Ranch Style Chicken Stew

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts
2 potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup brown gravy mix
1 Tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 can Ranch style beans

Directions

Layer potatoes on bottom of crockpot. Place chicken on top. Add brown gravy mix to chicken broth, then microwave for 3-4 minutes, stirring with whisk every minute. When thickened, pour over chicken. Sprinkle in the parsley and black pepper. Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in beans and brown sugar and cook for another 2 hours. Shred chicken, stir, and serve with crackers.

Moroccan Beef

This recipe is adapted from this Moroccan chicken recipe. I never use celery because celery was created by the devil, but I do like to add the carrots and zucchini as described in the original recipe when I'm not cooking for my husband. In order for this to be Viking Approved, however, I usually leave those delightful veggies out and use the following recipe.

Moroccan Beef

Ingredients

1-2 lbs ground beef
2 Tbsp dried, chopped onions
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp frozen ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (1/8 tsp if desired for less heat)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Put beef, onions, and garlic in skillet and brown beef over medium heat. Drain grease. Stir in ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and turmeric; stir fry for about 1 minute, then mix in broth and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add chickpeas to pan and bring to simmering once again; cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until chickpeas are heated through. Stir in lemon juice and serve over rice.

This meal (specifically this recipe, with only chickpeas for vegetables) freezes very well. Defrost in the fridge, then heat in a skillet on the stove while cooking some rice. I cannot say for sure how well the zucchini or carrots would survive freezing and reheating.

Perfect Toffee Cookies

Perfect Toffee Cookies

Sometime last year, a friend shared a link to the perfect M&M cookies recipe from the Picky Palate blog. It is indeed the perfect cookie recipe! It's the only recipe I've found that makes cookies my husband and I can agree on. I usually use Heath Milk Chocolate and Toffee Bits instead of M&Ms, though, but you can use any type of chip you want.

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp Instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 bag of Heath Milk Chocolate and Toffee Bits

Directions

Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, or conventional oven to 350. Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick baking spray (the kind with flour) or line with parchment paper. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugars until well combined. Add your egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add your flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt. If mixing by hand, you may need to use clean or gloved hands to thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients at this stage. If using a stand mixer, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get everything combined. Mix in the Heath bits.

With a medium cookie scoop, place dough 1 inch apart from each other. If your cookie sheets are sized like mine, you'll probably need both sheets. If using a convection oven, place both sheets in oven. If using conventional, bake sheets one at a time. 

Bake for 12 minutes until cooked through and edges are starting to lightly brown. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Ever so slightly adapted from picky palate