Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Featured Ingredients: Diced Tomatoes, Chickpeas AKA Garbanzo Beans.

AAH-ctober!  crisper air, lower humidity and the perfect backdrop for Uncanny Goodness.  I took quite a hiatus since summer.  Mostly busy because of my job which takes me away from home for at least 12 hours a day. 

Today was a great day, so I wanted to share it with you and celebrate with a long overdue blogpost. My family and I went to the Greenwich Audobon Society Hawk Watch event.  For those of you not from the Fairfield County CT area, Greenwich is an EXTREMELY affluent area, with some homes ranging in the 10's of millions!  Greenwich boasts residents like Ron Howard, Mel Gibson (at one time), Kathie Lee Gifford, among other less notable figures with similarly deep pockets.  Unfortunately, no celebrity bird enthusiasts were to be found.  I live in nice town, but not nearly of that caliber. My son and I believed there were bluebloods looking down on us saying "This is what shows up when you open up these events to the public."  With that kind of financial backing it was a great event.  They had live raptor bird shows featuring Falcons, Hawks, petting zoos, eco-friendly vendors and all sorts of activities.  

This Great Horned Owl was awesome.  You could walk pretty much right next to it, and it could care less that you were there.  Beautiful bird with talons that can exert 100 lbs of pressure.  I was amazed by how quiet there wings are when they flap them, so they can really take their prey by surprise.

Here I am with a burmese python:

Oh well, unlike most Greenwich residents, I had to rush home as it is a 45 minute drive and rely on my own personal chef self to make dinner. Recently I saw this dish in the October issue of Bon Appetit.  I adapted the recipe a little for 1.5 lbs of lamb and to save time.

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots (About 5 servings depending on how hungry you are)

1 19 oz. Can of Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed - I used about 1/2 a can
3 garlic cloves minced
1 large cinnamon stick
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 lbs leg of lamb or leg, lamb shoulder or leg of lamb steaks cut into 1/2" cubes*  If you use steaks save the bones and braise them with the rest of the meat for additional flavor. Then scrape off any meat at the end remove bones.
1 medium onion diced
3 tsps Spice Mixture (recipe follows)
1/2 tbsp peeled chopped fresh ginger
1 cup canned diced tomato with juices
1 3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup dried apricots quartered
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Salt and Pepper as needed

Spice Mixture (This makes more than you need for the recipe, so save the extra)
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
Heat oil in a shallow dutch oven or "tagine" over medium high heat.  Season lamb with salt and pepper and brown lamb on all sides working in 2 batches about 4 minutes per batch.   Transfer lamb to a bowl.  This is the before picture:



Big Pile O Lamb

















Add onion to pot, season with salt, reduce heat to medium and saute until softened and beginning to turn golden about 5 minutes. If the fond on the bottom of your pot starts to get too brown add stock now to deglaze.  Add minced garlic, spice mixture and ginger, stir one minute. Add tomatoes and return lamb to pot with any juices.  Bring to a boil reduce to a simmer. Add a cinnamon stick. Partially cover and simmer for 1 hour or until lamb is tender.

Bubble Bubble

Stir in chickpeas and apricots, simmer until heated through about 10 minutes.

Remove cinnamon stick.  Ladle out about 1/4 cup of cooking liquid from the pot and add about 1/2 tbsp cornstarch, to create a slurry.  "A pourable thickener".  Add back to pot and let simmer another 5 minutes until more thickened like a stew. Add cilantro and serve over couscous.

The mixture of warm spices like cinnamon and ginger mingle so well with savory tomatoes and sweet plump apricots.  Comfort food at its best.

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Couscous. (Follow the package directions, but simply:

1 cup chicken stock
1 cup couscous
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
Tiny pinch of saffron

Heat stock, salt, butter and saffron to a boil.  Add couscous.  Cover and remove from heat for 4 to 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork.

Guest Contributor - My husband Paul's Pastitsio

Featured Ingredient:  Diced Tomatoes

Now that I've gone back full time into the workforce, I don't have as much time to devote to my blog. My cooking is pretty much reserved for the weekends and my husband takes over during the week.  This basically means manly meals, that are usually calorie-laden and full of fat (which usually also means good). Most are not the best choice for my figure, but beat the hell out of having to start from scratch at 7:30 p.m. (after walking the dog).  Otherwise I have to go my repetoire of under 5 minute meals - because I'm starving. One can only have so many egg and cheese sandwiches and soup.

Now that my husband is the weekday chef, it seems he has blogging aspirations. Recently I found pictures of my husband's Pastitsio recipe on the camera, and figured that is a perfect example of Uncanny Goodness.  To me it's the Greek offspring of beefaroni and moussaka. Aside from finding entry ideas for my blog, I've also been treated to random photos of me filling my bird feeder in pajamas, my butt, and other candid beauties. (Please don't mind that I don't share these).

Pastitsio is a great Sunday dinner. I like to reserve Sunday's for something that will deliver multiple servings.  Then I know when I come on Monday and maybe even Tuesday, I just have to nuke my way to quick and satisfying meal. Making hamburgers for example is a not a good use of time, as they don't reheat well the next day and after everyone finished there are no leftovers.  Stews fit this bill perfectly.  But as the weather has gotten a little warmer, I've moved on to casseroles which are also a perfect candidate.  A delicious dining experience can be derived from a simple mish mosh of ingredients.

For the macaroni
1 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni
1 egg

For the beef mix
1.3 pounds of 85/15 ground beef
1 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 – 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes undrained
1 TB red wine vinegar
1TB chili powder
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cinnamon

For the white sauce
3 TB butter
3 TB flour
¼ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg beaten
½ cup Italian blend shredded cheese

Salt & Pepper as needed

Preheat oven to 350F

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain. Combine pasta and 1 beaten egg.

Meat Sauce: Cook ground beef, onion and garlic together in a skillet until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat.  Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar, chili powder, allspice, cinnamon.  Bring to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

White Sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium and stir in flour and pepper.  Add the milk all at once. Whisk and stir until smooth thick and bubbly.  Beat an egg in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup.  Slowly add hot liquid to temper the mixture - to ensure not scrambling the egg. Return egg mixture to the saucepan, stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

In a square baking dish, add 1/2 the pasta mixture.  Next add all the meat sauce.  Then add the remainder of the pasta and top with the white sauce.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.  The white sauce will firm when cooked.

Tortellini Soup with Chicken

Featured Ingredient: Diced Tomatoes

Here is a nice variation for those nights when you have had enough ravioli with sauce, but not enough time to make much more of anything else.  The preparation and cook time can vary based on how much time you have.  If you have a little more time to spare, I would recommend simmering the soup so it can develop more flavor.  If not you can rapidly increase its finish time by boiling the ingredients.

This makes a nice side or a main dish soup with some crusty Italian bread and a salad. I adapted this recipe from an old Family Circle cookbook.

Chicken Tortellini Soup - Serves 6

Extra virgin olive oil as needed
1 large onion chopped = to 1 cup
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 cloves garlic minced
8 cups low sodium chicken broth (canned or two boxes)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes undrained
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
2 dried bay leaves
9 oz. tri-colored cheese tortellini
1 cup sliced cooked chicken
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese as desired

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.  Add onion, carrot and celery and "sweat" the vegetables over a low medium heat (don't brown) until the onion starts to become translucent - about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for about 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.  Be sure not to let garlic brown, or it can add a bitter taste.

Add broth, tomatoes, marjoram, basil and bay leaves.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce to a simmer and add tortellini, chicken, salt and pepper.  Simmer until vegetables are tender and tortellini is how you like it.  I like my tortellini a little softer and past al dente so they are at their "plumpiest". 

If you are on a time schedule or are really hungry.  You can speed up the cooking process after you heat ingredients to a boil by continuing to boil everything is tender.   I don't recommend a vigorous boiling, but maybe a rolling boil will complete your dish faster without totally obliterating the tomatoes.  It's a very forgiving soup either way.

Top with grated parmesan cheese

You could also try this with meat tortellini and eliminate the cut up chicken.

Now that I think about it I should have made Italian Wedding Soup for today's blog post with little meatballs and escarole as my second cousin the "Un-Valley Girl" got married today in Canada.  Oh well, maybe Italian Wedding Soup isn't the most appropriate choice as we are Lithuanian. I wish her a great honeymoon and a future filled with love, comfort and comfort food.  Can't wait to see her pictures on Facebook.


Tortellini Soup with Chicken



Easy Surf and Turf Paella

Chicken Broth and Diced Tomato

Featured Ingredients: Chicken Broth X 2 and Petite Diced Tomatoes

I miss my blog.  I started a new job on Wednesday.  Back in Marketing, the old 9 to 5 grind... but really, who in Marketing works 9 to 5?  After the 25 mile commute against traffic and wolfing down whatever my husband threw together for dinner, chasing down my boys to do homework, walking the dog, or working out, there is not much energy left to cook. I don't have the pleasure of the extra time anymore. 

On the flip side, my culinary choices are based now even more on recipes with fewer ingredients or things that can simmer or bake so I can multi-task. So now Uncanny Goodness really lives up to its Time Saving philosophy.

That said, what's easier than the one pot meal.  Now that the snow and ice dams have melted, the trees are budding and robins are scurrying around, stew weather is behind us.  But the crisp spring air is perfect for a satisfying paella.

I make mine with chorizo. Chorizo is available in varying degrees of heat. I used this kind:

It says it's hot, but it was a mild heat. Only a little more kick than kielbasa.(Trust me I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy food.) Whole Foods sells a really good chorizo, which I wouldn't classify as hot. If hot is your thing, you can use Andouille or Linguica or a hotter Chorizo.

I also add chicken.  This is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken, from say a store-bought rotisserie chicken.  Finally, to me, a paella is not complete without some form of seafood, so I add shrimp.  My older son and I are the only shrimp eaters.  So in this case, I saute them separately and place them on the plate that wants them.  By cooking and adding them last minute, this also ensures that the shrimp don't get overdone and gummy.  Plus it takes not time to cook them in a saute pan.

Easy Surf and Turf Paella - Serves 8

Extra virgin olive oil as needed

12 oz. package or 4 links chorizo sausage sliced into about 1/2 in rounds

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 cup diced red pepper

2 gloves garlic minced

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

1/4 tsp turmeric (turns rice yellow and cheaper than saffron)

1 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained

2 14.5 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth

1 cup diced cooked chicken 

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

salt and pepper to taste

24 shrimp, shelled and deveined (less if not everyone is a shrimp eater)

1/2 lemon for lemon juice

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

In a heavy 12 inch pan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat.  Saute chorizo about 4-5 minutes until it starts to brown.  Remove from pan.  Add red pepper and saute about 2 minutes to start cooking process, scraping up brown bits.  Remove to the pan with sausage.  Add onion and saute until translucent 3 to 4 minutes.  Add rice and toast a few minutes until you start to see translucent grains 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in turmeric, tomatoes and broth, scraping any more brown bits. Stir in chicken.  Heat to a boil and reduce to a low simmer.   To borrow a line from Guy Fieri... Everybody in the pool.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Check liquid level and doneness of rice.  Add a little water if needed Stir in peas. NOTE: the peas will also release a little water.  Cook about 5 more minutes.  Finish with parsley.

Separately, squeeze a little lemon juice on your shrimp.  I usually put them in a colander with a bowl underneath.  Heat a non-stick saute pan with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add shrimp and saute. Turn shrimp over when you start to see pink underneath.  Shrimp should take more than 5 minutes to cook.  When they are pink and begin to curl they should be done.  

Plate paella and top with shrimp.

Easy Surf and Turf Paella

Vegetable Crumble Casserole

Featured Ingredients: Diced Tomatoes and Vegetable Broth

This recipe comes courtesy of one of my clients. It has been in their family for a while and is one of their staples as the head of household is a vegetarian.  Since my client pointed this out to me when I met with her, I figured I would start my first meal with them, with something they know and love.  I did a test run in my own kitchen on Sunday with a variation on the root vegetables that they like. 

Loaded with heart healthy nuts and satisfying, hearty vegetables, this makes for a great side or filling main meal.  I brought the cookbook back today, so I'm doing this from memory.  This is from an English cookbook so the recipe is in oz and grams.  So get out your kitchen scale.

Vegetable Crumble Casserole - Fits an 8 X 11 baking dish

10 oz. whole wheat flour
3 oz. butter (enough to turn the whole wheat flour into a coarse meal)
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
salt & pepper

1 large onion
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs. mixed root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, red potatoes, sweet potatoes.. - whatever you like)
olive oil as needed
salt and peper to taste
1 oz. whole wheat flour
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seed
(the herbs are my add)

Rub butter and flour together with your hands to make a coarse meal, then mix with cheddar, nuts, and seeds.

Chop vegetables in varying sizes, depending on how quickly the vegetables soften, so that they cook as evenly as possible.  Put the chopped vegetables in a bowl and toss with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Over medium heat melt 2 tbsp butter in a large sautoir or skillet with high sides. Saute onion for about 5-8 minutes until soft.  Add vegetables and saute for 10 minutes.  Add flour, tomatoes, stock and milk. Stir and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until "sauce" has thickened and vegetables are nearly tender.

Transfer to a baking dish and top with the crumb topping.  Press topping into the vegetables.

Bake at 375 for about a 1/2 hour until bubbly.

Vegetarian Crumble Casserole

Shrimp Arrabbiata

Featured Ingredient:

Diced Tomatoes

Arrabiata is Italian for angry.  The angry part of the dish refers to heat from the crushed red pepper. If you are like me, and not a big fan of spicy, you might only throw in a couple of red pepper flakes, so your dish will end up at best mildly miffed.

This recipe was inspired by a March 2007 issue of Cooking Light. It's another quick fix dinner... where the biggest work is in the prep.

Once you are done chopping, mincing, and grinding... the cooking process is rather fast. So if you have some appliances that can help you out with this, put them to work and get finished plates to your table even faster.  If you plan ahead, this can be put together in no time when you get home.

Shrimp Arriabbiata - 4 servings

1 16 oz. package fresh fettucine
2 tbsp olive oil divided
16 oz. raw shrimp thawed and deveined* (see note below)
Lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 large garlic cloves or about 2 tsps finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds (you can break these up using a rolling pin, mortar and pestle or a small electric grinder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional - if you like heat or black pepper if not so much)
1.5 oz prosciutto diced
2 14.5 oz cans tomatoes undrained (I used diced for sauciness and 1 stewed for texture.  You can use any combination)
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil

Put water on the boil and add 1 tsp of salt.  Put on pasta to cook at Step 3.

1. Thaw shrimp and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over them just before cooking.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high  heat.  Add shrimp, saute for 3 minutes until pink but not completely cooked through.  Remove shrimp from pan.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and add onion, garlic, crushed fennel seeds, pepper (red or black depending on your heat preference) and prosciutto to pan, saute 1 minute.  Stir in tomatoes, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook 3 minutes.  Return shrimp to pan and cook another 2 minutes or so until shrimp is cooked through.  Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Garnish with basil.

Another alternative:  Use 8 oz. of shrimp and 8 oz. sweet Italian sausage (in this case omit the prosciutto).  Cook sausage first, set aside and keep warm and reincorporate it at the end.

NOTE BELOW: *Most shrimp that you buy at fish markets or in your grocery store has been previously frozen anyway.  Save yourself the markup and buy a bag of frozen shrimp.  Shrimp in these bags are normally flash frozen very soon after they are harvested, so the thawed shrimp in the fish case may be no fresher than the ones in the freezer next to it.  You can even find shrimp that have already been deveined and save yourself some time there as well. Since they are small, they can be thawed quickly under cool running water.  Then let them drain until they don't feel so solid anymore.   If you are not ready to use them by this time.  Put them in the fridge until ready to use.  Double check your package for instructions.

Shrimp Arrabbiata

You should be very happy with the end result of this "angry" little dish.


Holy Mole Chili con Carne with Corn Muffins

Kidney Beans, V8, Diced Tomatoes

Featured Ingredients: Kidney Beans, Vegetable Juice, Diced Tomatoes

Tomorrow is apparently the big game? At least that is what my husband told me.  It will determine whether Pittsburgh or the Jets go to the Super Bowl.  Events like this call for a manly meal... so we have a pre-Super Bowl and definitely winter staple.

This chili has layers upon layers of flavor.  Where else can you get "a whole serving of vegetables" and your chocolate fix in one pot? 

To accompany this I made home made corn bread.  Since I made the chili and corn bread from scratch I settled on Minute Rice.

The base of this recipe comes from "Old Faithful."  My Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book.  Forget the La'Gastronomique Reference Bible I received from Culinary School.  It's too pretty to get dirty. This is my go to reference book.

Chili Con Carne - Serves 6

12 oz. ground round
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2-3 cloves garlic minced
2 14.5 oz. cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 5.5 oz. can V8 Vegetable Juice
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp spanish paprika
2 tbsps Unsweetened "Special Dark" Cocoa Powder (here's where the "mole" comes from)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 15 oz. can Kidney Beans
Handful of parsley finely chopped
White cheddar cheese for topping or Sour Cream on the side

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a 5qt Dutch Oven.  Add peppers, onions and garlic until fragrant add ground beef and saute until beef is browned.  If you use a lean ground round, there is no need to drain.

2. Stir in undrained tomatoes, vegetable juice, tomato paste, spices, chocolate and brown sugar.  Mix well.  Add Kidney Beans.  Bring to boiling and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 25-30 minutes.  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Or more chili powder if you like more heat.  This chili is relatively mild.

Corn Muffins - I got this off the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Box.  I found these to be bit on the dry side, but a great compliment to a moist dish like chili.  For a less labor intensive muffin you can use one of those Jiffy Mixes or Trader Joes.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400

Mix dry  ingredients. Mix wet ingredients.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in wet ingredients until just combined.  Grease 12 count muffin tin with cooking spray.  Pour batter into cups using a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Do I really need to give you the recipe for Minute Rice?? :)

Chili con Carne

Chicken Cacciatore Bake with Rice



Featured Ingredients

 Today's featured ingredients are a trifecta of flavors:  Diced Tomatoes, White Beans, Chicken Broth

Ah, the one pot meal.  One of my favorites after a long day. There is something magical about throwing a bunch of ingredients into a Le Creuset dish and having it yield a protein, a starch and some vegetables a mere 35 minutes later.

As an aside, My 5 Quart Le Creuset dish, is the best cooking investment I ever made, next to my stand mixer - and I got it on sale at discount store. It's worth its weight in gold.  I'm not sure why, maybe the way it distributes heat, that food cooked in it, just ends up tasting better compared to any other pot I've used.  I also love that it works as well on my range top and transfers safely to the oven.

This is a recipe I adapted from a torn out page of an old Working Mother magazine.  It is only recently I took literally hundreds and hundreds of torn pages that I have been saving in file folders and organized them in a 3 inch binder.  Those recipes that I like, and would want make again, go into another "test kitchen" binder.   This recipe will definitely find a home in the latter binder.
Chicken Cacciatore Bake with Rice

2 tbsp olive oil
1.75 lbs bone in skinless chicken thighs (5 pieces) - Thighs are great as they don't dry out like breasts
1 medium onion chopped (1 cup)
3 small cloves garlic - finely chopped
3 celery hearts sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (1 cup)
3 carrots sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (1 cup)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup uncooked white or brown rice (not quick cooking)
1 can 14.5 oz. chicken broth
1 can 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can 15.5 oz. white beans (rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F

Heat 1 tbsp oil in an oven safe sauce pot over medium high heat.  Sear chicken on both sides to get some golden color -- about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Once a "fond" or crust begins to develop the chicken won't stick.  Remove chicken from pan set aside.

Heat additional tbsp of oil - Add onions, celery, carrot, garlic, and cook for several minutes until onions are soft.  Lower temperature to medium and add herbs and rice and stir until everything is coated in oil.  Sautee for a couple minutes to "toast" the rice.

Pour in broth, tomatoes and beans and gently combine.  Add chicken back to pot and bring pot to a simmer.  Cover pot with lid.  Transfer to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until liquid is almost all absorbed and bubbly, rice is tender and chicken is cooked to 180F.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Scoop and Serve.  Clean one pot.

Chicken Cacciatore Bake with Rice

Ancho Chile Beef Stew




Kidney Beans and Diced Tomatoes

 I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light.  I'm not a big fan of spicy because I feel it masks the other ingredients.  This stew is flavorful with a just little bit of a kick. To reduce spiciness reduce the amount of chiles. 

The base of this sauce is created by cooking then making a puree of the first 7 ingredients, which create a delectable rich, earthy red color.

2 tbsp olive oil divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 dried Ancho Chiles (about 1 oz) -stemmed and seeded, then torn into 2 inch pieces.
2 cups low sodium beef stock
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 lb. boneless chuck roast (stew meat) cut into 1 in cubes
Cooking Spray
1 1/4 cups chopped green bell pepper
2 15.5 oz cans red kidney beans (use 3 cups)
1/8 cup fresh cilantro
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Reduced Fat Sour Cream
Lime Wedges - Optional

1 cup Long Grain White Rice - Cook according to package instructions

1. Heat  1 tablespoon olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, and cook about 5 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.  Add cumin, garlic, and chiles; cook 3 minutes until chiles are soft, stirring frequently.  Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to simmer.  Cover, remove from heat, and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2. In batches, place chile mixture in a blender.  Put on lid firmly but remove center piece of blender lid to let steam escape.  Cover the space with a clean towel. Puree until smooth.  Pour pureed chile mixture into large bowl.

3. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add beef to pan and saute until browned on all sides.  Remove beef from pan.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add bell pepper to pan and sautee until browned (about 5 minues).  Stir in pureed chile mixture and beef, bring to a boil.  Cover reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/4 hours or until beef is tender.  Add beans, cook 20 minutes, stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chili with topped with as much sour cream as you like, cilantro and lime wedges. 

While not shown, my family and I  liked this stew over rice, which made it a more heartier meal.  Let me know what you think.

Ancho Chile Beef Stew