Cajun Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS

• 3½ lbs sirloin tip roast
• olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons cajun seasoning 
• ½ cup carrots - diced
• ½ cup celery - sliced
• 1 cup onion - chopped
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup okra, chopped
• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Rub the seasoning into the meat on all surfaces and set aside.
  2. Heat about 2 tablespoons of the oil in your pan until shimmering.
  3. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic but do not crowd - do it in two batches if necessary.
  4. When the vegetables blacken slightly around the edges turn them and caramelize on the other side.
  5. Remove the vegetables from the pan and add a little more oil.
  6. Sear the meat well on all sides.
  7. Remove the meat from the pan and deglaze it with red wine or beef broth, scraping the bottom and sides until all of the bits that are stuck on are loosened.
  8. Add the remaining beef broth and reduce by ¼.
  9. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker, place the meat and okra on top, and pour the liquid mixture over all.
  10. Slow cook for eight to ten hours on low.
  11. Serve over hot buttered rice.

Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Parmesan

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. good olive oil
A pinch of salt
¼ cup loosely packed shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir gently to mix. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately, or chill, covered, until serving.

Note: This salad keeps well in the fridge and is, in my humble opinion, best eaten cold.

Yield: 2 servings

*Courtesy of:  http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/01/brown-bag-it.html

Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil and White Bean Burgers

• 1egg
• 115-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained (I used navy!)
• 1cup cooked quinoa
• 3cloves garlic, minced
• 2tablespoons (heaping! you can't have too many, to be honest) roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I had the dry kind, rather than the sort packed in oil, and I used 8 tomatoes)
• 1/2teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2cup packed fresh basil, chopped
• 3teaspoons flour (most anything will work -- I used rice flour but all-purpose is perfect)
• 1/3cup grated Parmesan
• Big pinch chili powder
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

*Courtesy of:  http://food52.com/recipes/34834-sun-dried-tomato-basil-and-white-bean-burgers

Seven-Minute Eggs

http://www.saveur.com/article/blog/the-seven-minute-egg?P7DGBtXkOpc5tkyh.01

Creamy Beans

4 (16-ounce) cans or jars pinto or black beans
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
Hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot (my choice) or Yucatan Sunshine (Katie's choice)
A garlic clove, pressed or minced (optional)

Pour the beans and their liquid into a medium saucepan. Add the butter, maybe ten or fifteen shakes of hot sauce, and the garlic (if using; see above). Stir to mix. Place over medium-high heat, and bring just to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has thickened and looks creamy and the beans are very tender, maybe even falling apart. For pintos, I let mine go for about 1 hour, though Katie says hers only take about 30 minutes. You can cook it as long as you like, really. Cook it to your taste. (And keep in mind that the beans will thicken further, and get creamier, as they cool.)

Serve hot, with seven-minute eggs and any other toppings you like: hot sauce, avocado, cilantro, grated cheese, etc.

*Courtesy of:  http://orangette.blogspot.com/

Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups peanut butter chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2.	In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the peanut butter chips. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Cool on wire racks. *Courtesy of:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?recipeID=15469&origin=detail&servings=12&metric=false

Mujadara

Ingredients:

1 cup brown or green lentils (not lentils du Puy), sorted for debris and rinsed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
3 medium red onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
3/4 cup basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (1-inch) cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons pine nuts, optional
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Greek yogurt, for serving, optional

Directions:

Throw the lentils into a medium saucepan. Fill with enough cold water to cover the lentils by about an inch. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn down to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, as the lentils cook, grab a large skillet. Pop it over medium-high heat and add the oil. Allow the oil to warm for a minute, then drop in the cumin seeds and cracked peppercorns and cook, shaking the pan once in a while until the cumin seeds darken a touch, about 1 minute.

Add the onions, sprinkle with a dash of salt and cook until they turn dark caramel brown, stirring often. This will take about 15 minutes. Splash the onions with a little water if they stick to the bottom of the pan. You'll know they're done both by their deep chestnut color and by the slight crispiness developing on some of the onions.

Using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove about half of the onions to a paper towel-lined plate; these are for garnish later. Sprinkle in the ground cumin, cayenne and then add the cinnamon stick; saute about 1 minute.

Add the rice and cook, stirring often (but gently so you don't break the rice!) until some rice grains start to brown. Quickly, add the cooked lentils, 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt; bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low so that the pan is at a simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes. The water should be completely evaporated and rice should be tender. (If there's still too much water in the bottom, put the lid back on and cook for another 5 minutes.)

Turn off the heat, keep the lid on, and allow the rice to steam undisturbed for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts, if using, in a small skillet over medium-low heat, shaking often, about 5 minutes.

Taste the rice for seasoning. Serve with the reserved caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts, if using, and a little squeeze of lemon juice. I also like to serve this with some dollops of Greek yogurt.


*Courtesy of:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/lebanese-lentils-rice-and-caramelized-onions-mujadara-recipe.html