Black cherry balsamic glazed chicken

I found this recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook and knew in a heartbeat that this would become a go-to recipe.  The ingredients are simple, the prep and cooking are fast, and the finished product looks and tastes impressive.  A great choice for last-minute dinner guests or if you just want something that feels a little further removed from your family's traditional fare.

The original Cooking Light recipe calls for seedless raspberry preserves.  I didn't have any so I used black cherry instead.  You can actually substitute just about any flavor you like.  This is one of those can't-miss recipes!

Here's what you need:

Your choice of non-stick cooking spray or olive oil (to lightly coat the skillet)
1/2 chopped red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup black cherry preserves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (use red wine vinegar...or red wine!...if you don't have balsamic)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

I will tell you up front, I don't measure the salt and pepper, I have a heavy hand with the balsamic, and I may have used more than the suggested 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.  I usually go by look and smell...and sometimes taste, when I make these sorts of recipes.  Unless you are a timid cook, I say let loose and experiment.

Here's how you put it all together:

Using your choice of cooking spray or olive/vegetable oil, saute your onions for five minutes over medium-high heat.  Combine thyme plus half of the salt and sprinkle this over the raw chicken breasts.

Add the chicken to the pan with the onions and saute approximately six minutes per side or until done.  The breasts should be a nice golden brown.  Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.  A foil covered plate or serving dish will suffice as you're nearly finished anyway.

Reduce the heat under the pan to medium-low.  Add the remaining ingredients to the pan, stirring constantly until the preserves liquefy.  This deglazes the pan and picks up all that yummy chicken flavor. 

Spoon the mixture over the chicken breasts and serve!

Super simple and so impressive!  I served mine with rice and asparagus but the possibilities are only as limited as the ingredients you have on hand.

I think I might try this again using some of my mother's homemade pepper jelly and serve it with polenta and a salad.  I'll be curious to hear about the variations you come up with, too!

Mediterranean-inspired sauteed chicken with olives and vegetables

[ETA: Sorry, poor planning on my part...no Irish-themed recipe today.  Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Celebrate by trying something new! ;-) ]

Blame it on my new Cooking Light cookbook which is devoted entirely to chicken; you're going to be seeing a lot of chicken recipes coming from me as the weather gets warmer.  This one, however, isn't from the actual cookbook —it was merely inspired by the gorgeous photographs and tantalizing recipes between the covers.  In fact, true confession, I hadn't even planned this recipe out when I made it.

I'd spent the morning perusing the pages of this awesome new cookbook, marveling at how easy some of the recipes were.  Inspired, I went grocery shopping in the afternoon to acquire ingredients so I could try a few of the recipes over the weekend.  I got so caught up in shopping for all the glorious ingredients that I lost all track of time.  I arrived home with about fifteen minutes to throw together something for dinner that wasn't pizza and wasn't just leftovers-over-salad or leftovers-with-salad.

Let me tell you a cooking secret... it's always easier to improvise when you have great ingredients on hand!  It's not, however, easier to photograph the ingredients for the recipe when you're kind of flying by the seat of your pants.  Translation: Sorry, no pictures of the ingredients. Or the main course on a plate; we were racing the clock to eat before our son fell asleep on the sofa.  (He's been ill, but that's another story for a different blog.)

Here's what you'll need for this super easy recipe that will wow your family or your guests. Truly, my husband loved it so much he wanted to go back for thirds! That almost never happens. (This recipe is naturally gluten- and dairy-free.)

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts —OR the equivalent in leftover roast chicken from your mother's generous meal the night before.  Guess which one I used.
• 1 jar or can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 10-12 spears of new/baby asparagus, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced into medium wedges
• 1 medium jar (approx. 1 cup) kalamata olives (bonus if they're pitted!)
• 1 medium lemon, slice one half into thin slices
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• olive oil
• oregano
• 3 cups cooked rice

In a large skillet, lightly brown the chicken breasts in a glug of olive oil then set them aside.  Add another short glug to the pan and sautee the onions until they're nearly translucent. Add asparagus, artichokes and olives; lightly sautee them.  Add the lemon slices and pour in the wine and chicken broth.  Stir the mixture in the pan.

Add chicken to the mixture, season generously with oregano, then cover and cook until chicken breasts are fully cooked.  Approximately 8 minutes (more if they are large breasts).  If you are like me and are using up already-cooked leftovers, the cooking time will be significantly less.

You can either add the rice into the pan (which is I what I did because I wanted more of a casserole-style meal) or serve the chicken and vegetables over a bed of rice.  In either case, just prior to serving, give a generous squeeze of juice from the remaining half-lemon over the plate for a yummy, Mediterranean-inspired dish.

[Of course, after I've made a meal for the first time, I spend some time considering what ingredients I would change or add, what flavors or textures, colors or seasonings I might change up to either make the dish better or simply to put a new twist on it.  With this particular dish, I might change the kalamata olives for spanish olives with pimientos just for some interesting splashes of color.  I used yellow onions but might try red the next time.]

Maple chipotle ribs

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this winter has seemed inordinately long.  Between the record amounts of snow in my little state and my son's increasing difficulties sleeping through the night, I've had little motivation to cook.  I'm not a stand-at-the-stove kind of cook of necessity (though I do enjoy the times I get to focus on nothing but cooking); I need quick and easy meals that practically prepare themselves these days.

When the snow started to melt and it seemed like the sun might be peeking out from the persistent cloud cover last week, I made my husband shovel out our gas grill.  Maybe it's all the time we spent living in California which fueled our love of grilling; we grill several times a week even through the winter (unless the grill is buried under three feet of snow as it was this past month).  As a result, I've experimented with a lot of ingredients in an effort to come up with interesting, simple, flavorful marinades to use when grilling meats.  I mean, there's only so much appeal to eating the same thing prepared the same way week in and week out, right?  (Of course, my husband would be perfectly content to do this, but I think that's a post left for my other blog...or not.)

I don't often plan my meals in advance; I like to see what's in season and what's on sale at my local market.  Last week, there was a killer sale on bone-in pork ribs; we don't often have ribs because of the fat content, but once in a while we indulge.  This was one of those times.  And I knew just what I wanted to do with them...and it didn't involve any tomato-based products or things with high fructose corn syrup.

Here's what you need to make about half a dozen good sized ribs:

 

• Approx. 1 cup maple syrup (use the real deal, you'll thank me!),
• Approx. 2 tablespoons ground chipotle pepper (the sugar from the syrup and the heat of the grill will temper the spice a lot)
• Approx. 1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar (I prefer dark because of the molasses adds to the caramelization, but use whatever you have on hand)
• meat of your choice (this works great with pork and chicken)

Oh, and a large food storage bag or container with a lid.  If you have a medium mixing bowl with a lid that will work, too.

Now, for the hard part...dump it all in the bag or bowl and mix until thoroughly coated.  I tend to add the liquid and dry ingredients first and mix them up before adding the meat so the seasoning is more evenly distributed.  There is no right or wrong way to do this, folks!

Let the meat marinate for at least an hour before grilling.  Grill on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes per side.  NOTE:  you may need to adjust this depending on the size of your meat and the type of grill you are using.

Serve hot off the grill with a simple salad or vegetable, baked potatoes or rice...easy peasy and feels like summer is right around the corner!

*   *   *   *   *

A few notes:

Real maple syrup will not carmelize in the heat (thus, the brown sugar as a binding.caramelizing agent).
If you don't have real maple syrup on hand, you can use regular maple flavored syrup.  Just cut back on the brown sugar —unless you want your ribs to be super gooey!

Also, if you don't have a grill, don't despair!  You can bake these in the oven. Bake at 350-375F for approximately 25 minutes.  That's a guess on my part as I always use an instant-read meat thermometer; the appropriate temperature for cooked pork is 170F.

Use as small a pan as you can so the marinade is covering the meat instead of the bottom of the pan.  I recommend lining the pan with foil to make cleanup easier. 

Mango black bean salsa

This winter weather is just getting me down!  In an effort to deny the existence of the multiple feet of snow just outside my door, I decided to pretend it was summer time this week and made some yummy tropical-inspired salsa.



It's a super simple recipe which requires only a few ingredients.  Here's what you'll need:

2 ripe mangos
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 small can black beans
1 red onion
red chile powder or the crushed chiles of your choice (I used Asian chiles with a rating of 15k-30k Scovilles)
cilantro (optional)

Ok, now, follow closely —it gets complicated (not)...

Dice the onion
Peel and cube mangos.  Mash the cubes with a fork (or a pastry blender, as I did)
Open the can of pineapple.
Open the beans then rinse and drain them.

Dump everything together in a mixing bowl and add chiles or chile powder to taste.  Mix well then cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to infuse.  Just before serving, tear a generous handful of cilantro and stir it in.

Don't be afraid to experiment with the ingredients —subsitute canned or fresh for any of the ingredients.  I prefer fresh mangos over prepackaged; I think they have a nuttier flavor and aren't as sugary.

If you're not afraid of hot stuff, use this salsa straight out of the bowl as a dip for chips.  Spoon it over fish or chicken before baking for a succulent and hearty main course, or warm it in the oven for a sweet and spicy side dish.  Toss in some extra black beans and serve it with rice and you've got a tasty vegetarian main course.

Please pass me the pitcher of margaritas!

Super easy ham and bean soup

Since the beginning of winter, my little corner of the mid-Atlantic has gotten socked with more snow than I ever remember seeing as a child.  Just when the roads get cleared and schools reopen...BAM! Along comes another blizzard.

This kind of weather always makes me think about comfort foods and simple, hearty foods that warm me right down to my toes.  For some reason, ham and bean soup fits that bill just now. 

This "recipe" is so simple that you can throw it together in a pot on the stove and let it simmer all day while you're playing out in the snow.  Or, you can do what I did and toss it in the crock pot and forget about it until dinner time.  Either way, it's so easy you're going to laugh. 

The ingredients:

2 cups dried great northern beans (slightly larger than yankee/navy beans. Can also sub cannelloni)

4 cups organic vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 pound cooked smoked ham, cubed

Rinse dried beans, making sure to pick out any stones or debris before placing them in the pot.

Cover  beans with vegetable broth and put on low heat (either on the stove or in the crock)
Soak/simmer/slow cook for six hours.  The low heat and acids from the vegetable broth will help soften the beans and the long cook time helps break down the gas-producing enzymes.

If you are cooking this on the stove, check beans periodically.  You'll want to add the extra water when it looks like the vegetable broth is about absorbed.

After six hours, add the ham and any additional water you want to make the soup the desired consistency; I tend to like mine a bit on the thick side.

Turn up the heat and allow to simmer for approximately two hours.  If using the crock pot, turn heat to high and leave it alone for two full hours.

Soup is done when the beans are soft and easily mashed using a fork or spoon.

Serve with some hot rolls or biscuits, a side salad and feel the warmth reach your toes.

NOTE: If you are going to use the stovetop method, you may want to consider soaking the beans the night before.  I use the crockpot because I cannot leave my stove on for that length of time with my son at home; it's just not safe given his propensity to climb gates and get into mischief in the blink of an eye.

Ditto making a homemade vegetable broth.  My life is so hectic right now that I don't have the patience or energy to devote to making my own broth. That said, if you have an easy broth recipe for the slow cooker?  Please share it!

If you're running short on time, toss in a couple of cans of beans instead of using dried; there's really no wrong way to make this yummy, hearty soup.

Oven roasted rosemary potatoes

I wish I had some interesting story to tell you about how I first tried these at so-and-so's restaurant (I did not) or how my mother used to make these every Sunday (she did not).  Alas, I've got nothing for you.  Just some yummy potatoes which are so easy to make (no matter how you do them) and are so versatile that you can substitute just about any seasoning you want to complement any meal or to satisfy any taste.

Here's how I made them (this week):

Ingredients:
6 medium red potatoes
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
olive oil
sea salt

The 18-minute version:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Wash potatoes and cut into chunks approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches large.

Using a mortar and pestle or a small burr grinder, grind up the rosemary just enough to release the oils and flavor.

Place potatoes into a microwaveable bowl or casserole.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Add rosemary and sea salt, to taste, and stir the potatoes to spread the mixture evenly.

Cover dish with plastic wrap and microwave on high for approximately 8 minutes until almost completely cooked. Potatoes are cooked when they can be pierced with a fork.

Transfer potatoes to a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet.  Brown in oven for 10 minutes or until golden crust begins to form on the potatoes.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!

The 45-minute version

Preheat oven to 400F. Wash potatoes and cut into chunks approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches large.


Using a mortar and pestle or a small burr grinder, grind up the rosemary just enough to release the oils and flavor. Add rosemary and sea salt, to taste, and stir the potatoes to spread the mixture evenly.


Put the potatoes, oilve oil, rosemary and sea salt (to taste) in a plastic food storage bag.  Seal it and shake to coat evenly.

Transfer potatoes to a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until golden crust begins to form on the potatoes.  They are done when the potatoes can be pierced with a fork.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!
 
Footnote:
Now, you may be asking yourself why I would go to the trouble of microwaving the potatoes when I can just roast them in the oven.  Two reasons, actually.  First, I don't always have the time to get the oven ready with enough lead time for preheating and cooking for 45 minutes.  I can set the oven to preheat while I'm mixing and microwaving and then toss it all into the oven to brown away while I am giving Nik his dinner.  Second, I like my potatoes a bit moister than I think they come out when cooked in the oven for so long.
 
Another plus to the shorter method is that they can be cooked ahead of time —say the night before I want to serve them— and baked/browned in the oven the next day.  If I cook them completely and then have to store them in the fridge, they get kind of mushy and I end up having to re-brown them anyway.

Savory ricotta, onion and bacon tart

Weekdays are so busy with caring for Nik that on the weekends, when my husband is home and I get some breathing room, I just want to create.  I'm not sure what prompted me to decide to make a tart this weekend; I've never made a tart in my life.  Yeah, I'm a little crazy like that sometimes, I guess, but the bug had bitten so I was off and running.  Besides, it was the perfect excuse to go out and buy myself a tart pan!

Did I bother to look at any recipes? Nope.  Well, okay, one recipe —my great-grandmother's pie crust recipe; I substituted my gluten free sorghum flour blend and it came out fine.  The color isn't as golden as a traditional wheat-based flour crust would be but it was tasy and had a good texture to it.

I knew I wanted to keep the tart simple, in terms of ingredients, but wanted it layered with complementary flavors.  I decided on a simple ricotta cheese base with a few ingredients and seasonings added on top.  Kind of like a "white pizza" but on a pie crust. (Hey, roll with me here, okay?)

I have to say, I think it turned out well for my first foray into the land of tarts.  My husband loved it!  There were no leftovers remaining after lunch the next day and he's already asked me when I'm making another one.  My answer? Probably soon; it's so darn easy to make!

The ingredients and recipe for the crust:

1/2 cups flour (I used a GF sorghum blend.*)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I used palm shortening. You could use Crisco, margarine or butter.)
4 to 6 tablesppons cold water
* 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (ONLY for GF flour) (gives dough elasticity)

Mix dry ingredients together in mixing bowl. Using either a pastry blender or two knives, cut in shortening until the mixture is the consistency of lumpy corn meal.  (NB: you may use your hands for this but it gets pretty messy!)  Add 4 tablespoons cold water until the dough is a soft pasty consistency with which you can clean the sides of the bowl.  If it's too dry add more water a little at a time until you get the right feel.  If it's too wet simply add a bit more flour.

Form dough into a soft ball.  Roll the dough into a medium sized circle. Place the dough in the tart pan, pressing the dough to the edges and creating a slightly raised edge.  You want it high enough to hold the ingredients you will add after you bake the shell. 

Bake at 350F for approximately 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan.  Tart should be cool enough to touch the pan with your bare hand before adding the filling. Do not remove the shell from the pan.

Filling ingredients:
[NB: These measurements are approximate; I did not actually measure as I concocted.]

1 cup ricotta cheese (Use regular fat, not skim. Skim will make the filling very dry.)
1 cup diced tomato
1cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion, shaved or very thinly sliced
5 to 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled in large bits
1/4 to 1/2 cup romano or asiago cheese, finely shredded
1 Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb blend (You can sub equal parts oregano and garlic powder)
black pepper to taste

In mixing bowl, blend ricotta, oregano and pepper.  You may add bacon if you want it throughout the tart.  Spoon seasoned ricotta into the cooled tart shell.  Layer tomatoes, onions, bacon and mushrooms on top in any fashion you wish.  Top with shredded romano/asiago.

Bake at 350F for approximately 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and lightly golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool approximately 10 minutes before serving.

Makes a nice light main dish which goes perfectly with a spinach or caesar salad.  Or serve it as a side dish with something like Kristen's braised chicken with artichoke hearts.  Either way, you can't go wrong.

The beauty of this non-recipe is that you can really take it and play with it to make it your very own. Don't like mushrooms? Leave them out. Adore bacon? Add as much as you like.  Try it with cottage cheese if you don't have ricotta.  Top it with cheddar.  Mmm, layer sliced potatoes and bacon with cheddar and chives and you've got your very own potato skins tart! Garnish with sour cream for a yummy Super Bowl party snack! 

The possibilities are limited only by your taste and creativity.  Enjoy!

Spicy sausage and black bean stew

Cold and snow have arrived in my little town.  That means time to think about hot soups and stews and hearty breads fresh from the oven (or bread machine).  Here's a super simple one which requires a minimal number of ingredients and is so easy to throw together you can do it when you come in from sledding with the kids! Or, in our case, shoveling out the most snow my town has seen in at least a couple of decades!

The ingredients are simple:

1-2 pounds of ground sausage.  Don't like or don't have sausage? No problem. Substitute ANY meat of your choosing...anything you like will work. (See, I told you it's easy!)

1 large onion, chopped

1 14 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained. (Don't have black beans? Substitute navy beans or cannelloni)

1 large can crushed tomatoes

Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy salt-free blend (What? No Mrs. Dash? *gasp* Fine, substitute cayenne or tabasco sauce to taste)

1 1/2 cup uncooked rice (I use a long-grain/wild rice combo I buy locally. Just about any rice will do except Minute Rice or any other "instant" variety.)

In a large pot, brown the meat.  As I said, if you don't have— or don't like— sausage, feel free to substitute just about any meat you want. Seriously. Stew meat, cut up chicken breast, ground beef...whatever makes you happy.  After all, this is nearly in the realm of comfort food!

Rinse and drain the beans and add them to the pot.  Add the tomatoes and onion.  Season as liberally or conservatively as you wish with seasoning.  I have a heavy hand because everyone in our house likes it spicy.
Simmer for about ten minutes then give it a few good stirs.

Add the rice and stir.  Add enough water to make it a soupy consistency.  Cover. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about an hour or until the rice is thoroughly cooked.  You will want to stir occasionally so nothing burns on the bottom of the pan.

The beauty of this "stew" is that you can make it as thick or as thin as you want.  Too thick after simmering for so long? No problem; just add a little water or broth to get the desired consistency.  Too thin? Just let it simmer a bit longer.

Serve piping hot in bowls.  I topped ours with some sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese and garnished with fresh cilantro.  Add a salad and some hot bread or cornbread and you've got yourself a nice heart meal guaranteed to warm your insides.

** This stew is naturally gluten free and casein free.  You may also adapt it for slow cookers by tossing in all the ingredients, including rice and water, and cook on low for about 8 hours.  Longer is fine, too if you need to set it going before work, for example.

Omit the meat completely for a delicious vegetarian stew. You may want to add more beans for additional protein.

Maple sage pork roast

It's no mystery that I love my slow cooker...a lot.  The way things have been going around my house lately —what with snowmageddon before Christmas, all of us being in varying stages of some respiratory illness or another, and the challenges of keeping up with my child who doesn't stop until he passes out in bed at night—you better believe my slow cooker is my new BFF.  Sorry, Red, I still love you but you don't give me the warm fuzzies the way my slow cooker can.

What? Oh, am I freaking you all out a bit with my appliance love? Sorry.

Since I was all set to do my pulled pork recipe last week but didn't, I needed a plan to use my yummy pork shoulder roast.  As the temperatures dropped over the last few days, I found something too irresistible to pass up.  How could you not love something which includes a succulent roast, winter squash and maple syrup?

The original recipe comes from one of those publications one nearly always sees in line at the grocery store.  This one's a Betty Crocker mini-magazine of slow cooker meals dating all the way back to 2006.  Yes, I saved the magazine all these years because I'm apparently too stupid to realize that Al Gore gave me this nifty tool called the internet.  You, my friends, can find the original recipe here.

With all the aforementioned hindrances to leisurely and organized cooking in my household of late, I didn't have all the ingredients on hand.  I knew I couldn't use corn starch because of a food sensitivity and I don't use bouillon granules or cubes (I can't handle the msg and nitrates that are usually in those things so I avoid 'em like the plague).  So I did what any self-respecting cook would do— I made it up as I went along.

I have to say, it turned out really delicious.  Even my finicky eater who's just learning to chew meat has been enjoying the leftovers!  Now that I think of it, that's not a rousing endorsement as he'll eat pretty much everything. Hmmm...

My husband enjoyed this so much he's asked me to make it again with a slight change which I'll share at the end of this post.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

2- to 3-lb boneless pork shoulder roast

4 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground sage (I didn't have leaves on hand)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups baby-cut carrots
2 small onions, cut into wedges
3 tablespoons xanthan gum
1/2 cup water

If the pork roast comes in netting or string, remove that and put the roast in the bottom of the cooker.
In a small bowl, mix the syrup, beef broth, garlic and sage.  Pour the mixture over the pork.
Arrange the carrots, onions, and squash around the pork roast. 

 
Do not put the vegetables on top of the roast or they won't cook thoroughly. (This is a great tip if you are making, say, beef stew and don't want your vegetables to be mushy.)
 
Cover; cook on HIGH heat  setting for 4 hours. (NB: original recipe says 8-9 hours on LOW)
 
Remove the pork and vegetables from the cooker and cover them to keep them warm.  Now would be a great time to slice the roast and put it on a platter or in a casserole with the vegetables arranged oh-so-artfully around it like I did.  (Wow, I typed that with a straight face; lightning is about to strike me.) 
 

Pour the juices from the cooker into either a sauce pan or a large microwavable measuring cup.
 
Mix the xanthan gum and water until smooth. Add it to the juices in the cup or pan, Heat and stir until it thickens into a nice glaze.  Spoon the maple glaze over the pork and veggies.
 
If you plan your menu ahead of time, you definitely should consider adding these yummy side dishes to the meal.  Homemade biscuits (they're easy, I swear!), superb applesauce and maybe even some roasted brussels sprouts.  And, voila, dinner is served!
 
 

**********

While I think this dish is absolutely yummy, both my husband and I tend to like a bit more depth and complexity; we like to play "What's in this?" sometimes. (Yeah, we're a little quirky that way; what can I say?)  We discussed several recipe modifications but the one which intrigues us the most —which I will make tomorrow— is to substitute garam masala for the sage for a flavorful Indian-style dish. I may add some chopped dates and serve it with naan bread. 
 
What are some of the ways you get adventurous when you cook?

Spicy cheese straws

As I was planning my post for this week, I overlooked a critical step in the process —checking in with my fellow writers to see what they were planning for the week.  Had I done so, I would not have planned my pulled pork recipe to follow on the heels of GoodFountain's yummy barbecue sauce.  Oops.  I plead temporary insanity resulting from the sinus infection and bronchitis which I've been battling. (I'll post the pulled pork another time; mine's more of a southern/Carolinas style, vinegar-based barbecue.)

Searching for some inspiration for a new recipe, I cracked open the box of cook books and recipe boxes I'd packed away to go in my mother's attic.  I did find the krumkake recipe I'd been looking for.  But I digress. 

Feeling a bit nostalgic, I opened up my Nana's battered grey recipe box and began to thumb through the decades and generations' worth of recipes within.  I confess to getting a bit weepy over the memories they evoked of long-ago visits to my grandparents' home in northwestern Connecticut.  Early morning smells of homemade brown bread baking in the oven as we ate our oatmeal at the wooden trestle table nestled against the large fieldstone hearth.  *sigh* It's been so many years since my grandparents passed away and the cabin's long-since been sold out of the family. Yet, the sight of Nana's spidery writing on those cards brought it all flooding back.

There is a treasure trove of culinary history held within that small gray box; I'll endeavor to share some of it in the coming year.  Recipes for my great-grandmother's tea cake and her pie crust recipe which is so amazing my sisters still ask me to send it to them every year (they don't seem to keep too many recipes).  Recipes for homemade egg nog and my grandfather's secret chicken marinade.  So many recipes to choose from and each with a story.

I'm not sure where this particular recipe came from originally.  In fact, I'm not even sure if it's correct!  I guess that's one of the hazards of cooking by "feel" or by instincts; the course corrections may not always be recorded for posterity!  I tried to make the recipe as Nana wrote it but it didn't seem right to me so, I confess, I searched some recipes online to find ways to tweak it to get the right consistency. 

I don't mind telling you that, had I not committed myself to blogging about these delicious little cheese straws, I was so frustrated that I would've gladly scrapped the whole thing!  My husband and son are both glad I didn't as they gobbled up the results with gusto!  (Yes, I broke my dairy-free rule in order to allow Nik to try a few.  Now the challenge is on to find a suitable casein free replacement so I can make these again! When I do, I'll substitute a non-dairy shortening and coconut milk for the other dairy ingredients.)

Here is the recipe as I made it—

Ingredients:
2 C flour (I used my GF sorghum blend)
1/4 lb butter (room temp)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 1/2 Tbsp milk*


*Nana's recipe didn't call for any liquid but it just seemed too dry and crumbly so I improvised with great success.

Mix all the ingredients until you have a dough the consistency of thick cookie dough.  I used my stand mixer but recommend using a food processor instead.

Take small portions of the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured cutting board —much the same way you would for rolled cookies. Trim the rolled portion into a neat rectangle then cut the dough into strips about the width of a pencil.  Cut strips to desired lengths (I made mine about four inches long. Any longer and they seem to break apart when I transfer them to the pan).  Arrange them about an inch apart on the tray for baking.

Bake at 325F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove to cooling racks and allow to cool completely for a delectable, crunchy, spicy treat!

NOTE:  Some recipes I found indicate that you can use a cookie press to make uniform sized extruded straws/cookies.  I did not have any luck with this method as the dough was a bit too thick for the press.

Do you have a favorite appetizer or snack recipe?  We'd love to have you share it —or any other recipes—with us.  Just drop us a line and let us know you'd like to be a guest blogger.

Wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy new year!

Gluten free Norwegian krumkake (waffle cookies)

(Image courtesy of LefseTime)

When my husband, who is part Norwegian, first introduced me to krumkake, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This delicious little waffle cookie —slightly similar to Italian pizelle cookies but with a much more delicate flavor and texture— is a traditional holiday staple in my husband's family. What sets krumkake apart from other waffle cookies is that it's made using cardamom and the flour is sifted so it's super-fine which helps to give the batter a nice light consistency. The batter is then cooked on a special griddle engraved with beautiful designs.  If you don't own one, you can easily purchase one for around forty dollars, or you can simply cook them in a small crepe/sautee pan or flat griddle.  The batter will spread as it heats and you can flip them with a spatula for sort of crunchy wafers.  You won't have the pretty lacey pattern but you'll still have the yummy treats!

These delectable little babies are so light and delicate, so beautiful and so tasty I could eat, ahem, well, let's just say...a lot. My husband has made krumkake for many, many years using his grandmother's original recipe which uses wheat flour. Ever since I started eating gluten free (and casein free in many cases for my son's sake), I've missed having krumkake at Christmas. We decided to remedy that this year and set out to modify Grandma's recipe. Which, ahem, it turns out is packed away with some other cookbooks in my mother's attic. (Did I mention my kitchen is tiny? I'm sure I did.)

The recipe below comes from LefseStore; we substituted a GF flour blend for the regular flour but split the difference on casein by using butter and rice milk. We were so pleased with this recipe that we'll use it again and substitute something else for the butter, perhaps coconut butter or palm shortening.

The basic recipe (with GF or CF substitutions in parenthesis after):

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted) (coconut butter or palm shortening)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 cup flour, sifted (GF sorghum blend, recipe at the end of this post)**
1 scant cup milk (rice milk)
1 pinch salt (moderate) (not in the original recipe but my husband remembered that from Grandma's)
**1/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using regular flour)

Beat the eggs well. Add sugar, butter and cardamom, beat well.
Add flour and milk in equal parts at a time and beat until smooth. (Confession: I tossed the flour and milk in together in my Kitchenaid stand mixer and it was fine. If you are mixing by hand you should definitely follow the recipe's instructions.) The key is not to overmix the flour; too much can make the final product more coarse than you want.

Using a tablespoon or large mixing spoon, spoon the batter onto the griddle just behind the center of the design. When the lid is closed, the weight of it will push the batter forward to fill in the design. Cook for about a minute and check for doneness. The cookies are done when they are a light golden color and the pattern is just discernable. Use a wooden or synthetic spatula (for non-stick cookware) to lift the edge of the cookie off the griddle while rolling it. Tradition calls for rolling them, while still hot, around a cone-shaped form. If you don't have a cone form it's perfectly fine to use a round handled whisk or a broom stick. Or simply lay them flat to cool.

The krumake will cook very quickly and will have a very light, delicate wafer-like quality (whereas a pizelle is generally heavier or thicker— and made with anise). Dust them with powdered sugar or fill them with your favorite fillings. Eat them plain or dip one end in melted chocolate. You can't go wrong. They can be prepared so many ways. It's been suggested that Norwegian settlers to the Midwest introduced the light little krumkake which was quickly adapted into what is now the ice cream cone.

In addition to the traditional cone shape, krumkake can also be rolled into narrower straight rolls which make them more stable for shipping. If I'm going to ship some to my in-laws, I'll leave them flat; the last time I shipped some that were rolled, my in-laws ended up with a lovely parcel of krumkake crumbs— which are fabulous for topping sundaes, by the way.

True statement: my husband was wary of the GF alteration to this well-loved cookie; he thought the batter too thin at first. When the krumkake were done and he'd eaten some, he proclaimed them so good that he doesn't see the need to ever go back to using wheat flour! How's that for an endorsement?

(Image courtesy of ChefsChoice)

Honesty clause: We haven't made any of these yet this season because our young son has been battling some significant respiratory illnesses for the past month— but we plan to remedy that this weekend. The pictures accompanying this post are from other sources (attributed).

******************************** 

Sorghum Flour Blend:
2 C sorghum flour plus 2/3 C potato starch flour and 1/3 C tapioca flour. 
 
I recommend using sorghum for this recipe simply because it similar to wheat flour in its properies and behavior.

Black Friday leftover "stoup"

Whether you brine it, bag it, baste it or use the kind with the pop-up timer, there's one fairly universal constant about Thanksgiving turkey —there's almost always leftovers.  Ditto for the sweet potatoes, the creamed onions and the green bean casserole... nearly all the side dishes you can imagine.  The age old question always seems to come down to this: to sandwich or not to sandwich and what to do with the leftovers?

Now, I love a good turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwich as much as anyone— mmm, open faced on some thick, hearty rolls or biscuits and covered in gravy? Delicious, but not always practical.  Especially when you're in a hurry or you've been out shopping all day at the Black Friday sales.  The last thing you want to think about after fighting the crowds all day is having to prepare a hot meal, right?  And, somehow, making up a plate of leftovers and warming it in the microwave just isn't very appealing.  Well, okay, sometimes it is; but not this time!

With just a few minutes of effort, and a lot of holiday leftovers, you can make a meal that's hearty and filling.  Best of all, it's simple to make and simple to clean up.

Ingredients:
Leftovers —whatever you want to toss in the pot (or slow cooker; this makes an awesome slow cooker meal).  Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes, corn, green beans...whatever makes you happy.  Do not add cranberry yet.

Gravy.  If you don't have any gravy leftover, don't worry, you can always make some right in the pot.  Just whisk together cold water and the flour or thickener of your choice (GF, whole wheat, cornstarch, etc.), pour it into the pot with all the leftovers.

Add water, gravy and/or chicken broth to make a nice soup base.  Make it as thick or as soupy as you like.  Just remember, the liquid will cook down in a pot on the stove while it will not in a crock pot.

Simmer until the flavors are nicely blended —or until you've finished your shopping (or football watching).  If you're using a crock pot, you could set it going for two hours on high or three to four hours on low and have a nice hot "stoup."

Stir in cranberry and serve with fresh hot biscuits.

Easy peasy.  And so good!

What creative things have you done with your Thanksgiving leftovers?

(Ed. note: Sadly, I did not cook the meal this year so I have no leftovers to make yummy stoup.  Nor do I have any photographs to share.  Use your very vivid imagination to picture a smörgåsbord of leftovers simmering joyfully in your pot.)

One pan sweet-and-sour pork

The weather has finally turned a bit cooler where I live (not to mention wetter, thanks to hurricane season) and I've been inspired by some yummy recipes I've read lately.  Armed with a little creativity and a smattering of great ingredients, I had hoped to create a delicious roast pork tenderloin marinated in apple cider and stuffed with wild rice, butternut squash, cranberry and apple. My family, however, had other plans.

Both my husband and my son have been taking turns with whatever flu-like illness is going around right now.  I'm fairly certain it's not H1N1 because my son is in a very high risk group and he never got it quite as bad we'd been told to expect.  Still, he was ill enough that he developed pink-eye, an ear infection and bronchitis on top of the flu.  The time I thought I would get to spend creating in the kitchen was, instead, spent wiping Nik's runny nose, taking his temperature, giving nebulizer treatments and administering a large quantity of medications —by mouth, ears and eyes.

Sadly, as many of you know, there's no rest for the mama and the show meals must go on!  I had to use the pork or lose it; it had been in the fridge past the point where I felt comfortable freezing it for later use.  I had very little time to improvise and I've been craving Chinese food for a long time now (I cannot tolerate soy) so I decided to "scratch the itch" and concocted this one-pan sweet and sour pork which is GFCF and soy free —and so easy to make!  I must warn you that I did not really measure anything; this was a seat-of-the-pants endeavor!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs pork, cubed

1 large red onion, cut into large wedges (1/6 or 1/8 slices)

1 large green pepper, cut into slender strips

1/2 pound carrots, shredded or julienned

1 can pineapple chunks

Ginger juice or ground ginger

Ground cayenne pepper

2-3 TBSP Dark brown sugar

Rice vinegar

1/4 C seasoned flour mixture (rice flour blend mixed w/ ground ginger and ground cayenne pepper, to taste)

Water

In skillet or stock pot, brown the pork in a little bit of olive or canola oil.  If you're feeling adventurous, coat the pork in cayenne.  Add generous splashes of ginger juice (if you have it) or sprinkle with ground ginger along with some rice vinegar.  You could use soy sauce for this, too.

When the meat is done, transfer it to a bowl; you'll come back to it soon!

Toss all the veggies in the skillet/pan.  Add a slight amount of liquid to the bottom of the pan —about 1/4 inch of water, vinegar (or soy) and ginger.  Toss in brown sugar.  Stir frequently to make sure the vegetables all get coated.  Take your seasoned flour mixture and whisk it into a cup of cold water then add it to the pan.  You will think you have too much sauce in the pan.  If you don't, then add more liquid.

The flour mixture should be getting nice and thick and the onions should still have some color —don't let them get totally translucent unless you like your vegetables slightly soft.  I like to have mine slightly crunchy —al dente.

Toss in the browned pork and stir. Serve over rice. Easy peasy, right? 

For a complete meal, add some egg rolls or wonton soup, a bottle of sake and you're all set!

Some variations: 

I added some of my homemade poached plum puree for a bit of fruity tang.  (I made it for my son and had leftover.)  You could just as easily add in a little bit of applesauce.  (Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!)

Be adventurous and pair it with Kristen's delicious rice with vermicelli.

Don't like pork? Don't despair!  Substitute chicken or shrimp and you'll still have a delicious meal.  Looking for inspiration for that shrimp? Goodfountain has some yummy ideas here.

This recipe made six generous portions —enough to get two full meals and a couple of lunches for my husband to take to work.

(ETA: Disclaimer: I made my actual meal slightly differently by coating the meat in the flour mixture before browning.  The browning? Not so much. The sticky gooey mess in the pan? A LOT.  Luckily, I have pans that are a dream to clean. I DO NOT recommend this method if you are using rice flour...gets very gummy.  Trust me and do it the way I suggest...)

Allergy friendly banana bread

I think I may have a problem in my marriage.

Ever since I got my gorgeous, empire red Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer (with an amazing grinder attachment —*sigh*), I've been having lustful thoughts about all manner of things I can make with it. My poor husband isn't even allowed to touch the thing without me following behind him and wiping off the fingerprints or food spatters.

Much the same way a man might obsess about his shiny red convertible, I am having a serious love affair with my mixer. It is nothing short of amazing. I can't believe I waited so long to get one. For that, I have to say I am actually grateful to my son for not being ready to move beyond pureed and ground foods yet. The cost of buying jars of baby food was getting so outrageous —roughly ten dollars a day— that I was able to make the case with my husband that this sexy new machine would pay for itself in just a couple of months.

It has changed my life. The way I cook, the way I think about the food instead of the work involved to prepare it. Unbelievable. I don't know how I ever lived without it. My husband thinks I'm a tad obsessive.

Pffft, whatever, dear.

Once upon a time, the idea of making banana bread in my minuscule kitchen would have given me hives. Seriously, I only have a few feet of actual work space between my sink and my stove —and that's on a good day. The idea of sifting flours and dry ingredients in one bowl, using the hand mixer to mash the bananas and wet ingredients in another, then coordinating pouring the flour mixture into the batter bowl while mixing and not spilling on the counter and floor? Oy vey. Imagine Lucy Ricardo and you get the idea; it's not exactly motivating to bake yummy things when it takes so much work.

But once my cherry red Kitchenaid entered my life? (Cue sexy siren song...) Easy peasy. *breathy sigh*

Tonight, I simply dumped all the wet ingredients including —gasp— unmashed bananas right into the bowl and let that hot mama do her thing. Then, I dumped in the dry ingredients —measured them right into the bowl as the mixer was running!— and my trusty mixer turned the lumpy goo into a smooth, satiny batter in moments. Moments, I tell you.

The hardest part is waiting as my little loaves bake to their golden, banana-y goodness. What? Banana-y is too a word; I just made it up. So there!

This recipe is so easy even my husband could make it. If I ever decide to let him near my beautiful new mixer, that is.


Ingredients:
2 C all purpose GF flour blend
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1 large egg
4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 C rice milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease loaf pan or use non-stick pans. (Makes one large or four mini loaves.)

Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside.

In large bowl combine oil and sugar. Add mashed bananas, stir well.
Add milk and lemon juice. Stir well.
Add flour mixture, stirring well until all lumps disappear.
Pour into loaf pan(s). (Be sure not to overfill your pans as the bread will rise during cooking.)



Bake at 350F until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
For mini loaves, allow 45 minutes.
For large loaf allow 60 minutes.

Turn onto wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before cutting. (Resist the temptation! GF flours are very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity and this will make the bread very gooey.)

A few tips about this particular recipe: I've tried it a number of ways —with egg, without egg, using a sorghum flour blend, using a rice flour blend and adding some flax meal. In my opinion, if you don't need to avoid eggs, add the egg. Otherwise, simply omit the egg —but expect the bread to be much denser and moister than the typical banana bread —a bit sticky; the "mouth feel" will be heavier. If you must avoid eggs, you can add a couple generous tablespoons of finely ground flax which will add some extra fiber as well as absorb some of the extra moisture.

I've read that sorghum flour behaves more like wheat flour in terms of texture and elasticity. However, I think it has a much stronger flavor and competes with the sweet banana flavor of the bread. I prefer a rice flour blend.

Remember how I said I just dumped everything in the bowl and let 'er rip? Here's your proof:

Salmon with apricot ginger glaze and green onion

The problem and the blessing of being a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of cook is that I often get my heart set on making a particular thing and assume I have the necessary ingredients on hand. Today, as is often the case, I was not fortunate enough to have on hand the ingredients I thought I would need to make a yummy ginger and plum glaze for some salmon I planned to have Niksdad grill. I was so confident that I even Tweeted my intent. (Last time I do that, huh?)

Well, in my defense, I have to say that I knew Niksdad was on his way home from Sam’s Club with a flat of plums that I intend to stew and puree for some of my son’s meals. How was I to know that not a bloody plum in the bunch would be ripe? Four o’clock found me dashing to the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients —like plum jam— so I could try out the plan which had been brewing in my head all afternoon.

Little did I know that my local grocery store doesn’t carry plum jam.

Recipe? Me? Nope, I didn’t have a recipe, either. But I had a good plan— so I improvised. And voila! Grilled Salmon with apricot ginger glaze and green onions was born.

Oh, did I mention I ran out of aluminum foil to wrap the fish for the grill? Yep. Tough to make an ooey-gooey caramelized hunk of fish on the grill without foil. (But if anyone has any alternative ideas, please share?) So...Plan B, or is it C?

BAKED salmon with apricot ginger glaze and green onions made the final cut. Whew. The best part is that it’s super easy to make, looks impressive as heck, and tastes yummy. And I’m not even that fond of fish to begin with!

Ingredients:

1 ½ - 2 pounds salmon fillet
*(I splurged and bought one huge fillet at the market today)
1 TBSP Ginger juice
3 TBSP Plum vinegar (may sub. plain or garlic rice vinegar)
4 TBSP Apricot preserves
3 TBSP Molasses
4 TBSP Brown sugar
3 TBSP Water
3 TBSP GF flour blend (may use regular flour, if you prefer)
2 Green onions, chopped
6-8 pieces Crystalized ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a small bowl or large measuring cup (should be microwave safe):
Mix all wet ingredients together
Whisk in flour until smooth
Add brown sugar, whisk until dissolved
Microwave on high approximately 45-60 seconds —long enough to let flavors blend

Prepare 9x13 baking dish (I use PAM spray) and place salmon in the pan, skin side down.

Pour glaze over salmon. It will pool in the pan; that's ok.
Sprinkle crystallized ginger over salmon.



Bake 25 minutes or until fish is fully cooked. This will depend on the size and thickness of the fillet.

Sprinkle with green onion and serve.



Serving suggestions:
Add a side of steamed rice with almond slivers and steamed snow peas or broccoli or serve with Asian-style coleslaw made with a sesame vinaigrette.

Notes:
The flour, while not absolutely necessary, will help give the glaze its smooth finish; it helps keep the sugars from crystallizing completely.

I used ginger juice for convenience. You may use fresh ginger —minced or grated is fine. Note that cooking with ginger can be tricky; it's easy to us too much and your meal can taste bitter. With the ginger juice, you can always add more if you like a little more "zing." You can also sprinkle fresh ginger on top just before baking.

I cooked my fish with the green onions. Next time, I'll add them before serving; the heat completely overpowered them and they lost their flavor —which is necessary to balance the fruity, gingery glaze.

Ideally, this would have been cooked in a foil pouch on medium high heat on the grill for approximately 20-25 minutes. Next time...


What are some of your favorite ways to eat fish? Do you like fish but shy away from cooking it? Is there a recipe you're looking for? Let us know!

Beef stew for dummies—or for busy cooks

Once upon a time I had a very large kitchen with oodles of storage and counter space; I also had the luxury of lots of time to shop farmers' markets and specialty shops unencumbered by anything more than my own imagination and the time to "create" in my culinary kingdom. Then, life handed me and my husband a surprise in the form of our extremely premature and very ill child. Nearly six years, three thousand miles and, it seems, a whole lifetime ago, life handed us a set of circumstances which turned our world upside down. We opted to move back to the east coast—to my hometown—to be closer to our families and, we hoped, a built-in support network.

Today, our life is fuller than we could ever have imagined. Complicated? Sometimes. Okay, fine, nearly always. Rich? Absolutely. I am a stay-at-home parent homeschooling our son; my husband is a nurse. Our little family lives in a tiny townhouse with an even tinier kitchen. And two cats.

No, really, I’m not kidding.

My kitchen is so tiny we can’t open the dishwasher and the oven doors at the same time. If I’m standing at the sink and my husband opens the refrigerator door, I am effectively trapped until the door is closed. Did I mention my kitchen is tiny? On the occasions we’re in the kitchen together, my husband and I need to give each other directions much like a wait staff in a busy kitchen. “Behind you! Hot food!”, "Watch out for the cat's tail!" or “Knife on the left, don’t back up!” are frequently heard in our kitchen. It’s really a one-cook space. Consequently, I tend to do a lot of crock pot cooking, baking in batches that I can freeze or store, or marinating something for my husband to cook on the grill—year round.

I’m blessed with a husband who enjoys cooking—though not as much as he enjoys eating. He is a willing sous chef on the occasions I have the time and energy to plan something adventurous. More importantly, he is content to eat anything I prepare and loves it when I experiment in the kitchen. I’ve been doing much more of that since our son, Nik, decided he enjoys food—a lot!

Nik has had a feeding tube of one sort or another since he was born. It wasn’t really until early this year that he showed any interest in food. But once he did, the boy became an eating machine. As we phased out Nik’s feeding tube, replacing more and more formula with pureed or mashed foods by mouth, I had to up my game in the kitchen. Not only have I had to come up with a greater variety of foods but I’ve had to figure out how to adapt them meet Nik’s need to be gluten free (GF) as well as avoiding some other suspected allergens. The transition hasn’t been nearly as hard as I thought it would be; there’s such a wealth of information and products readily available.

Many of the recipes I’ll share with you may be GF or I will try to give tips on how to adapt a recipe to be GF. Many of those adaptations will have been born through trial and error—sometimes lots of errors. I’ve always been more of an intuitive, experimental cook than a precise one.

Ask me for a recipe for something I’ve served and it might go something like this: “Add a pinch of this, a dash of that, simmer until it’s thickened. Add xyz spice to taste.” How long should it simmer? I don’t pay attention, really. Instinct. Consequently, a few of my meals are fabulous creations which turn out exactly as I envision them while many turn out to be reasonably good but not quite what I intended. In most cases, they are never prepared exactly the same way twice.

Of course, if you’re reading a cooking blog, odds are you’re not looking for precisely measured and strictly regimented recipes. You'll get a few of those from me but, really, if you want measured and regimented, use a cookbook. If you want to know how this stay-at-home-homeschooling mom manages to make some tasty meals for her hungry family? Pull up a seat, pour yourself a cup of coffee—or a glass of wine—and let’s get cooking!


Crock Pot Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chuck, fresh or frozen*
12 oz baby carrots
8 oz canned chopped spinach
1 large can (14.5 oz) low fat, low sodium beef broth
1 1/4 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1/2 cup dried minced onion or 1 large fresh chopped onion
2 cups cold water whisked with 6 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour Blend**
Savory
Oregano

Prepare your crock in whatever manner you prefer. I simply spray the bottom with cooking spray; some people prefer to use liners.

Place meat on the bottom of the crock. (* I used frozen meat because I knew I would be cooking the meal overnight. Either thawed or frozen works fine.)

Add vegetables and beef broth right on top.

Add generous sprinkles of both savory and oregano (NB: I don't measure but I'd estimate nearly 2 Tbsp each. Start light; you can always add more later.)

Whisk flour** and water together until completely smooth. Add to crock.

Cover and cook 4 hours on high. This should be enough for the meat to be tender and the vegetables completely cooked without being mushy. (I cooked mine overnight on low for twelve hours because I wanted everything to be soft enough to grind/puree to feed to my son.)

This recipe can be adapted to suit your particular tastes in vegetables. I simply made it using ingredients I knew would puree well and which Nik enjoys. In the past, I've made it using broccoli. You can use cauliflower, green beans, peas...whatever you like. You can also add more meat or make it completely vegetarian.

**To make this recipe using traditional wheat-based flour, use a 1:1 ratio. For general cooking, I use this all-purpose blend I found in Living Without magazine.



This recipe, as written, yields 8.5 cups. Approximately 230 calories per cup. (We are still tracking my son's caloric intake so many of my recipes will have that information provided.)

I hope you'll give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it. Meanwhile, what's your favorite crock pot recipe?