Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

Aha - new Indian recipe.  This one is not too overpowering - also it is a short slow cooker recipe.

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

adapted from The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tbsp Penzey's Tandoori Seasoning
1/2 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tilapia fillets (any white or oily fish will do)
olive oil

Steps

1.  In a bowl mix together the first six ingredients.
2.  Rub the spice mix on both sides of each fish fillet.  Brush the fillet with a little oil.
3.  Wrap each fillet in aluminum foil.
4.  Line the fish packets inside the slow cooker. (If they all do not touch the surface, make sure to rotate the packets halfway through cooking time.)  Cover and cook on LOW from 1.5 - 2 hours. 

The Finished Product

Make sure your fillets are thawed - we had to let it go a bit longer because they were still very frozen.  The spice mix is fragrant but does not overwhelm your tastebuds.

Edible Playdough

Sometimes you just need a recipe that will entertain the kiddos.

 

  

 

Edible Playdough

adjusted from cooks.com

Ingredients

1/2 c. water 

1 tbsp. oil 

1 and a 1/2 c. flour 

1/2 c. sugar 

1 pkg Kool-aid, any flavor

Steps

1.  Mix together water and oil. Microwave on HIGH for about 2 minutes.
2.  Mix flour, sugar, and kool-aid in a bowl.  (I did not have any kool-aid packets so this was just dough colored.)
3.  Add water/oil to dry mixture in stages and mix well with wooden spoon.
4.  Add extra flour to get to desired stickiness.

License and Registration Please!

Life in the military means moving...a lot!  One aspect that we have luckily avoided is relocating vehicles.  This past move - no such luck.  Since we will be here in Cali for quite an extended period of time, we recently replaced our Kansas plates with shiny white California ones.

The DMV process was a little bit of over kill.  We had to fill out registration paperwork containing all of the pertinent information about the cars.  Then 20 minutes later a dmv worker "verified" our vehicles using another form that contained essentially the same information.   Seems redundant, does it not?

But after an hour and fifteen minutes, we walked out of the DMV to our vehicles and attached the new license plates.  The final vestiges of Kansas are now stored away and it seems like we may not see them for a very long time.

Slow Cooker Chianti-Braised Short Ribs

I have been hanging on to this particular recipe for what seems like a lifetime.  This week the fancy struck me to actually make the recipe.  Below is the original recipe and I will discuss my additions/subtractions at the end.

Slow Cooker Chianti Braised Short Ribs

from Rachel Ray

Ingredients

8 beef short ribs on the bone (4 to 5 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups chianti wine
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Steps

1.  Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the ribs and cook, turning often, until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large slow cooker.
2.  Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly softened, about 4 minutes.
3.  Stir in the wine and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker and cook on low heat until tender, about 6 hours.
4.  Transfer the ribs to a platter and cover to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and skim as much fat as possible from the surface. Transfer to a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 1 cup. Whisk in the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the ribs.

The Final Product

The ribs turned out quite tender.  It was a tasty dish.  I was unable to find bone in short ribs so I used boneless.  I had about 6 ribs that amounted to about 2.5 pounds.  To cut down on chopping, I threw in a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes.  I also started this late, so in the rush of hunger I forgot to add in the tomato paste to the cooking liquid.  I don't think it was a major detractor.  It was quite a yummy au jus instead.  I paired it with some fried polenta - simple to make.  Get a prepared roll of polenta.  Slice into 1/2 inch pieces and fry in a pan with a little bit of butter.  Delish!