER 2012 issue.
Texture is a little too gooey, but flavor is delicious. Maybe it's because I don't have a slow cooker?

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Apple and Cabbage Oven Baked Chicken


Picture credit from The Healthy Foodie.
Serves 2.   Ready-in 1.5 hours

I N G R E D I E N T S
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion, thinly sliced
½ small Savoy cabbage, shredded
1 Red Delicious apple, thinly sliced
1 Golden Delicious apple, thinly sliced
½ cup all natural unsweetened apple juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

I N S T R U C T I O N S
Preheat oven to 375F
Prepare ahead
Thinly slice the onion and apples and shred the cabbage as finely as possible. The use of a mandolin is strongly recommended here.
In an oven safe dish (mine was about 7" x 7") add about 1/3 of the shredded cabbage, followed by ½ the onion and ½ the apples.
Continue layering by adding another 1/3 of the cabbage, the rest of the onions, the rest of the apple slices and finally, the rest of the cabbage. Set aside.
Place your chicken breasts on top of the cabbage and add another sprig of rosemary, if desired.
In a small mixing bowl, add apple juice, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper and mix until well combined. Pour over chicken and cabbage mixture.
Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for about an hour, until chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken breasts and slice them on a diagonal
Divide cabbage/apple mixture between 2 serving plates and place sliced chicken breasts on top.
Serve immediately.

N O T E S
*  Recipe from The Healthy Foodie.
*  I put my oven safe dish over a cookie sheet in the oven and covered with tinfoil and this led to a very slow cook. Recommend not using cookie sheet, and removing tinfoil for a few minutes.
*  Double-recipe quantity = 6 servings. Delic left overs, maybe make triple next time & freeze individual meal-sized portions.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Fried Rice with Shallots


I N G RE D I E N T S
3 tablespoons peanut oil, plus more for frying I used sesame oil as a substitute
3 shallots, thinly sliced (3/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 1/2 cups cold cooked jasmine rice (see Note)
Salt
1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
Lime wedges, for serving

D I R E C T I O N S
In a small skillet, heat 1/4 inch of peanut oil until shimmering. Add 1/4 cup of the sliced shallots and fry over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried shallots to paper towels to drain.
In a wok or large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the turmeric and the remaining 1/2 cup of shallots and stir-fry over moderately high heat until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir-fry over high heat for 1 minute. Add the peas and stir-fry until the rice and peas are hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the fried shallots and season with salt. Transfer the rice to a bowl and serve with lime wedges.

N O T E S
Published in Food & Wine's October 2012 issue.
Total time: 25 minutes; Serves 4