Soup Joumou (Haitian Beef and Squash Soup)

Happy New Year! There are a bunch of traditional dishes around the world to help usher in a new year. In past years, I’ve shared a Black Eyed Peas Hash, Black Eyed Peas with Collard Greens, and a bunch of recipe for what to do with the leftover champagne (assuming you have any), like this Champagne Risotto Primavera and these Honey Citrus Champagne Cupcakes.

Some traditional dishes eaten on New Year’s Day have less to do with the new year and more to do with a country’s history. So this year, I’m sharing my adaptation of an Independence Stew from Haiti. Celebrated every January 1, Haiti proclaimed independence from French colonials on New Year’s Day 1804 following a 13 year revolution. Soup Joumou, a comforting stew traditionally made with beef, pumpkin, pasta, and a bunch of veggies and spices, has become a New Year’s Day dish to commemorate Haiti’s independence.

I adapted this recipe from Epicurious, scaling it down quite a bit and swapping butternut squash for the pumpkin because I couldn’t find any pumpkin that wasn’t already pureed.

 

Ingredients:

Marinade:

  • 1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bell pepper (any color), coarsely chopped
  • 1 scallion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/4 cup parsley leaves
  • 1 basil leaf
  • the juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Remaining Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, divided
  • 1 pound stew beef cubes
  • 7 cups chicken or beef broth, divided
  • 2 beef bones
  • 1 pound butternut squash, cut into cubes
  • 2 medium russet potatoes (about 1 pound), finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot, sliced
  • 1/4 small green cabbage (about 1/2 pound), very thinly sliced
  • 1/2 small onion, sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
  • 1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped
  • 1 small turnip, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon habanero chile hot sauce, or to taste
  • 1 cup uncooked rigatoni
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 parsley sprig (optional)
  • 1 thyme sprig (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (omit to make dairy free)

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Sheet Pan Blackened Shrimp with Citrus and Roasted Fennel

I’m kind of on a Sheet Pan kick. I love how simple they are, and how easy cleanup is! And this recipe for Sheet Pan Blackened Shrimp with Citrus and Roasted Fennel is no different!

This recipe is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe to make it a pure sheet pan meal.

I know the combination of flavors may seem a bit odd, but it really comes together in the end. My husband even asked for this to be put in our normal dinner rotation!

Ingredients:

  • 2 small oranges (I used one navel, one blood orange)
  • 2 medium fennel bulbs with stalks
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 6 small shallots, halved
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
  • Optional: 1 cup cooked rice, for serving

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Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

As kids are going back to school (or may even be back!) and the “busy season” of work creeps closer, it’s necessary to find recipes that can be prepared ahead of time so that weeknight meals can be on the table as quickly as possible. My favorite tool for really yummy dishes that I can just reheat is my lovely slow cooker.

 

Cooking Light had a recipe for Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice that is perfect for weekend prep and weeknight meals. This particular recipe has a good amount of prep time before putting everything in the slow cooker so I’d suggest making it on a weekend versus a weeknight morning. (If you want to make this before work, set aside 30-45 minutes to get everything ready to put in the slow cooker.)

 

A couple of notes before I dive into the recipe. You actually soak the dried red beans in water overnight, so don’t forget to do that that night before you plan on making this recipe. Also, dried kidney beans apparently contain a toxin that is not killed at low temperatures (like in a slow cooker) so you have to boil them for 10 minutes before slow cooking. (Who knew?! Definitely don’t skip that step!) This recipe makes 8 servings so you can also freeze the red bean mixture for future meals if you won’t finish it during the week. Ok! Let’s cook!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound dried red kidney beans
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 12 oz andouille sausage, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped poblano chile (~2 chiles)
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 (12-ounce) can lager-style beer
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne pepper)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

 

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Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade

I realized I have never posted a recipe for crab cakes.  That is ridiculous! So today’s the day. I found this recipe for Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade in one of my Cooking Light recipes and altered it a bit for what I happened to have in my pantry.

 

Crab cakes:

  • 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup bread crumbs, divided
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

Remoulade:

  • 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon capers, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon champagne vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

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Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

It’s funny how you can go years, even decades, thinking that you don’t like a certain food only to find you can’t get enough of it when you’re older. Fish tacos is one of those foods for me. They pack a ton of flavor but are a healthier option than other proteins (as long as the fish isn’t fried, that is). I also love how quickly you can cook them up, perfect for a weeknight dinner! Cooking Light always has the best taco recipes so I naturally went in search of a fish taco recipe there. I found this recipe in the myrecipes.com new cookbook: Myrecipes’ America’s Favorite Food Cookbook, which you can win by entering below!

 

 

Ingredients

Crema:

  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon grated lime rind  (I just used the zest of one lime)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (I used the juice of one lime)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 garlic clove, minced

Tacos:

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
  • Cooking spray
  • 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage (or romaine lettuce)

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