Passionate Morning Mango Smoothie

Who says smoothies are for summer time?
Here's a simple and satisfying drink that you can have for breakfast, snack or dessert! This makes enough for two large smoothies.

Enjoy.

In a blender, combine:
- 3 fresh, juicy mangoes- cubed.
- 3 heaping tbsps of good quality passion fruit yogurt (I used the Liberté brand)
- 2 tsps sugar
- 1.5 cups organic milk (regular is fine).

Allow to blend for 2 minutes....


Moolicious!

Szechuan Slow Roast with Green Beans

Slow cooker "Oscar night" Sunday. Here's what's cookin'.

I often make the typical beef blade roast with red wine, beef bouillon, garlic, onion etc....

I decided to shake it up a bit, so I am thinking: slow cooking beef blade roast with a Szechuan spin.

Here's what I did.

Prep time:

1. In your cooker, put about 1 cup water, 2 tsps hot sauce, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup white wine, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp sesame seed oil, freshly grated ginger (to your liking....) 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Now whisk in 1-2 tbsps corn starch- no lumps.

2. Add the blade roast. Adjust liquids if the meat is not fully covered with the sauce.

3. Now set on low for 6-8 hours (depending on the size of the meat) and voila. * I am also guilty of throwing in a potato, carrot and red hot pepper with about 3 hours left on the meat for some added "bulk" to the dish.

4. ** Time Saver! With 20 minutes left on the meat, boil 1 pot of water for both your beans and some rice vermicelli noodles or chow mein noodles.... cook and remove with tongs- these don't take long at all. Now add the beans to the same water for about 6 minutes or so. You still want a nice green color!

Strain add oil, season beans with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, a drizzle of honey and soy sauce.

5. For serving, set out a bed of noodles, put meat and sauce over top with the fresh beans as a side! Use chop sticks for a change!

Moolicious!

Sweet Potato Tilapia for Two

This meal comes together in about 20 minutes. We had it with a nice fresh green salad.

The picture doesn't do this meal justice. It was so good, I am making it again this week.

For the yams:

1. Peel and cube one large sweet potato. Place cubes in a pot with: enough water to cover taters, a dash of garlic powder, chicken stock powder, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Boil until fork tender. Drain, mash and add a pat of butter, salt, pepper and about 1 tbsp of maple syrup. If it gets too thick, just add a bit of hot water for the puree consistency.

For the tartar sauce:

In a small bowl, combine: 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 small chopped gherkin pickle, 1 chopped scallion, lemon zest/juice, about three dollops of mayo (plain yogurt would be good too!), salt, pepper.

For the tilapia: - We had two healthy sized pieces...

Preheat oven to 375

- Season with olive oil, lemon zest/juice, fresh dill, salt and pepper.

- Bake for about 20 minutes.

Now the fun part....that will make your guests think you are a gourmet.

1. Make a bed of the sweet potato puree

2. Place your fish on top

3. Add a spoonful of tartar sauce.

In each bite, make sure you have all three levels!

Sooo Moolicious and healthy!

Corned Beef Brisket with Cabbage & Pierogies

This recipe is dedicated to my Aunt Gwendle.
We have been talking about this for a few weeks now....
I got help from the frozen section for the pierogies and with the help of a jarred Sauerkraut, this Ukie recipe comes together in no time!
Well, the time for the meat is about 7 hours for 2 pounds of brisket in the slow cooker on low.

I have also planned this for my Valentines with Moo, since we won't be dining together tomorrow.
There's nothing like a good comforting meal made with love in the middle of February. Enjoy.


Here's what to do:
- Set slow cooker on low, add your corned beef and about 2 inches of water. Cook for 7 hours.

- With 15 minutes until meat is done, saute some sliced onions until soft, add half a jar of Sauerkraut and 1 tsbp tomato paste. Mix well.

- Boil water for pierogies and in a separate pan, fry up some onions. Add pierogies to boiling water and when they float to the top, add them to the pan of fried onions.


Moolicious! Happy Valentines Day. xox

Super Bowl o' Salad

For tonight's Super Bowl, I decided to make some simple BLTs and have chips and guacamole with this healthy and hearty lentil salad. It sure does remind me of summer.
In advance, cook 1/2 cup of Bulgar cracked wheat in 1 cup chicken stalk and season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl toss together:

- 1 can drained (cooked) lentils
- 1 small can drained corn niblets
- 1 hot red pepper, minced
- 3 scallions, chopped
- cooked bulgar wheat
- handful of fresh dill and cilantro
- handful of dried cranberries
- zest from a lemon
- juice from half a lemon
- juice from half an orange
-drizzle olive oil
- season well with salt and pepper.

Mix and allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours....until kick-off!


Moolicious!

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!