[Todd Gibson]

Nicole, 25 liters of honey?!?!? That’s got to be close to a lifetime supply, doesn’t it?

[Nicole]

Not with 5 children, everything gets eaten.

It will probably candy at some point but it boils up just fine.

[Harmony]

Nicole, I make that same marinade but add either orange juice or lime juice to it. Really tasty!

My younger child requests bean and cheese burritos at least once a week.

Three 15oz cans of refried and/or whole black beans (pinto beans will work, too)

1-3 tablespoons tomato paste

All spices are to taste; I’ve listed them in order of largest amount added to smallest:

Cumin

Chili Powder

Oregano

Garlic Powder

Coriander

Cinnamon – don’t skip it! Just use a pinch.

Heat all ingredients in a deep skillet and stir until tomato paste and spices are incorporated.

Spoon onto warm flour tortillas, top with shredded cheese (I like colby-jack but cheddar works, too)

Top with hot sauce or salsa if desired.

Hot, filling dinner in 15 minutes on the cheap…

[Nicole]

Oh, yum. I wonder what I can substitute for black beans….. 3 bean mix? Kidney beans?

I keep yiros wraps in the freezer, they would work too. Thanks Harmony.

Potato and bacon stew tonight.

In separate pans, slowly cook 3 large sliced onions until translucent and brown at the edges. In the other, five big rashers of bacon (cut into pieces) until crispy.

This may take up to 10 minutes.

Peel and cut up a dozen large potatoes in big pieces.

Toss the potatoes in with the bacon and add the onion and sort of stir and glaze the spuds.

Cover the mixture with a good quality chicken stock, add parsley, dried flakes are fine, fresh is better.

Simmer until the the spuds are soft ( 1 hour+) and then stir until it is all combined.

Serve with buttery toast and fresh tomatoes.

*You can cut smaller pieces of potato and cook it quicker but to get that lovely flavour, stew it longer. This is brilliant when camping*

Perfect for after sports practice on a cold night.

[Sarvi]

Mmm, that sounds so comforting.

[vothgirl]

Mmm that potato stew sounds so good, there is something so comforting to the soul about homemade soup! And my husband will try anything that includes bacon!

Tonight I am making chicken charmoula with chickpeas. It is a Moroccan recipe I originally saw in a Williams-Sonoma catalogue, but I didn’t want to pay $12-15 for a jar of charmoula sauce so I combined a couple recipes off of google to make my own sauce from scratch, using cilantro, parsley, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and seasoned with paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, ginger, and cinnamon. I serve it over couscous but it would be good with quinoa or roasted veggies (I’m thinking particularly of cauliflower). I love basic, hearty food most of the time (the Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite people/sources for recipes), but occasionally I get the itch to try something with bold and exotic flavor to shake things up a bit! This meal certainly fits the bill ;-).

For some reason I’m not able to copy and paste the recipe from my Facebook notes page while writing this on my mobile, but if anyone is interested in the recipe I can hop on the desktop computer and post it :-).

[Nicole]

When you have time Patricia, I would love it!

[vothgirl]

Chicken Charmoula with Chickpeas

Ingredients:

Charmoula Sauce:

6 garlic cloves (unpeeled) or 2 teaspoons pre-chopped garlic from a jar (so very convenient!)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, mostly leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley, mostly leaves, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (since the tomatoes had salt in them, I added this to taste after making the sauce)

2 teaspoons paprika (I was generous with this)

2 teaspoons ground cumin (I was generous with this)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I probably doubled this)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (trust me, it adds the missing touch!)

1/8-1/4 cup olive oil – start with less and add more if needed

3/4 of a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes (you can use the whole can if you don’t want leftover tomatoes in your fridge)

Other:

1 tablespoon canola oil

4 whole chicken legs (skinless – or buy cheap meat & skin yourself like I did 😉

Kosher salt, to taste

1 can (14 oz.) chickpeas, drained

Steamed couscous for serving (I cooked mine in chicken stock since I had that in the fridge, but water is fine too)

Directions:

1. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Optional: Char the unpeeled cloves on an open flame. Clean off the blackened skin, mash and finely chop. (That was too much work for me!)

2. Use a food processor/mini-grinder and puree the garlic, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with sea salt, paprika, cumin, cayenne, ginger, and cinnamon. Add the crushed tomatoes. Stir well, taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Set sauce aside.

3. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Season the chicken legs with salt. Working in batches, brown the chicken on both sides, about 6-10 minutes per batch (3-4 minutes per side). Transfer to a plate.

4. Add the charmoula sauce to the pot and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is fork-tender, about 1.5-2 hours. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the chickpeas. Skim the excess fat off the sauce. Serve the chicken and sauce with steamed couscous. Serves 6 to 8.

Vegetarian option: Charmoula sauce can also be served over vegetables: toss cauliflower florets, 1-inch cubed eggplant, 1-inch cubed zucchini, & bell pepper strips in sauce. Place in greased 9×13 baking dish and roast in a 400*F oven for 40-45 min or til veggies are tender. Add chickpeas during last 5 minutes of roasting. Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth & mix well. Serve hot over couscous or quinoa.

[mcholley1]

So many great ideas I would have never thought of! I can’t wait to try some of them!

I’ve never heard of Charmoula sauce but now I want to try it. And, the potato bacon stew will be on the list. I have a similar one I make with leeks, but I always dread it b/c leeks are so time consuming to clean.

Nicole, do you not have black beans there or just don’t prefer them? I think soft, white beans make great burritos too.

Tonight was fridge leftovers, and the kids had a rare treat of frozen corn dogs.

Last night’s Shrimp and Asparagus is worth sharing:

Asparagus (cut into pieces)

several pounds large shrimp (peeled, deveined)

Minced garlic

a large handful of fresh basil (my favorite for this is thai basil, but sweet basil is good too)

Ghee (I started using this in place of butter b/c it is casein free and found it’s high flame point makes it wonderful to cook with)

Olive oil

seasoning blend (mine is salt, red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder)

Dry white wine (I like pinot grigio)

Toss the shrimp in salt/pepper mix and minced garlic. Warm ghee and olive oil together in a large skillet. Giving the asparagus a several minute head start, sauté asparagus and shrimp until shrimp are almost done. Add in basil and wine and continue until shrimp are pink. I find the key is to be careful not to overcook this dish. The shrimp don’t take very long…maybe 4-6min total.

I usually serve over a multigrain penne pasta with sliced tomatoes on the plate.

Dessert last night was a plate full of fresh peaches and blueberries.

Perfect, light meal for a sweltering summer night. Once the shrimp are cleaned…it is super quick!

[cybele727]

I made chicken cacciatore for freezing. It is easy. It takes some time, but it is a great Sunday meal if you aren’t freezing it. Although if it is Sunday, I recommend cooking Saturday. The flavors meld after sitting for a day. All the supplies are common stuff in my kitchen and cupboards, but I am an Italian American.

I put canned diced tomatoes (48 oz) (fresh is always better, but…) in a big “sauce kettle” as my grandmother would have called it.

2 tbsp of minced garlic.

2 sweet peppers, green or yellow, – chopped,

1/2 med. sized purple/ Spanish onion- diced,

sliced white mushrooms-16 oz or more (to personal tastes). Watch the mushrooms- as they simmer, they release water and you get more liquid. You can prevent this by sautéing first, and draining before adding to the tomatoes.

I take 5 boneless chicken breasts, cube it up, put it in a bag with flour, rosemary, some sea salt. I put the cubes in a hot pan and brown the cubes. Once they have a lovely crust, I put them in the tomato mixture. Cook on super low heat for 2 or more hours. Stirring occasionally. Also the pan gets crusty with little pieces of stuck chicken, so if your cubes don’t all fit and you have too cook in stages, I recommend that if the bottom gets crusty, when the pan is empty, you pour in some cooking wine in the not pan, and scrap the bottom of the pan, and pour the drippings in the tomato mixture.

This browning is key. I have cooked raw cubes directly in the tomatoes, and they turn tough. Browning makes the chicken so tender it falls apart.

I serve in a bowl over penne.

It takes 45 min to an hour to prep, and the simmer 2 hours, but it just sits on the stove.

[Nicole]

Thank you Jenny, I will print that off.

So many great new recipes.

Yesterday I marinated chicken (again).

I used a can of tomatoes (825 grams) , 4 cloves of garlic, 4 table spoons of soy sauce, 2 table spoons of worcestershire sauce and 6 table spoons of honey.

I marinated it for a few hours in the fridge and then tipped it in a baking dish and baked it for an hour @ 200 D.C, turning it regularly. When it was done, I popped the chicken on a baking tray and crisped it up for 10 mins.

The Twins took the leftover sauce on rice for lunch today.

I served it with roasted carrots, zucchini and capsicum and cauliflower cheese.

It went down very well.

I just checked the meat safe and it seems Hugo forgot to get meat out last night so I will make potato wedges for tea tonight with a salsa. I have some tomatoes that need using up.

I pulled out some ribeye for Jed and me.

[with love Heidi]

I’m cooking a Crock pot chicken casserole, well nearly sitting down to eat 🙂

for a 3.5L Crockpot

1kg boneless, skinless chicken

1 Kg broccoli and cauliflower ( I use two 500g frozen packets)

2x490g Jars of cheese based pasta sauce, I used ‘3 cheeses’ one today

Extra cheese

Pasta, almost any short pasta i usually use spirals, optional.

Method

1. thaw the broccoli and cauliflower if frozen, I just pour boiling water over it and leave it for a few minutes and drain

2. Put the broccoli and cauliflower to the Crockpot

3. cut chicken into 2″ pieces and add on top of veggies

4. pour the 2 jars of sauce over the chicken

5. cook on Auto or low for 6-8 hours.

6. stir in a handful of cheese, or to taste, half an hour or so before eating. This can be done immediately before eating if needed.

7. Optional. 30-40mins before serving add pasta to the casserole, stir and cook until the pasta is cooked.

This makes a fantastic pasta bake, when cooked top with cheese or your choice of topping and either bake in the oven or under the griller until cheese is crispy 🙂

You can add carrots or other veggies in with or instead of the broccoli and cauliflower, I like the broccoli and cauliflower because they almost disintegrate on cooking.

I put this in the Crockpot at breakfast time and it will be ready to eat as soon as my husband walks in the door, I’ve probably cooked it for 9.5 hours and it is fine.

[Jennifer1568]

I made minestrone last night. I used a recipe sent to me by my 22 year old daughter. She is a college student and just started cooking. I loved the soup and will add it into rotation with my other soup favorites.

The recipe includes wine, zucchini, and 2 types of beans. The soup is served with 2 T of pasta in a bowl, the soup, and is finished with parmesan. It is something healthy to eat. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jamies-minestrone/ .

[cybele727]

How yummy everything sounds! I need to go to the Farmer’s market this weekend and get a few dozen ears of local corn to make corn chowder. (3-5 doz).

I make a ton and freeze it and it is perfect for winter sundays when you don’t want to cook. When I make it, I will write down the steps so I can post if anyone is interested. 🙂

[Nicole]

Jenny, its not often I get may hands on corn but I would love the recipe.

Today I made apple muffins for Hugo take and share for breakfast tomorrow. They are a bit more cake then muffin but nice for a treat.

http://addapinch.com/cooking/cinnamon-apple-muffins-recipe/