Mushroom and Burgundy Stew - Hearty and Tasty

Another tasty meal from Rachael Ray's "Week in a Day" show.  I bookmarked this a WHILE ago and just got around to making it.  It was cold this week, so I decided to give it a shot.  The original recipe
Mushroom and Burgundy Stew, didn't have any protein in it, so I decided to try it with beef tenderloin tips - they were on sale this week - YEAH!  Don't get me wrong, the ratio of mushrooms to beef cubes was 2 mushroom : 1 beef cube, plus I used baby bellas (aka cremini), so the mushroom mouth-feel was a bit meatier.

My start time: 4pm; My end time 7:30pm

Rachael Ray's Prep Time: 20-30 mins; Cook time: 45 mins

1.  I started by cutting 4 oz pancetta slices into pieces appx 3/4 inch squares - hrmmm wonder where I can get the pancetta in chunks like I see on Giada's show - it was a little difficult to separate the pieces after I had stacked and sliced them.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil to your dutch oven and warm to medium-high heat and add the pancetta pieces.
2.  After the pancetta was browned and had rendered some fat into my Lodge Color 3-Quart Dutch Oven, I added appx 8 oz beef tips and browned them on all sides.
3.  While the beef tips were browning, I wiped 16 oz baby bellas, and then halved them. Some of the beef tips were a little larger than "bite size", so I pulled them out after they were par-cooked and cut them into 2-3 pieces.
Switch cutting boards.
4.  Add the mushrooms to the pot and let cook until until brown and tender - about 15 minutes or so.
5.  Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, marjoram, and thyme.

The mushroom-beef stew players

6. Cover and cook/simmer until vegetables are tender - about 10 minutes
7. Stir in 3 tbsp flour for 1 minute to incorporate.
8.  Add 2 tbsp tomato paste and 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
9.  Add 2 1/2 cups dry red wine (always use wine you would drink - none of that "cooking wine" you buy in the grocery store) and reduce by half - this took me maybe 20 minutes
10.  Add 4 cups beef stock.  BGS purchased Mushroom Base for me to use with this recipe, so I added 4 tsp of the base to the beef stock and dissolved it the best I could before adding it to the pot.  Simmer to thicken.
11.  Cool completely on the stove and then store in the fridge for your make ahead-meal.

As you can see by my start and end times, I was in the kitchen longer than my tv counterpart.  I chock that up to me not chopping often and not having a great deal of counter space.  *shakes fist at the horrible kitchen arrangement*

12.  On the day you want to serve your stew, take it out of the fridge and bring it to a simmer in the dutch oven while you boil water for your noodles.  I chose whole wheat egg noodles.  Cook your chosen noodles according to the directions on the package and then drain.  Put the noodles back in the pot; add 2 tbsp butter and a handful of fresh parsley, chopped.

To serve, dish noodles into a soup plate or shallow dish and then ladle stew over the noodles.

All in all I LOVE this meal!  BGS said it was too rich, so he only ate it twice.  That's fine.  More for me :)
We got four servings from this meal - so he ate it once and I ate it 3 times.  YUM!!  BGS also said it was "ruined" by the whole wheat noodles hehe - I wasn't phased by them.

Orange-Walnut Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing and Filling

I had originally planned to make Coffee Cake Muffins Melissa's Born to Cook blog, but then I remembered I had promised BGS that I would make some orange cupcakes/muffins with cheesecake icing, so I sought out recipes and resources.  I found Orange Muffins, Fresh Orange Muffins. and Orange Muffins.

 I'm not a fan of  overly sweet icings - never have been - even as a kid -, so I found two resources for cream cheese icing that balanced the sweetness.  I found Cream Cheese Filling and All Recipe Cheese Filling and once again felt the need to improvise based on the ingredients.

For the cupcake/muffin:
2 oranges, peel on, but seeds removed
3/4 cup orange juice or mango nectar
2 cups All Purpose (AP) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

For the muffin topping:                                                 For the filling/icing
1 tbsp melted butter/margarine                                         16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar                                                        3/4 pound powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon                                                  10 oz mango nectar   
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg                                                      zest and juice of one orange
1/8 tsp ground cloves                                                       2 oz orange liqueur like Triple Sec
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)                                  2 oz dark rum
                                                                                       1 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray your muffin pans with non-stick spray or or place muffin liners and set aside.    Place the orange quarters and orange juice/mango nectar in your food processor or blender and pulse until pureed.  Add the eggs and oil and blend/pulse until incorporated.
In a separate large bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar,nuts, and spices.  Add the orange mixture all at once and stir to combine.  Fill the muffin cups until 2/3 full.

Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and spices and sprinkle on top of the muffins.  Put the muffins in the preheated muffins for 20-25 minutes.

While the muffins are cooking, combine the mango nectar and orange juice and orange zest to a pot and reduce to a thick syrup.  Whip the softened cheese until smooth.  Slowly add the powdered sugar, mango syrup, rum, and triple sec until combined.

My plan was to put the icing inside and on top of the cupcakes, but I didn't have of those spiffy cake decorating tips, so I had to settle for just putting the icing on top.  The Icing is deliciously non-sweet, but my cupcake/muffins are dense and moist (not in a good way).  I spose that's what I get for improving on a baking recipe......BGS likes them, though.  That's what REALLY matters :)

Trying to get the blog more read - Techorati - GSEJN4AHRRTN

I'm trying to get more people to read my blog. I've turned to Techorati to help - GSEJN4AHRRTN

Super Bowl Dinner: Tofu-Cheese Stuffed Shells, Homemade Oregano Bread, and Salad

     Since BGS is trying to eat healthier - again - he found some tofu recipes for us to try.  This one sounded like the "easiest" and also the one that was  the mostly likely to please his anti-tofu palette.  So I made Tofu Stuffed Shells, which is mildly impressive since I've never made stuffed anything before, let alone stuffed shells!  I tried to get him to agree to using whole-grain pasta shells, but that was a no-go.  I figured I would let it slide since he was inviting tofu back into his life :)  What goes better with pasta than bread to sop up the sauce?  Homemade sauce at that!  That's where the second part of our meal comes in.... I made yeast bread for the first time ever!! I made salad, too, but that's I've made it tons of times before.  BGS' latest diet suggests, logically, that he should eat a medium-large salad before starting his entree.  It's been about a week since starting this latest urge to lose weight and so far I think I have seen him follow the "rules" a grand total of once....1/7....not the best ratio, but I suppose everything takes time...that's what my doctors keep telling me at least.

Speaking of doctors, I've already consulted mine about adding more leafy greens and soy/tofu to my diet so they can adjust my meds accordingly.  As long as I eat a consistent amount of the vitamin K foods - consistent from one week to the next - I shouldn't have any problems.  I will be checking more often as I gradually increase the quantity back into my diet.  Ok, enough with the verbiage!  On with the food!!

I actually started making this meal Friday night...yes Friday.  I knew I wanted to make bread on Sunday, so I wanted plenty of time to work through that learning process rather try and do two new things all in one day.
Today's players for the stuffed shells:  whole milk ricotta, zucchini, carrot, onion, tofu, Monterey Jack cheese
1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add your shells and cook 8-10 minutes until al dente and drain.  While those are cooking ...
Let's start the filling:
     1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
     1/3 cup shredded carrot
     1/4 cup shredded zucchini
     3 Tbsp chopped onion
     8 oz container firm tofu
     1/2 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese*
     1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/2 tsp pepper
      1 egg white
     1/2 tsp dried oregano
     1/2 tsp dried basil
     1 tsp minced garlic
     1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3.  In a small saucepan mix the carrot, zucchini, and onion.  Pour in just enough water to cover the veggies and cook over medium heat until tender.  Once cooked, drain.

Sorry for the blur -
the camera couldn't decide what to focus on

4.  In a large bowl, mash the tofu with a fork.  You want it to have the same texture/size as cottage cheese or ricotta cheese.  Stir in the drained carrot-zucchini-onion mix, Monterey Jack, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ricotta cheese, egg white, salt, pepper ,1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil flakes, 1 tsp minced garlic.  Mix well and set aside

Pre-bake

Now the ingredients for the sauce:
    2 (8 oz) cans diced tomatoes
    1/3 cup tomato paste
    1 tsp dried basil
    1 tsp dried oregano
    1/4 tsp garlic powder
    1 tsp minced garlic
5.  Mix these ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
6.  Scoop 1 Tbsp of the filling into each of your cooked shells and place them in an un greased 2 qt casserole.  I ended up with 2 layers in my CorningWare French White 2-1/2-Quart Oval Dish, so I spooned about 4 tbsp of the sauce on top of the first layer.  After placing the second layer of shells, pour the remaining sauce over the shells.
7.  Mix the breadcrumbs and remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and sprinkle over the top of the sauce.
8.  Cover and bake 25 minutes or until heated through.


I cooled the finished dish on the stovetop to avoid extra condensation when I put it in the refrigerator

Flash forward to Sunday.  Bread day!

Today's Players: - this dough can be made in a bread maker or in a stand mixer with the bread hook attachment, which is what I did.
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (yes, it does come ungranulated)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp active dry yeast - I used 1 whole packet of Fleischmann's yeast, which is
cornmeal for dusting the bread stone
1 egg white, slightly beaten

1.  Add flour, oil, water, sugar, salt, oregano and yeast to your work bowl - set your  bread machine to the dough setting or turn your stand mixer on low
2.  Mix until a dough ball forms around the hook or until your bread machine stops mixing
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
4. Sprinkle cornflour/cornmeal onto a baking sheet
5. Punch the dough down and form into an oval or long loaf
6. Cover with a tea/clean kitchen towel and cover for 25 minutes
7. After the 25 minutes are over, the dough should be doubled  - mine wasn't, so I left for another 25 minutes....still nothing :(
  I looked at the yeast packet and it said if the room was below 85 degrees (my house is never above 73 degrees) to place the dough on a cookie sheet and place a pan of 85+ degree water underneath the cookie sheet.....I did.... I even covered the setup with 2 tea towels to keep the steam in....left for abt 10 minutes....came back and the dough was dripping/falling through the cookie sheet into the pan of water *sigh*...extract the oozing dough from the cookie sheet/water and put it on a different with tiny squares instead of slats...recover and walk away for 15 minutes.....still nothing...*sigh*
I give up....I put the bread in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.
   You are supposed to bake it until you hear a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom....I was too hungry to knock, so I pulled the bread and sliced it.  It tasted good. A bit doughy, but still tasty.

   Round out the meal with a salad and you have a tasty homemade Italian supper.


*the recipe said shredded Monterey, but I couldn't find it on it's own and was too lazy to shred it myself;)

Quinoa Plus Carrot-Apple-Pear Juice

I used the same basic recipe for the quinoa as yesterday, but today, I added 1 tbsp of Brewer's Yeast for the extra energy and complex B-vitamins.(nutritional info).  Diabetics or people with Hypoglycemia should consult their doctors before using brewer's yeast, because the yeast contains chromium, which may enhance sensitivity to insulin and affect glucose levels.


Turns out I really should have purchased Nutritional Yeast Powder to avoid tipping BGS' sugars.  He isn't diabetic, but we are trying to stave it off.  I prepared it the same as I did previously, but sprinkled the yeast on with the brown sugar.  He didn't taste the difference :)

Today's juice, however, was a different story.  even though he "approved" the recipe from Spark People, he was http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=514217 very outspoken about the fact that he didn't like it.  Oh well, I got some good pulp from it and plan on making carrot "cake" muffins this weekend.

Breakfast Quinoa and Vitamin C Juice - it's what's for breakfast

I don't remember where or when, but I read somewhere recently that quinoa (properties and benefits) was an excellent source of nutrition.  So I set out looking for recipes that used it.  The first one I found was to cook the quinoa in pomegranate-green tea.  I wasn't allowed to try it because my numbers were way off the week before (both pomegranate and green tea affect my numbers).  BGS did try it and wasn't fond of it.  He said all he could taste was the tea.  He finished his serving that night, but asked if he could toss out the rest.  Ok...one recipe done...time to search for more...to the internet!


I found a recipe for a lunch/side dish that uses pistachios and dried pineapple....a savory dish that uses scallions, raisins, and chicken broth (2 savory lunch/side dish recipes now)...a main course/lunch dish that uses chopped chicken breast, scallions, cumin (3 savory dishes)...and then I found a quinoa rice pudding that even has the rum and raisins and  today's breakfast dish that sounded delicious!

Quinoa Players

Prep time: 5-6 minutes.  Cook time: appx 20 minutes
Today's Breakfast Main Dish Players (for 1 serving): 2% milk, water, quinoa, rolled oats, oat bran, walnuts, cinnamon,salt, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and dried cranberries.

I got smart...I got the ingredients gathered and prepped last night, including putting the sauce pan on the stove last night after I cleaned up dinner.  This included putting 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk in a container and storing it in the fridge. Next I measured 3 tablespoons rolled oats (I didn't have rolled oats in my pantry, so I used instant - more on this later), 2 tablespoons oat bran, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch ground cinnamon, and 1 handful - appx 1/4 cup dried cranberries).  I also retrieved a bag of frozen mixed fruit from the freezer that included strawberries, mangoes, peaches, and pineapple chunks and set it on the counter to defrost for the morning juice

*Yawn* -*stumble down stairs* *let dog out* *rub eyes* *stretch* "brew" Donut Shop coffee and retrieve my milk/water mix from the fridge when I get out my creamer.

1.  Pour the milk/water into the pot already on the stove and add 2 tablespoons quinoa and bring to a gentle boil....do not walk away like I did.  I nearly had the whole thing boil over on me.
2.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
3.  Stir in the cranberries, rolled oats, oat bran, salt, and cinnamon.
4.  Cook, stirring frequently over low heat for 2-5 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken.
5.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice), 2 tsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Serve immediately.   The recipe said that it should make two servings, given the fact that I doubled the recipe *all measurements above are 2x the original recipe at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/good-morning-banana-nut-cereal/detail.aspx*, but it seemed like barely enough for 1 person, so I gave the whole thing to BGS for breakfast.

I don't know if it's because I used instant oats or if there wasn't enough liquid after the water/milk almost boiled over.  It's probably a combination of the two.  Who knows.  Either way, he enjoyed it and from the tablespoon I saved for myself, it was mighty tasty.  We will definitively try this again with other "additives".

The Juice:  I put the defrosted 16 oz bag of strawberries, peach slices, mango chunks and pineapple chunks in the juicer.   Big Mistake: I only got 4 ozs of juice out.  Apparently our Breville juicer

doesn't handle soft fruits - like blueberries, strawberries, etc all that efficiently.  Next time I will put it in the blender...who knew  we would need a juicer and  a blender to make juices....oh well....good thing I have my Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender so I won't have to wash the blender pitcher every time.

The juice tasted great anyway.  Just wish we had more of it :(

The photo is from today's juice has more chunks and bits in it, because I used the immersion blender instead of the juicer.  BGS was in a hurry to get to work, so I didn't pulse it all the way through.  BGS wasn't fond of the bits, but drank it anyway.

Too hungry to take pictures - Chicken Saltimbocca and Lemon-Basil Orzotto

I got distracted by something today and didn't realize it was dinner time until 6pm...so I hurriedly fed the pets and started with the cooking....sorry, no pictures today :(
Today's Main Dish Players: chicken breasts, ricotta, sage, and prosciutto for the main dish.

1.  I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and set about trying to butterfly (unsuccessfully) 3 Perdue Fit-n-Easy chicken breasts....have you ever tried to split something in half that is already thin?
2.  I then mixed together 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 6 sage leaves that I had cut into ribbons, and the zest of 1/2 lemon.
3.  Next step was to put the ricotta-sage mixture inside the "butterflied" chicken breasts.  This didn't work out so well because I had difficulty butterflying the breasts in the first place...some of the filling was more under the breast than inside.
4.  Wrap the chicken breasts - filling and all - with the 2-3 slices of prosciutto, overlapping the slices as you wrap.
5.  Place the chicken breasts in an oven-safe dish and cook for 20-25 minutes.

*things I changed from the original recipe provided by Rachael Ray Stuffed Chicken Saltimbocca with Arugula and Tomato Salad a.  I didn't include the Parmesan in the filling; b.  I didn't prepare yesterday; c. I forgot to drizzle with extra virgin olive oil; d. I didn't make the panko-garlic topping*


Today's Side Dish Players: : olive oil, onion, orzo pasta, 1 lemon, frozen peas, half-and-half, white wine, chicken broth.
1.  Put 2 Tbsp in the bottom of a heavy-bottom stockpot and turn heat to medium-high.
2.  Add 1 cup diced onion to the olive oil and cook until just translucent.
3.  Add 1 1/2 cups orzo pasta to the pot and cook til just toasted - about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Stir in 1/2 cup white wine and cook until absorbed
5.  Gradually add 3 cups  low-sodium chicken broth, stirring frequently.
6. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook, covered, 8-10 minutes until the liquid is almost all absorbed.
7.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup petite frozen peas, 2 tablespoons chiffonade (cut into ribbons) fresh basil, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1/4 half-and-half, 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice.

*things I changed from the original recipe provided by Kelsey Nixon Lemon-Basil Orzotto a.I didn't include Parmesan cheese; b. I used half-and-half instead of heavy cream.*


BGS and I really enjoyed these recipes.  They are very very tasty.  Hopefully they will be a jumping off point for me to put together my own pairings.

Orange-Berry Bread and Muffins

Before I started making the juice this week I researched what to do with the pulp:  you can compost it or you can bake with it casseroles, baked goods, "fruit leathers" aka fruit roll-up things, or soup.  With all the juice I made this week using our Breville juicer, I had almost 3 cups of orange/blueberry/strawberry pulp in the fridge.  So I looked for a substitution guide....you know..what do I take out of a regular bread/muffin recipe in exchange for the pulp.  I knew I couldn't just add the pulp to a recipe; there's still a lot of water in the pulp.  I was unable to find a substitution guide on the internet.  I did find, however, find some muffin recipes that used pulp.

BGS asked why there was so much honey, but when I told him there's usually more sugar in baked goods...not to mention the added sugar from the fruit pulp, he understood.

Orange-Berry Muffin Players

Starting with the dry ingredients - today's players are: 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour (You can use all whole wheat or all all-purpose, the recipes I found used one or the other), 1 tbsp baking soda, 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg.           The wet ingredients are: 3 cups juicing pulp, 1 cup oil, 1 cup honey, and 6 egg whites,  and 1 tbsp vanilla. Optional: 1 cup blueberries (or other berry) and 1/2 cup sliced almonds (or your favorite nut)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dry ingredients before sifting.

2.  Put the juice pulp, egg whites, honey, vanilla , and oil in a mixing bowl and stir.
3.  Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together and gradually add to the liquids; stir until blended.
4.  Fold in the almonds and blueberries
5.  Pour or scoop the batter into lined muffin pans.  Make sure to leave some room at the top for expansion.
6.  Bake 45 minutes

 The recipe I found on the net said the recipe makes 1 dozen muffins, but I still had batter left, so I made a loaf, also.

 For the vast majority of you that don't have a juicer, you interchange the pulp with ...well, I'm not sure...One site said flour, but this recipe has 3 cups of pulp and 3 cups of flour....that would be 6 cups of flour which I KNOW can't be right....

I am usually looking for the obvious substitutions - like applesauce for oil or yogurt for eggs....this one I'm not sure about...I will keep looking.  Maybe I'll make this recipe next week without the pulp and see how it goes.....

Look for another baking recipe next weekend....we best get to noshing on those tasty muffins :)

Quiche and Orange-Berry Juice - it's what's for breakfast

Cooked last night:  I started with the Crustless Quiche recipe from Joy of Cooking.  I started by cutting 2 Jimmy Dean® Turkey Sausage Patties into bite-size pieces and placed them into my ungreased pie plate.  I then broke up and cut 2/3 cup of frozen broccoli into bite size pieces and scattered the pieces on top of the sausage.  On top of the sausage I layered 1 cup of 2% extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese.

In a bowl I mix 4 eggs, 1 1/2 light cream (aka half-&-half), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.   Once mixed, I pour the mixture over the sausage, cheese, and broccoli.  Some of the cheese and sausage was sticking up above the the egg mixture, so I used a spoon to push as much of the ingredients below the egg mixture.

I cooked the quiche at 350 for 30 minutes.  While it was cooking, I prepped the ingredients for the juice.  I started with 2 oranges and 1 cup of strawberries.  It didn't seem balanced, so I searched for a recipe that incorporated more flavors and I found Healthy Juicing Recipes.  I didn't have 4 oranges; I only had 2 so I'll make do and see how it tastes.

The juice is FANTASTIC.  BGS got mono somehow and has been requesting it for the vitamin C.
He did ask if I could make the quiche "taller"....The quiche pan is only so tall...It was full to the top when I put it in the oven, it settled a little in the cooking process.  Do they make taller quiche/pie pans?

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout - Wikimedia Foundation

I don't have a website that's visited enough to make a difference, but I support the SOPA blackout. Contact your congressmen/woman....tell them you're against SOPA.

Here's the petition: http://americancensorship.org/

This is the administrations response to a petition posted at whitehouse.gov: they pretty much said no....

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout - Wikimedia Foundation:

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Orange Slow-braised Beef Stew with Mushrooms - not our favorite

Experimenting with new beef recipes, BGS approved this as something he'd like to try:  Slow-braised Beef with Mushrooms.  I started by freezing the 3.5 beef loin so that I could easily slice it.  (I searched everywhere, but couldn't find the photos I took for this recipe) This recipe was originally seen in Sunset in January 2003.

Today's players are:

4 pounds boned, fat-trimmed beef short ribs or chuck
1 orange (2 1/2 in. wide), rinsed
1 onion (about 8 oz.), peeled and finely chopped
About 1 cup fat-skimmed beef  broth - I used low-sodium, like always
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup port or cream sherry
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
3 or 4 very thin slices (quarter size) peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 pound mushrooms (1- to 1 1/2-in.-wide caps)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or green onions

1. Place the beef in the freezer for 20-30 minutes

2. While the beef is in the freezer, prep the orange.  With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the orange - just the skin - you don't want the white pith.  In a medium sauce pan, combine the orange peel, onion, broth, wine, port, vinegar, soy sauce, thyme, ginger, and five spice.  Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat.

3.  Remove the beef from the freezer and slice about 1 and 1 1/2 thick wide.  Place the slices in the bottom of the 5-6 qt crockpot; set the crockpot to high and cook 5-6 hours.

(I didn't have mushrooms, so I skipped these steps)
4.Rinse and drain mushrooms; trim off and discard stem ends. Cut mushrooms in half lengthwise and place in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan; add butter.
5. Skim off and discard fat from liquid in slow-cooker. Ladle 1 cup liquid into pan with mushrooms. Stir mushrooms often over high heat until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are lightly browned, 13 to 17 minutes.

1. 6. With a slotted spoon, lift meat from juices in slow-cooker and lay in a single layer in a shallow casserole (about 9 by 13 in.). Pour mushrooms over meat. Bake in a 375° regular or convection oven until meat is sizzling and browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. 7. Meanwhile, measure remaining liquid from slow-cooker. If less than 2 cups, add beef broth to make 2 cups, pour into a 2- to 3-quart pan, and bring to a boil over high heat; if there is more, pour into pan and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 cups, 8 to 12 minutes. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Pour into boiling liquid and stir until thickened, about 30 seconds. Pour evenly over meat and mix gently to blend with liquid in casserole, adding salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chives.

When all was said and done, BGS and I couldn't taste anything but orange.  The meat was tender, but it didn't taste like meat.  It tasted like anything but orange :(  I served it over rice, but it wasn't our favorite dish.   I'll keep looking for beef recipes for the crockpot :(

Pros and Cons of Having Compost | Digg Topnews

Pros and Cons of Having Compost | Digg Topnews:

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BGS and I are debating vermicomposting vs regular outdoor compost.....I want to do vermi he doesn't want the worms and foulness in the house........

Anyone have thoughts/feedback? Pros/Cons?

Multi-step/Multi-day/Multi-Recipe Chicken-Havarti-Pear Chutney Panini :)

The players - the ginger moved and the allspice was suddenly shy

I started with this Ginger-Pear Chutney Recipe from Food.com.  Thank goodness that site allows you to scale the recipe, because I didn't want to can the chutney.  I scaled it to make 5 half-pints...that means I used 4 1/4 chopped pears, 1 2/3 sugar, 1/2 cup seedless raisins (wait seedless? have you ever seen raisins with seeds???), 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (that translated to my whole bottle of crystallized ginger from McCormick®), 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground allspice, 1/4 tsp cloves.
The directions are wonderfully simple for the chutney:
1.  Combine all the ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours, stir occasionally.
 - SEE? SIMPLE :)

Next day - cause I started the chutney around 5pm and we got hungry....
Whole Grain Chicken Havarti Pear Chutney Panini - makes 2 sandwiches
Today's players today are 6-8 tablespoons of the chutney, 4 slices of whole grain bread - some stores sell "Panini Bread" - it's a little taller and wider than regular bread you find in the bread aisle, 6-8 slices of sliced rotisserie chicken, 4 slices Havarti cheese, and olive oil for spreading - abt 2-3 tbsp.
1. Heat your griddle/panini press/pan to medium high
2. Brush olive oil on one side of each of the 4 slices

3. Assemble the sandwich by putting the oil side down (I assembled on a plate to make it easier) - spoon/spread 1-2 tablespoon(s) of chutney on the bread, layer 1-2 slices of havarti, 1-3 slices of chicken, 1-2 tablespoon (s) on the non-oil side of the bread and then stack the bread (chutney side down) on top of the chicken slices).
4. Place the assembled sandwich or sandwiches on the heated panini press or griddle.  If you are using the press, let it sit with the cover down for about 4-5 minutes.  If you are using a griddle or hot skillet, flip the sandwich at the halfway point - 2-3 minutes in order for both sides of the sandwich to get toasted.

I made the panini off the top of my head, just based on tastes I thought would taste good together.  Turns out I added a little too much chutney to the bread.  The resulting product was very sweet.  BGS ended up scraping half of it off before eating it.  He even accused of me of trying to make him diabetic.

I looked up chutney/panini recipes and most of them say 2 tbsp chutney for each sandwich, so I guess I over-did it.  *shrug*  Lesson learned :)

Sorry there are no photos of the panini - BGS was so hungry he took it before I could snap a shot.

It sure did taste good though :)

Next Juice Recipe....Made by BGS

This time BGS insisted on making it himself....
2 cups cantaloupe
2 cups strawberry
1 cup raspberry

enough to make two servings....but since BGS was making it, he pushed the fruit down too fast and it only made 1 serving...and it was barely 1 serving....I tasted it.  Tasted pretty good, still want to find a way to put yogurt/frozen yogurt in the juicer so I don't have to wash the juicer and the blender....anyone know?

I've been slacking on posting, but not on cooking....

BGS bought a Breville Juicer for Christmas, so we...well I have been playing with combinations...

Yesterday was from http://juicerrecipespro.com/delicious-and-filling-weight-loss-juicing-recipes.html. It had

One cucumber (leave skin on)
• One medium red apple (cored, seeds removed, but skin left on)
• Three stalks of celery (leaves on)
• Two tablespoons of vanilla flavored protein powder (sold at health food stores)

BGS hated it....said it almost made him toss his cookies...err...toss his veggies.... He is the only one that tried it since I can't have greens or soy this week.

Today I made a juice from http://healthy-addiction.blogspot.com/2011/04/strawberry-cucumber-juice.html.

Strawberry Cucumber Juice
3/4 C strawberries
3 oz. honeydew melon - I used cantaloupe since that's what I had on hand.
1/2 small cucumber
ice cubes - I tried frozen yogurt

Hull the strawberries. Remove the skin and the seeds from the melon and chop the flesh into chunks. Juice the fruit with the cucumber. Pour the juice over ice in a tall glass and serve.
I tried to substitute frozen yogurt for the ice cubes, but the yogurt disappeared...none of it appeared in the juice container...

He sipped it and instantly said "No more cucumbers in juices."

So I did some quick research and found that we can substitute watermelon for cucumber. Looks like BGS needs to make a stop at the store on the way home :) It's too cold for salad...good thing the Labradum likes cukes... I have two more English cucumbers in the refrigerator.

I'll work on posting the dishes I made and haven't posted...if I can remember them all :)