Meat Protein:  ½ pound of Beef Oxtails & 4 Smoked Turkey Wings

Other Protein:  Lentils, Barley, Navy & Pinto Beans (dried)

Vegetables:  Carrots, Celery, Onion, Cabbage & mushrooms

Grains/Bread:  Cous Cous & Long Grain Black Rice

Herbs:  Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Bay leaves & Thyme

Spices:  Cracked Black Pepper, Smoked Paprika & Cumin

2 tbl. Extra Virgin Olive Oil or our Tuscan Olive Oil (for sautéing)

The true historical recipe from France calls for a pint of dark stout!

Coat your Ox tails with our Tuscan Olive oil & 1 tsp. of flour and shake in a gallon bag until coated well.  Saute your ox tails with diced garlic, onions, carrots, celery & cabbage until they are opaque.  Approx. 15 min. Set your vegetable blend to the side.

Bring 2 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken or beef broth to a boil.  Add in your Ox tails & Turkey wings and the vegetables.  Boil for approx. 20 min. Then add in ¼ cup each of the lentils, barley, navy & pinto beans.  Reduce your heat to medium/low & simmer for 30 min.

Add in your spices, the cous cous and long grain rice. Cover your pot with a lid (I like a clear lid to see what is going on in there) & simmer for another 30-45 min on low.  The rice, cous cous and bone marrow will thicken this delicious soup.

Toast up some crusty bread for dipping in the juices.

ENJOY!!!  2 HRS.

History:  Much of the food of Rome is based on cucina povera.  Offal, the quinto quarto, is a huge part of this cuisine.  The quinto, “fifth” quarter of the animal, includes the “lesser” cuts and the innards.  Rich folks took the premier cuts of meat. The poor, making due with what was left, cooked the hell out of these pieces, establishing the cuisine of Rome, that still thrives today.

They caressed the flavors from these tough unwanted pieces into dishes as rich as Rome’s history, with layers of flavors running as deep as the ancient cities lying below Rome.  Coda alla Vaccinara (braised oxtail) is one of these dishes.  The tail is slowly cooked, tenderizing the meat, and releasing flavors from the tailbone that give the dish an intense meatiness.

Time for some comfort food like at G-ma’s house.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Pound Pot Roast
• 3-4 Med. Size Idaho potatoes (cut into quarters)
• Baby carrots
• Half of a purple and white onion
• Sliced mushrooms
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Hickory sea salt and cracked black pepper
• ½ cup beef stock
• 3 oz. espresso balsamic vinegar
• 3 oz. wild mushroom & sage olive oil

Directions:
Marinade your roast beef in the Espresso and Wild Mushroom & sage olive oil overnight in the fridge in a gallon bag.

Place all of the above ingredients in your slow cooker & simmer on Med. High. for 6 hrs.
Turn the roast over and Reduce to low for another 2 hrs. Makes a wonderful leftover with toasted ciabatta bread and aged sliced cheese melted with an au jus sauce.

  

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of Wild mushroom ravioli frozen (Costco or Sam’s Club)
• 1 can of low sodium cream of mushroom soup
• ¼ cup of low fat milk.
• ¼ cup of chicken broth
• ¼ cup of Chili Lime Sauce (organic from Kroger)
• 1 pound of ground beef
• Salt, pepper, and herb to taste
• 1 cup of fresh bruschetta (tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, etc.)
• 2 cups of mixed yellow and white aged cheeses
• 2 oz. of our garlic or Tuscan olive oil

Directions:
Boil your frozen ravioli’s on a low rumble for about 10 min. Do not overcook them, just enough that they separate from each other and are a little flimsy. Drain & toss in our garlic or Tuscan olive oil just enough to coat them, salt & pepper to taste.
Cook our ground beef, rinse and drain.

Blend in a bowl your mushroom soup, water, chicken broth and organic chili lime sauce (Kroger: chili’s, spices, & fresh lime juice).

Coat a baking dish with that mixture so the raviolis do not stick to the bottom of your dish. Layer your raviolis and then pour the remaining mixture over the top.

Spread your bruschetta over the top and then sprinkle with your cheeses and herbs.

Bake in oven on 390-410 for about 30 min. until mixture is bubbly and cheese has crusted on top. Remove oven and let cool. Easy!!! About 40 min.

It is time to get back on track with eating healthier and smarter. Winter salad with Salmon fillets. That is what is for dinner:

Ingredients:

• Cabbage
• Collard Greens
• Chard
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Dried Cranberries
• Walnuts & Almond Slivers
• Chopped tomato & onion

Directions:
Toss all above ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add in fresh herbs, such as, dill, thyme, rosemary, oregano & basil.

Put a swirl of our pomegranate balsamic vinegar on top of the salad (2-3 oz.) with sea salt and cracked pepper. Then the same amount of our Blood Orange, Tuscan or Herbs de Provence olive oil.

Shake well and put in the fridge for 20 min while you sauté some salmon fillets. Top the salad with your fillets and serve. 20 min. (Wikipedia: Winter greens have similar nutritional characteristics to other leaf vegetables and are therefore good sources of vitamins A and C. They are also a source of several dietary minerals including Iron, Potassium and Calcium.)