Crockpot Moroccan Lamb Tagine

I'm back! It has been a while, but I am back in the U.S. and ready to share all of my culinary adventures from Dubai. I was over in Dubai for the past three weeks and had an unbelievable time. I had some great adventures on the weekends and spent some quality time at my company's Dubai office during the week. Grocery shopping in Dubai is a bit different from Boston, but I did pretty well. I even went to the Dubai farmer's market which was an experience. It was just a fraction of the size of the markets here but was still great to support the local food movement in the Middle East. I had the opportunity to try some amazing restaurants, but my favorite (by a mile) was Pierchic. The restaurant is at the end of a 250-yard pier in the middle of the ocean. It is part of the Madinat Jumeirah resort, and was hands down the most gorgeous place I have ever been in my life. We had a four-course meal with the freshest seafood imaginable as we overlooked the Burj Al Arab and the entire Madinat Jumeirah. I was 99% sure that I was on an episode of The Bachelor while I was there because it just seemed too good to be true. I am quite certain that the meal, the ambience, and the company will never be beat, and it was absolutely a major highlight of the trip.

Separate from all of the restaurants, I cooked some really exciting meals using new spices and flavors I had never experienced with. I will share my recipes over the next few days and catch you up on my paleo adventures from the other side of the world. The first recipe to share is a crockpot moroccan lamb tagine. This cooked all day while I was at the office, and it was amazing to come home to. I experimented with the spices, fresh rosemary from the garden, and prunes. Many people are scared of prunes because they remind them of 90-year-olds, but prunes are simply sweet and delicious dried plums - don't be afraid!

Crockpot Moroccan Lamb Tagine: Serves 6, Prep time: 20 min, Cook time: 8-10 hours

Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 carrots, peeled & chopped
- 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
- 8 1-inch pieces of ginger
- 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
- Dried apricots (100g)
- Prunes (250g)
- 2 pound lamb shoulder
- 2 Tbsp. lamb spice mix (rosemary, rose petals, cumin, paprika, onion, garlic, mint, etc.)
- 1-2 cups water

Instructions:
1. Put onions and carrots at the bottom of the crockpot
2. Cover with water (just enough to barely cover)
3. Spice both sides of the lamb, and lay it on top of the onions/carrots
4. Slice a few slits in the lamb and stuff with chopped garlic and rosemary
5. Add prunes, apricots, and ginger 
6. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours
7. Shred the lamb, remove the ginger, and serve!

    

Crockpot Chicken Chili w/ Beets & Kale

While my affair with chicken is on hold for now, I do have a fantastic recipe to share. I had originally dreamt up this beet chili on Valentine's Day, but you may remember that I completely destroyed the beets (and the pot) that they were cooking in. I decided to give it another try using the crockpot to avoid any issues. 

I ate beets for the first time about 6 months ago, and now I can't get enough of them. I even ate slices of a raw beet while I was chopping them, and they were delicious! The texture was like a beautifully crisp apple, and the flavor was so rich. Anything with this much color is good in my book. I experimented with some cumin and paprika in this recipe to give it a little chili flavor. I will try this out again with extra spice and a non-chicken alternative (ground lamb anyone?). Eat your beets for vitamin C, folate, beta-carotene, manganese, potassium, and iron. Not too shabby for a cold winter day!

Crockpot Chicken Chili w/ Beets & Kale: Serves 8-10, Prep time: 30 min, Cook time: 6 hours

Ingredients:
- 2 lb. organic chicken breasts (frozen or fresh)
- 2 sweet onions, chopped
- 2+ Tbsp. chopped garlic
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 3 large beets, peeled & chopped
- 2 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 qt. organic vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp. cumin
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat
2. Add onions and garlic and cook for 10 minutes until soft
3. Pour the cans of tomatoes on the bottom of the crockpot
4. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the tomatoes
5. Cover the chicken with the onions and garlic, and then top with cumin, paprika, and pepper
6. Add the beets on top and then pour the broth over everything
7. Cook in the crockpot for 5 hours on high or 7-8 on low
8. Take the chicken out, shred it, and then return it to the pot
9. Add the chopped kale into the crockpot, cook on low for 10 more minutes, and then serve!

 

 

Fall Harvest Crockpot Chicken w/ Butternut Squash, Cranberries, & Pears

Only three days left until Thanksgiving, and I can't wait! This week has been so fantastic with visits from Kelsey (hadn't seen her in 13 years!), Sarah & Mark, Mal tonight, and the Rozier/Topche crew on Wednesday. So many wonderful people to see, so little time! I am very much in the Thanksgiving spirit and created this great Fall recipe with locally sourced ingredients. You can pick up all of these ingredients from your local farmers market and throw it together in no time in the crockpot. You can make this recipe with or without broth. I went with broth this time to get a slighty soupy experience. Next time I am going to make this as a roasted dish in the oven to get everything nice and crispy. The part II version will be after Thanksgiving (and after I buy myself a dutch oven!). This will be Mal's welcome meal when she arrives from Ithaca tonight after a six hour drive. A little fall harvest crockpot chicken and some wannabe rice pudding, and we will be back in business! Only four more hours to go...

Ingredients:

- 1 butternut squash (1.5 lbs.), cubed

- 1 sweet onion, sliced

- 1 bosc pear, sliced

- 1 cup raw cranberries

- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

- 1 cup veggie or chicken broth (optional)

- 2 bay leaves

- Sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Layer squash cubes at the bottom of the crockpot.

2. Put half of the onions, pears, and cranberries on top. 

3. Add 1 bay leaf and some spices

4. Arrange a layer of chicken on top of the spices

5. Add another layer of spices and the second bay leaf on top of the chicken

6. Add the remaining onion, pear, and cranberries

7. Pour the broth over the mixture (this isn't necessary - I like it because it makes it a little bit soupy) 

8. Cook on high for 3 hours and then low for 90 minutes

    

Applesauce & Pumpkin Crock Pot Chicken

Hurricane Sandy has been causing quite the stir today. My office is closed again tomorrow, and the power outages are up over a million. The pouring rain has finally made it up to Boston, and the wind is howling like crazy between the apartment buildings on my street. I still haven't bought bottled water, batteries, or any other emergency supplies, so fingers crossed that it doesn't get too bad here!

While I worked from home (and checked weather.com every five minutes) today, I created a new crock pot recipe with some leftovers in my fridge. I think I officially have the first applesauce + pumpkin crock pot chicken recipe (paleo or otherwise) on the web.  This is one of those recipes that reminds me how flavorful the simplest ingredients can be. There is absolutely no sweetener of any kind in this recipe, and it is sweet as can be. The combination of the apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, and garlic give it such a great flavor. I am thinking of making some fall-inspired lettuce wrap tacos with the leftovers if I can make it to the store this week when the rain finally stops. Stay tuned!

Ingredients:
- 3-4 lbs. chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken breast + rib meat)
- 1 cup leftover applesauce (recipe can be found here)
- 1 cup leftover pumpkin (used canned organic pumpkin from Trader Joes)
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, & cinnamon
- 1 cup apple juice (from the applesauce)
- 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

Instructions:
1. Put the applesauce and pumpkin on the bottom of the crock pot and mix to blend the two
2. Rinse the chicken, and lay it on top of the applesauce/pumpkin mixture
3. Generously season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon
4. Flip the chicken with tongs and season the other side 
5. Mix the chopped garlic into the apple juice, and pour on top of the chicken (note - this apple juice is the thick/cinnamon-y liquid that was excess when I made the applesauce. You could always just use an extra cup of applesauce if you don't have the liquid reserved.)
6. Cook on low for 6 hours
7. Take the chicken out of the crock pot, shred the meat, and put it back in the crock pot with all of the juicy goodness
8. Enjoy a scoop of this with a dollop of applesauce - the perfect hurricane meal!

  

Goodbye Soup w/ Pork Carnitas

There's no better excuse to cook a great meal than a party for a dear friend. While I'd prefer to be celebrating at a welcome-home party, I had to settle for a going-away feast. My friend/coworker/mum Ryan shipped off for Dubai last week for a 2-year assignment overseas (here we are - that's me stuffed into his armpit). 

He came to Boston for a last hurrah, and we had our friends over for some Mexican-inspired paleo eats. Ryan chose the theme, and we prepared some spiced cantaloupe, veggies & guacamole, and grass-fed beef stuffed sweet peppers for appetizers:

It is important to note that Ryan made the beautiful lettuce "flower" as the veggie centerpiece (I want to make sure I do not receive any credit for this masterpiece).  The main course was lettuce wrap tacos stuffed with crockpot pork carnitas and topped with a strawberry/pineapple/avocado salsa. The meal was wonderful, the company couldn't have been better (thanks Heather and Kenny!), and we had a great time. After a whirlwind of a week full of amazing adventures, I returned home to Boston and was hungry like usual. All I had in the house was about 5 pounds of leftover carnitas in my crockpot and about 8 large sweet peppers. I decided that I needed a little "goodbye soup" for the soul, so I created the following recipe. I ate it all week and even discovered that soup for breakfast is amazing... don't just trust me, try it!

Pork Carnitas Ingredients:
- 2 4-5lb pork loin roasts (can also use pork shoulder or butt)
- 2 large onions, sliced
- Chopped garlic (I must have used at least 10 cloves)
- 1 container of cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups of broth (I used chicken)
- 4 bay leaves
- Sea salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and any other spices you want to add!

Instructions:
1. Lay sliced onions and chopped garlic in the bottom of the crockpot
2. Put your pork on top (I did fat side up)
3. Season very generously with all seasonings
4. Add box of cherry tomatoes and broth
5. Cook on low for 10 hours
6. Shred the pork with kitchen tongs and stir so juices mix - keep warm and serve when hungry!

Ingredients for Goodbye Soup:

- 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil or other paleo fat

- 2 onions, chopped

- 5-10 cloves garlic, chopped (can you tell I love garlic?)

- 8 large sweet peppers, chopped 

- 1 large can (32 oz.?) organic roasted tomatoes with basil

- 4 cups chicken broth

- Sea salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat fat in a large saucepan and add onions and garlic

2. Cook for 5-10 minutes until softened and fragrant and then add chopped peppers

3. Add sea salt and pepper and stir every couple of minutes for about 5-10 minutes until peppers begin to soften

4. Add can of roasted tomatoes and chicken broth

5. Bring pot to boil and then cover, turn to low/medium-low, and cook for 30-45 minutes

6. Take pot off heat, and after it cools slightly (~10 minutes), use immersion blender to blend the soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can blend this in batches in your blender or food processor.

7. Serve with a dollop of shredded pork carnitas

8. Rename Goodbye Soup to See-You-Later Soup (way better ring to it...)