South African Bobotie

I know, you're thinking "But I already have my favorite South African Bobotie recipe, why should I try another one?".  I found this recipe for the slowcooker and had to try and it really was different and good. It calls for serving it over white rice but I used whole wheat pasta. Let me know if you try it.

South African Bobotie

Serves 6 to 8

2 TBS vegetable oil, divided

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBS curry powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup dried apricots

1 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup whipping cream

In a skillet, heat 1 TBS oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, stirring often, until meat is no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Drain off liquid in pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil to pan. Add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic, curry powder, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add apricots and bread crumbs, combine well and transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware. Mix to integrate the meat mixture. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until mixture is hot and bubbling.

In a small bowl, combine eggs and cream. Mix well. Pour over meat mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes until top is set.

Tips:   I chose to use buffalo meat because it’s lean and it worked well.

White Chili (or not)

This is a good chili and easy to make. We brought it tailgating last fall to UCONN football, homecoming game.

White Chili

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 lb ground chicken or turkey

2 onions, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBS cumin seeds

1 TBS dried oregano leaves

1 to 2 jalapeño peppers

1 tsp each salt and black pepper

1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, including juice, chopped

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 can (19 oz) white kidney beans, rinsed and drained or 1 cup dried white kidney beans, soaked, cooked and drained  

2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced lengthwise

1½ Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 can (4 ½ oz) diced mild green chilies, drained

Salsa

Sour cream

Cilantro

In a skillet, heat 1 TBS oil over medium-high heat. Add ground chicken or turkey and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon to slow cooker stoneware. Drain and discard liquid.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil to pan. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened. Add garlic, cumin seeds, oregano, jalapeno peppers, salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until liquid is reduced by one third, about 5 minutes.

Add beans to stoneware and pour tomato mixture over them. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until mixture is hot and bubbling.

Stir in green pepper, cheese and mile green chilies. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20 to 30 minutes until pepper is tender and cheese is melted. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, salsa and chopped cilantro.

Tips    - Instead of cumin seeds, you can substitute ½ TBS of ground cumin

- For a less spicy dish, substitute pablano peppers for jalapeno. If using pablanos, they are larger so you don’t need to add the bell peppers. Sometimes I add one yellow and one red bell for flavor and color.

- For a While Vegetarian Chili: omit the ground beef and add an extra can of beans. Use vegetable broth, rather than chicken.

Hearty Short Ribs with Carrot-Studded Gravy

We LOVE this dish!  It's from "The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes" by Judith Finlayson which is the best book of it's kind I've found.

Hearty Short Ribs with Carrot-Studded Gravy

Serves 6-8

Preheat Broiler

4 lbs    beef short ribs

1 TBS vegetable oil

2          onions, finely chopped

4          cloves garlic, minced

1 TBS dried thyme leaves

½ cup  finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp    salt

1 tsp    cracked black peppercorns

¼ cup  all-purpose flour

½ cup  condensed beef broth (undiluted)

½ cup  tomoto-based chili sauce (Heinz 57 works great)

2 TBS cider vinegar

2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS packed brown sugar (I use dark brown)

1 tsp    dry mustard   

1 bag  (1 lb) peeled baby carrots

             

1.                  Under preheated broiler, brown ribs, turning once, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined platter to drain.

2.                  In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until just softened. Add garlic, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add beef broth, chili sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and mustard and bring to a boil. Stir in carrots.

3.                  Place short ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over and stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours, until ribs are tender and falling off the bone.

Tips –

-          the trick is to get as much of the fat off the ribs as possible

-          you can put it all together the night before and just turn on the slow cooker when you choose

-          - I prefer cooking the ribs on low for longer, but either works.