Crock Pot Beef Stew

• 1 lb. top round steak, cut in 2 inch cubes trim well
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 sm. onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. marjoram
• 1/2 c. dry red wine
• 1/2 c. low sodium V8 juice

Brown beef cubes until well brown, sauté onions until soft, put all the ingredients together, bring it to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cover and let it cook.

Bon Apetite!

Halloween is not the only time of the year when you should purchase a pumpkin. In fact, most people purchase a pumpkin, scoop out the insides and turn it into a scary face just for the Halloween season. Unfortunately, they then throw away the best part of the pumpkin which is the insides. Traditional pumpkin soup is indeed very tasty, but it also packs a healthy punch. If you are trying to lose weight, the pumpkin is one of the vegetables that you should be eating. Any pumpkin soup recipe should be and can be eaten all year round because of the natural vitamins and fiber that pumpkins contain. Some of the vitamins contained in pumpkins are vitamin A, vitamins E, and vitamins C. They also have an abundant supply of potassium, beta-carotene, carotenoid pigments, and lutein. Below is a recipe for pumpkin soup which you can cook all year round.

Ingredients for a simple pumpkin soup:

• About 4 pounds of pumpkin which is peeled and chopped roughly
• 1 large chopped onion
• 2 pints of vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 1 cup of whole cream
• 1  tablespoon of olive oil
• salt and pepper to your taste
• this recipe should serves 6

First, take a large pot and heat some olive oil in it. Fry the onions until they are just soft. Now you can add your chicken or vegetable stock and the pumpkins. Bring back to the boil and reduce the heat until the liquid is only simmering. Simmer this for 30 minutes. If you’re pumpkins are cooked, you can use a stick blender to liquidize the whole mixture. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can use a liquidizer by adding the soup in small amounts. Once this is done you can season with salt-and-pepper according to how you like it and add the whole cream stirring well. You can add the cream at the table for an added flourish, the white of the cream goes well with the orange of the pumpkin.

You can make a spicy pumpkin soup and by adding crushed garlic, a teaspoon of coriander, a teaspoon of chili powder or paprika (as much or as little as you can take), some ground cumin, and some sugar to taste. The only difference to the recipe above is that you add these ingredients when you are frying your onions, and add the sugar as you add your vegetable stock.

Remember to roast the pumpkin seeds too!  They are full of protein and a handful is a great appetite supressant.

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Potatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables that you can use. They can be cooked whole, baked, roasted, mashed, as potato chips, French fries, potato gratin, and of course potato soup. There are many different potatoes soup recipes, and they are as versatile as the tuber itself. Potatoes can be added to a soup or a stew in order to give it some bulk and substance, or like the recipe below it can consist of mainly potatoes. If you are on a calorie controlled diet you should be trying to eat as many vegetables as possible.

The potato is very low in sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat. It also is a great source of vitamins B6, vitamins C, manganese, and potassium. The average large potato has about 270 cal, this calorie calculation is with the skin on. Most potatoe soup is made after peeling the potatoes first. Below is a simple potato soup recipe which is nutritious and very filling, both essentials in any weight-loss program.  I recommend leaving the skins on for a more rustic flavor.  The skins will add essential minerals your body needs from the earth.

Ingredients for creamy potato soup:

• Six medium-sized potatoes
• two medium-sized onions
• 3 pints of stock (the stock can be vegetable or a meat-based, and you can add milk to make it more creamy
• one tablespoon of butter
• Parsley
• Pepper and salt to taste
• This recipe serves six people

The basis of any good soup is the ingredients, and most importantly the stock from which the soup is made. The best stock for this cream of potato soup is known as white stock. White stock is made by boiling ham, bacon, or chicken in water, adding some root vegetables and herbs that are in season will also add flavor. The resulting liquid is the ideal stock.

First of all, dice your potatoes once they have been peeled and chop up your onions. Melt your butter in a covered saucepan and add your onions and potatoes. Cook over a very gentle heat until they have become soft and have not taken on any color. Next, you must add your stock. This is the time to season to taste. Once the potato soup has been thoroughly cooked there are several different ways to serve it. You can strain the soup through a sieve in order to serve it without any lumps. You can put the soup through a blender and serve it as a thick creamy soup, or you can serve it as it comes out of the pot, the latter is the best way. Garnish with your chopped parsley and eat with some good Irish brown soda bread.

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This grilled chicken recipe offers fabulous flavors, ingredients, and makes a great dish for your evening meal or supper. First you need to rinse 100 g of puy lentils, place them in to a saucepan of cold water covering to twice the depth of the lentils. Next, take a stick of celery cut into three, tie the three pieces together and add to the water with two cloves of garlic. Boil and simmer for about 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Remove the celery and garlic, then strain. To this add the juice of one whole lemon, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Set the dish aside and keep warm.

Now heat a pan over a medium heat, brushing lightly with olive oil. Cook one medium red onion, which has been sliced into onion rings, until soft. Transfer these into a small dish and toss with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Take a quarter head of radicchio and cut into thin wedges, fry these gently until softened and lightly browned. Place these into the bowl with the onion.

Now we are going to cook the grilled chicken. Take your chicken breast pieces and season them with little thyme, pepper, and salt. Place them under a medium grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on either side. Remove from the grill and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Now it’s time to plate the food up. Take a couple of handfuls of mint leaves and watercress, throw them into a bowl and mix again with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Once you have plated up the ingredients, add a couple of slices of pancetta underneath each grilled chicken breast. For that touch of class, drizzle a deep ring of balsamic vinegar around the edge of the plate along with a small trickle of olive oil.

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The health benefits of garlic are well known; indeed garlic has often been given the label wonder drug. It’s been used extensively for medicinal purposes by herbalists and naturalists. Some of the reputed benefits of eating garlic include lowering of dangerous cholesterol levels, the treatment of acne, an aide to weight loss, and as a general insect repellent. Potatoes are one of the most versatile foodstuffs that are available and have a similar long history. How better to consume these two wonderful foods than to combine them together as garlic mashed potatoes. This article is going to give you a garlic mashed potatoes recipe and some simple tips on making the best mashed potatoes. Although mashed potatoes are considered a comfort food if there is plenty of butter and cream added, you can also use this recipe as part of a calorie controlled diet by altering the ingredients slightly.

First of all, the ingredients for your garlic mashed potato recipe:
• about three pounds of good potatoes for mashing
• two tablespoons of butter
• three or four garlic cloves to taste (more if you need)
• have a teaspoon of salt
• one tablespoon of milk
• four tablespoons of thick cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Getting the right potatoes for your mashed potatoes is one of the tricks to the heavenly creamy mashed potato taste. It is said that starchy potatoes such as russets are good potatoes for mashing. But, they tend to disintegrate when they are cooked in water for too long. Yukon golds are medium starch potatoes that make a fantastic mashed potato, so if you can purchase them … use them!

Now we can get back to the easy garlic mashed potatoes. First, you need to peel your mashed potatoes and chop them into manageable pieces. Place them in a saucepan which is full of boiling water and add the half teaspoon salt with your garlic cloves. Once the water has boiled, reduce the heat until the water is just simmering, keep covered and cook for between 15 and 20 minutes. You will know when you’re potatoes are done because you will be able to pass a fork through them easily. The trick to making the best garlic mashed potatoes is to warm the milk, cream, and butter before you add them to your hot potatoes. Use the potato masher until the potatoes are well mashed, use a wooden spoon and gradually add your milky mixture until you have achieved the consistency that you require, don’t mash too much or your garlic mashed potatoes will become very gluey. Add salt-and-pepper to taste.

Bon Appetite!

First of all, the list of ingredients:
• 10 chopped onions
• 50 g of plain flour
• one tablespoon of tomato purée
• six tablespoons of butter
• a small amount of white wine
• 1 L of chicken stock
• four slices of toasted French bread
• 100 g of grated Gruyere cheese
• six tablespoons of butter

The first thing that you have to do with this recipe is to soften up the onions very slowly. This is achieved by melting the butter in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat. You need to stir the onions for about 30 minutes until they are very soft. Next, you need to add the flour, the wine, the chicken stock, and the tomato purée. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Then season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Now, this easy French onion soup recipe requires you to toast the French bread slices, and scatter the grated Gruyere cheese over the top. Place underneath a hot grill and cook until the cheese is bubbling and golden in color. You can serve this soup in one of the special French onion soup bowls that you can find in most good supermarkets. Place a small slice of cheese topped French bread into each bowl.

French onion soup is a great way of starting out a meal if you have guests coming over. The cheese top version above is a traditional French style although you can top it with a variety of different sweet or savory toppings for the perfect light snack.

Carrots are packed with nutrients; they are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, trace minerals, whilst the excellent sources of many different vitamins. Carrot cake is one of the most versatile cakes that you can make. At a total preparation and cooking time of about an hour, it’s fairly easy to make, but it does take a bit of preparation. There are so many different recipes for carrot cake. Your granny is bound to have a couple of old-time carrot cake recipes; the local baker is going to have a couple of secret ingredients that he adds to give his version the perfect bite. But the best carrot cake recipe is just a simple low-fat version as laid out below.

Ingredients for easy carrot cake recipe:

• Two couples of grated carrots
• 1 cup of whole meal flour
• three-quarter cup of brown sugar
• three medium eggs
• 1 1/4 cup of plain white flour
• 1/2 cup
• vegetable oil
• 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 cup of each raisins and walnuts
• 2 teaspoons of each cinnamon and baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of each baking soda and vanilla extract
• quarter teaspoon nutmeg
• one and one half cup of icing sugar and 5 ounces cream cheese for the filling

Now you have the ingredients for your healthy carrot cake, you have to mix it all together. Take your all-purpose flour and whole meal flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, raisins, walnuts, and nutmeg and combine them all together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the apple sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, carrots, and the three medium eggs. Once this is done, you can gently stir this second mixture into the flour mixture.

Take a 9 inch baking pan and oil it well. Add the ingredients and smooth out. Your oven should be preheated at one 175°C. Bake at this temperature for about 60 minutes. While this is happening you can start to prepare your topping. Take your cream cheese and mix the icing sugar to taste. Add this to the top of your carrot cake once it has been removed from the oven and has been allowed to cool down sufficiently.

This carrot cake is a sort of naughty addition to any diet. It is not as calorie packed as a chocolate fudge cake for instance. But, you still have to use some control when you are consuming it. In other words, don’t eat the whole lot. One slice every so often as a treat will keep your spirits up while you are on your diet.

There are numerous different ways to cook a homemade beef stew. For instance, if you have a slow cooker, you can make slow cooker beef stew, you can make your beef stew on top of the stove in a large pot which is simmering away for a couple of hours to give the most tender morsels of beef imaginable. There are also plenty of beef stew recipes which involve different cuts of meat, or stew recipes from different parts of the world, search the Internet for many of these. The Beef stew recipe I’m going to concentrate on in this article will be cooked in the oven and uses free range organic low-fat beef.

The first thing you need to do is to preheat your oven at 180°. Take an ovenproof dish, pour in a splash of olive oil and heat on a medium heat. Next, fry two red onions, three carrots, three sticks of celery, and four cloves of garlic which have been peeled and roughly chopped. At this stage you can also add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, two bay leaves, a small handful of dried porcini mushrooms, and a stick of cinnamon. Fry this lot until it is all slightly softened, about five minutes will do.

Meanwhile, take your pieces of beef and roll them in a little bit of seasoned flour. Put the floured beef into a pan and stir everything together. Next add two tins of plum tomatoes, two thirds of a bottle of decent red wine, and some salt and pepper. Now, place the whole lot into a preheated oven for three hours, covering with a double thickness of aluminum foil. You can tell when the beef stew is ready as the beef will break very easily to the touch. Remove the cinnamon stick and Rosemary sprigs. You can follow this recipe for your Crockpot beef stew, adjusting the cooking times according to your machine. This beef stew is excellent served with a good French red wine.

There are a few things that you should do prior to baking your potatoes to make them as scrumptious as possible. For a start, the baked potato needs to be cleaned with a small scrubbing brush, with any blemishes, eyes, or small growths being removed. Some people baste their baked potatoes in butter or olive oil. The next thing you need to do is to ensure that the steam which is going to collect inside the potato does not burst out of the baked potato in one big explosion, you do this by pricking the surface with a fork or knife.

Many people find that their baked potatoes tend to be very dry if they are not soaked in butter or mayonnaise or some other high-fat product. There are many different toppings for your microwave baked potato which will be a far better option if you are trying to lose a few pounds and make them not so dry. One baked potato recipe includes making your own salsa, using diced tomatoes, and diced onion, based at garlic cloves, a bit of cilantro, and some salt and pepper to taste. Another option is to use Greek yoghurt.

Many people actually scooped the content out of the baked potato and mash the date with different ingredients such as Greek yoghurt, ordinary yoghurt, salsa, cottage cheese, a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, or red pepper. This makes a fantastic snack or addition to any main meal. The amount of calories in one large baked potato (in its naked state) is around 270. This is great for your weight loss.

Lentils are so rich in fiber and have excellent nutritional value which make it one of the healthiest filling foods.  They have a high protein content and also contain folate, vitamin B1 and iron.  For a complete protein meal, add a side dish of rice or whole grain bread.

Spinach is also rich in iron, calcium and fiber, vitamins a and c and many minerals.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin c and lycopene.  Together, this soup packs quite a nutritional punch!

Lentil Spinach Soup

5 cups warm water
1 cup brown or green lentils
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion – thinly sliced
5 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 large diced tomato or 1 small can
2 minced cayenne or serrano chiles
1 teaspoon salt
1 10 ounce bag of washed spinach chopped coarsely

1.  Bring 4 cups of water with the lentils to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Lower heat and simmer until lentils are tender.  About 20-25 minutes.

2.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cumin seeds and sizzle until fragant- about 10-15 seconds.  Immediately add the garlic and onion and cook until golden.

3.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, chiles and the remaining cup of water; bring to a boil.  Pour the onion-tomato mixture in with the lentils.  Simmer covered stirring occasionally about 15 minutes.

4.  Stir in the fresh spinach just before serving.

1 cup equals 165 calories, 3 grams fat, 10 grams fiber

Bon Apetite!