French Provencal Pot Roast

French Provencal Pot Roast

(1) 3-4 lb. chuck roast

salt and pepper

olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 shallot, sliced

1 leek, light green to white part cleaned and sliced

1 cup or so red wine

3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

10-12 small red new potatoes, whole

2 ribs celery , cut into chunks

2 sprigs rosemary

1 lemon , cut in half

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup beef stock

one 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

12 large leaves basil, torn

1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence

2 tablespoons drained capers

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season both sides of the roast with salt and pepper. In a heavy iron pan with tight fitting lid heat on high. When hot add a bit of olive oil and sear the roast well on both sides. Remove seared roast to platter. Turn down heat to low and add the onions, leek and shallot and quick saute. Add the garlic. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot. Add the sliced lemon halves and place roast on top along with the Herbs de Provence, rosemary sprigs, and beef stock. Place tight fitting lid on pot and cook in oven for about 2 1/2 hours or until roast appears to have about 1 hour of cooking time left.. Remove from oven and add the carrots, potatoes, celery, mushrooms,  fire roasted tomatoes, 1/2 of the parsley, capers and 3/4 of the torn basil leaves. Place lid back on pot and finish baking until meat and vegetable or tender. Once finished remove lemons and place roast, vegetables and pan juices on platter and garnish with chopped parsley and rosemary sprigs.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tamale Pie

You will never miss the meat. I used cremini mushrooms also known as baby portabellas for the lack of meat. These mushrooms are perfect texture for any replacement for meat. I also included kale for the needed green and additional vitamins to the dish. A great fool the kids into veggies alternative.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tamale Pie

1 onion,chopped

2 cloves garlic,minced

dash of olive oil

1 (16 oz. ) can kidney beans, undrained

1(16oz.) can black beans, undrained

1 (16 oz.) can garbanzo beans , undrained

7 oz. can diced green chilies, undrained

1 (16 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8 oz.) tomato sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 carrot, peeled, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 cup frozen corn

1 small bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

1/2 cup sliced olives

1 lb. stemmed and diced cremini (baby bella) mushrooms

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 cup yellow corn meal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups almond milk

1/2 cup egg substitute or egg whites

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 1/2 oz. canned creamed style  corn

Lightly grease a large slow cooker pot. In a skillet with a little bit of olive oil,cook the onions and garlic until softened. Add all the ingredients except the corn meal, flour, baking powder, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, almond milk, egg substitute, vegetable oil and cream style corn. Stir to combine, cover and cook on high for 2 hours.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and sugar. Whisk in the almond milk, egg substitute, vegetable oil and creamed style corn just until combined. Pour the corn meal mixture evenly over the top of the bean mixture; cover and cook 2 more hours. Serve.

Case of the missing food pictures

For the last 3 hours I have done nothing but search out and re post my food pictures. For some unknown reason I’m missing a ridiculous amount of pictures that I’ve posted. Stay tuned because so far all I have time to do today was the Soup and Stew and This and That categories. I will gradually fix the other posts missing the pictures. If you should peruse my page, and see a missing picture please let me know and I will re post the picture.

Curried Potato-Leek and Spinach Soup- Cheap eats for dinner!

Curried Potato-Leek and Spinach Soup

Serves 2

2 medium leeks, cleaned and cut into 1/4 inch pieces  to equal 2 cups

1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 tsp. curry powder

2 cups water

1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves, Cut spinach into thin strips

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper; to taste

In a heavy bottomed soup pot add the butter, curry, leeks and potatoes. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the water; bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Place mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour back into pot and add milk. Heat until heated through. Do not boil. Stir in spinach.

Salmon-Asparagus Bisque

1/2 lb. salmon

juice of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup green onions, sliced onions

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

3 cups half-half

1/2 cup tomato puree

2 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tsp. salt

1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 lb. skinny fresh asparagus, cut into bite size pieces if larger than a pencil, blanch cut pieces.

Poach salmon with juice from 1 lemon and enough water to just cover. Cool, flake and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter, stir in green onions and garlic; saute until onions are transparent. Blend in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and half-and-half, stirring until thickened. Add the salmon, asparagus pieces, tomato puree, sherry , salt, dill and pepper. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Garnish with fresh dill.

Chicken, Sausage and Okra Gumbo

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 lbs. smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices.

8 chicken thighs

8 drumsticks

2 (10 oz.) boxes of frozen sliced okra

2 onions, chopped

3 celery ribs, sliced

8 cups chicken broth

8 cups water

1 bunch sliced green onions

cooked white rice

Tabasco Sauce

In a heavy cast iron skillet, brown the smoked sausage in the vegetable oil. Remove to a paper towel lined dish to drain off any extra fat. Pat dry the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken in the same iron skillet as the sausage was browned in. Place browned chicken pieces on a separate pan from the sausage lined with paper towels. Pour out all of the fat in the skillet except about 1 tablespoon. Add the okra and brown, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and celery and continue to cook until celery is tender. In a large heavy pot add the water and chicken stock; bring to a simmer. Add the okra mixture to the simmering liquid and then the chicken. Simmer, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked and gumbo is thickened. Stir in the browned sausage, green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve gumbo over white rice with Tabasco on the side.

Roasted California Chilies and Garlic Chowder with Rosemary Sourdough Croutons

Chowder:

8 dried California chilies

2 bulbs of garlic

Olive oil to drizzle on garlic

1 1/2 tsp. corn oil

4 white potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 onions, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 3-4 inch sprig of fresh thyme

1 cup white wine

1 cup water

about 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

salt: to taste

 

Croutons:

6 cups fresh sourdough bread cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

 

Chowder:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Roast the dried chilies in the oven for 30 seconds. Remove, reduce oven to 350 degrees.

Simmer the chiles in the pot of water until very soft.

While the chilies simmer, cut the tops of the heads of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil and roast until soft. Set aside. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees. for the croutons.

While the garlic is roasting, drain chilies reserving a little bit of the liquid. Remove the chile stems and seeds. Puree the chilies in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, adding enough liquid to form a paste. Place in bowl; set aside.

In a large stockpot, heat the corn oil. Saute the potatoes and onions with the bay leaf and thyme over low heat for about 8 minutes.

Add the wine; deglaze the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes to let alcohol to evaporate. Add 1 cup of water,; simmer until vegetables are soft.

Squeeze the pulp from the garlic bulbs into the bowl of a food processor. Using a slotted spoon, add two-thirds of the potatoes and onions to the food processor bowl with the garlic. Process until smooth. Add the puree to the remaining vegetables.

Add the chile paste, the half-and-half and the salt to the chowder. Heat until just below simmer. Do not boil.

 

Croutons:

In a bowl, toss the bread cubes with the olive oil and rosemary. Spread the cubes on a foil line baking sheet; bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning often until toasted. While the croutons are still hot , toss with the Parmesan cheese.

 

Ladle chowder into bowls, top with croutons.

Provencal Vegetable Soup

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts

3 cups 1/2 inch diced unpeeled boiling potatoes

3 cups 1/2 inch diced carrots

1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 qts. chicken stock

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1/2 lb. French string beans, ends removed and cut in half

4 oz. whole wheat spaghetti, broken in pieces

1 cup Pistou ( recipe to follow)

Freshly grated Parmesan

 

Heat olive oil in stockpot, add onions, and saute’ over low heat 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add leeks, potatoes, carrots, salt and pepper and saute’ another 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and saffron. Bring to boil and then simmer just until vegetables are tender. Add the pasta and green beans, bring to simmer until pasta is al dente.. To serve. whisk 1/4 cup of the Pistou into the hot soup, then season to taste. Serve with parmesan cheese and dollop of Pistou.

 

Pistou

 

4 Large Garlic cloves

1/4 cup tomato paste

24 large basil leaves

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 olive oil

 

Place all but olive oil in food processor and puree. With motor still running , slowly add the olive oil to make a paste. Store in air tight container topped of with olive oil in the fridge.

Irish Stew

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 lbs. 1- inch stew meat, lamb , beef or both

2 large carrots, cut in 1/4 inch rounds

1 large yellow onion , coarsely chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs thyme

1 -12 oz. bottle Guinness or other stout

1 cup beef broth

2 large russet potatoes, cut unto 1 inch cubes

Combine the meat in the flour plus 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Transfer all the coated meat and excess flour to a crock pot. Add the carrots, onion, garlic and thyme. Slowly pour in the Guinness and then stir in beef broth. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours or high 4-5 hours. Add potatoes and cook an additional hour or until potatoes are tender. Using wondra flour use enough in stew to thicken slightly. Turn off heat.

Spoon into casserole or individual casserole. Wet edges of casserole and place any of your favorite crust, ie. Pie or even puff pastry. Seal around wet edges by pressing. Brush tops of crust with beaten egg white with a bit of water. Sprinkle tops with Kosher salt and black pepper. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until crust is golden.

Cheddar Ale Soup

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

4 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup finely diced, onion

1/4 cup finely diced , carrot

1/4 cup finely diced , celery

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup flour

1-12 oz. bottle Ale

2 1/3 cups whole milk

1- 14oz. can chicken broth

1 tsp. dry mustard

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 lb. extra sharp cheddar

In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; add onion , carrot , celery and bay leaf cook and stir often, until vegetables are translucent and softened. Stir in flour and cook about 3 minutes.

Slowly whisk in beer, milk , chicken stock, and mustards. Bring to simmer , stirring often to prevent scorching. Add grated cheese a handful at a time; stir until cheese has melted. Important not to let boil. Remove bay leaf. Salt and pepper to taste. If a thicker soup is desired whisk in over low heat ,Wondra flour whisking constantly until thickened.

Serve with crumbled bacon on top.