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Category: Entree

Crock Pot Lamb and Barley Stew

Published by jarandhel on December 23, 2017

 

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Crock Pot Lamb and Barley Stew

A hearty winter stew with lamb that melts in your mouth.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Irish
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1-2 lbs lamb trim fat, cube
  • 1/2 large sweet yellow onion sliced thin
  • 2 medium turnips cubed
  • 2 medium parsnips cubed
  • 32 oz beef broth
  • 36 oz stout beer oatmeal stout works well
  • 2/3 cups pearl barley
  • fresh ground pepper
  • salt
  • basil
  • McCormick poultry seasoning thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, black pepper and nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Cook in crock pot for 5 hours on high.

  2. Serve over bed of mashed potatoes (prepare somewhat stiff so that they don't turn to mush from the broth.)

  3. Serve with side of sliced french bread. Bread can be topped with butter, cream cheese, or neufchatel.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Crock Pot Lamb and Barley Stew @ GeniusKitchen.

Bacon, Onion, and Potato Pierogi

Published by jarandhel on January 28, 2017
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Bacon, Potato, and Onions Pierogi

Pasta stuffed with mashed potato, bacon, and fried onions.

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 4 cups flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 2 teaspoons salt

For the filling

  • 2 potatos
  • 4 pieces of bacon chopped
  • 1 onion chopped

Instructions

For the dough

  1. 1. Pour flour onto a clean, flat surface.
  2. 2. Make an indentation in the middle of the flour.
  3. 3. Add salt, eggs, and butter to the indent.
  4. 4. Slowly mix together, adding the milk bit by bit until thoroughly mixed.
  5. 5. Continue kneading dough, using water as needed.
  6. 6. The dough will be ready when it is tender, elastic, and does not stick to your hands.
  7. 7. Form the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
  8. 8. Let rest for one hour.

For the filling

  1. 1. Bake potatoes on lower rack of oven at 425 for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a fork slides in easily.
  2. 2. Cool in refrigerator, peel off skins, and mash well with a fork.
  3. 3. Chop bacon and onions and fry together until browned.
  4. 4. Add bacon and onions to mashed potato, salt and pepper to taste.

To cook the Pierogi

  1. 1. Using a wet rolling pin, flatten a portion of the dough on a floured surface. The outside of the dough needs to be floured to keep it from falling apart when boiled, the inside needs to be without flour so that it will stick to itself when folded over.
  2. 2. Using a drinking glass, cut a circle out of the dough.
  3. 3. Using a teaspoon, scoop some of the filling into the center of the circle.
  4. 4. Fold the dough over, into a crescent shape, holding the filling.
  5. 5. Using a fork, press down all around the edge to seal the Pierogi.
  6. 6. Repeat until you have as many Pierogi as you desire. They are quite filling, so you probably won't need more than one or two per person.
  7. 7. Place uncooked Pierogi in a pot of boiling, salted water. Boil until they rise to the surface, then remove.
  8. 8. Fry the Pierogi in olive oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, or butter until lightly browned on both sides.
  9. 9. Serve with a small spoonful of sour cream on top of each Pierogi.

Recipe Notes

This recipe pairs *excellently* with fried cabbage.

Easy Shredded-Beef Chili

Published by jarandhel on January 18, 2017

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Easy Shredded-Beef Chili

A quick and tasty chili using shredded beef.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 5 hours 15 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 sweet onion chopped.
  • 2 large cans Manwich Sloppy Joe mix
  • 2.5-3 lb rump roast
  • 2 cans dark red kidney beans
  • 1 packet McCormick chili seasoning mix hot
  • 1 fresh lime
  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil

Instructions

  1. Saute onions in a pan with peanut oil along with contents of seasoning packet until translucent. Transfer to slow cooker.
  2. Rinse beans and add to slow cooker.
  3. Brown roast on all sides in the same pan, using a little more peanut oil if necessary. Place in slow cooker on top of beans.
  4. Add sloppy joe sauce to slow cooker.
  5. Cook on high for four hours.
  6. Remove roast from slow cooker. Using two forks, shred roast, and return the shredded meat to the slow cooker. Mix well.
  7. Squeeze the juice of one fresh lime into the chili. Stir, and let sit on "warm" for a half hour to an hour.

Recipe Notes

Serve hot over bread or tortillas (I find the flavor of an onion roll goes very well with this recipe) and topped with cheese (I recommend sharp cheddar).

Slow Cooker West African Peanut Stew with Shredded Chicken

Published by jarandhel on January 18, 2017
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Slow Cooker West African Peanut Stew with Shredded Chicken

Another tasty variation on West African Peanut Stew.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped white onions
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 2 teaspoons powdered chinese ginger
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 2 cups chopped sweet potatoes
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 cups tomato juice
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 cup chopped green onions
  • 6 boneless chicken breasts

Instructions

  1. Saute the onions in the peanut oil until just translucent.
  2. Stir in the ginger paste
  3. Add the carrots and saute a couple more minutes.
  4. Pour the onions and carrots into the slow cooker.
  5. Add the sweet potatoes to the slow cooker on top of the onions and carrots.
  6. Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker on top of the vegetable mixture.
  7. Add the vegetable stock and tomato juice to the slow cooker.
  8. Cook on high for 4 hours.
  9. Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and place them on a platter.
  10. Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts.
  11. Using a potato masher, mash up the vegetables in the soup.
  12. Add the cayenne pepper to the soup.
  13. Add the peanut butter to the soup and stir until smooth.
  14. Return the shredded chicken to the soup.
  15. Serve topped with plenty of chopped green onions

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

Slow Cooker West African Peanut Stew with Shredded Beef over Ginger Rice

Slow Cooker West African Peanut Stew with Shredded Beef over Ginger Rice

Published by jarandhel on January 7, 2017
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Slow Cooker West African Peanut Stew with Shredded Beef over Ginger Rice

A tasty variation on West African Peanut Stew.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 8 hours
Servings 8

Ingredients

For the stew

  • 2 cups chopped red onions
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste
  • 1 cup carrot noodles
  • 2 cups chopped sweet potatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 cups tomato juice
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 cup chopped chives
  • 2.5-3 lbs rump roast

For the rice

  • 1 cup rice
  • 3/2 cups water
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

For the soup

  1. Brown the rump roast in some peanut oil. Then set it aside on a platter.
  2. Saute the onions in the peanut oil until just translucent.
  3. Stir in the ginger paste
  4. Add the carrot noodles and saute a couple more minutes.
  5. Pour the onions and carrots into the slow cooker.
  6. Add the sweet potatoes to the slow cooker on top of the onions and carrots.
  7. Place the rump roast into the slow cooker on top of the vegetable mixture.
  8. Add the vegetable stock and tomato juice to the slow cooker.
  9. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
  10. Remove the rump roast from the slow cooker and place it on a platter.
  11. Using two forks, shred the roast.
  12. Using a potato masher, mash up the vegetables in the soup.
  13. Add the cayenne pepper to the soup.
  14. Add the peanut butter to the soup and stir until smooth.
  15. Return the shredded roast beef to the soup.
  16. Cook on low for another half hour to an hour.
  17. Serve over rice and topped with plenty of chopped scallions or chives.

Recipe Notes

Adding more and different kinds of peppers to this soup can give it more heat and a more complex flavor. I play around with various sorts of red pepper and/or hot sauces. Always add these in the final hour of cooking, as they can turn bitter if cooked for a long period.

Adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

Slow Roasted Goose (or Duck)

Published by jarandhel on March 22, 2015
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Slow Roasted Duck (or Goose)

Ingredients

  • 2 mallard ducks weighing 1.5kg 3 and a half pounds or 1 big duck.
  • Increase 1/2 for a goose.
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 225 g/9oz fresh ginger
  • 2 long sticks baby rhubarb or 1 tub/bag craisins - soak 1 day.
  • 2 handfuls fresh sage roughly chopped
  • 1 bulb garlic cloves removed and chopped in half.
  • 2 red onions finely sliced
  • 2 wine glasses marsala or vin santo
  • 228 ml or half a pint vegetable chicken, or duck stock
  • olive oil
  • orange juice and cloves, marinate duck/geese 1-2 days

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F
  2. Season your ducks generously inside and out.
  3. Coarsely grate half your ginger and rhubarb (or craisins) Mix this in
  4. a bowl with half your sage and all the garlic and onion and stuff
  5. inside the cavity of your ducks.
  6. Place them on a tray and roast in the oven for 1 hour. Then turn the
  7. temperature down to 300F and cook for another hour and a half until
  8. crisp and tender.
  9. During this cooking time, you will need to drain the fat maybe three
  10. times into a bowl. It will separate into clear fat which you can
  11. keep for roasting. The ducks are ready when the skin is crisp and
  12. the leg bones can be easily loosened. Once cooked, allow the ducks
  13. to rest on a warmed plate while you make the sauce.
  14. Drain off any remaining fat from the roasting tray. Pull out all the
  15. stuffing and juices from the inside of the ducks into the roasting
  16. tray. Heat the roasting tray on a low heat, add your marsala, and
  17. loosen all the sticky goodness from the bottom of the tray. This may
  18. flame so mind your eyebrows.
  19. Add your stock and reduce to a good taste and consistency. Pass
  20. through a course sieve.
  21. With a knife, you can easily remove the breasts from the ducks and
  22. using your hands, remove the thighs. Divide on to the plates.
  23. To finish off, finely slice the remaining ginger and fry off in a
  24. little hot oil in a non-stick frying pan. As it begins to color, add
  25. the rest of your rhubarb--finely sliced--and finish with the rest of
  26. the sage until crisp. Sprinkle this over the duck and drizzle with
  27. your tasty sauce.

Recipe Notes

Note: Duck also doable in rotisserie, approx 1 hour cooking.

Beef Macaroni Specialty

Published by jarandhel on March 22, 2015
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Beef Macaroni Specialty

This recipe was a specialty of my father's.
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 large onions
  • 1 can italian style stewed tomatos
  • 2 boxes Kraft Mac & Cheese

Instructions

  1. Brown the ground beef.
  2. Do not slice the onions like they were going in a sandwich, and do not chop them. Instead, quarter them, going from top to bottom rather than around the middle, then continue cutting top to bottom until you have them the size you want.
  3. Add onions and stewed tomatoes. Simmer until onions are fully cooked, stirring frequently so meat does not burn.
  4. Meanwhile, boil water and cook macaroni.
  5. Drain the macaroni and add to meat mixture, which you should have transferred to a large serving dish when it finished cooking.
  6. Stir in the cheese packets from the macaroni, and then add as much additional grated yellow cheese as you want.
  7. You can also add seasonings to taste. My mother sometimes adds some extra garlic, but generally find that the seasoning of the Italian style stewed tomatoes, plus the cheese, gives it enough flavor.

Slow Cooked Chicken Stew

Published by jarandhel on March 22, 2015
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Slow Cooked Chicken Stew

Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 9 hours 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 4 frozen chicken breasts. Thaw slightly 2 minutes in the microwave on high should do it & chop up into small cubes.
  • 3/4 pounds of dried lima beans. Rinse beans then bring to a rapid boil in six cups of warm water, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
  • 1 bag frozen veggies soup mix
  • 3 heaping tablespoons of instant white gravy mix.
  • A few dashes each of garlic powder goya all-purpose adobo seasoning, and salt (I know, but it helps tenderize the meat.)
  • A pinch literally of dried dill.
  • 4 cups of water.

Instructions

  1. Add all of the above to a 3/3.5 quart crock pot.
  2. Cook on "low" for 7.5 hours or so (I started mine late last night and left it going until it was nearly time to go to work, maybe closer to 8 or 9 hours.)
  3. Resist the temptation to take off the lid to sample any till it's done.
  4. Resist I said!

Chicken Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Published by jarandhel on March 22, 2015
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Chicken Broccoli Cheese Casserole

A delicious chicken, broccoli, cheese casserole complemented with other mixed vegetables.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8
Author Jarandhel Dreamsinger

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 2 cups rice
  • 1 can of peas
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 whole onion chopped
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped.
  • 1 can cream of broccoli condensed soup
  • 1 can broccoli cheese condensed soup
  • 1 handful of mozzarella cheese.

Instructions

  1. Simmer the chicken in boiling water for 15 minutes, then cube.
  2. Cook the rice in the water from the chicken.
  3. Mix cubed chicken and rice together in a deep iron skillet with vegetables, condensed soup, and cheese.
  4. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes in a deep iron skillet.

Recipe Notes

Serving size - 1 bowlful. And no, you will not be hungry when done.

Carrot Kimchee over Jerk Potatoes

Published by jarandhel on March 21, 2015
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Carrot Kimchee over Jerk Potatoes

Quick pickled carrot kimchee over jerk potatoes. Two great spicy tastes that go great together.
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 7 minutes
Servings 1
Author Jarandhel Dreamsinger

Ingredients

Carrot Kimchee

  • Bunch of small baby carrots sliced in half lengthwise.
  • 3-5 tablespoons of salt.
  • Five tablespoons rice or white vinegar.
  • Two tablespoons of Korean red pepper one finely ground, one coursely ground. You may add more if, like me, you are nucking futz.
  • Ground ginger and garlic powder to taste.
  • 4 teaspoons of sugar.

Jerk Potatoes

  • 1 or 2 small potatoes cubed.
  • 2 heaping tablespoons butter.
  • Jerk seasoning to taste.

Instructions

Carrot Kimchee

  1. Place sliced carrots in a bowl.
  2. Add salt.
  3. Mix well. Set aside to sit for one hour.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the other ingredients.
  5. When the hour is up, drain the liquid from the bowl of carrots and pour this mixture over them.
  6. You may add a little more vinegar if necessary to make sure they are at least half covered.
  7. Let sit for another hour.

Jerk Potatoes

  1. Place cubed potatoes in a bowl. Place butter on top of potatoes. Cover lightly with jerk seasoning, to taste. Microwave for 5 to 7 minutes.
  2. Serve the carrots over the potatoes. They go great together.

Recipe Notes

This is a "quick" kimchee, not the really traditional stuff which uses no vinegar. Radishes could also be used instead of carrots.