Moroccan Tagine

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (I used cumin instead)
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• cooked couscous to serve with Tagine

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken, onion, and garlic about 15 minutes, until browned. 

2. Mix the squash, garbanzo beans, carrot, tomatoes with juice, broth, sugar, and lemon juice into the skillet. Season with salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue cooking 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.  

3. Serve over couscous.

Yummy and healthy!

*Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

-Sarah

Kit Kat Bars

A homeade variation of the popular candy bar! Very tasty, and maybe not all that healthy :)

Ingredients:

• 60 buttery crackers, such as Keebler Club Crackers
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Preparation:

1. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Line with a layer of 20 crackers.
2. In a small saucepan, bring butter, sugars and milk together to a boil over medium heat. Stir in crushed graham crackers. Let boil 5 minutes.
3. Pour half of the sugar mixture over the crackers. Cover with another layer of 20 crackers, pressing down lightly. Pour remaining syrup mixture over crackers, smoothing to coat.
4. Top with the remaining crackers, pressing lightly.
5. Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe dish. Heat on high 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until chips are melted. (Alternatively, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a saucepan over low heat.)
6. Pour evenly over the top layer of crackers, making sure the crackers are completely covered.
7. Refrigerate until kit kat bars are firm.

Makes 36 kit kat bars.

Enjoy!

Lynn

Mexican Wonton Cups with Chili Con Queso

Mexican Wonton Cups with Chili Con Queso
These are awesome!  Last night for dinner, I was trying to figure out what I could make without going to the store.  I remembered I had these wonton wrappers for the Gyoza I made a few weeks ago. Michael wanted to make homeade salsa, so I searched for Mexican wontons and got this recipe.  It takes a little while to make, but it's worth it! 

**I halved this recipe and it still made a lot.  I would probably advise doing the same!

Chili Con Queso Sauce:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 lbs ground beef
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 14 1/2 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 4 oz can mild green chiles
• 2 chipotle in adobo, crush with side of knife then chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
• Additional cumin, cayenne, chili powder, salt and pepper, to taste

 Won Ton Cups:

• 1/2 of beef mixture from above
• 1 pkg taco seasoning, mild
• 1 1/2 cups chili con queso sauce from above
• 1 1/2 shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese plus an additional cup of Cheddar for garnish
• 50-60 won ton wrappers

Directions:

Chili Con Queso Sauce: Heat vegetable oil in large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook about 7 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add onion and peppers then cook about 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Add garlic, cayenne, cumin, chili powder, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Remove half of beef mixture and set aside. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and chiles then use a potato masher to break down tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add heavy cream and stir, then cook another 5 minutes. Add chipotle in adobo and stir. Add cheeses and stir until cheese is melted.

Won Ton Cups: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To reserved beef mixture, add taco seasoning and stir, but do not add water as directed on box. Add chili con queso sauce and cheeses. In batches of twelve, press a wonton wrapper in each cup of a muffin tin and bake 5 minutes. When removing from oven, stuff each cup with about 1 tbsp of mixture and sprinkle with cheddar. Transfer to a large baking sheet and cook another 10 minutes.

Serve Chili Con Queso Sauce with tortillas chips for dipping. Serve salsa and sour cream on the side for both the tortilla chips and the wonton cups.

Enjoy!

Lynn

Mashed Potato and Rutabaga Casserole With Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 pounds rutabagas, peeled and cubed
6 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 large onions, thinly sliced
salt and ground black pepper to taste

optional: shredded cheese (mozzarella for mild taste or maybe gruyere for a stronger taste)

Preparation:

1. Combine chicken broth, potatoes, rutabagas, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme in a large pot.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cover partially. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.

2. Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Add 1/2 cup butter. Use an electric mixer, beat mixture until mashed but still chunky. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mashed vegetables to a buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

3. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter or margarine in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions. Sautee until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Sautee until onions are tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Spread onions evenly over mashed vegetables. Casserole can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until heated through and top begins to crisp.

Jeffrey and I both agree that this recipe needs cheese, so we added mozzarella to ours.  It's pretty good, and besides the butter, very healthy.  Enjoy!

*Recipe from Howard at Dominion Harvest*

-Sarah

Shrimp Gyoza, aka Pot Stickers

I first learned of gyoza over Christmas from my sister-in-law Jenny and her husband, Alex, while they were home from China.  I tried a few from a local Chinese restaurant in Greensboro...my were they tasty! Michael then confessed they were one of his favorite foods while in China.  I knew I had to experiment on these little Chinese potstickers.  Michael and I ventured out to an Asian market here in Charleston today, and we bought a handful of authentic Chinese cuisine, including gyoza and wonton wrappers.  Here's our first take at them, and personally, I think they were delicious!  Michael agreed that they tasted "authentic." That's a great start! I bet they aren't as good as Jenny's, though. Can't wait to try hers one day!

Shrimp Gyoza/Pot Stickers

Sauce:
1/2 c soy sauce
5 tbsp white vinegar (we used rice)
4 tsp Sriracha sauce (we used 2 tsp)
2 tbsp sugar (we used 1)
1 tbsp grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

**Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Pot Stickers:
1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 cups chopped cabbage
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 pound ground, cooked shrimp (could use pork, beef, chicken)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (10 ounce) package wonton wrappers
1/4 cup water

**
1.Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Mix in cabbage, onion, garlic and carrot. Cook and stir until cabbage is limp. Mix in ground pork and egg. Cook until pork is evenly brown and egg is no longer runny.


2.Preheat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

3.Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the cabbage and pork mixture in the center of each wrapper. Fold wrappers in half over filling, and seal edges with moistened fingers.

4.In the preheated vegetable oil, cook gyoza approximately 1 minute per side, until lightly browned. Place water into skillet and reduce heat. Cover and allow gyoza to steam until the water is gone.

It definitely helped to have this little wonton contraption!

 
 
*These were 2 recipes I combined in one.  One is from the January 11 Everyday Food magazine, and the other is from All Recipes.
 
Enjoy!
 
~Lynn