Leftover Turkey Soup, by Cheryl

We had SO much turkey leftover. After day 4 of eating our way through it I needed to repurpose it in some other way. In comes turkey soup! This is basically just like chicken noodle soup, but with turkey. It was so comforting to eat when it was cold! Yum!

Ingredients:

Leftover turkey, chopped or cubed

Egg noodles

Carrots, peeled and chopped

Celery, chopped

Onions, chopped

Fennel, chopped

Thyme

Other spices

Turkey broth (we had leftover from cooking, but veggie or chicken broth works)

Water

Directions:

1) Saute the vegetables in a pan with olive oil until aromatic. 

2) Meanwhile, put the leftover turkey in a large pot with the broth and some water. 

3) Once cooked, add in the vegetables and simmer for a little bit.

4) Add the egg noodles and cook until done. Serve with some crusty bread!

Coq Au Vin, by Cheryl

We had a little French theme going on in our household this week. With an endless summer full of no possibilities I felt like I needed something to keep us entertained besides our backyard and afternoon movies. I suggested a learning about different countries theme and J was super into it. She picked France as the first country to learn more about since she was just there. The kids loved coloring rainbows with the French names for colors, learning that the rooster and iris are the country's animal and flower (who knew??), and making fun Eiffel Tower snow globes!

Ok, back to the food. I made a French dinner with the help of my sous chefs and this was fantastic. It didn't take nearly as much time as I thought it would and the sauce and chicken were heavenly. I have never made such a flavorful crispy skin! I love a crispy skin. I will definitely be making this again when the cooler months come rolling in. I forgot to make a side of mashed potatoes so I cooked up some pasta to go with it. It was delicious. Yum!

Ingredients (recipe from here):

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 slices bacon diced
• 8 ounces mushrooms
• 6 small white onions cut in half or quartered depending upon size
• 2-3 cloves garlic mashed
• 2 carrots peeled and rough cut
• 1/2 bottle of full-body red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 8 ounces Chicken Stock 
• unsalted butter
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 4 large skin on, bone in chicken thighs

Directions:

• Add chicken to a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Pour in one cup red wine and seal bag, pressing out air. Let stand while you prepare the remaining ingredients or overnight for the best results.
• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a large Dutch oven or rondeau, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring and reducing heat as necessary to prevent scorching, until browned and fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Remove chicken from zipper-lock bag, discard wine, and pat dry.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Return Dutch oven with rendered bacon fat to medium-high heat.  Add chicken thighs skin-side down, and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, about 5 minutes.   Don't move the chicken around while cooking, allow it to sear in place.  Use a spatula to get under the chicken when turning being careful not to rip the skin.
• Remove Chicken from pan setting aside until needed
• Add mushrooms to pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add onions, carrots, and garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add bacon, the remainder of the wine, tomato paste, chicken stock, thyme and rosemary and bring to a simmer, stirring up any browned bits.
• Add chicken back to pan, leaving skin side up and not submerged if possible. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour.
• Remove pan from the oven and take the chicken out of the pan.
• Add in two tablespoons of unsalted butter that has been rolled in flour, getting as much flour into the butter as possible.  This is called a beurre manie and will thicken your sauce. Mix the beurre manie in well and allow to simmer over medium heat.
• Return chicken to pot, spooning sauce on top. Garnish with remaining sprig of thyme or rosemary.  Serve with potatoes, pasta, or rice.

Brazilian Fish Stew, by Cheryl

As of today I'm on Day 22 of Whole 30. The pros: I feel great! Definitely have more energy, digestion has been top notch, I'm not craving sweets all day, my clothes fit better, and I'm feeling leaner. The cons: Going out to eat is a major pain in the butt and I have total food boredom. This recipe saved me a few days ago when I wanted to throw the entire contents of my fridge outside. It's delicious, healthy, easy to make, and delicious (so good I said it twice). I can see this becoming a staple in our house during the colder months. One note: I found out during this whole 30 that coconut milk with guar gum (which is allowed on whole 30 only bc it's hard to find coconut milk without it) causes me to have a ton of bloating so I now use coconut milk without guar gum. Something I learned already that I can use after this is over! Also, I roasted some chopped sweet potatoes and added those in as well. Yum!

Ingredients (from here)

2 lbs firm white fish (I used cod)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp lemon or lime juice (I used lime)
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper and 1/2 red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp paprika
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped, with some set aside
1 14-ounce can coconut milk

Directions:

1) Coat the fish with the minced garlic and lime juice. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

2) In a large Dutch oven coat the bottom with 2 tbsp of olive oil and heat on medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the bell peppers, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes.

3) Stir in the onion greens and tomatoes. Cook for five minutes uncovered. Stir in the cilantro.

4) Use a large spoon to remove half of the mixture. Spread the remaining veggies on the bottom of the pan to make a "bed". Arrange the fish pieces on the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the rest of the mixture on top of the fish.

5) Pour the coconut milk over the fish and vegetables (I added another half a can).

6) Bring soup to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. You'll likely need to add more salt. Garnish with cilantro.

Old Bay Shrimp Boil, by Cheryl

We have a great farmer's market on Saturday mornings about a mile away from us. I'm really going to miss it when we leave because one stand has the BEST peaches every summer! They got me to love peaches when I was never really a fan. Anyway, there's a sausage guy there that has maybe 15 different kinds of flavored sausages. He had an old bay flavored kind that I ended up buying and per his recommendation I decided to make a sausage and shrimp boil. So this was good, not great. I found it to be very one dimensional and although I do love old bay, it just didn't do much for me as it being the only spice in the recipe. The recipe itself has great reviews, and it wasn't bad at all, but it's just not something I would make again. That being said, it was tasty and tender and reminded me of Maryland. Yum!

Ingredients (makes 4 servings) Recipe from here:

1/4 cup old bay seasoning
2 quarts water
6 ounces beer
4 medium red potatoes, quartered
1 large vidalia onion, cut in wedges
4 ears frozen corn on the cob (I used 3 large ones and cut them in half)
2 lbs shrimp (I used only 1 lb)
I added some cauliflower as well and it soaked up a lot of flavor!

Directions:

1) Bring Old Bay, water, and beer to a boil.

2) Add potatoes and onions, cook for 8 minutes.

3) Add sausage, cook for 5 minutes.

4) Add corn, cook for 7 minutes.

5) Add shrimp, cook for 4 more minutes.

6) Drain cooking liquid. Pour contents of pot into several large bowls or pails. Sprinkle with a litle Old Bay.

Crockpot White Chicken Chili, by Cheryl

I tried to add quinoa to soak up some liquid, but it didn't have time to fully let it absorb :/

No, just no. I feel like this had so much promise, but it was way too thin to be a chili and lacked that hearty taste. And speaking of taste there was a lot to be desired. I did not like it, Jon thought it was okay, and Julia picked out the chicken and just ate that. At least it was easy to make. Yum? No.

Ingredients (recipe from here):

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans white beans (cannellini, Great Northern, etc.)
2 small cans diced chilis
3 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano,
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
fresh lime wedges
toppings: avocado, sour cream, cheese, etc.

Directions:

1) Place chicken at the bottom of the crockpot. Top with chicken broth, white beans, green chilis, garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, salt, and cayenne. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-4 hours. Remove chicken breast and shred. Set aside.

2) With an immersion blender, puree a portion of the chili to thicken it leaving some beans whole. Stir in shredded chicken and cilantro. Portion into bowls and top with a squeeze of lime juice. Add other desired toppings.

Irish Stew (Ireland), by Cheryl

Next up is Ireland! I was hoping to get to this stew before the weather turned warm, but that didn't happen, so here it is in 78 degree weather! We were definitely sweating while eating it, haha. Anyway, the best thing about this dish is the broth. The Guinness really stood out as we were eating it and it went so nicely with the vegetables. The aroma in the house while this was cooking was mouth watering! The only thing is that my beef came out so tough, when the recipe said it would be so tender you could pull it apart with your fork. I felt like my jaw was going to fall off from the amount of times I had to chew it! I'm not sure what went wrong there - maybe I didn't use the right meat? But the meat I bought was specifically for stews...

I may try this again since it was an easy recipe and it sat in the oven for 90 minutes. We paired the stew with some leftover pao di quejo rolls from our top 5 cook-off! Yum!

Ingredients (Recipe from Inspired Taste ):

3 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup flour
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
2 cups coarsely chopped carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 11.5 oz Guinness Stout beer
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups beef stock
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 275. Pat the beef dry, season with salt, then roll each in flour until lightly dusted.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven. When hot, add beef in one layer (might have to do in batches) and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve for later.

3) Add onions, carrots, and celery to the same pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Add the garlic for one more minute.

4) Pour in the Guinness and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan.

5) Add the reserved beef, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, paste, beef stock, and salt. Stir, the cover with lid and place in the oven. Cook one hour then check on the stew. If the top of the stew is dry, add some extra beef stock or water. Taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper as needed.

6) Cover again and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour until beef is tender and can easily be pulled apart with a fork.

Lamb Barley Soup, by Cheryl

I had an impulse buy at the grocery store the other day- ground lamb. I've cooked with lamb before, but not the ground kind, and was intrigued at the possibilities of this different type of ground meat. I wasn't in the mood for burgers so I took to the internet to find a healthy and hearty meal for these cold winter nights. This soup that I found is delicious! I also have never cooked with barley before and found it to add a nice chew to the soup. This is soooo easy and quick to make that it will now become a staple in our house. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground lamb
1 onion, chopped
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 cups water
3 cans beef consommé (I used beef broth)
1 can condensed tomato soup
4 medium carrots
3 stalks celery
1 cup barley
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1) Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and stir in the ground lamb and onion. Cook and stir until the lamb is browned and the onion is translucent. Drain and discard any excess grease.

2) Stir in the tomatoes with their liquid, water, consommé, and soup. Add the carrots, celery, and barley, and season with chili powder and black pepper. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes.

Julia Child's Coq a Vin, Crockpot Edition, by Diane

At long last, a picture of a stew actually looks appetizing! I cannot say enough about how delicious this meal was. This was by far one of the best things I have ever made, and it was so easy. Not to mention, a great spin off of Julia Child's classic Coq a Vin. This dish is perfect for company as it is very impressive, and is great alone or with sides like mashed potatoes. My only suggestion- I may decrease the wine by 1/2 cup next time and sub chicken broth, as I am fairly certain everyone got buzzed eating this dish!! My other suggestion- double this and make more because you won't be able to get enough!!!

I did make three substitutes here- I used chicken breasts instead of thighs (preference), I skipped the cognac (didn't have it on hand), and added in herbs de provence (thanks to Cheryl's Egg Sandwich I am addicted!!).

Recipe from: http://www.thezenofslowcooking.com/slow-cooker-coq-au-vin-a-la-julia-child-2/


Ingredients:

2 ½ to 3 lbs skinless chicken thighs & legs
1/3 cup flour
salt & pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
4 slices lean bacon, cut into 1” strips
12 baby onions, (24 pearl) peeled and left whole
½ lb button mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup cognac
1 3/4  cup red wine
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large sprig thyme (or a generous 1/2 tsp dried)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Place the chicken, flour, salt and pepper in a gallon size ziploc bag and shake well ensuring the chicken is liberally coated with the mixture.
2. In a skillet heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil on medium high and add the chicken pieces.Brown the chicken for 2 minutes on either side until it turns a lightly golden color. Stir the remainder of the flour from the bag into the browned chicken and transfer to your slow cooker. 
3. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the bacon, onions and mushrooms for 4 minutes, stirring regularly, until glazed and shiny. Drain any excess fat from the skillet and transfer the mixture into your slow cooker.
4. Stir the cognac, wine, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, oregano and bay leaf into the chicken mixture.
5. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3 1/2 – 4 hours.

Chicken Palava (African Chicken Peanut Stew), by Diane

It is really tough to get a good shot of soup, as I have complained about numerous times in the past. So, you will just have to trust me that this stew is amazing!! I had this dish as a child when my friend's parents from Ghana would make this for dinner on special occasions. It is a national dish, and the combination of flavors is unusual but SO good!! The flavor profile reminds me of peanut curries in Thai food, but this is hearty and filling and warming! And, peanut butter aside, it is chock full of healthy, nutritious, and anti-inflammatory ingredients! It's relatively easy to make and keeps well, too.

Recipe from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/west-african-peanut-stew/  (of course this version comes with a few twists of my own!)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 red pepper, cubed
1 pound chicken, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
5 cups chicken stock
3 small sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 (16 ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with liquid
1/4 pound collard greens, roughly chopped
1 cup chunky peanut butter


Directions:

1. Heat the peanut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir the onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper in the hot oil until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken; cook and stir until completely browned. Season with the crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Pour the chicken stock over the mixture. Stir the sweet potatoes and thyme into the liquid and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover the pot partially with a lid, and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Stir the tomatoes, collard greens, and peanut butter into the soup. Partially cover the pot again and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, another 20 minutes.

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew, by Cheryl

This is another great recipe from Giada. It's perfect for a cold wintery night as it's a hearty meal and will warm you up in an instant. The flavors worked really well together and the beef was very tender. Serve with some rolls or crusty bread. Yum!

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp pepper, plus more to taste
2 tbsp flour
1 cup Marsala wine
1 pound butternut squash, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/4 chopped sun dried tomatoes
3-4 cups beef broth
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

1) In a large soup pot heat oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, and rosemary and saute until the onion are tender, about two minutes.

2) Toss the beef cubes in the salt, pepper, and flour. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the beef. Cook until the beef is browned and golden, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the Marsala wine. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir up all the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan.

4) Add the butternut squash and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Add enough beef broth to completely cover the beef and squash. Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about an hour. Season the stew with additional salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with bread.

Beef Stew with Rosemary and Mushrooms, by Diane

I loved making Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon a few years ago, but the process was so time consuming (about 12 hours) that I haven't made it since. In a doctor's office the other day I saw an article in Family Circle for a slow cooker version that is modeled off of Julia's famous recipe and decided to give it a try!

The stew takes 8 hours to cook, with about 35 minutes of prep time beforehand. It's a little annoying to have to cook beef in the morning, but since I wasn't sure if I could cook it then refrigerate it overnight I did it anyway. Overall, this is a pretty good substitute but doesn't hold a candle to the original recipe. A big part of the problem was the mushrooms and the onions. Both were done as separate steps, but what set them apart is her cooking method with lots of butter and herb packets and simmering both until the sauces boiled down into almost a syrup consistency that was loaded with flavor. In this recipe, they just tasted like mushrooms and onions. Next time, I think I will add these steps to improve it.

Ingredients:

4 lb. boneless beef chuck, well trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces
1/2 C all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 C olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T tomato paste
1 C dry red wine
2 C beef broth
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick
1 C chopped canned tomatoes
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
2 T unsalted butter
1 ;b. white button mushrooms, quartered
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Directions:

1. Pat beef dry with paper towels.  In a bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper to taste.  Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and toss until lightly coated.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add beef in batches and cook until browned on all sides, about 20 minutes total.  Place meat in a large slow cooker.

3. Add onions to skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and tomato paste.  Add wine and cook, scraping the pan, until liquid comes to a simmer.

4. Pour contents of skillet over meat.  Add broth, carrots, tomatoes and herbs to slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until beef is tender when pierced with a fork.

5. When beef is almost ready, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are golden, about 10 minutes.

6. Stir mushrooms into stew and discard bay leaf.  Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.

Pork and Tomatillo Stew, by Diane

 

This is another recipe from the book Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. I have never used tomatillos before, and was curious to try them. I thought they would be spicy like a mild pepper, but as it turns out they are tart and a bit sour (the grocery store sign described them as having a sour apple taste). This taste was really unexpected, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the overall outcome because of it. But the rest of the ingredients mixed together really well, and with sour cream some of the tartness vanished. I did not add the lime juice to the sour cream because I thought it was tart enough.


Also- a note on peeling the tomatillos and tomatoes. The tomatillos have a leaf like outer skin that does not always easily come off. I found that if you peeled what you could off, the rest washed off easily with cold water. The tomatoes peeled easily once I dropped them into boiling water for one minute.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. canola oil
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 lbs. lean pork, cut into cubes
1 bottle dark beer (I used Guinness)
14 oz. orange juice
1 lb. tomatillos, quartered
1 lb. Roma tomatoes, peeled and cut in half
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 jalapenos, diced into small bits (remove the ribs and seeds unless you want some heat!)
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper

Topping
1 cup sour cream
juice of one lime

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, add the beer, orange juice, tomatoes and tomatillos. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, simmering for 20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large pot. Add the garlic cloves and stir to coat with the oil.

3. Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and then add it to the oil, in batches, to brown on all sides. Remove from thepot.

4. Add the onion and jalapeno into and saute until tender, 5 or 6 minutes.

5. Add the tomatillo mixture to the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to be sure you are getting all the browned bits. Add the pork, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.

6. Cook, partially covered, for about 2 hours.

7. Taste for seasoning. Add the black beans and cook an additional ten minutes, uncovered.

8. For the topping, stir the lime juice into the sour cream.

Moroccan Vegetable Stew, by Diane

Today I decided to make my lunches in bulk for the rest of the week. I chose this recipe because it's healthy, pretty easy to make, super delicious, and it only gets better with time. I found parts of the recipe online, mainly for the spice mixture which is inherently Moroccan, and then added other traditional Moroccan elements. You can play around with other veggies and squashes, today I added sweet potato as well. If you do add more veggies and find that there is not enough liquid, just add 1/2 cup to a cup of water, more diced tomatoes, and more spices to taste. You really can't mess this recipe up. It's also really delicious with cubed beef or lamb that is pan seared first then added in during the cooking process. Although the recipe says to only cook the stew for 20 minutes once the veggies are added, I find that cooking it on low/simmer for over an hour really helps the flavors to blend together nicely. Finally, serving it over couscous with butter and mint is an optional step but makes it a little more filling and authentic. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. EV Olive Oil                                           

1 onion, finely chopped                           

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped                

1 tsp. ground ginger                                  

1 tsp. ground turmeric                               

2 tsp. ground cumin                                  

2 tsp. ground cinnamon                           

½ tsp. dried chili flakes             

14 oz. can diced tomatoes      

14 oz. can chickpeas       

¾ cup golden raisins 

1 cup water   

¾ lb. butternut squash, in 1 in. cubes      

1 zucchini, in small cubes  

2 carrots, in small cubes

Salt and pepper to taste, if needed

Optional: 1 cup instant wheat couscous, butter, and chopped fresh mint

 Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat oil on medium. 

2. Add onion, cook 3-5 minutes until translucent. 

3. Add garlic and spices, cook 1 minute. 

4. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and raisins plus 1 c. water. 

5. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 min. 

6. Add vegetables and cook for 20 min. or until they are tender. 

7. Season with salt and pepper if needed. 

8. Optional- Serve with couscous, made with butter and mint.

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon, by Diane

This is a recipe I have wanted to make for a long time, and actually did for a list of 30 things to do before I turned 30. It's an impressive recipe that makes one of the best dishes I've ever had- but be warned, it's extremely time-consuming. It took me about 5.5 hours in total, and there are almost 45 steps involved. It's also not the cheapest recipe to make since it requires a good cut of beef and a nice bottle of red wine among several other ingredients. However, it is Julia Child's most famous dish, and for good reason. The end result is a warm and filling stew with meat that melts in your mouth and amazingly combined flavors. Well worth the effort! Enjoy!

(Rather than typing the long list of ingredients and directions out, I am going to post the link below that will lead to a direct photocopy of Julia's recipe from her book, as well as reader comments that are helpful. Make sure to include, along with the 3 pages contained in the recipe, the other 2 pages- 1 for the onions and 1 for the mushrooms).

http://cooking.knopfdoubleday.com/2009/07/13/julia-childs-boeuf-bourguignon-recipe/

Cuban Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew, by Diane

One of the reasons Cheryl and I began this blog was to branch out and try new ingredients and styles of cooking, and I don't think a Jewish girl from DC could have branched any farther out than Cuban food. :) I love island food- in case you haven't noticed from my recent posts- and Cuban food is no exception. One of my favorite things about it is that it is so pleasing to the eye as well as the tastebuds- every bite is like a rainbow. I also love the simplicity of the ingredients, yet they all taste so good when combined together. Finally, Cuban food is like soul food that happens to actually be good for you, it's packed with lean proteins, fruits, and veggies.

So, last night I created an entire Cuban feast- beginning with this stew. I got the recipe from Weight Watchers actually, so it was super healthy. Not to mention easy- you throw the ingredients into a slow cooker and go about your day. I served the stew with two types of plantains (see the next post), a mango and black bean salsa, and of course, the obligatory rice and beans. All in all, this was a FANTASTIC meal and probably the one I am most proud of so far since it's so beyond my comfort zone! I went to bed full and happy! :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound lean pork loin, cut into 1 inch pieces
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 c orange juice
2 medium scallions, chopped (green parts only)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. cilantro, freshly chopped

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients except the last two into a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

2. Stir in remaining two ingredients and cook covered for 5 more minutes.