slow cooker orange beef stew

I've been trying really hard to work my way through all the meat we have in our freezer without buying any more until the last few packages are gone. I've been doing pretty well. It's been a little over 3 weeks and all I have had to buy is some boneless chicken thighs and some fish.

One of the packages I saw the other day sitting by its lonely self was a pound of stewing beef. Since stewing beef is usually an assortment of tougher bits of meat, I instantly thought "slow cooker". Now, youngest will pretty much eat anything but oldest has an aversion to meat in general. And since he's not a huge fan of vegetables, I don't forsee vegetarianism in his future. So where am I going with this? I thought that if I was going to cook some beef I might as well make it somewhat kid appealing. How do you do that? Add some fruit.

I had quite a few oranges in the fridge and since our last slow cooker meal, saucy orange chicken drumsticks was a huge hit, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Well, I must admit, oldest still didn't like it, not that he really tried it much. I think the piece he chewed on for less than a millisecond wouldn't have filled a mouse's mouth half full. But the rest of us loved it! Citrus-y, melt in your mouth beef stew, poured over mash pototoes with some yummy fresh green beans. There was none left over and my husband even reached over the table and ate the beef off oldest's plate.

Slow Cooker Orange Beef Stew
(Prep Time: 15 minutes/Total time 6 - 8 hours. Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 pound stewing beef
salt
pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 medium oranges, peeled and cubed
1 bay leaf
another 1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Sides:
mashed potatoes
green beans

Directions:
Gently blot moisture off of beef and spread it out on a plate. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Heat vegetable oil over high heat in a large frying pan (I like to use my cast iron pan).

Sear meat quickly on all sides then remove from the pan and place in a 4 - 6 quart slow cooker.

Add onions to the pan and cook, stirring constantly so as not to burn but you want them to get a golden colour. Remove and place on top of beef in slow cooker.

Deglaze pan with the beef stock, then add 1/2 cup of orange juice. Whisk in tomato paste and thyme. Pour sauce over beef and onions then add in the oranges. Cook on low heat 6 - 8 hours.

Prep mashed potatoes and green beans to be served with stew.

Just before serving, remove beef from cooker. Pour back in any juices that might have come out with the beef.

Stir cornstarch into the 1/4 cup of orange juice and add to slow cooker. Turn heat to high and let thicken, stirring occassionally, for 10 minutes. Add beef back in to reheat.

Serve stew over top of mashed potatoes with green beans. Mmmm!

Get Ya Better Chicken Soup with Orzo and a Hint of Lemon

We've had a lot of colds in our house this year and it looks like we have a few more. Typical of this time of year, I know, but this particular cold just seems to be lingering on and on and on...

Well, they say nothing fixes you like a hot, steamy bowl of chicken soup so I thought I would make some for lunch. Noodles are always fun but also quite typical so I opted for some orzo instead. I love orzo. It's cute. It's yummy. And it's very versatile.

The lemon zest was a last minute idea. And I'm glad I actually have a good idea once in awhile because it added a little somethin' somethin' to the soup. Feeling a little sniffly yourself? Make yourself some soup!

Get Ya Better Chicken Soup with Orzo and a Hint of Lemon
(Prep Time: 15 minutes/Total Time: 60 minutes. Serves 4 - 6)

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced small
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced
handful parsley, chopped fine
3 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
6 cups chicken stock
4 small chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup orzo
zest from one lemon (make sure to zest only the skin...not the white pith)

Directions:
Sautee onion, carrots, celery, parsely, salt and pepper in olive oil over medium heat until onions are soft, about 8 - 10 minutes.

Turn up heat to high and chicken stock. Bring to a boil.

Add chicken. Chicken should be fully covered by the stock. If not, add a little more stock.

Once boiling again, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Add orzo and lemon zest. Cook about 8 more minutes until orzo is al dente.

Serve with warm crusty bread! Yum!

simple oat bars AKA Flap Jacks

I've been trying to recreate the oat bars you can get at a well known coffee shop around these parts. I'm usually pretty good at figuring these things out. But with these bars, I haven't been having much luck.

Then miracle upon miracle, one of our preschool moms kindly donated a tin of these lovely little oat bars that she called "Flap Jacks" for us to sell at an improptu bake sale. Ali is from England and at first, when she told me that she had "Flap Jacks" for the sale, I instantly thought, 'Pancakes??" She must have picked up on the strange look on my face because she instantly said something like, "You know...flapjacks? Don't you have these here? What do you call them?"

We call them bars, Ali, my dear and yours are fabulous! I must admit, I fiddled with the amount of ingredients to make them easier for our Canadian and US friends to measure since the amounts were written in weight (ounces) and we generally bake using cups in these parts but the rations are the same. I also added a bit of flax and used succanant (crushed unprocessed brown sugar cane) instead of refined sugar. Oh and whole wheat flour. But that's just me!

I've written the recipe Ali's way and with my changes in parenthesis. Whatever you choose to do, either way the bars will turn out fabulous!

Thanks for the recipe Ali!

Simple Oat Bars AKA Flap Jacks
Recipe By Ali (Preschool Mom) Makes a small pan of bars.

Ingredients:
1 cup margarine or butter (I used Earth Balance spread since our youngest can't have dairy)
1 cup sugar (I used succanant)
2 tablespoons corn syrup
4 cups oats (I used 2 cups old fashioned and 2 cups quick for a different texture)
3/4 cups self-raising flour (I used whole wheat and just a little less than 3/4 cups)
* I also added 1/4 cup flax but that's just me!

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt together margarine, sugar and syrup. Stir in the oats followed by flour (and flax if using)

Put into 11 x 7" tin - AKA baking pan. (You could also use a 9x9")

Cook for 15 minutes until lightly golden.

Cut into squares while still warm but leave until cold before removing from tin.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Skor Cookies

I tripped upon this recipe while surfing a variety of food blogger sites and just had to make these cookies. They called to me. No wait, they yelled at me, saying, "Make me!!! I am FABULOUS!!!"

There's something about toffee and chocolate mixed together. Maybe it's the slightly burnt taste of the toffee blended with the sweetness of the chocolate. Or how the toffee sticks a bit to your teeth, letting the flavour reside in your mouth longer than a regular chocolate chip cookie. Or maybe it's the fact that the recipe calls for 3 Skor Bars and you can conveniently buy them in packs of 4, leaving one chocolate bar left by it's lonely self, just sitting there, waiting to be eaten. (Not that I got to eat it...hubby found it first.) I'm not totally sure but I'd say it's a little bit of all three of these reasons.

Now, before you say it, I know I've been blogging about clean eating. Yes, I admit it, I ate one. I just had to make these cookies and try one. I did. And it was darn good. But what about the rest of them? Well, Sarah and Danielle, if you are reading this, there are some cookies heading your way. Thanks fo all of your hard work!

But I digress...Whatever your reason, you've got to try these cookies next time you are looking to make a cookie that is just a little more special than the rest. Trust me and my happy tummy. You'll be glad you did.

Chocolate Chip Skor Bar Cookies
Recipe by Rita of www.sagecuisine.blogspot.com

Prep Time: 15 minutes/Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Skor candy bars, crushed

Directions:
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set rack on 2nd shelf from the bottom.

Cream butter, add granulated sugar, brown sugar and beat till fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add vanilla, mix well and set aside.

In blender, reduce 1 cup rolled oats to a fine powder.

In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, rolled oats (fine and regular), salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and Skor bits.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets. Place baking sheets in oven on 2nd shelf from bottom and bake 12 minutes.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal and a spurtle!

Bob's Red Mill sent me a lovely bag of gluten free steel cut oats along with a funky looking wooden stick called a "spurtle". When I first saw the spurtle, I must admit that my first thought was, "What the heck?" You too, right?

So, what's a spurtle? It's a wooden kitchen tool, originating from Scotland around the 15th century. It changed shape over the years from a flat, spatula like utensil to its present day rod-like shape. It is used for stirring soups and, yup, oatmeal, preventing your perfect porridge from becoming lumpy and unappetizing. Neat, huh?

Well, ironically, I also received a recipe from my good friend, Linda, that same day that required the use of, yes, you guessed it, steel cut oats! While I didn't get to try out my spurtle (yet...), I did get to try out the oats and the result was a creamy, sweet delicious concoction. And the best part was I prepped it the night before, flipped the switch to "on" before heading to bed and in the morning, we all enjoyed a yummy, hot breakfast without having to wait for it cook!

You can vary this recipe to your own tastes. Use different dried fruits or nuts. Serve it with milk or yogurt. It's up to you. As for the spurtle? Stay tuned! You'll be definitely hearing about my spurtle adventures in the future!

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal
(Makes four cups - 4 servings)

Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats
1 cup dried fruit of your choice (I used chopped apricots and cranberries)
1 cup almonds (or walnuts, pecans, or seeds: pumpkin, sesame...)
3/4 cup milk (cow, soy, almond, rice...)
3 tablespoons flax

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in an oven safe bowl that will fit inside your slow cooker crock. Fill the space around the oven proof bowl and crock with water. (It acts as a double boiler and steams the oats). Stir. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Serve with extra nuts on top as well as yogurt or milk.

slow cooker saucy orange chicken drumsticks

I like making drumsticks for the kids because in their world, being able to pick up your food and eat it off a bone is fun. And in my world, if I can make a meal that everyone enyoys without a fuss, then I'm happy.

This is another ridiculously easy slow cooker recipe that you just prep then walk away from. I serve these drumsticks with rice because the sauce is lovely and you can ladle a good couple spoonfuls over top of everything, adding flavour to your rice.

Serve these with some extra napkins. Little kids + saucy orange drumsticks = messy fingers. :-)

Slow Cooker Saucy Orange Chicken Drumsticks
(Makes 8 drumsticks - Serves 4)

Ingredients:
8 chicken drumsticks
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (no pulp)
zest of one lemon
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon hoisin

Directions:
Place drumsticks in a 4 quart cooker.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over drumsticks. Turn the drumsticks to coat and then nestle them down as much as possible in the sauce.

Look on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

Serve with rice and a vegetable.

how to get your kids to eat veggies...homemade hummus

Why buy hummus when you can make hummus?

Youngest and I needed a snack before we headed off to Kindergarten to pick up oldest from school. I've been trying to get the kids to eat more veggies and giving them something to dip their veggies in is always a fun way to eat them!

I made this hummus in less than 5 minutes and we devoured about half of it then put the rest in the fridge to be eaten over the week.  It was delicious. It was easy and it was quick!

Homemade Hummus

Total Time: 5 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 cups of hummus)

Ingredients:

2 - 4 cloves of garlic (we used 4 cloved but we like garlic!)

1 can (16 ounce) chick peas (AKA garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

juice from one lemon Tip: microwave lemon for 20 seconds, then roll firmly on counter before juicing

Directions:

Put the cloves of garlic in a food processor and process until finely minced.

Add remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Add a little water if you like your hummus really smooth. Taste and add more sea salt if needed. Serve with veggies.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce

Tonights meal was a huge hit. Maybe it was the meatballs, maybe it was the dipping sauce, this evening picky oldest actually exclaimed quite emphatically, "I really like tonights dinner Mommy! And so does Trevor! And so does Daddy and so does Charissa and so do you! That's good, isn't it!?" Yup, it is my darling boy.

I am a huge fan of food bloggers, mostly because of my business site, Can I get the Recipe? but also because I am constantly receiving fabulous recipes from mom bloggers just like me. Take this recipe for instance. I spotted it from What Did You Eat? and instantly knew I had to make my own version. (You can visit the site here if you want to see the original version.)

Because we eat gluten free most nights, I replaced a few of the ingredients with gluten free products. My youngest has recently been tested for dairy sensitivities because of him having excema (still waiting for results) so I've also been replacing milk with soy, rice or almond milk. Pretty healthy changes and I tell you, they're darn good meatballs! And the sauce? Mmmm! mmm!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce

(Adapted from original recipe by What Did You Eat? Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup rice milk (or almond or soy)

1/3 cup processed rice thin crackers (or you could use panko or fine dry bread crumbs)

1  1/2 pounds (650 grams) lean ground turkey

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger root

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or table)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided (I use gluten free)

4 teaspoons sesame oil, divided

juice from 2 limes (2 tablespoons) Tip: Microwave 20 seconds then roll firmly on counter before juicing

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons honey

1 cup brown basmati rice

2 cups sugar peas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Begin to cook rice according to package directions.

Place processed rice thin cracker in a large bowl. Cover with rice milk and stir until absorbed.

Add turkey, beaten egg, salt, chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil.

Mix gently with your hands until combined. Shape into large meatballs (about 3 tablespoons per meatball) and place 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet.

Place in oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn a medium pot of water on to boil for the peas.

While meatballs cook, combine lime juice, water, honey and remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a small bowl. Steam peas.

Remove meatballs and place in a serving dish. Whisk sauce to recombine then drizzle 1 tablespoon of sauce over the meatballs. Place remaining dipping sauce in small individual bowls.

Serve meatballs with rice, peas and sauce.

Note: I didn't drizzle sauce over the kids meatballs but let them dip them instead, just in case they didn't like the taste of the sauce. Youngest LOVED the sauce. Oldest, not so much!