Maple Baked Beans

I decided to try something with my Crock Pot Baked Beans recipe. A really simple switch, I subtracted the sugar and molasses, and added 3/8 cup of Maple Sugar. As you can note in the linked article, and as I found out using Maple Syrup in my Coconut Flour Banana Bread, Maple is about twice as sweet as cane sugar. So I dropped the 3/8 cup each of sugar and molasses, and substituted 3/8 cup of Maple Sugar.  It came out very good!  A hint of maple flavor but not too sweet.  I think you could go to 1/2 cup and not be too sweet. I may try that in the future.

I'm not going to reprint the whole recipe here, if you have some maple sugar or REAL maple syrup and want to give it a try, check the basic recipe using the link above and make the substitution as noted.

I bet you like it!

Easter Lamb...with a "Hat Tip" to Uncle Ray

We're having lamb for Easter dinner.  Not the typical whole leg of lamb, or rack of lamb.  I'm making a recipe that is simple and provided by my late uncle, Raymond Dunning.

There is a recipe he used for family BBQs, and he would tell the story every chance he got.  It goes like this:

In the old days of Russia, as the Cossacks traveled the countryside, they would stop at the farmhouses along the way.  The farmers were required to provide them with lamb, onions and lemons, such as they had.  The Cossack would cut the items into chunks and store them in a leather bag.  At night when the Cossacks would get together, they would spear chunks of lamb on their swords, roast it over the campfire and sing songs of battles and "Mother Russia". (BTW, we aren't Russian, but that was probably a story he picked up during his time as a Merchant Marine during WWII.)

While I'm not sure of the truth of the whole story, parts make sense.  Lemons and onions are both anti-bacterial and could very well have kept meat from going rancid.  So that part makes sense.  Not being a student of Cossack history, I don't know about the rest. 

In the story is the recipe.  A boneless leg of lamb trimmed of fat, cut into chunks (whatever size you want, but I usually go for about 1" to 1-1/2", around that size).  Sliced lemons and onions.  Layer the meat, lemon and onions in a bowl or baking dish, and squeeze the juice from an additional lemon or two over the whole thing.  Let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least one day, preferably two days.  Stir it every 4 hours or so.  Before cooking remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.  Lightly salt & pepper about 30 minutes before cooking.

When I was younger, he had custom made skewers resembling straight bladed swords. He would fill them with chunks of lamb and roast them over the BBQ pit.  As he got older and the number of folks at gatherings became less, he would cook them directly on the grill.  Today, I'm going to broil them in the oven on an old Graniteware broiling pan.  I'm going to combine a little of the old and the new.

The final result:

Crock Pot Baked Beans

This is a recipe I had originally posted on an old blog, I'm reposting it now because I'm going to try something next week to give it a bit of a twist.  So if you want to compare them, make this one now!

1lb white beans (Great Norther, Navy, etc.)

1/2# bacon, cut into 2" to 3" pieces

1 large onion, diced

3/8 cup molasses

3/8 cup sugar

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp dry mustard

2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce

3/4 cup catsup

Sort, rinse and soak the beans overnight.  I put them in a 3qt saucepan so that there's about 1-1/2" water over the beans

the next morning dump the beans and water into the crock pot, add everything else, stir it up.  Make sure you have about an inch of liquid over the beans.  Cook for 8 hours on low setting, checking every now and then to make sure the liquid level is still above the beans.  If you're going to be gone you can add a little extra water. The beans should be done in 8 hrs (they always are in mine), if not let it keep cooking until they're done.

There you have it, a delicious pot of baked beans!  Enjoy!!!

Free Range Chicken in Honey Mustard Yogurt Sauce

Updated 3/22/2014

I'm still working on my transition away from anything containing the items to which I tested allergic, here is a recipe I came up with. I used free range chicken breasts, if you do not have allergies you could use any kind of fresh chicken.

The idea for this came recently on a visit with some friends from India. She made chicken with a yogurt/turmeric sauce that was delicious. I like honey mustard and thought I might be able to do something along those lines. I really need to start taking photos. I usually want to wait to make sure I got it right before taking pictures, I think I got this right and while I have a full tummy, I have no photos of what I filled it with. Next time I make this I'll take photos and insert them in this post.

Here's the recipe:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 8oz cup of plain or honey yogurt
2 teaspoons Honey (if using plain yogurt increase to 1 tablespoon)
1/2 heaping teaspoon mustard
1/2 level teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Salt & Pepper

Wash the chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Place them in a glass baking dish (one that has a cover, or you can use foil) and lightly salt & pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Pour over the chicken breasts and cover completely. Flip the breasts a couple times to get them covered all around.

Note: I mixed this up around 10 in the morning and let it marinate in the fridge until 4 PM.  I then removed it and let it come to room temp for 90 mins before cooking.  Make sure your glass dish is at room temp before placing in the oven! If you use a metal baking dish you should still allow it to come to room temp for more tender chicken, but if it's a little cold you don't have to worry.

Cover with oven safe lid or foil and cook for 45 minutes or until done. If you use smaller breasts decrease the cooking time accordingly.

To serve, place the chicken breasts on a plate, pour a small amount of the sauce over them. Place the remaining sauce in a gravy boat. Serve with rice, drizzling more sauce on the chicken as needed and over the rice.

Enjoy!