We’ve done this recipe with both lamb and beef – the lamb was really great, but a bit pricey.  For the beef we’ve just bought beef cubes for stew and made sure it cooked for a long while to have the meat fall apart at the sight of a fork.

It works well as leftovers, too – provided you’ve got enough rice the next day.

Serves 4

3 cups raw Beef or Lamb  (3/4 lb = 1 cup)
1 Onion
1/2 cup Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder
1/2 can Tomato Paste
1 small can Tomato Sauce
Juice of Lemon or Lime  (3 Tablespoons)

• Cut meat into 1-1/2 inch cubes.
• Brown onion in 1/2 cup butter.
• Brown the meat and add the curry powder.  Stir until all is mixed.
• Add the salt, pepper, and ginger.  Again, stir well.
• Add boiling water to cover meat.
• Add tomato paste and sauce and lemon or lime juice.
• Simmer for at least 2 hours.  We’ve done it for 6 – 8 hours most of the time…
• Thicken slightly with flour and water.

Serve over plain cooked rice.
Sprinkle with any or all of the following over the curry and rice:

• Dry Coconut
• Chopped Nuts
• Chopped Eggs
• Chopped Onions
• Mango Chutney
• Crisp Bacon
• Tomatoes

(3 cups cooked rice per recipe)

Chicken, Corn & Black Bean Stoup

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 Lbs chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 ½ Tablespoon ground coriander

1 Chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

1 Large onion, chopped

4 Ears of corn, kernels cut from cob

1 Red bell pepper, cored seeded and chopped

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 Quart chicken stock or broth

1 15oz can black beans, drained

2 Tablespoons lime juice

¼ Cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the chicken and season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander. Amd chipotle pepper. Cook the chicken until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Add the onions, corn kernels and red bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.

3. Dust the chicken and veggies with flour, stir, and continue to cook for 2 minutes.

4. Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken stock. Bring the stew up to a simmer and then add the black beans. Simmer the stew for 15 minutes

5. Add the lime juice and cilantro, and stir to combine. Taste and check for seasoning; adjust with salt, pepper and a little hot sauce if you like the heat.

6. Serve garnished with a little sour cream and a little bit of chopped cilantro.

Take a package of 8 crescent rolls;

Unroll them into 8 triangles;

Place 10 chocolate morsels (the baking kind) on each triangle;

Reroll the crescent rolls;

Bake according to crescent rolls directions;

Yummy!

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 4 oz lean smoked turkey sausages, sliced
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 each, small green and red pepper, chopped
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• Salt
• Italian parsley (optional)

 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
Add rice, sausage, celery and onion, cook, stirring, for 2 mins.
Add water
Whisk flour and Cajun seasoning into Milk, Gradually stir into skillet
Bring to a simmer, stirring often
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer gently for 15-20 mins or until rice is almost tender
Stir in green and red peppers, cover and simmer for 5 mins
Remove from heat
Sprinkle tomatoes over rice mixture, cover and let stand for 5 mins
Stir gently to combine and season with salt to taste
Garnish with parsley

 Ingredients

• 3 tbsp flour
• 3/4 tsp each, salt and Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups water
• 12 oz whole wheat rotini or other short pasta
• 2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 chopped basil

In a large pot, whisk flour, salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper into milk and water
Heat over medium high heat until steaming, stirring twice.
Stir in rotini, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 10 mins.
Stir in broccoli
Cover and simmer for about 2 mins, until rotini is almost tender
Uncover and cook, stirring gently for about 3 mins or until pasta is tender but firm, broccoli is tender-crisp and sauce is thickened
Stir in tomatoes and Parmesan
Cook, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon until heated through.

The big problem here is finding the jalapeno peppers in salt water (en beche?). Do not use the ones in vinegar – I’m tempted to try doing something to fresh peppers since I’ve run out of the salt water ones – or go to the bodega.

2 cans drained black beans – drained, liquid reserved

1 yellow onion

1/2 tsp red pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 stick butter

Monterey jack cheese (optional)

green chilies (if a dip)

chopped jalepenos in saltwater (if a dip)

chop onion

grate monteray cheese

melt butter on med heat. reduce heat to low and add red and white pepper, cumin and onion. cover the skillet and allow the onion to “sweat” until soft – about 5 minutes. Increase heat to med and add drained beans. Mash the beans with a large slotted spoon but do not over mash – there should be some mashed to some almost whole beans.

At this point the beans can be used as a side dish or, say, a burrito stuffing. You can mix in about 4 oz of grated monteray jack and allow that to melt. If you are making a dip, add that cheese then put the mixture in a casserole type dish. Sprinkle on the jalapenos, lay on some strips of chile pepper (canned or, better, fresh roasted) then cover with about 4 more oz of monteray jack cheese. Put in 350 degree oven until the cheese melts and the peppers are heated. Scoop up with tortilla chips. This is really good dip.

For 1/2 a baguette:

about 1/2 stick butter

3 or 4 good sized garlic cloves – thumped, peeled then smashed with edge of chef’s knife

on medium heat, saute the garlic in the butter – don’t overbrown the garlic. Put the oven on broil. Slice the baguette and brush with the butter (just push the garlic aside). Toast in the oven.

For 2 cups cooked rice:

1 cup white rice (long or short grain)

2 cups water

tsp dried dill

tsp salt

tblsp butter (optional)

put everything in a pot and stir it around a bit. Put on high heat. As soon as the mixture comes to a good boil, stir, cover tightly and turn the eye to low. Leave for exactly 20 minutes and remove from heat. It will be perfect. The 2 parts water to 1 part rice can be scaled as needed.

Because there is no fixed recipe or measurements, this nearly always tastes a little different each time – but always very tasty.

this will make enough for about 3 people.

start two cups of white rice (see another post) when you start chopping this stuff up. Have everything chopped and ready to go before beginning to cook.

12 oz pkg of country ham

or

6 oz pkg country ham and 1 or 2 chicken breasts (1 of the hormone monsters or 2 normal ones) in 1/2″ cubes

olive oil – cooking quality not dipping quality.

1/2 to 1 bell pepper – in 3/8″ cubes

1 bunch green onion (thumb diameter best but pinkie sized ok) – 1/8″ slices from the white to about about the green tops in 3/8″ slices.

3 or 4 stalks celery in 1/4″ slices

3 or 4 good sized garlic cloves chopped fine (do your own not prechopped)

can or jar of mushrooms if you’ve got them and like them

red pepper

white pepper

oregano

butter

white wine

In a big skillet (2 – 3 in deep) cook the ham (med to med hi heat)- I’ll add a little olive oil to get it crispier. Remove the ham to paper towels when done but not overdone. If you are doing the chicken thing, add a little oil to the ham drippings and then throw in the chicken and cook till browned. Remove the chicken to paper towels.

Add a little more oil to the pan and throw in the pepper, onion, garilic and celery – should be med high by now (the pan and you if you’ve been drinking properly). Cook this for a little while (5 minutes??) while scraping the bottom of the skillet to mix in the ham drippings. Toss in the mushrooms. Put about 1/3 stick of (real) butter in and stir it around til melted – the heat may get lowered just a bit here if that is the correct feel. Add the red and white pepper – you’re on your own here. My ball and chain does not like as much heat as I – I use my palm for a measuring device but I just went and measured what I generally use – about 1/8 teaspoon of each or a little more. Then some oregano – looks like about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Stir that around and add some white wine – I generally use a 6 oz bottle but a little more from a 750 ml opened for the meal would be better. Tear the ham into bite size pieces and put that in along with the chicken if you included it. At this point you’ve got all the dirty stuff simmering in wine and butter. The longer you cook this the more even the spices are distributed – not necessarily better or worse than quickly adding the rice – just another variable.

Add about 1/2 the rice and stir well. Continue adding the rice but stop before it absorbs all the moisture and gets too dry. Spoon onto a plate and eat with a piece of garlic bread and (hopefully) a glass of that white wine.

equivalent of 1/4″ slice of yellow (vidalia or walla walla best) chopped

Dump the beans and onions into a casserole/pryrex dish. Squirt in some ketchup and balance that with brown mustard. The result should be more yellow than the original not more red (too much ketchup). Add a few splashes of WhatsThisChereSauce. Cook covered in 350 oven until the burgers are ready