White Bean Chili

This was fun and easy to make. I also have a late night tomorrow, so I thought: LOTS OF LEFTOVERS!

You'll need:

3 lbs, or so, medium-lean ground beef

1 onion, 5 cloves garlic, 1 diced celery stalk, 2 minced red hot peppers.

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup white wine

1 can white kidney beans

1 can corn niblets

salt and pepp.

Spices: 1 tsp each: cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano. A pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon and a nice dash of red pepper flakes.

1. Saute onions, garlic, celery and peppers in a large pot.

2. Add beef, salt and pepper, and brown nicely.

3. Add wine and tomatoes and beef stock. Bring to a simmer.

4. Add spices.

5. Add beans.

6. 5 minutes before serving, add corn.

7. Serve in deep soup bowls, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and serve with large tortillas! Kids (and adults!) will love eating up the chili with chips!

Moolicious!

Pineapple Chicken Thighs with Stir Fry

The last stir fry I made, left me craving for more crunchy veggies....so I needed to make it again- this time, no broccoli, but I added baby corn cobs and zucchini.

I accompanied my veggies with simple brazed chicken thighs in a yummy pineapple sauce.

I used 6 large skin on, bone in thighs for this. Nice and easy slow cooking makes the tender thighs come out juicy and fall off the bone.

1. Prep your sauce for the chicken.

In a large bowl, whisk the following:

- pineapple juice from one can pineapple tidbits (about 1 cup)

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1/2 cup chicken stalk

- freshly grated ginger

- 3-4 cloves minced garlic

- 2 thinly sliced shallots

-red pepper flakes

- 2 tbsps cornstarch- make sure there are no lumps!

-salt, pepper.

Set sauce aside and pre-heat oven to 350

2. Next - season chicken with salt pepper.

3. In a large dutch oven, heat up a nice drizzle of olive oil and a tsp sesame oil.

4. Brown chicken nicely - about 4 minutes each side.

5. Add sauce mixture, put lid on and place in the oven for 2 hours.

6. With 20 minutes remaining, add pineapple pieces and again; back in the oven with lid.

Serve with a veggie stir fry (see previous blog), mini spring rolls and rice.

Moolicious!

Spicy 'n Moolicious Minestrone

This soup is for all the vegetable loving porcos out there. Ok, so here's what you need.

- 5 cloves minced garlic, 1 diced onion, 2 minced hot red pepper.

- 1 small zucchini, 1 diced parsnip, 1 diced carrot, 1 diced celery stalk, a handful of green beans cut into bite sized pieces, 1 can of drained chic peas.

- 1 box chicken stock, 2 cups tomato sauce (I used a homemade frozen).

- spinach flavored gnocchi, a few handfuls pasta- I used a vegetable blend of penne.

THE NUMBER ONE THING TO DO: PREP ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS IN ADVANCE!

1. Heat up some olive oil in your soup pot, toss in onion, garlic, hot peppers and saute for 5 minutes.

2. Throw in all veggies and chic peas, saute 5 minutes more.

3. Add stock and tomato sauce, bring to a simmer for 20 minutes.

4. In the last 5 minutes, add gnocchi and penne...

Serve with a nice fresh bun!

Moolicious!

Sauce!

Hi again...
I won't post a picture, because what I made is similar to the pot roast wonder down below. I have to tell you though, I made the same sauce for pork tenderloin and it was so good. It has become my new favorite, so try it out! This time though, I added a nice sprinkling of cayenne pepper so it was somewhat sweet and spicy.
Again:
-Fry up some garlic and shallot
- you can thicken the oil with a sprinkle of cornstarch or flour- mix well.
- Add a few glugs of beef broth
- Add about a tbsp molasses
- Add a few drizzles of soy sauce
- Add a couple splashes of red wine vinegar
- season with s & p

Let your meat cook in this juice, it will thicken with the flour and be divine!

Spicy Veggie Stir Fry

I love making stir fry side dishes. They are especially good when you have vegetables to use before they go bad. You know ...put all that celery to good use! With this one, I used a mix of 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, a handful of broccoli florets, snow peas, shallot, garlic, freshly grated ginger and a can of bamboo shoots, which can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store.

The key for a good stir fry is to fire it up 5 minutes before serving your meal so that the veggies are crunchy and fresh and full of attitude!

Aside from the veggies, you'll need:

- A few glugs of beef broth, 2 tbsps corn starch, few pinches hot red pepper flakes and a drizzling or two of soy sauce.
- You should also chop, slice and prep your veggies well beforehand. - For that restaurant look, I slice my carrots and celery thinly, on an angle.

Here's what to do:

1. Heat up olive oil in your frying pan.
2. Sweat out minced garlic, sliced shallot and grated ginger.
3. Add celery, carrots, snow peas, drained bamboo shoots and whisk your cornstarch into the oil.
4. Add beef broth, a few sprinkles of soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Saute, stir, etc. until all veggies are coated and liquid starts to thicken. Add in broccoli and allow vegetables to simmer for 2 minutes.
That's it- time to serve!


Moolicious!

One Pot Roast Wonder

Strange for a Monday, but I decided to make a pork roast so that there are leftovers for first-day-back-from-vacation, Tuesday. Don't be afraid of the molasses and soy sauce... this combo makes and nice and groovy gravy...Simple, easy and really tasty. This would also be really good with pork tenderloin.

You'll need: one lean pork roast, baby carrots, one parsnip, 6-7 small red potatoes, 10 or so mushrooms, half an onion, 1 clove garlic, molasses, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, salt, pepper, 2-3 sprigs of oregano.

1. Prep what you can: cut the fat off your pork, clean and quarter your potatoes and parsnips, thinly slice your garlic and onion, clean and half your mushrooms.

2. On the stove, heat a generous amount olive oil in a large pot (with lid) that is oven-safe.- Preheat oven to 350.

3. Throw in all veggies except for mushrooms, then season with salt, pepper and fresh oregano- sautee for 5 minutes.

4. Season pork with salt and pepper, and make some room in the middle of the veggies for the pork. Brown up the sides for 3-4 minutes each side, then pour in 1-2 tbsps molasses, 1-2 tsps vinegar and a few shots of soy sauce & mushrooms. Stir veggies and sauce around, then cover and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

5. Wait to cut into the pork- let it rest for 5 minutes.

6. Slice thinly and be sure to drizzle that yummy jus over your pork!

Moolicious!

Slow Roasted Potato Hash with Spicy Sausage

Here's one of my versions for a baked potato hash, not fried. The sausages are steamed and then boiled for about 5 minutes. Again, not fried. You can have some of your "greasy faves" with a healthy twist.

For the sausage: I found these locally made "steamies" on sale this week. I went with a "Louisiana Hot" type, that I pricked holes in and then boiled for about 5-8 minutes towards the end of the potatoes baking time.

For the potatoes: Cube up some clean, small red potatoes (a dozen or so and keep the skin on!) into bite sized pieces. Place in your baking dish along with: a drizzle of olive oil, 2 grated shallots, 1 grated clove of garlic, zest and juice of a lemon, 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano, coarse salt, pepper, and a dash each of dry rosemary, cayenne pepper and paprika. You bake it at 325 for about an hour, mixing the potatoes every 20 minutes or so.

Serve with a fresh green salad and olives and voila! Supper in no time and you hardly budged from the couch.

Moolicious!

Healthful Raisin Bread

Here's another healthy, easy and fun-to-make recipe for raisin bread. You can enjoy it as is, with a pat of butter OR, slice and make some yummy French toast. You choose.
Keep in mind: The recipe will make two loaves, but I froze half of the dough for another time and only baked one. When you are ready to use the second batch of dough, simply make more filling. It may seem like a lot of complicated steps, but making bread is one of my favorite things to make because you can do a bit, then while it's rising, you can do so many other chores and errands... then a bit more tending to your bread. The waiting is well worth it for this one!

Picture, top left- step 3 : roll out dough in an 8 x 8 square and spread sugar-cinnamon mixture, followed by raisins. Then roll up and place in your loaf pan.
Picture, top right: The raisins of my labor.


Filling for one loaf: Mix 3 tbsps brown sugar, 1.5 tsp cinnamon, dash of nutmeg.

1. For the dough (makes 2 loaves): In a large bowl put 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups bread flour, 1 package instant dry yeast, 1 egg, 2 tbsps canola oil, 3 tbsps honey, 1 tsp salt, 1 1/4 cups very warm, (almost hot water). Mix with a wooden spoon. Cut in half, freeze one half. With the other piece, cover and let rise, about 1 hour.

2. Soak 1/4 cup raisins in water for 30 minutes, strain and pat dry. This will make them plumpy.

3. After an hour, roll out dough 8 x 8 on a floured surface, then sprinkle filling and raisins. Roll up dough and place in your loaf pan seam-side down. Cover and let rest another 1- 2 hours. It will rise again nice and poofy!

4. Preheat oven to 375, brush loaf lightly with canola oil, sprinkle a few sunflower seeds (optional), then bake for 20-25 minutes.

5. When ready, remove from loaf dish and allow to cool....

6. Then slice and serve!


Moolicious!

Bodacious Banana Choco Crepes

Wonderful for dessert, breakfast or brunch... these crepes are yummy. You can't go wrong with the Nutella-banana flavor combo. You can also put any kind of sweet treat inside (jams, spreads, honey, sugar 'n lemon, fruit) or savory (spinach, cheese, ham, eggs, etc.). The possibilities are endless and the batter is simple....

In a blender or food processor, combine 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 4 eggs, pinch of salt and cinnamon, 1.5 cups milk and 2 tbsps canola oil. - Blend for 20 seconds and that's it!

Making the crepes:
1. Preheat a non stick pan, melt one pat of butter and be sure the pan is nice and hot.
2. Now, ladel in the same amount of batter each time, cook until bubbles form and flip.
3. Once flipped, spread a tablespoon of nutella and about half a thinly sliced banana.
4. Fold in quarters and serve!


Moolicious!

Classic Oniony Soup

This has to be my favorite kind of soup during the winter...or anytime of year. The must: CHEESE on top. My mom used to make this with mozzarella, but I used a nice Swiss cheese that brings the same effect.
Enjoy!

1. In a large soup pot, heat up a nice drizzle of olive oil and 1 tbsp butter.
2. Next add 5 cups white onions, thinly sliced. Add 2-3 sprigs of fresh oregano and 1 tsp dry thyme. Season with salt and pepper, then cook for 30-40 minutes on medium-high heat, until the onions are nice and slithery!
3. Add 1/2 cup of red wine and deglaze the pot (scrape all the brown oniony flavored bits off the bottom!)
4. Next add 6 cups of beef stock.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes or so.
6. Crisp up some fresh baguette in the oven, then break into bite sized pieces, and add to your oven-proof soup bowls.
7. Ladle in some soup, top with Swiss cheese and put your bowls under the broiler until the cheese melts ...oh so nice and bubbly.
8. Serve ....and serve again.

So tasty!


Moolicious!

Sea More Pizza!

Happy New Year!
Now I know what you're thinking... More pizza? That one looks like all the others she posts. BUT- this is no ordinary pizza.
We used some leftover seafood to make this simple and delicious 5* pizza.

You could use a frozen or freshly made crust.

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Roll out your dough, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some chopped garlic, then bake for 10 minutes.
3. Remove and top: one box sliced cherry tomatoes, 8-10 large scallops, 8-10 medium sized shrimp (both precooked), dollops of jarred or fresh pesto here and there and sliced bocconcini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

Frickin' Moolicious!