Moroccan Vegetable Stew

I just can't get enough of stews in the winter.  Nothing like a good hearty warm bowl of veggie goodness to get me through.  Not to mention, you can just throw everything into the crockpot and come back the next morning.  This stew is dependent on the spices and the eggplant - but you could throw any other veggies you had in and I'm sure it would be great.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
5 cups vegetable broth
4 carrots, sliced
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
3/4 cup currants or raisins
1 cup almonds, chopped
Salt + Pepper, to taste

1. Cook garlic, onion and all spices in either olive or coconut oil (highly recommended) for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat, allowing to brown.

2. Chop the additional vegetables and add all ingredients to crockpot.  Cook for 8 hours on high.

That's it.

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Original Recipe:

Cooking Light

Homemade Granola

This granola is perfect in my book.  My problem with store-bought granola is that it is so sugar-packed.  Let's be honest, it tastes more like cookies than anything else.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  But I wanted something that I wouldn't feel guilty about eating a bowl of in the morning. I suppose this is more like muesli in consistency...but I like calling it granola.

I should also probably fess up here - I've never actually made this on my own.  Thanks to the fiance for bringing this into my life.  And for letting me blog about it like I made it.

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats
2 cups mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews - up to you!)
1/3 cup seeds (flax, sunflower, sesame - again, your pick)
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1 dash salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, blueberries)

1. Preheat oven to 300.

2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients EXCEPT dried fruit and stir well to mix.

3.  Spread evenly onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for 30 minutes.  Give it a stir half-way through.

4.  Remove from oven, and allow to cool.  Place back into bowl and add dried fruit.

The browner it gets without burning, the crispier it will be! The olive oil helps with this.

Keep it in a sealed container or ziplock bag, and it lasts forever!


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Original Recipe:

This recipe comes from a friend, to whom I am very grateful.

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Peppers

Delicious.  Two peppers per person was perfect.

The original recipe was only for two, and called for everything to be microwaved.  I went oven, and made enough for four.  I couldn't find currents, so I subbed in a mix of raisin and cranberries, which was great.  Turkey was a great sub for the ground beef, too.

Halve if only feeding 2

Ingredients:

8 Bell Peppers, tops cut off and seeded
20 oz. Ground Turkey
1 tsp. Coconut Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, diced
1 Red Onion, diced
3/4 cup Brown Rice
1/4 cup Currants/Raisins/Cranberries
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Cumin
2 cups Vegetable Juice (V8), divided
3 tbsp Fresh Mint, chopped
Salt + Pepper, to taste

Added in the onion to make the filling more delicious. And ignore the bouillon cubes.

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Put the rice and 1 1/2 cups of water in a small pot.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until cooked.

3. Prepare peppers, chop onion, garlic and mint.  Place peppers open-side-up in a baking pan with raised sides.

The red peppers were freakishly tall, so one of those was enough for me as a meal.

4. In a large pan, cook onions and garlic in coconut oil for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add in ground turkey and cook until turkey becomes white.  Chop with a spatula as you cook, in order to separate it.

6. Add in cinnamon, cumin, and raisins.  Stir well and take off heat.

7. In a large bowl, mix rice with turkey mixture.  Add in 1 cup of vegetable juice, mint, salt and pepper and stir well.

8. Fill the peppers with the mixture, and pour the rest of the vegetable juice into the dish.

9. Cook in oven for 15 minutes.  When you remove, spoon in a little vegetable juice into each pepper for added moisture.

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Original Recipe:

Eating Well