Thursday, April 24, 2008

Slow cooker hoisin beef stew

1/2 cup beef broth
1 bottle hoisin sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
1 1/2 pounds stew beef
2 onions cut in large dice
1 c baby carrots
2 ribs celery cut into 3/4 chunkc

The night before, whisk together the broth, hoisin, hot sauce, garlic and ginger. Add the beef, onions, carrots adn celery. Toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, transer meat mixture to slow cooer. cover and cook on a low setting 6-8 hours or high setting 3 hours. Service with rice and with sauteed snow peas.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

2 tsps grated lime zest
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp butter - melted
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
1 cup quinoa
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 scallions chopped
1/4 c cilantro chopped



Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl. Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time. Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tbsp salt for 2 quarts water) uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve) Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid, and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (LISAS NOTE: cooking the quinoa in the steamer, is kind of a pain, I checked online, and other people just continued to cook it in the pot until it was tender, and skipped the steamer step) Add cooked quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients adn salt and pepper to taste.

Honey Wheat Rolls

From the Bread Machine Magic Book of Helpful Hints - this is a good book, it has recipes for batches in small, medium, and large

These were very good and would make nice rolls for a big dinner.

Makes 12 rolls
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Place dough ingredients in machine start on dough setting. When done, remove dough, gently roll out on lightly floured countertop into a rope. Grease one 12 cup muffin tin. Divide dough into 12 pieces adn put in tins. Cover and let rise 20-30 mins until double in size. Bake 400 for 12 minutes until brown.

Mexican-Style Rice Casserole with Corn, Sour Cream and Cheese

Mexican-Style Rice Casserole with Corn, Sour Cream and Cheese
From Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

Serves 6

Notes - You can use fresh corn taken off the cob in season and toss it in the pan with the green chiles and onion. If you cannot get poblano chiles, roast oen green pepper instead and then throw in 1-2 chopped fresh hot green chiles as well. This way you get the texture and heat.

2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 poblano chiles, roasted peeled, seeded and diced
2 cups sour cream
6 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
6 cups cooked rice (from 2 cups raw rice)
1 2/4 cups corn kernels, fresh, thawed frozen, or canned
1 1/2 lightly packed cups grated cheddar cheese

Put the oil in a large saute pan or other wide pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the onion and garlic. Stir and saute until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes, turning th eheat down if necesary. Add the roasted diced poblanos adn stir another minute. Let everything cool off. Combine the sour cream, 1/2 tsp salt and the cilantro. Stir to mix and set aside.

Stir the rice adn corn into the poblano mixture, then add the sour cream and blend it in. Finally blend in the grated cheese. Put this mixture into a 3 quart casserole dish and cover it. You can refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.
I used low fat sour cream and it was fine. I also sprinkled a little more cheese on top.

Soup recipes

Mediterranean Chickpea, Lentil and rice soup with basil
from New England Soup Factory Cookbook

Makes 10 - 12 servings

1 pound dried chickpeas (Lisa's note - I usually cut the recipe in half, and use one can and skip in the recipe to the part where you add the lentils)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 spanish onion, peeled diced very small
3 ribs celery, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into disks
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 can (20 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato juice
1 tsp dried marjoram
2 bay leaves
1/3 c dried lentils
1/3 c basmati rice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place chickpeas in a deep bowl and add water to cover by 2 inches. Place in refrigerator to soak overnight. Drain before using.
in a large stockpot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute for 10 mins. Add the chickpeas, stock, tomatoes, tomato juice, marjoram adn bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover the pot and simmer for 1 1/4 hours. Add lentils and rice. Simmer covered, for additional 35 mins. Adding 2-3 cups of additional water or stock if liquid is reduced too much. Remove and discard bay leaves. Season with vinegar, basil, salt and pepper and olive oil. Stir well before serving.

Lisa's note - if you aren't going to eat the whole pot, add the balsamic (a little splash) to each bowl. If you add it to the pot, and reheat the leftovers the taste of it changes and its not as good. I've omitted the fresh basil and olive oil at the end and the soup is still tasty.


Italian Vegetable Soup with Rice
from New England Soup Factory Cookbook
Makes 10 - 12 servings (I usually cut the recipe in half and its fine)

3 tbsp olive oil
1 spanish onion, peeled diced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (16 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) ground or crushed tomatoes
12 cups vegetable or chicken stock
4 cups tomato juice
1 can (16 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 medium summer squash, diced
1/3 c uncooke white rice
1/2 c frozen peas
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn into smaller pieces
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute for 5-6 mins. stirring frequently. Add the diced tomatos, ground tomatoes, kidney beans, chickpeas and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 30 mins. Add zucchini, summer squash and rice. Return to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer and additional 15 mins. Add the peas, basil, balsamic salt and pepper and cook until throoughly heated. Remove bay leaves before serving
Lisa's note - if you aren't going to eat the whole pot, add the balsamic (a little splash) to each bowl. If you add it to the pot, and reheat the leftovers the taste of it changes and its not as good.