Guinness Lamb Stew

• 
• 8 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cups chopped onion $
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 2 cups Guinness Stout
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
• 2 cups 1-inch-thick diagonally sliced carrot
• 8 ounces baby turnips, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. 1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, thyme, and rosemary; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place onion mixture in a large bowl. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle lamb evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge lamb in flour, and shake off excess. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of lamb mixture to pan; sauté for 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add browned lamb to onion mixture. Repeat the procedure with remaining lamb and remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
2. 2. Add beer to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 5 minutes). Return onion mixture and lamb to pan. Stir in the tomato paste; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and stir in potato, carrot, and turnips. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon mustard. Ladle about 1 cup stew into each of 7 bowls; sprinkle evenly with parsley.

I got this recipe from cooking light magazine.  I forgot to take a picture so this is the one in the magazine.  We had a guest over for dinner who also rated the dish.  Great for St. Patrick's day or if you have Guinness on hand.  

Megan-3.5/5

Jesse-4/5

Guest-4/5

Chicken Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced peeled mango 
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado 
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato 
• 1/3 cup prechopped onion 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Preparation

1. 1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine first 4 ingredients; stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Rub over chicken. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
2. 2. While chicken cooks, combine mango and next 6 ingredients (through jalapeño); stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
3. 3. Heat tortillas according to package directions; top with chicken and salsa.

I got this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I really like these tacos.  I am a big fan of mangos and avocados.   Great dish when mangos and avocados are in season and on sale.  

Megan-4/5

Jesse-4/5

Hawaiian Chicken

4-6 chicken breast
8oz can crushed pineapple
16z bottle of barbecue sauce
4-6 cups of rice

Put chicken, pineapple, barbeque sauce in slow cooker on low heat for 6-8 hours.  Serve over rice.

This recipe was from the cookbook 101 things to do with a slow cooker.  I liked it because it was so easy and did not have any prep before putting the food in the slow cooker.  I used sweet baby rays bbq and brown rice.

Megan-3.5/5
Jesse-4/5

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers

• Salt
• 1/3 cup couscous
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces ground beef 
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce 
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 8 dried apricots, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
• 4 green bell peppers (about 6 1/2 oz. each), tops sliced off, seeded and cored 

Preparation

1. 1. Bring 1/2 cup lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in couscous. Cover, remove from heat and let stand until water has absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous lightly with a fork and re-cover. In a small bowl, combine cumin, cinnamon, sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt.
2. 2. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about 1 minute. Add beef and cook, stirring and breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add onion and ginger and cook, stirring, until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes longer. Sprinkle cumin mixture over beef and sauté for 1 minute.
3. 3. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, chickpeas and apricots. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Remove from heat and stir in couscous.
4. 4. Preheat oven to 375°F and mist an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. If peppers don't stand upright, cut a tiny slice off bottoms of peppers to level. Stuff peppers with meat mixture; place them in baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup water into baking dish, cover with foil and bake until peppers are tender when pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes.

I got this recipe from All You magazine.  It has a nice flavor.  One pepper is enough for a meal.  It is filling and more food than it looks.  

Megan-4/5

Jesse-4/5

Corn and Cheese Enchiladas

• 8 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 5 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 medium ears)
• 1/2 cup whole milk 
• Salt
• 2 cups grated pepper Jack
• 1 10-oz. can enchilada sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Stack tortillas, wrap in foil and bake until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. While tortillas are baking, oil a 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish. Warm 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in corn and milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Remove tortillas from foil. Set aside 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of corn mixture in center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with a heaping tablespoon of cheese. Roll up tortilla and set in dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, overlapping them slightly. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

I got this recipe from Eat Well, Save Big cookbook by All You.  I did not warm the tortillas which was not a good idea.  The tortilla broke very easily without being warmed up.  I used canned corn instead of fresh.  

Megan-3/4

Jesse-3/5

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

• 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
•  Cooking spray
• 1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. 1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. 2. While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cover.
3. 3. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard thyme sprigs. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

I got this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I  uses dried thyme instead of thyme sprigs.  I ate leftovers with out the noodles and it was good as a stand alone.  

Megan-3/5

Jesse-3.5/5 

Carrot Broccoli Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 3 cups fat-free milk, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

• In a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook the onion, carrots and celery in butter for 3 minutes. Add broccoli; cook 3 minutes longer. Stir in 2-3/4 cups milk, salt, thyme and pepper.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine the flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes longer or until thickened. 

I got this recipe from taste of home magazine.  I had broccoli and carrots left over from a different recipe and wanted to use them up.  The soup lacks something.  It is not bad but it does not leave you craving another bowl.

Megan 2/5

Jesse-2/5