Beef Daube Provencal

This classic French beef stew is simple and delicious! It may even be better the next day!  This is a recipe that I saw in Cooking Light magazine and adapted it to my family’s taste.  As you may know, I am a slow cooker fanatic, so I did mine a la slow cooker.  Enjoy!

Yield:  8 servings

Ingredients

2-3 teaspoons olive oil

4-5 garlic cloves, crushed  

1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)

3/4 cup red wine

2 cups chopped carrots (I used bagged matchstick carrots)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup beef broth

 1 small can tomato paste

1 1/2 Tablespoons herbes de provence

2  (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes 

Salt & pepper to taste

1 package cooked medium egg noodles

Heat oil in a skillet over low heat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef to pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  

Place beef, garlic, wine, carrots, onion, beef broth, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and herbes de provence in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over egg noodles in shallow bowls along with a tossed green salad and crusty French bread!

Cranberry Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Being a New Englander, Ken just loves warm puddings... i.e. bread pudding, rice pudding, grapenut pudding, and such.  Since I had part of a loaf of bread that was about to expire, I decided to surprise him with a bread pudding for dessert!  I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com that I liked and modified it to our taste.  I hope you enjoy it too!  The entire house smells like cinnamon and vanilla when you're baking this!

Ingredients:

6 slices day-old bread

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup craisins

4 eggs, beaten

2 ½ cups milk

½ cup Splenda or 1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.  Break bread into small pieces into an 8-inch square baking pan.  Drizzle melted butter over bread.  Sprinkle with craisins.

3.  In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, splenda, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Whisk until well mixed.  Pour this over bread and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soking up the egg mixture.

4.  Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

We like to top the warm bread pudding with freshly whipped cream!

Moroccan Casablanca Chicken Stew

One of my Moroccan tagines

Have you seen the movie classic "Casablanca"?  Well I first fell in love with Morocco when I saw this movie.  I am disappointed to say that I have not yet been to Casablanca or to Morocco!

I first fell in love with Moroccan food when a little Moroccan restaurant opened in Chapel Hill, NC.  It was only open for a few years much to my dismay.  The ambiance was beautiful… warm & cozy with beautiful low tables and cushions, elegant oriental rugs, and gorgeous dinnerware.  Once I walked in I was forever smitten!  The food did not disappoint and I have been a lover of Moroccan cuisine ever since!

Being the proud owner of 2 authentic Moroccan tagines and a modern Emile Henry one, I feel compelled to put on my Moroccan chef’s hat from time to time and either make my tried & true or experiment with new dishes.

That being said, I strayed a bit and made this most recent recipe in my beloved slow cooker!  Yes I did and it turned out perfectly.  If I had been having a dinner party, I could have transferred everything into a tagine and no one would have known the difference!

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless & skinless chicken breasts

1 pound boneless & skinless chicken thighs

5 carrots, peeled & sliced

2 large onions, thinly sliced

1 cup dried, chopped dates

1 cup raisins (preferably golden raisins but “regular” will do)

1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth (more if necessary)

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (or Wondra)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Spray your 5-6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

Place the carrots and onions in the slow cooker.

Add the chicken to the slow cooker and top the chicken with raisins and dates.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the broth, tomato paste, flour, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and ground black pepper.

Pour over the chicken mixture in the slow cooker. 

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours.

Serve in bowls with couscous, orzo, or rice.  (Note that couscous is more common in Morocco but I love it with orzo!).  Nice accompaniments are pita bread and a cucumber salad.  You can top it with sliced almonds and a bit of cilantro as garnish!  Yummy!!!

Italian Panko Parmesan Baked Chicken

I had some boneless skinless chicken breasts in the refrigerator that were begging to be cooked.  Being a Southern girl who grew up with fried chicken, I decided to do something that would "feel" kinda like fried chicken but would be a healthier option.  So here is the recipe that I made and will make again! 

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Italian seasoned Panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  In a shallow dish combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper to taste.  In a separate shallow dish, combine Dijon mustard, water, salt and pepper to taste, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Coat each chicken breast with mustard mixture.  Then dredge each in bread crumb mixture.  Place on prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Excellent served with fluffy white rice and green beans almondine!

Hawaiian Slow Cooked Kalua Pork

Easy and tasty!  That works for  me & this just may be my new favorite way to cook pork roast!

I couldn’t believe that something with only 3 ingredients could be so yummy!  It’s great for serving a crowd.  I think it would make an excellent Super Bowl Sunday supper!  This is a recipe that originated in Hawaii and is a popular luau food.  It’s traditionally roasted in pit called an imu.  But if you don’t have that sand pit, you can make this in your slow cooker or oven.

1 4-5 pound pork butt roast (sometimes called Boston butt)

2 Tablespoons Hawaiian red sea salt (you can use regular sea salt)

2 Tablespoons liquid smoke

Pat roast dry and pierce all over with carving fork.

Place in slow cooker.

Rub sea salt all over the roast and then rub with liquid smoke.

Cover and cook for 10-12 hours on low.

Remove meat from slow cooker & remove fat & bone.  Shred the meat with two forks and add drippings as desired to season & moisten.  You don’t want to use all the liquid as it may be too salty.  You can return it to the slow cooker to keep it warm or do so in the oven.

I served this with my favorite bottled barbecue sauce… or you can make your own!  Or you may like it just “as is”!

Tradition dictates that kalua pork is served with Hawaiian macaroni salad, sautéed cabbage and sticky rice. 

It makes great leftovers served as pork sliders using King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls.

Hawaiian Pineapple Baked Beans

Want to try something different than your everyday baked beans recipe?  I've done a couple of fruity versions that are worthy of publishing!  I made a Hawaiian version to accompany the kalua pork that I made for this past Sunday's supper.
Note:  this is easily doubled or tripled to serve a crowd... but be sure to use a 9x13 or larger baking dish!

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1-2 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
1 28-oz can of your favorite baked beans (I used Bush's homestyle)
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
2 to 3 tablespoons molasses
1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Saute the chopped onion in olive oil.  Mix the onion and remaining ingredients together and pour into lightly greased 8X8 baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly!

Patti's Slow Cooker Chili Mac

I love chili and I love pasta!  What could be better than a combination of the two?  This is a very versatile dish.  You can make it vegetarian by omitting the ground beef and adding a couple more cans of beans.  You can make it with less beef by using only one pound… or even a half pound and adding more beans.  Being a cheese lover, I like to top mine with cheese but you can also omit the cheese if you’re so inclined.  This is not an elegant dish to serve on your fine china, but it makes a wonderfully “bowlfull” Sunday supper…no pun intended but it’s football bowl season!  Serve it with cornbread hot from the oven and a tossed salad and you’re all set for smiles all ‘round!

 

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup matchstick carrots

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cans petite diced tomatoes with green chilis

1 can tomato sauce, chili style

1 can fiesta corn, drained (or whole kernel corn or frozen corn)

1 can black beans, undrained

1 package taco seasoning (I used Old El Paso mild)

Caramelize the onion in olive oil; add ground beef and cook until it’s well browned and crumbled.  Use a potato masher to make smaller crumbles.  Add celery and carrots and cook for another minute or so.  Pour this ground beef mixture into a greased slow cooker.  Add remaining ingredients (except for elbow macaroni) and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Cook elbow macaroni per package directions.  Drain well & add it to the slow cooker.  Give a stir and cook for a few minutes.

Serve in bowls, topped with corn chips and your favorite shredded cheese.