Mahogany Beef Stew

The two recepies I have posted are some we made before Christmas and I am just now getting around to posting them here. We went to my parents house in Birmingham for Christmas and my sister put on the best Christma dinner, I feel bad not having a picture as she really out did herself. We had Turkey and dressing. Broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs and a fruit salad. Ginger made and cherry cheesecake and mother had a carmel cake and lemon filling with divenity icing white cake Yum Yum.

Mahogany Beef Stew Recipe
by evelyn/athens
6 servings
2 hours 15 min prep
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed,cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups chopped onions
2 cups good-quality red wine
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup hoisin sauce (this is the critical ingredient - don't leave it out!)
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
To Finish
1 lb slender carrots, peeled,cut diagonally into 1 inch lengths
1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over high heat.
Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
Add meat to pot; sauté until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
Push meat to sides of pot.
Reduce heat to medium; add 2 tablespoons oil to pot.
Add onions; sauté until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Mix meat into onions.
Add 1 cup wine, tomatoes with juices, garlic, herbs, hoisin sauce, and bay leaves.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add carrots and 1 cup wine.
Cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Uncover, increase heat to high; boil until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes longer.
Reduce heat to medium, add cornstarch mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
Discard bay leaves.
Season stew with salt and pepper.
(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before serving, stirring occasionally.) Transfer stew to large bowl.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Excellent with buttered egg noodles. ( We put on noodles the first night but the second night we place over rice and was much better!!!!!)

Lime Soup with Chicken

Boy was this good and spicy. Again thanks to recipezaar for having such good recipes. We did not have any avocado but this was better the next day.

by Sandi (From CA)

10 servings
40 min 20 min prep

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium green pepper, seeded, diced medium (about 1/2 lb, 1 1/2 cups)
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped (about 1/4 lb, 3/4 cup)
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
3 medium plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced medium (about 1 lb total) (we used a can of crushed tomatoes)
4 (14 ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 lime, sliced, plus
2 limes, juice of (2-4 Tbsp)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 cups shredded cooked chicken or cooked turkey
1 avocado, peeled, diced medium
cilantro (to garnish)
Heat oil in large stockpot over medium-high, until oil faintly smokes. Add pepper and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft but not brown, 3-4 minute.
Add garlic, cook, stirring 1 minute Add salt, cumin, oregano, cinnamon and cloves; cook, stirring 1 minute Add tomatoes, stock, sliced lime and cilantro; simmer 10 minute.
Add juice of 2 limes to soup. Add chicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring back to simmer.
Ladle into warmed bowls. Garnish with avocado and cilantro.

Fruit Cake Cookies

I am trying to find the right fruitcake cookie. Will and I made this one the other night and they were ok. I think we chopped up the fruit too much and we could not taste it very much. The cookie itself was soft the way I like it (I do not like crunchy cookies I like them chewy). I think we will give another try with the candied fruit a little larger

Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

Today is a really cold day here and we are trying a new soup. O my this was sooooooooooooo good!!!!!! So good in fact it could be on any menue. I thought of the soup N that was on Sienfield years ago. Hubby and I really liked this and it was so much better the next day and with the french country bread he brought home. Yummmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!

Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

Prep Time: 15 MinutesCook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 45 MinutesYields: 8 servings
Top with mozzarella cheese, and serve with Italian or French bread."

INGREDIENTS:
5 slices bacon we used 8
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, chopped we used one small
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 cups beef stock we used 3
1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans we used 3
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style
stewed tomatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 medium apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine we used 1 cup
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, coarsely chop, and set aside.
2.
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute white onion and garlic and celery 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in beef stock, pinto beans, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer.
3.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the apple in the red wine until soft.
4.
Mix bacon, apple, and remaining red wine into the soup mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until well blended.

Sweet potato bread

Made this Sat but just posting now. This was my second time to fix. The first time we cooked a sweet potato and the second time we used can of sweet potato. Both were good but I think the first time was better than the can but that is just me, every one else liked can version just fine.

1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs 2 eggs
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar 1 1/2 cups white sugar
Instructions
Combine sugar and oil; beat well. Add eggs and beat. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with water. Stir in sweet potatoes and chopped nuts.
Pour batter into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan (or 2 small loaf pans). Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about one hour.

Tortilla Soup

MMMMM a cold wind is blowing and the temp is droping. Time to try a new soup

Tortilla Soup
4 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 tablespoon olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Combine the chicken broth, green chilies, tomatoes with green chilies, onion, and garlic in a soup pot. Add the shredded chicken. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
Add the lime juice, cilantro, cayenne, and cumin. Simmer for 10-15 minutes longer.
Cut the tortillas into 1/2 x 2-inch strips. Fry in hot olive oil in skillet until golden brown; drain on paper towels.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and the tortilla strips.

I changed this a little and added a little celery, a can of cream of corn and black beans. I also just used regular corn chips. This was a very tasty soup with lots of flavor it should be even better tomarrow.

Black Beans and sweet potatoes

Hello this is Will's other half Genie. I also cook here is one I made with a few adjustments

2 teaspoons oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 (14 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 cups chicken broth
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup corn kernels
sour cream (optional)
lime wedges (optional)

Heat oil in a skillet and saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.
Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until sweet potatoes are tender.
Serve hot with sour cream and lime if desired.

I cooked this on the stove for about 4 hours.
I added some celery and 4 chicken tenders it just cried out for some chicken. Could have used more.

At first I thought there was to much cumin but when we added the sour cream and lime it did not seem to be to much. This is a keeper.