In the summer months when we want something that little bit heartier for our dinner, the slow cooker becomes my best friend.  If I don't want to be heating up the kitchen, the slow cooker is the way to go!  I have three slow cookers.  One in a large size for making dishes large enough to feed over 4 people, and two smaller ones which are perfectly sized for two people, a round one and an oval one, because a small round one doesn't always cut the mustard when it comes to slow cooking.  A small oval one is perfect for small roasts, hams, etc.


Slow cooking lends itself perfectly to creating delicious dishes like this Lamb Tagine I am showing you here today.  A Tagine is traditionally a Moroccan dish. I love the flavours of Moroccan food. 


Moroccan cuisine is a delicious mix of Arabic, Andalusian, Mediterranean and Berber cuisine with a dash of European and Subsaharian influence thrown in for good measure.  Think what we traditionally see as warm baking spices . . .  cinnamon, ginger, mace, nutmeg and cloves  . . .  with some heat through in from cayenne and black pepper  . . .  and lemon.  They love to use preserved lemons . . . leafy things like coriander . . .  rose petals.  And this is by no means a complete list, but merely a hint of the deliciousness involved.



They also love using tomatoes, dried apricots, dates, prunes  . . . I love savoury dishes with dried fruit involved, and this one is just wonderful using both  apricots and prunes  . . . and zest of oranges . . .



The sauce is fragrant and delicious . . .  sweet and savoury at the same time, with a tiny bit of heat, but not overpoweringly so . . .



The sauce/gravy is thickened with ground almonds or what you might know in American as almond meal, which lends a slight nuttiness into the mix . . .  and then there is the sweetness of that oh so tender lamb  . . .



I can only think now that they were not very good lamb chops  . . .  because I have never had lamb over here that smelled like burning wool, or tasted like it for that matter.  I truly love the taste . . . young tender lamb has a delicate almost sweet taste.  Older lamb can taste a bit gamey, but its not bad either.

Heat the oil in a  skillet.  Add the lamb and cook over medium high heat until golden all over.  Scoop out and put into a small slow cooker. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and cook gently to soften.  Add to the slow cooker and stir into the lamb. Add the stock, zest and orange juice, honey, apricots, ground spices, mint and ground almonds.  Stir well to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with the flaked almonds to serve.

I hope you will take advantage of your slow cooker this summer and make this delicious Moroccan stew!  I think you will love it!  Bon Appetit, or as they say in Morocco, بالصحة و العافية!  Now that's what I would call a tongue twister, lol Serving it with peas and rice is so, so  . . .  well, English.  In Morocco you would probably have it with couscous!

This is a delicious recipe I adapted from one of my cookerybooks entitled "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook" by Phyllis Pellman Good.  Its perfect for those hot summer nights, when you don't want to heat up the kitchen but you want something just a tad bit heartier than a salad!  And . . .  no surprise here . . .  its fabulously delicious!

IF I am really on the ball on Sundays, I make good use of my slow cooker by popping dinner into it before we leave for church.  This week I got lucky and got this lovely Merlot Beef Ragout on quite early in the morning, so it was cooked to perfection by the time we got home.  Some rice and a couple of veg and dinner was served in short course!  I love it when that happens.  I am usually starving when we get home!

Usually on Sundays I try to put something into the crockpot for dinner before I leave for church.  We are always so starving by the time we get home, which usually isn't until about 2 PM!  If I haven't been really organized and used the crockpot, we end up eating things we shouldn't because lets face it . . .  by that time we don't care what goes into our mouths.  We just want to fill that gap!   Not to self . . .  perhaps carry an apple in your church bag . . .



Sister Johansen who is another Senior Missionary here in the UK, said she really wanted to make this Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing recipe that she found on Pinterest, but wasn't sure if she actually could because they don't do boxed stuffing mix here.  Well  . . .  they do, but it's not like any stuffing mix we are used to in North America.  Over here in the UK, it is like cracker crumbs . . .  I think it's called crumbled rusk.  Anyways, like Sister Johansen, I didn't think it would work in this recipe.



And so I promised Sister Johansen that I would find a way to make it work.  And guess what???  I did!  I created my own stuffing mix.  (You will find the recipe below.)  And you know . . .  it has to be better than anything storebought with artificial ingredients and additives.  Well, that's my theory anyways!

 

It worked really well!  Really, REALLY well.   This was delicious and so simple to put together.  All I had to do was add some potatoes and vegetables.   Boiled baby potatoes and some steamed veg were just the trick.  The leftovers the next day were even tastier.




Place your chicken in the bottom of your crock pot.   Pour the chicken broth over all and then lay a slice of cheese over top of each.  Whisk together both of the soups and the milk.  Pour this over top ov the cheese and chicken.   Top with the stuffing mix.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.   Serve with your choice of side dishes.  I recommend steamed baby potatoes and broccoli.



To make stuffing:  combine 1 tsp instant chicken boullion stock powder, along with 6 ounces of boiling water.  Melt 6 TBS of butter in a skillet and saute one medium onion (peel and chop) with 4 stalks of celery (chopped) until softened.  Toss together with the chicken stock and 7 cups of the stuffing  mix.    Use to stuff a chicken or turkey prior to roasting, or bakd in a lightly buttered casserole for half an hour at 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  You can also use it to stuff pork chops.

On Sundays if I am really on the ball, I like to throw something into the crockpot before I leave for church so that dinner is ready and waiting for us when we get home.  We're usually starving by that time.  I am much less inclined to munch on something I shouldn't if dinner is ready and waiting!  I reckon I am not alone in that!

I really like using my crockpot and it has come in especially handy these past couple of days, when we have spent more time packing than doing anything else.  We actually have two crockpots.  The larger one that you see here, and a smaller one.



Often on Sundays I will put a chicken or roast into the larger one and potatoes in the smaller one.  That way supper is ready and waiting for us when we get home.  We're usually starving by then!



We have several freezers here.  A large chest freezer that is ours, and which will be going with us up to Chester, and a smaller bar sized one, which will be staying as it belongs to the cottage.  I have been trying really hard to use up everything in it and found myself with a lovely piece of rolled brisket to cook.



I had always wanted to try cooking one in coffee.  I had heard that done that way, brisket turns out really tender and delicious, and that you cannot taste the coffee in it at all.  We don't really do coffee, but I bought a small jar of decaf to use in this recipe.



It is really a combination of several recipes that I found.  I liked bits of both and put them together to make my own taste tempting concoction.  Delicious tender beef,  cooked with onion, carrots, sweet bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic and some seasonings.   Stirring in some cream cheese at the end creates a luciously rich and creamy gravy.



And taste tempting it was!  You really could not taste the coffee at all, and it gave the gravy a nice colour, and true to it's reputation . . . the brisket was tender as could be.



Todd gave this two thumbs up and I will be putting it into my regular Sunday Recipe rotation schedule once we get all settled in up North.



I really hope you will give it a try.  Not only was it easy to do, but relatively painless, totally scrumptious and smelled fantastic when it was cooking!  We had this simply with some mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts on the side.  The gravy was really scrummy spooned over the potatoes!



*Crockpot Java Brisket*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Delicious moist  beef brisket with a wonderfully rich and flavourful sauce.  You would  never know there was coffee in the gravy.  You can use beef broth  instead if you are not fond of coffee.

1/3 kg rolled brisket  joint
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1  large onion, peeled and chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and  minced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
6 ounces strong brewed coffee or  beef broth
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
3 TBS Sherry Vinegar
1/2  tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

To finish:
4  ounces cream cheese

Place all of the chopped vegetables in the  bottom of the crockpot.  Top with the brisket.  Stir together the  coffee, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Pour over all.   Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.    At the end of that time, remove the meat carefully from the crockpot to a  platter.  Whisk the cream cheese into the juices until smooth and  amalgamated.  Serve the meat sliced with the juices spooned over top.