Lamb Stew with Plums

Last night I hosted my book club, and we discussed the Hunger Games. I wasn't sure what kind of food to prepare for it, but luckily this book/movie is so trendy that there were Hunger Games-inspired recipes all over the internet.  Apparently Katniss (for those of you who have read the book) mentions that she could eat the Capital's lamb stew with plums by the bucketful. I concur.  This was so good, and it made so much, that some of the girls asked to take some home with them.  I sort of combined the original recipe with another one that had plums, so I'll add the modifications below.  I served with bread and honey butter and it was delicious! Also, just because I feel like typing still... I will tell you that I think lamb is one of my favorite meats.  It is always so tender.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced bacon, diced 6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup water Mushrooms, chopped

4 cups beef stock (I think I added a few cups more) 2 teaspoons white sugar 4 cups diced carrots 2 large onions, cut into bite-size pieces 3 potatoes 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves  1 cup dried plums, chopped (prunes)  1 can tomato sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons corn starch

Directions:

1.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2.	Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
3.	Place meat into crock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and mushrooms and saute untill onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the crock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
4.	Add carrots, onions, potatoes, plums thyme, bay leaves, brown sugar and tomato sauce to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.  To thicken soup, mix cornstarch with 1 cup of the broth.  Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Soup

I had this soup at a ward potluck today, and it was so amazing that I went back for seconds.  Luckily there was still some left. I would have gone back for thirds.  But... you know... it was so amazing that it was all gone by then.  I had to track down my friend who made it (in a crock pot) to get the recipe. So, here it is...

Mexican Chicken Soup

From Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas
For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

Spaghetti Squash Pasta

I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious and pretty healthy, too! Win win!
Cooking with spaghetti squash just might be my new way of cooking, at least when it comes to pasta dishes.

I found this recipe on pinterest, but the actual source comes from here.

Ingredients:
1 whole spaghetti squash
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup frozen peas
2 whole chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 pinch salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
2. With a sharp knife, cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scrape/remove seeds with a spoon.
3. Place squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet: bake for 45 minutes. Let squash cool.
4. Using a fork, scrape the inside of the squash with the tines to remove strands.
5. In a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Saute 1 minute.
6. Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth, sundried tomatoes, and broccoli and saute 5 minutes.
7. Add peas, grilled chicken, and remaining 3/4 cup of chicken broth. Shake about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese into mixture (just enough to thicken the chicken broth).
8. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover skillet and simmer for about 3 minutes.
9. Serve on top of the squash strands with fresh shaved parmesan cheese.

Zucchini Brownies

Zucchini Brownies

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Frosting:
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. (Mixture will be very dry.) Press evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. Remove from the oven and let cool.

4. To make the frosting, melt together the cocoa and butter; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Makes a 13x9 pan of brownies.

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

I wanted waffles this morning but was out of both regular maple syrup and coconut extract to make coconut syrup. What to do? I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. It's quite similar to the coconut syrup recipe except for the addition of brown sugar and vanilla. I only added half the amount of butter called for and it still turned out delicious. I'll definitely be making this again.

Buttermilk  Caramel Syrup

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

 

In a large saucepan, bring buttermilk, sugars, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in soda and vanilla. It will bubble up a lot. Hopefully you used a large saucepan. As it cools, the bubbles will go away.