Rabbit Stew

Beef stew is delicious, but I decided to take a different approach to stew last week a made it with rabbit. I know, some of you are saying, “Ew rabbit” or “Oh, no. Not Thumper”, but rabbit is delicious. If you haven’t tried it before you really should, and this recipe is a perfect one to try rabbit for the first time.

What You’ll Need…

1 Cut up Fryer Rabbit

3-4 Medium Potatoes (Cubed)

½ Large Rutabaga (Cubed) [Optional]

 3 Medium Carrots (Large Dice)

2 Ribs Celery (Large Dice)

½ Large Onion (Large Dice)

2-3 Cloves Garlic (Minced)

1 Cup Frozen Corn

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

4-6 Cups Water (Enough to cover all of the vegetables.)

Black Pepper (To taste)

Chili Powder (To taste)

Herbes de Provence (To taste)

Dried Parsley (To taste)

Start out by washing, peeling, and chopping your vegetables; add the potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the bottom of your crock pot.

After the vegetables have been added place the cut up rabbit on top of the vegetables and then add the Worcestershire sauce over everything. (The rabbit can still be completely frozen.)

Now, add the water to your crock-pot and make sure that the vegetables are covered and that the water touches the rabbit. Set your crock-pot to low, cover, and allow to cook for 8 hours.

One hour before you plan to serve add the corn and spices and mix well. If you want the stew to be slightly thicker you can add in some flour and mix thoroughly. Also at this point carefully remove the rabbit pieces from the stew, remove the meat from the bones, and cut into bit sized pieces. Be careful, there are a lot of bones and some of them can be tricky.

Return the meat to the stew and allow everything to cook for the remaining hour.

Serve as is or mix in a little ketchup if you’re like me. This stew goes great with a slice of bread.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Almond Fudge

So, we went all of lent without a dessert recipe. I believe that it is time for some sweets. I have always heard that making fudge is really difficult, but a few months ago I had a can of condensed milk that needed to be used and I decided to try to make fudge. I don’t know what everyone is talking about – it’s easy!

 What You’ll Need…

1 (14oz) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

3 Cups Chocolate Chips (Semi-Sweet, Milk, even dark chocolate might be good.)

A Pinch Salt

1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

½ - 1 Cup Slivered Almonds

Start out by lining the pan you wish to have the fudge set in with foil.

Place the chocolate chips and the condensed milk in a medium saucepot and melt the chocolate over low-to-medium heat.

Once the chocolate has melted remove it from the heat and add the salt, vanilla, and almonds.

After everything has been thoroughly combined pour the mixture into the foil lined pan and spread it so that it is even.

Allow the chocolate to set in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Remove it from the pan by lifting the foil out and carefully cut into pieces.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Puree Stuffed Peppers

Are you looking for a meatless meal that doesn’t involve seafood or tofu? Well I have a great one for you! During the past year Howard and I have come up with quite a few meatless recipes; we have at least one meatless day a week. Now, seafood and tofu are great and there are so many options for both, but sometimes you just want something else. One such something else is beans. Yes, beans. They’re full of protein and fiber and are great as the star of a meatless meal.

What You’ll Need…

5 Bell Peppers (Whole)

1 Quinoa (You can use rice instead if you want.)

1 Cup Dry Black Beans

Chili Powder (To taste)

Garlic Powder (To taste)

Herbes de Provence (To taste)

Black Pepper (To taste)

Salt (To taste)

½ Large Onion (Chopped)

1 Cup Mushrooms (Chopped) [Optional]

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 – 1 ½ Cups Tomato Sauce (Your favorite)

Parmesan Cheese (To top)

For this recipe we start out with the beans because they take the longest. Sort, rinse, and drain one cup of black beans before adding them to a pot with about 4 cups of water. If you plan ahead you can allow the beans to soak overnight and drain and rinse them in the morning. If you have not thought that far ahead, fear not. Allow the beans to come to a boil and allow them to boil for two minutes. After two minutes turn off the heat and allow the beans to sit, covered, for one hour before draining and rinsing.

Once the beans have soaked and been drained and rinsed, add them to four more cups of water and allow them to simmer until tender. About 40 minutes.

While the beans are cooking wash all five peppers, cut off the tops (keep the tops), and remove the seeds and ribs. Place four of the peppers in a greased pan and allow them to bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

After placing the peppers in the oven, move onto the quinoa. Add one cup of quinoa and two cups of liquid to a pot. (You can use vegetable stock or water.) Also, add pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder to the water. Cook over medium heat and stir every few minutes. The quinoa is cooked when all of the water has been absorbed.

While everything else is cooking chop the mushrooms, onion, and the remaining whole pepper as well as the pepper tops. (Obviously not the stem, but why throw away a perfectly useable part of the fruit?) Once the vegetables are chopped sauté them until soft.

When 30 minutes have passed remove the pepper from the oven and carefully pour out the excess water. Shortly after this the beans should be tender. To make sure that the beans are all cooked complete the “five bean test”. This is where you bite five beans to make sure that all of the beans are cooked because not all beans cook at the same speed. Drain the beans and allow them to cool for just a few minutes.

After the beans have cooled slightly carefully move them to a blender with about a ¼ cup of water as well as the garlic powder, chili powder, pepper, salt, and Herbes de Provence. Blend until almost smooth. You can always add extra water if needed.

Now, combine the bean puree, quinoa, vegetables, and sauce in either one of the pots that you used for cooking or in a mixing bowl if you don’t mind washing another dish. =] The amount of sauce you use really depends on how much sauce you and those you are feeding like.

After all of the components of the filling have been combined spoon it into the peppers. I like to have the filling come slightly over the top of the pepper, but you can leave it level with the top of the pepper if you like. Also, I like to pack as much filling as I can into each pepper.

Top each pepper with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy the pepper as is after removing them from the oven, or if you like extra sauce feel free to plate your pepper on top of some more delicious tomato sauce. 

Tangy Bean Salad

Since it’s spring I figure I should start sharing some “spring” recipes. Of course this salad can be enjoyed anytime of the year, but it does have a slightly spring feel to it. Enjoy this delicious salad for lunch or even a light dinner.

What You’ll Need…

2 Cups Dried Beans (Any kind you like, but a mix is better than just one kind.)

1 Bell Pepper (Diced)

¼ - ½ Cup Walnuts (Chopped)

¼ - ½ Cup Almonds (Chopped)

1- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil (Chopped)

½ Recipe of Mustard Vinaigrette

Parmesan Cheese (To top)

Mustard Vinaigrette:

½ Cup Dijon Mustard

¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar

¼ Cup Maple Syrup

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ Teaspoon Pepper

Measure out, sort through to make sure there are no rocks, and rinse two cups of dried beans. Add the beans to a pot with 6 cups of water. You can soak the beans overnight and drain and rinse them in the morning, or you can allow the beans to come to a boil, boiling for two minutes before turning off the heat, and allowing the beans to soak for one hour. Regardless, once the beans have soaked drain and rinse them. At this point add 4-6 cups of water and allow the beans to simmer for 40 – 60 minutes, or until tender.

While the beans are simmering you can quickly make the dressing for the salad. In a bowl simply whisk together the mustard, vinegar, syrup, salt and pepper.

Once the beans have cooked and cooled combine them in a bowl with the pepper, nuts, basil, and half of the dressing. Stir the salad thoroughly so that everything is evenly distributed and coated with dressing, but be careful as well.

Top the salad with Parmesan cheese and enjoy! 

BBQ Cranberry Almond Lamb Burgers

It’s spring which means it’s what they call “grilling season”. I don’t know about you but we grilled plenty this winter. Anyway, when I think about grilling I think about burgers, among many other things. Now, you can make these burgers on the grill or on the stove, but either way they are delicious.

What You’ll Need…

1lb Ground Lamb

3 Tablespoons BBQ sauce

Pinch of Slivered Almonds (Per burger)

Pinch of Dried Cranberries (Per burger)

2oz Cheese (Your favorite kind, cubed.)

Chili Powder (To Taste)

Black Pepper (To Taste)

Garlic Powder (To taste)

Season Salt (To taste)

In a mixing bowl combine the lamb, BBQ sauce, and spices. I find it much easier to mix with my hands and that way you don’t over mix.

Once the meat has been flavored divide it into four. Taking one chunk at a time form a much flatter than normal patty. Place a cheese cube, a pinch of almonds, and a pinch of dried cranberries in the center of each patty. Fold the meat up around the filling so that the burger is closed and the filling can’t leak.

To cook the burgers place them in a skillet or on the grill. When the patties are halfway cooked flip them to allow the other side to cook. Allow the burgers to cook all the way through, or to the level of doneness that you like.

Place on your favorite bun or bread, naan is a great bread for this burger, and top with your favorite condiments and toppings.

Enjoy!