North African Beef Stew

~From Better Homes and Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipes~

Don’t be scared of this one because of the name; it’s actually pretty ‘normal’.

I left out the onions, apricots, and cayenne pepper–because I didn’t have them and I hate onions.  Those ingredients could have been what filled in the holes, since there seemed to be something missing, but the cinnamon was amazing! I doubled it to a fourth teaspoon.  Everything I left out is in [parentheses], just for reference. I did add dried red pepper flakes, about three hefty pinches, but didn’t find that much heat in the dish.

I think it might do well to double the sweet potatoes and maybe add another vegetable.  I wouldn’t want to ruin the ‘North African’ part of the dish until I figure out what would compliment it.  I’ll do some research and update accordingly.

Ingredients

~6 Servings

• 1.5 lbs lean beef stew meat

• 2 [or 4] medium sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced to .5 inch thick

[• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges]

• 1 cup water

• 1 tsp instant beef bouillon granules

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

[• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper]

•  [1/8] tsp cinnamon

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 can of 14.5 diced tomatoes, undrained

[• 1/2 cup apricots, quartered]

• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Couscous served hot

1) Cut meat into one inch pieces. In a ~4 quart slow cooker, add meat, sweet potatoes, and onion. Stir in water, bouillon granules, cumin, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and garlic.

2) Cover and cook on low setting for 7.5 to 8.5 hours or high for 3.5 to 4 hours.  Stir in tomatoes and dried apricots. Cover and cook for half an hour more.

3) Serve over hot couscous, or in my case, rice.  Sprinkle with crushed peanuts.

I think the rice might have overpowered the dish a little.  Couscous would be the better choice since it’s lighter.  The peanuts added a nice crunch, so we upped the 1/4 of a cup to 1/2 a cup.  I used salted peanuts as well, since there wasn’t really any additional salt added elsewhere.

I tried plain ramen for the second round and it seemed to work well. 

If you try this recipe and can think of anything that would enhance it, let me know! 

Thanks for visiting!

Grandma’s Chili!

Here is a simple Chili recipe that my Grandmother started me on.  She does it the midwestern way–adding spaghetti noodles while the chili simmers, but this recipe is the ‘western’ way, noodle-less and a little spicy. 

[Just a note: If you have never tried ground turkey before, when you brown it, it will look like it's turning into a mass of goo.  Magically, it turns back into ground pieces.  Still have yet to figure out this mystery!]

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey     ~Brown with garlic to taste.   Drain off fat, or keep it in. Either way.

• 2 cans Bush’s Chili beans [medium or mild]

• 2 cans diced tomatoes [Rotel with green chilis work well, but add spice!]

• 2   5 oz cans V8

• 2 V8 cans full of water

• 1 tbs chili powder [if you want a little more kick, add 2 tbs instead of one]

• 1 tbs cumin [ditto from above]

• 1/2 tbs garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Add above ingredients, including browned meat, to a large pot and simmer until thoroughly heated [or until pasta is cooked].  Add cheese, sour cream, whatever you like to eat your chili with!  Reheats nicely.  Makes six servings.

Moist Citrus Cake – Sunshine in a Pan

I don’t have any pictures to accompany this post since I made this a couple weeks ago and am just now getting around to posting it.  This one is a really quick crowd pleaser that brings sunshine to a cloudy, cold day. 

Ingredients

• 1 package yellow cake mix

• 4 eggs

• 3/4 c cooking oil

• 3/4 c water

Mix well and bake in a long pan.  Or, just follow the directions on the box!  The 4 eggs will add a significant amount of cholesterol, etc. to the cake.

Glaze:

• 2 c powdered sugar

• 3 tbs lemon juice

• 2 tbs lime juice

• 2 tbs butter

• 2 tbs water

Mix together well.  Should be slightly runny.

Add to cake by either poking holes with a long fork all the way to the pan and then pouring over cake, just don’t poke too many or you’ll lose the integrity of the cake!  Or you can pour over the top and continually spread it with a spatula to the top until it hardens. 

Wasn’t that easy??!