This is hands down the best beef stew recipe I've ever had. The Latin spices and the sweet potatoes in this beef stew sets this one apart. Traditional beef stew is kinda bland to me, but this one is pure greatness. Spicy, full of flavor with a bit of heat in the end. And the sweet potatoes are a nice change of taste and texture from traditional starchy potatoes. I substituted the poblano chilies in this recipe for some New Mexico chiles that I got from my friend Danielle last year. I still had one bag of them left in the freezer and tossed them in. Maybe that's where all the heat came from in this version. You just never know how hot or mild those New Mexico chilies will be. I don't mind, for me the hotter the better. But not so great for my kiddos. I'll file this recipe under, "Recipes my kids won't eat". Next time, I'll make it milder for them, substituting with roasted mild Anaheim chilies. Whether you like it spicy or mild this recipe is super delicious and easy because the slow cooker does all the work. Enjoy!
Spicy Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Stew (slightly adapted recipe from Cuisine at Home)Makes 12 cups
1 boneless beef chuck roast (2.5-3 lb), trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes salt and pepper.3/4 c flour3-4 T vegetable oil2 T tomato paste4 c beef broth1 can diced tomatoes in juice1 large onion, diced (2cups)2 T garlic, minced1 T each of chili powder, dried Mexican oregano and ground cumin1 t ground coriander2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed2 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, seeded and diced (I used New Mexico Chilies but you can also substitute with mild Anaheim chilies for less heat.)1 cup frozen corn, thawed1/2 cup fresh cilantro1 T fresh lime juiceToss beef with flour to coat. Brown beef in 3-4 batches in 1 T oil per batch in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer beef to a slow cooker and stir in any remaining flour. Add tomato paste to skillet and cook over medium heat, 1- 2 minutes. Deglaze skillet with broth, scraping up any brown bits. Increase heat to high and boil 2 minutes. Pour broth mixture over beef in slow cooker. Add tomatoes. onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin and coriander. Cover and cook for 4 hours. Add sweet potatoes and cook an additional hour. Stir in chiles, corn, cilantro and lime juice. Other recipes to try:Corned Beef, Cabbage and Leek SoupTomato Garlic Soup with Cheese Tortellini Minestrone for a Crowd
After a few months of no blog cooking, I finally made some time to cook. Yay! The weatherman had threatened rain last Saturday, which kept me home and wanting to cook. My inspiration for this recipe came from Crockpot Salsa Chicken. You know the recipe, chicken breasts and a jar of salsa...so simple and so good! It's a staple in my house. My girlfriend, Gina had made it the other night while I was over and it inspired me to try an Italian version of shredded chicken. Even though it never rained last weekend, the weather was cool and cloudy. I threw these amazing sandwiches together with a few items I had on hand; chicken breasts, red and green bell peppers and some leeks were the basic ingredients. I also had some Italian dressing mix and some pepperoncini as well. Throw the whole thing in the Crockpot with some garlic, basil, butter and white wine and you're in business. Toast up these soft Ciabatta rolls with fresh basil butter, melted mozzarella cheese and top with this amazing chicken...yum! Enjoy!
Ciabatta Chicken Sandwiches with Peppers and Leeks Makes 8-10 sandwiches
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts2 small leeks, white and light green parts, sliced and well rinsed (about 1 cup)1 green bell pepper, diced (1 cup)1 red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced1/4 c sliced pepperoncini 1 packet of dry Italian Dressing mix1/2 t dried basil3 T of butter, unsalted, divided1/4 cup white wine or waterMozzarella cheese 8 Ciabatta rollsBasil Butter (1/4 cup butter, softened with 4 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped)Prepare all vegetables. Add about half of the leeks, peppers and garlic to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the chicken and sprinkle with half of the Italian Dressing mix. Top chicken with the remaining vegetables and sprinkle with the rest of the Italian dressing mix. Add pepperocinis, dried basil and place 1 tablespoon of butter on the top of each vegetable covered chicken breast. Add wine and cook on high for 5 hours. Shred chicken. Set aside while you prepare the basil butter and the rolls. Spread basil butter on both sides of Ciabatta rolls and add mozzarella cheese to the top bun. Place under a broiler to melt the cheese and toast the buttered side for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the broiler, pile high with shredded chicken and serve hot. Enjoy!Other recipes to try:Veggie Sandwiches with Black Bean Hummus and Sunflower SproutsSliders with Pickled Onions and Spicy MayoChicken Panini with Swiss Chard and Leeks
This is the time of each year when I usually get sick and this year didn't disappoint. I'm moving into my second week of this flu and I'm still weak with body aches;even my teeth hurt. I'm not much of a sleeper normally, my usual night is 5-6 hours, tops. But with this bug, it's like I can't get enough sleep. I'm exhausted and spend every minute I'm not working, napping or laying down on the couch recovering from having to be awake all day. It's crazy. The plus side, if there is one to being sick, is that all this lounging around and feeling crappy, has actually allowed me to get organized and plan some blog ideas for this year. While I wasn't unconscious, Pinterest was there inspiring and motivating me to get well. My list of things to do getting ever longer as I flipped through beautiful pictures and pinned my heart out. :)Since I didn't have the energy to cook, I figured I could at least organize my old blog photos and that's when I stumbled on these pictures of my Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies I made this last summer. I know you're probably asking...How did you forget to blog cookies? Honestly...I'm not quite sure how these fell through the cracks. But I'll take it as a good sign that in the heart of winter, I'm able to bring you a little taste of summer with these delicious cookies. I'm starting to feel better already! Enjoy!White Chocolate Chip Blueberry Cookies (adapted recipe from Twice Remembered)Makes 4-5 dozen
1 c. unsalted butter, softened to room temp1 c. brown sugar, packed1 c. granulated sugar2 large egg, room temperature2 t. vanilla extract3 c. all purpose flour1 t. baking soda2 t. hot water 1/2 t. salt1 1/2 c. white chocolate chips1 1/2 c. dried blueberries (see below for a how to)Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve the baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with the salt. Stir in flour until incorporated and then add the chocolate chips and blueberries. Use a small cookie scoop to drop cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Drying Blueberries Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Rinse and sort 2 pints of blueberries removing any over-ripe fruit. Bring pot of water to a boil. I used my pasta pot that had the strainer insert so that I could easily lift the blueberries out of the water all at once. If you don't have a pasta pot, then have a strainer handy. Once the water is boiling, add the blueberries into the boiling water. Immerse the blueberries for about 30 seconds. This will crack the outer skin and allow for water to escape when drying. Promptly remove blueberries from the water. Spread blueberries out in a single layer on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake blueberries for 1-3 hours* until desired dryness. * I dried my blueberries for three hours and they were very dry. Good for long term storage but a bit too dry for cookies. To soften them up a bit, I soaked the blueberries in hot water for about 30 minutes and drained them prior to adding them to the cookie dough. Next time I'll cut down on the drying time to about 2 hours so I don't have to rehydrate them. Enjoy! See photo below: If you don't want to bake all the cookies at once, these are easy to freeze. Spread them out on a cookie sheet so that they are not touching each other and place in the freezer for about an hour. Once the cookie dough is mostly frozen, transfer the cookie dough into a freezer bag and place in the freezer. Write baking instructions on the outside of the bag. Pull out as little or as much as you want to bake. Other cookie recipes:Chocolate Cake Mix CookiesCinnamon Cheesecake CookiesHeath Bar Cookies
It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. The holidays were crazy busy and left me feeling a bit blue. Usually each New Year inspires me to plan my "To Do List" for the coming year. Not resolutions, but "To Do's". But that didn't happen this year...at least not yet. My holiday blues made it really hard for me to blog, let alone think about what I wanted to accomplish in 2015. Writing on the blog was hard especially since I'd done very little blog cooking since Thanksgiving. The few dishes I'd cooked, needed more work. They were not quite good enough. This recipe for Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cake was one of the successful recipes throughout this time but I just couldn't put any words down. Today, I decided that I needed a better attitude. I needed to tackle the things I could change...like I used to do, before I started feeling bad. I got up today determined to get my head back in gear by carving out some time to do the things I like to do. First things, first. Take care of my physical self. I love to exercise and I love to read but hadn't done much of either since last summer. So this morning, I worked out and I resumed reading a book I started reading over 6 months ago. Yay for me! Next up...Cooking. I love to cook. It grounds me. So after my workout and shower, I worked on a new recipe. It's not quite there. The flavor is all there but I have to work on the presentation a bit...but at least I know how I'm going to change it up and make it blog worthy. :) And now, I'm tackling this blog...this deliciously moist cake that left me unable to write all these weeks. Not only is this cake super easy to make but it's versatile. The basic buttermilk cake recipe can be used with just about any other ingredients. Swap out the cranberries and orange and add lemon zest and blueberries, or add nuts or a cinnamon struesel topping! It's delicious and a snap to make. Enjoy! Looks like I'm on my way to start my "To Do List" after all. Happy New Year!Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cake Makes 1 loaf
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour1/2 t salt1 t baking powder1 cup sugar2 T orange zest3/4 cup buttermilk1/2 cup oil2 large eggs1 t vanilla extract1/3 cup cranberries 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.Mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, add buttermilk, orange zest, oil, eggs and vanilla extract and mix well. Add this to the flour mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add cranberries and mix until just combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: The cranberries will float to the top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and Enjoy!
Today is my best friend Julie's birthday. Most years, I feel terrible because I always forget her birthday given it's two days after Christmas. With all the hustle and bustle going on before Christmas, once Christmas is over, regrettably I go into shut down mode and forget her birthday. Sorry Juls. :( Well not this year, I've been thinking about her a lot these last few months, especially the last few days since I made this amazing soup and decided to blog this recipe for her. She has graciously allowed me to tell her story in hope that it will help others. Julie had a pretty tough year health-wise. Early this summer she told me that she had been experiencing some weakness and numbness on one side that was noticeably disruptive and limited her being able to do normal everyday things. She knew there was something wrong because it did not go away after a few days, as you would expect with muscle fatigue. She went to the doctor and after many visits, tests and an MRI she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). My typical Julie, with her unshakable positive attitude and empowering outlook on life, took it in stride. At least that's the side she showed me. I know she was worried, as I was, but we hugged and talked about what it meant for her. Where she approaches life positively in the face of adversity, I approach troubling news clinically, hiding my fears by going right into trouble shooting and knowledge seeking modes ...What's the treatment plan? What's the prognosis? What's next? ...Are you okay?Julie bravely gave herself injections as she struggled through treatment of her first episode of MS. Her doctor gave her information about keeping cool and limiting overly exerting exercises and then put her on a diet that helps to lessen symptoms and shorten MS episodes. The diet is vegetable heavy with animal protein sources recommended, limiting soy and dairy, and gluten. Last month, Julie asked me if I could help come up with some recipes for her since filling up half your diet with primarily vegetables is a challenge on a good day. I gladly accepted and I've been thinking about vegetables ever since. How do I incorporate them in dishes so that they are filling and satisfying? Last week, I experimented with an amazing vegetable sauce that I used to top some mushroom ravioli and it was amazing. But, since ravioli has gluten, I'm having to retool the dish omitting the pasta. I already know this sauce will be amazing on marinated grilled chicken. Once it's perfected you'll see it on the blog as well. I also made some delicious Roasted Sweet Potatoes over Thanksgiving that I plan to blog for her as well. They were to die for. 
2 T olive oil1 lb (~2 cups) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into even chunks1 small fennel bulb, quartered with fiberous core removedsalt and pepper, to taste2 t olive oil1 1/2 cups ham, chopped 1 small onion, chopped1 large carrot, chopped5 cloves of garlic, minced (about 2T)2 t fresh thyme, finely minced2 t fresh rosemary, finely minced1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes in Italian herbs 6 cups chicken stock2 bay leaves2 cups Swiss Chard,chopped (or Spinach)1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsedsalt and pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss butternut squash and fennel with 2 T olive oil and transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet. (I used a pie plate) Salt and pepper to taste and roast for 30-35 minutes. Allow fennel to cool and then chop. Set the butternut squash aside to add to the soup later. Add 2 t olive oil, ham, carrots, onions, garlic, roasted fennel and herbs to a large Dutch oven and saute until onions are translucent and the carrots are tender crisp, about 10 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes with juice, and bay leaves and simmer for 20 minutes. Add Swiss chard, roasted butternut squash and cannellini beans and simmer for another 15 minutes or longer. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! (For gluten free: omit the rolls.)
For more information about Multiple Sclerosis, contact the National MS Society at this link.
This time of the year is always busy and hectic but this year was crazy busy because I had a seasonal job where I worked 6 days a week. It was hard to have only one day off when you have a mountain of laundry, housework and grocery shopping to do all in one day, then you add Christmas shopping, school Christmas programs, PTA events and meetings and cub scouts...Ugh!! I am totally wiped out and thankful to finally have some time to recharge. I plan to do as little as possible today. It's Christmas morning and the kids are happily playing with their new toys which includes a drum set and and electric guitar. (What? Are we crazy?) Yep, it's loud in here as I write. A peaceful loudness that makes me smile as my kiddos learn to play their new instruments. Later today, I'll head to the kitchen and make some homemade soup with left over Christmas ham and then go for a long walk with my husband and kids. The perfect day.Aside from the crazy schedule this year, I did find a little time to do a little decorating. I stress, a little decorating. Here are a handful of ideas. Enjoy! Merry Christmas! Snow Globe Christmas Village
This idea is a variation of the Haunted Hamlet I made for Halloween, just on a much smaller scale and not haunted. The Dollar Tree sells these little Christmas houses, but as you can see the paint job is not the best but that didn't stop me. I decided to make it more Christmas-y by giving them a coat of white paint. Then I used a few accents of color and some glitter paint to give some dimension to the features on the houses.Rather than just placing the village on my sideboard on a blanket of cotton snow, I placed three of the houses in a large 12" fish bowl vase so that it looked like a snow globe. The remaining house fit perfectly in a smaller fish bowl. I lit up the larger bowl using a small string of lights I placed on the bottom of the bowl and covered up with a snow drape and then I poured two containers of table salt over the drape. I placed the houses and some snowy trees in strategic places to hide the power cord and plugged it in. Pretty cool huh?
Deck the HallsI did manage to make a new wreath this year. I didn't buy anything new, rather I re-purposed some old ornaments and garland. I think it turned out great!My dining room and kitchen are the heart of my home so I love to decorate the dining room for every holiday...well at least for Christmas and Halloween.:) This year I wanted to use all those simple Christmas tree cones I'd picked up over the years. The 99centsOnly Stores have these each year which is great because they are only a dollar each. This year, I picked up two cones, one blue and the other gold, not exactly the colors I wanted but that was easily solved. I also picked up some garland in the colors I wanted and I wrapped the cones in garland. An easy inexpensive way to make them in any color you want to match your decor. Plus they look so cool when they are different, sizes, textures and colors.
Handmade OrnamentsI made these handmade ornaments many years ago...I guess it was nearly 20 years ago. Wow! Just a few lifetimes ago. I alternate my tree every couple of years. Some years I do my handmade country tree where I hang all the ornaments I've made and other years, like this year, I just use red and silver bulbs. Each year, when I open up the Christmas bins, I take a look at all the ornaments I've made over the years and I remember each one. I remember when I got the idea and when I began creating the pattern and designing the details. Each one special and so much fun to put together. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites. Enjoy! Trees. I love trees. Simple.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
