Barbecue Beef That's Off the Bone

In the southern states of the U.S., diners prefer the tender, juicy goodness of pulled pork and beef. Pulled beef barbecue is a versatile dish. It can be served with potatoes, rice, or pasta, or with a side dish of salad, beans, or sautéed vegetables. Popularly, it is served on sandwich buns or rolls to make a saucy and spicy sandwich. Or it can be wrapped in tortilla to make a hearty Mexican or southern U.S. style snack.

Making this delicious pulled barbecue recipe is more convenient with the use of a slow cooker of crock pot. Simply combine all the ingredients together in the pot then slow cook the beef for six to eight hours on low until it is tender and stringy, and can be easily pulled with a fork. You do not need to pay a lot of attention to the beef as it cooks in the slow cooker. You can leave it on its own for the most part of making this recipe. The result on the crock pot is a mouthwatering beef dish dripping with finger-licking good sauce.

Choose a nicely marbled center cut chuck roast for an exceptionally tender and scrumptious pulled beef barbecue. The use of homemade barbecue sauce is suggested but you may use your favorite bottled barbecue sauce available in groceries to make this recipe. If you are planning on many barbecued weekends, this dish can be frozen and stored for a long time. You can make hot beef sandwiches, quick quesadillas, beef taco, or shepherd’s pie. It is hard to get tired of this scrumptious dish as the snack possibilities are endless.

Simply spoon some hot pulled beef barbecue on buns to make yummy hot beef sandwiches and top with some fried onions or coleslaw and jalapeno peppers. Place pulled beef on flour tortilla for beef quesadillas and top with some shredded cheese and jalapeno peppers, fold tortilla over filling and bake in the oven or heat in a pan until golden. Spoon pulled beef barbecue in taco shells to make tacos, and top with chopped onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and shredded cheese.


Ingredients

1 beef chuck roast (approx. 3 lbs.)

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground oregano
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender enough to shred.

2. Remove meat from the cooker and let stand reserving the sauce. When it is cool enough to handle shred the meat. Set aside.

3. To a large saucepan transfer reserved sauce. On medium heat simmer until the sauce thickens. Add shredded meat and reheat. Serve on sandwich buns or wrapped up in tortillas.

A Crab Cake Gourmet

Crab cakes have that crunch and golden brown color since they are made from breadcrumbs and egg then fried to a crisp. But Chef Luc Huysentruyt of the De Snippe restaurant in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, breaks the tradition by making the crab cakes out of a gelatin mold using beef jelly as the binder to the crab meat, pistachios, olives, carrots, and zucchini. Instead of a hot crab cake, you get a chilled wonder on a bed of string beans. A dollop of sour cream finishes the dish.

Select the best quality white crab meat you can find since its freshness will be more pronounced in this form compared to when fried. Everything tastes great fried so you will have to make a little effort in procuring the best ingredients for this reworked classic. For convenience, buy the pre-cooked and frozen crab meat at the grocery or supermarket. If you have an abundance of crabs at your disposal, you can also simply steam fresh live crab and pick the crab meat for use in this recipe.

The second important component of chef Huysentruyt’s recipe is the beef stock, which helps produce not only a fantastic flavor for the recipe but also helps in making the delicious and savory jelly. Its meat and bones have natural gelatin properties, producing a stock that will be easier to firm up later. Prepare a good and strong stock that has a clear color. Strain, degrease, reduce and clarify the stock so it’s as clear as daylight. There are lots of tips in this site like on how to pliage de napkin, just go in the site and enjoy.

The Verjus, a wine vinegar from green grapes, helps in flavoring and coagulating the beef jelly. The best ones are sourced from Perigord. To help mimic the textures in crab meat, crushed pistachios, leeks, carrots, celery and zucchini are added into the stock and suspended when the gelatin powder firms it up. Celebrate this quirky dish with a glass of Pouilly fuissé, a white wine from Burgundy.


Ingredients

crab meat
10 oz. of frost made with the clear beef soup
10 oz. Verjus (green grape fruit wine vinegar)
gelatin powder
pistachios
carrots, leek, celery, zucchini
tomatoes
string beans
olives
10 oz. sour cream liquid
dried vegetables

1. In a saucepan, combine the clear beef stock and the Verjus du Perigord. Simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the chopped pistachios, leeks, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Stir. Set aside to cool then add gelatin powder.

2. In a clean container or mold, arrange the crabmeat at the bottom layer. Then pour the beef stock mixture on top of the crabmeat. Do not stir. Refrigerate.

3. In a serving plate, make a bed of tomatoes, olives, and string beans. Take out the crabmeat mixture from the refrigerator and arrange on top of the vegetables. Garnish with sour cream and dried vegetables.

A Berry Banana Smoothie

This fruit smoothie recipe contains no sugar. It is healthy and refreshing and is packed with nutrients and antioxidants. For an energy-filled day have this for breakfast and feel light as ever. This berry banana smoothie recipe includes bananas and frozen assorted berries like raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, as well as orange juice and low fat vanilla yogurt. Before they can be blended to make the smoothie the fruits need to be frozen. Not only is this super healthy, it also tastes absolutely heavenly. It is filled with so many flavors that you don’t need to add any sweeteners. For a refreshing touch garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Peel the bananas first and then slice them into pieces before freezing and store in an airtight container that fits your freezer. Take the stems out of the berries and wash them well and pat dry. If you are using fruits with pits in them, take out the pits before freezing. In essence, the fruits need to be ready and prepared so that they can be placed in the blender straight out of the freezer once they have hardened. So that the fruits won’t freeze into one big lump, which will make it hard to process, spread them out on a plate or baking sheet while in the freezer. However, make sure that they do not come in contact to any meat produce or seafood that can affect their flavor and fragrance. The fruits can all be stored in a freezer bag or container once they are frozen without them bunching together. More healthy video recipes can be found on the link.

You can add honey instead of sugar for a healthier drink if you think that the smoothie is not sweet enough to 

your taste, The essence of smoothies after all is that they should be a health drink designed for those who are on a diet. This berry banana smoothie helps aid in the digestion system. It is very good for the circulatory and immune system.

Ingredients

1 small banana, peeled chopped and frozen
52 oz. cup fresh or frozen assorted berries (such as raspberries, blackberries, and/or strawberries)
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons vanilla low-fat yogurt

1. Process the frozen pieces of banana, berries, orange juice, and yogurt in a blender, until a smooth puree. Then pour into cold, tall glasses.

2. Use fresh mint leaves and berries for garnishing and a banana slice, if desired.

Breakfast with Hot Cocoa

What's considered healthy is the actual cocoa bean, one of the world's longest-revered foods in many cultures such as the Aztecs. Cocoa has, in recent years, been shown to be a powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, antioxidants, flavonols, catechins and other brain & body-enhancing elements. A breakthrough study published by the American College of Cardiology found that daily cocoa flavanol consumption more than doubled the number of circulating angiogenic cells n the blood. These cells have vessel repair and maintenance functions, which contribute to healthy blood vessels, helping to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Cocoa is also a good source of magnesium, believed to help relieve premenstrual and nervous tension. And most health professionals agree that it’s also a great source of antioxidants. A diet high in antioxidants kills those nasty free radicals that destroy healthy cells in the body, causing cancer, heart disease and premature ageing. Cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to three times those found in green tea.

Breakfast is the very important mean of the day and it has to be nutritious and full of carbs. This breakfast cocoa recipe here gives you the same energy through out the day that helps you go on and on. This recipe is good for a pair and for more gourmet recipes for two just go to the link.


Ingredients
1½ tablespoons prepared cocoa
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons sugar
Few grains salt


1. Preparation steps

2. In a pan boil milk.

3. Take a separate bowl and mix together cocoa, sugar, salt, dilute with one-half cup boiling water to make smooth paste, Mix well.

4. To this add remaining water, and boil for five minutes

5. Turn into boiled milk and beat for about two minutes, using hand blender till the desired froth is reached.

6. Pour it into your favorite dish and you are ready to have your cocoa drink.

Duck Fillets Cooked with Pear and Wine

Duck fillets are surely a delight to anyone who tastes it.
A French recipe term for thinly sliced duck fillets taken from the breast of the duck, aiguillettes, are very simple to cook. They have a comparably lighter color than other duck cuts and have a milder flavor. Duck aiguillettes are often fried quickly in hot melted butter, seasoned, and served as an appetizer. In this gourmet recipe, the duck aiguillettes are browned in butter quickly so that the inside remains pink and juicy. The sautéed duck strips are served with pears poached in red wine, seasoned with cloves, star anise, and juniper berries. The sweet and spicy pears make a wonderful contrast to the buttery and tasty duck.

Duck aiguillettes with pear in wine make a fine hors d’ oeuvres for fancy occasions. This dish can also be served with potatoes for a main fare. Fried or sautéed mushrooms go great with this recipe. You can also make this recipe using duck fillets or duck magrets, but this will take a bit longer to cook. Sear the duck on both sides and let the grease ooze out of the meat.

If you are using frozen duck meat, thaw it first in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours. For best results, allow the meat to come to room temperature before cooking. Remove any excess fat to lessen the grease. Cut any tendons to prevent the meat from becoming smaller and tough when sautéing or frying. This recipe and many more cooking videos recipes here.

Use a nonstick frying pan for cooking the duck on medium high heat. The thick layer of fat under the skin of the duck will melt as the duck cooks so it is best to cook the duck with the skin side down first and then flip it to the other side when the fat melts and grease fills the pan. The duck is cooked when the juices run clear of blood.

Ingredients
2 pears (not too mature)
4 cups red wine (Bergerac)
3 cloves
6 juniper berries
1 star-shaped anise
butter
salt, pepper
16 duck aiguillettes or 2 duck magrets (fillets)


1. Peel the pears. In a saucepan, simmer the red wine, cloves, juniper berries, and star-anise. Poach the pears in the boiling red wine and drain it out of the liquid.

2. Reduce half of the wine.

3. Prepare the aiguillettes and fry them quickly in butter. Degrease.

4. Cook the pears in the duck cooking juice until the liquid is reduced almost entirely. Add the reduced wine and season. Add a large hazelnut-size scoop of butter to thicken the sauce.

5. Cut the pears in half and core. Place each half on a serving dish with the aiguillettes and cover with sauce.

Keeping It Healthy with Chicken and Brown Rice

1. Chicken and brown rice, along with fresh herbs and spices, is a meal the whole family will enjoy. It can easily be served as lunch as well as dinner and is one of those dishes that seems to taste even better the next day after all the ingredients have settled into one another. It is both flavorful and healthy!

   
   

   This is such an easy meal to prepare and is so nutritious. You can really add whatever vegetables you like and any meat you prefer will work, too. I don’t use salt, but you can certainly spice it up with salt or any other spices you prefer. For more information on about other recipes and  free video recipes can be located with a press of a button.

    

   Ingredients 

   1 cup brown rice, uncooked

   3 cups raw or cooked chicken, cut into cubes

   3 tbsp Cinnamon, to taste

   Cayenne pepper, to taste

   8-10 broccoli crowns, cut into pieces

   1 cup finely grated (powdered) Parmesan cheese

   1 carrot, peeled and sliced

   2 tbsp. each fresh dill, tarragon, rosemary, sage, and mint, chopped

   1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

   Fresh salad greens

   1-2 avocados (cubed) (if you like avocados a lot use 2)
2. 
   

   1. Cook the brown rice according to the package directions and set aside.

   
   

   2. Place chicken cubes in a medium-sized bowl. Add olive oil, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Mix until chicken is well coated.

   
   

   3. In a large skillet over medium to high heat, cook the chicken cubes until the sides are crispy brown (If you’ve used raw chicken, then naturally, you’ll need to make sure the chicken is cooked through.) Stir as needed to make certain all sides are crispy brown.

   
   

   4. Add the rice to the chicken and vegetable mixture and let cook until the rice is getting crispy or done to your preference. You may want to add a little more olive oil at this point.

   
   

   5. Add the fresh herbs and fresh Parmesan cheese and mix well into the chicken/rice. Cover and cook a couple of minutes.

   
   

   6. Place the crisp greens on a plate. Spoon the chicken/rice/herb mixture over the top of the crisp greens and sprinkle with avocado cubes. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Healthy Banana Breakfast

Banana is very much a staple fruit of India. One of the great things about bananas is that it is not only delicious but is also cheap and available throughout the year unlike the other fruits.

Banana is a fruit which is still very casually consumed for its taste, texture and a feeling of fullness unlike other fruits which are eaten due to their much known health benefits. The masses definitely prefer it due to its low cost. With whatever feeling it might be consumed, banana is nutritious and a wholesome fruit. This is a much lesser recognized fact. Except for its limitations for weight loss and diabetes, like other fruits this one too deserves high regards.

Looking for more ways to serve up bananas? well there are lots of easy cooking videos here.

Here’s an easy breakfast combining fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola or cereal. Feel free to use whatever fresh fruits are available, depending upon the time of year.

Ingredients

1 honeydew or cantaloupe melon, halved and seeded

½ cup fresh pineapple or kiwi chunks

½ cup blueberries

¼ cup lemon yogurt

2 bananas

2 tablespoons honey (optional)

1 cup granola or other crispy cereal

1. With a lemon baller or ice cream scoop, make melon rounds. Set the balls on a baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer.

2. In a small mixing bowl, toss the blueberries and pineapple. Fold in the yogurt.

3. Cut the bananas in half, crosswise. Cut each of these halves in half again, lengthwise. Place 2 banana slices in the bottom of a cereal bowl. Top the bananas with the melon balls.

4. Add the pineapple mixture to each bowl. If using honey, drizzle it over the whole. Sprinkle each bowl with cereal.