Black Beans and Sausage

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Kielbasa or other smoked sausage cut into one inch pieces
4 medium carrots, diced small
1 medium onion, chopped small
coarse salt, ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (4 cups) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken broth
3 TB chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
1/4 cup plain yogurt, for serving - optional

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high. Add sausage and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add carrots and shallots to the skillet, and cook until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant - about one minute.
4. Add black beans and broth and bring mixture to a boil. Add sausage, reduce heat to a rapid simmer, and cook until carrots are tender - about 12 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, stir in parsley, serve with more parsley and a dollop of yogurt.

Source: Let's Eat!

Chicken and Apple Curry

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I prefer chicken thighs, and 3-4 is plenty!)
3 Tbsp butter
2 small onions, chopped
2 apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 Tbsp curry powder
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup hot chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Saute apple and onion in butter until tender. Add curry powder and saute 1 minute more. Add flour and continue to cook 1 minute longer. Add stock or broth and milk; stir well.
3. Salt and pepper chicken breasts to taste and lay in a single layer in a 9x13 inch (or larger) baking dish. Pour sauce mixture over chicken breasts and bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until chicken is done.

Source: allrecipes.com

Try #1 - December 29, 2010
This was excellent. Nathan and the kids loved it, and it would be great to feed a larger crowd as well. The curry sauce was creamy and spicy. I chopped up 3 chicken thighs and cooked them in a separate pan (most of the way through) instead of putting them raw into the baking dish. (Eight chicken breasts seems like a lot for this recipe!! I think if I used this many I would have to double the sauce.) I also added potatoes to the apple/onion mix while I was sauteing them. I didn't cook the potatoes all the way through in the pan, and it took about 30 minutes in the oven to get them cooked. We served it over brown rice, with a side of peas.

Try #?? - June 27, 2011
This has become a family favorite. We've made it several times, and I don't bother to bake it anymore - I just do it all in the skillet and let it simmer for a while. It's simpler, faster, and less dishes. Chickpeas (as well as potatoes) are another good addition to this dish.

Saudi Chicken Stew

3 cups cooked long grain rice (1 cup uncooked)
2 1/2 to 3 lb chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
1 quart water
1 tsp salt, or to taste
pepper to taste
3 Tbsp butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
6-8 carrots, thinly sliced
2-inch stick cinnamon, or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp whole cardamom pods or 3/4 tsp ground cardamom
6 whole cloves or 1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups tomato juice (or 1 cup tomato sauce mixed with 1 cup water)
2 cups chicken broth

1. Simmer chicken, water, salt, and pepper for 25 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from broth and set aside. Skim fat, strain broth (optional), and reserve.
3. Heat butter in a large saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Add and saute onions. Push onions to the side and saute carrots on medium heat about 10 minutes until browned.
4. Mix cooked rice, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves in a bowl.
5. Lay pieces of cooked chicken evenly over sauteed vegetables. Cover with rice-and-spice mixture. Pour tomato juice and chicken broth over rice. Cover and simmer slowly for one hour. If contents become too dry, add a little reserved chicken broth.

Note: Whole spices give a better flavor and color to this stew than ground spices, although stew is tasty both ways. Remove whole spices just before serving or while eating.

Source: Extending the Table

Try #1 - January 2011
This was interesting. A bit time-consuming, but worth it for the new combination of flavors with fairly common ingredients. As usual, I used boneless, skinless thighs, which made that step easier. Cardamom can be expensive, but it seems like there is no good substitute, so I wanted to use it. I found whole cardamom pods at PCC, and bought just enough for this recipe, so it costs me about 20 cents. So... not so bad afterall. :)

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard (I used regular dijon mustard)
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded (I used medium cheddar)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
4. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
5. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Source: Food Network

Try #1 - December 14, 2010
This was really good... and I'm not necessarily a fan of homemade mac and cheese. I strangely enough didn't have any onions, so I used celery instead. It was still great! It wasn't overpoweringly cheesy, and the paprika gave it a slight bite. I used homemade bread crumbs (torn-up leftover peasant bread), which were AWESOME. The dish was a hit was the family. Relatively easy to make, with ingredients I usually have around the house.

Pizza Dough

2 1/2 cups bread flour (can substitute up to 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup water
1 tsp yeast

1. After cycle finishes (45 minutes), knead dough on a lightly floured surface until it becomes elastic and springs back when touched.
2. Let rest for 10 minutes.
3. Shape into a flat circle and place on a baking tray. Prick with a fork
4. Let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
5. Add sauce, toppings, and cheese.
6. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Source: Ingredients from Melissa, instructions from my bread machine manual.

Shrimp in Spiced Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest
28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes)
16 ounces (1 pound) peeled and deveined shrimp
cooked couscous, for serving
chopped cilantro, for serving

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Stir in onion and ginger - cook until the onion has softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in coriander, cayenne and lemon zest - cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, breaking them up as you go - bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Season sauce generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
2. Stir in shrimp and simmer until shrimp have cooked through, about 2 to 4 additional minutes. Serve each portion with couscous and a scattering of chopped cilantro on top.

This recipe also freezes well: after finishing the sauce, let cool to room temperature. Place shrimp in a 1-gallon freezer bag and pour cooled tomato sauce on top. Press out air, seal bag, and freeze flat. Store in the freezer, up to 2 1/2 months. To serve, thaw shrimp mixture in a refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high, cooking 3-5 minutes longer until shrimp is cooked through.

Source: Let's Eat!

Try #1 - December 9, 2010
Easy and yummy! The couscous was a nice change of pace. I left out the ginger (didn't have any, and found several websites that said NOT to substitute with ground ginger), but it was still good.

Chicken with Apricots and Dates

1 1/2 pounds chicken meat (boneless, skinless thighs are the best. If you're going to use chicken with bones, fish them out about halfway through cooking)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried pitted dates, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice

1. Put the chicken into the bottom of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker. If you are using fresh (instead of frozen) chicken, shave off about 90 minutes or so of cooking time.
2. Add diced onion, and spices. Sprinkle on the apricots and dates. Pour the broth and orange juice evenly over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 3-5. The chicken should be quite tender and shred easily with a fork. If your chicken isn't tender enough, stir well and cook for a bit longer on low.

Serve with quinoa or brown rice with the juices----the broth is delicious!

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

Try #1 - December 8, 2010
I made this for small group, so I had to stretch it to serve 12... but it worked great! I doubled the recipe (actually quadrupled the chicken broth, but it still could have used more), and added 3 cans of garbanzo beans, as well as 3 chopped carrots. I used golden raisins instead of dates. With the extra beans, and served over rice, the recipe was more than enough for our group. We actually took home leftovers! The chicken cooked perfectly - I used thighs, and it fell apart on it's own when I stirred everything together, after several hours of cooking. I will definitely make this again!

Try #? - January 23, 2013
I've made this a couple times now (although not in a while), but I made it again for small group last night, and it was just as good as I remembered!  I used dates this time, which didn't seem to make much of a difference... they basically dissolved into the sauce.  I'm sure they made the sauce extra yummy, though, right?  I added carrots and garbanzo beans again, doubled the chicken and tripled the spices and liquids, used water instead of chicken broth (because I had none), and accidentally added 1/4 cup extra orange juice.  No matter; this recipe seems to be pretty forgiving.  Still a hit!

October 31, 2017
I hadn't made this for a while, but I had all of the ingredients (except orange juice) in the house, so I tried it again today.  The lack of orange juice wasn't a problem - there was definitely enough sweetness with the apricots and dates.  Still a great (and easy) recipe!

Sweet Potato Fries

I've made sweet potato fries before, but after looking at some recipes on allrecipes.com, I decided to try it a little differently this time. This isn't really a recipe, but just a reminder to myself to try it this other way.

1. Boil (10-20 minutes - check!) or microwave (3-5 minutes) whole sweet potatoes until fork tender.
2. Cut into wedges.
3. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, or until fries are crispy.

Try #1 - December 2, 2010
These were good... not sure if cooking them in the microwave ahead of time was necessary, but they came out well. These took closer to 30 minutes for me.