An Autumn Expirement...

Greetings! Recently, I decided to treat myself to some beauty essentials from Sephora.com, and one of my favorite product lines (Philosophy) has released their Fall products, and I just knew I had to get me some Pumpkin Spice Muffins body wash. See, it's a shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath all in one. I don't use it for the shampoo, though, but I do use it for shower gel/bubble bath fun. I've used their products for years, especially their food flavored stuff (cinnamon buns, strawberry milkshake, and the gingerbread man body scrub are also my favorites).

My husband has been on a real pumpkin spice kick lately, we've got scented candles everywhere and even some plug-ins that are pumpkin spice scented. I think it's because we're getting our Fall season much earlier here than the rest of the country. It's been chilly since the end of August, and when we woke up this morning to go jogging, there was frost on the ground. After our run, I took a shower, and used the Pumpkin Spice Muffin body wash, and as it filled my shower with its lovely aroma, I decided I just had to make some muffins to go with this bright and shiny Fall day. Lo and behold, Philosophy has so generously provided a recipe right there on the bottle!! I love them.

I couldn't believe how much these muffins smell exactly like the body wash, it's insane. And not only do they smell like it, but they taste like it too! They're not too sweet like the muffins you'd get from Costco or Starbucks, they're more of a hearty breakfast muffin with some yummy spice to them. Here's the recipe:

Philosophy's Pumpkin Spice Muffins-

Ingredients:
-2 cups of flour
-2/3 cups brown sugar
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 cup melted butter
-1/2 cup cooked pumpkin (I used the kind from a can and they turned out fine)
-1/3 cup buttermilk
-2 eggs, slightly beaten

Instructions: Heat oven to 400F. Stir together all ingredients except butter, pumpkin, buttermilk and eggs in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Stir contents of medium bowl into flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan (or muffin cups). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan.

Three words: delicious, delicious, DELICIOUS!!! My goodness, I love these muffins. I think I found a new trusty muffin recipe. They're so moist and yummy, slightly dense with a real spice to them. This recipe made 18 muffins almost exactly, and I have a feeling they'll go fast. I should have doubled the recipe, darn it! Oh, well, I'll just have to make them again and fill my house with the super mouth-watering pumpkin spice muffin smell again!

Note: the two photos above are my "moody-muffin" shots, so I'm including this one below for a clearer shot of the muffins with their namesake product.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

And I'm Late!

It totally figures that the one Daring Bakers Challenge that I actually completed at the beginning of the month, I end up posting a day late!! I don't know why I thought our post day was Sunday instead of Saturday, I must have been completely frazzled when I read about this month's challenge. Which is sad, because we're making Daring Bakers history here, people!

This month's challenge, brought to you by Shellyfish of the blog Musings From the Fish Bowl and Natalie from the blog Gluten A Go Go, is a savory one. And there's a catch, it had to be vegan and/or gluten-free. I was a little scared at first, because I really wanted to make a cream cheese and chive dip to go with the Lavash crackers, but I found a way to make a divine vegan hummus. For the recipe, venture on over to the Daring Bakers blogroll to their blogs and you'll find everything you need, even a recipe for a really yummy Honeydew Peach Salsa.

(My apologies for the crappy photos, once again, I was without a digital camera and had to use my cell phone, but rest assured, I've got the digital camera back from my husband, so no more lackluster photos!! Yay!)

I went with a vegan hummus which I just came up with myself while I was waiting for the crackers to cool. I threw a can of garbanzo beans (drained with about 1/2 cup of the juices reserved, just in case) three cloves of garlic, the juice of one lemon, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper into my food processor and let 'er rip! It was sooooo good and so simple tasting. I loved it with some chopped up roma tomatoes, red onion and cucumber (which isn't pictured above because I remembered it only after I took the photo). These crackers have a lovely snap to them, and are really hearty tasting. I made one salty batch, and the second batch I sprinkled with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and cardamom and it's really good dipped in some blueberry jam!

See you next month!

~Mehgan~

My favorite time of year...

Ahhhhhh, Autumn. How I love thee. Today marks the official first day of Fall, folks, and seeing as how I love it so much, I just had to make a divine soup to commemorate it. I didn't want just any old chicken noodle soup, I wanted something new and slightly exotic, while still comforting and hearty. I was given a recipe for Thai-Spiced Salmon Chowder by a co-worker, but I didn't have some of the neccessary ingredients on hand, so I tweaked it a bit to suit what I had in my kitchen already. The results were fabulous. I can't stop eating this soup!! I made a loaf of homemade bread to go with it, and the combination is pure ecstasy. I don't know if that's because I was STARVING or it truly is that good, but I ended up eating three helpings of this bad boy, and would gladly have licked the pot clean, but I felt guilty, so I reserved some for lunch tomorrow. Here's the recipe:

Mehgan's Salmon Chowder-

Ingredients:

-2 to 3 tbsp olive oil

-1 medium onion, chopped

-3 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

-2 cans chicken stock

-4 red potatoes, cut into cubes

-1 small bag of baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

-1 or 2 filets of salmon

-3/4 cup heavy cream

-1/2 tsp curry powder

-pinch of salt and pepper, to taste

-a few sprigs of parsley

Instructions: In a medium pot, over low-medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion and garlic until the onion starts to become slightly clear. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the veggies become tender. In the meantime, heat your oven to 350F. On a lightly oiled cookie sheet (I line mine with aluminum foil as well) place the salmon skin-down and season how you like it. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the salmon is fully cooked through (will flake with a fork). Once the salmon is ready, let it set a couple minutes while you add the heavy cream and curry powder to the soup. Bring back to a boil, then add the salmon. Allow to simmer a few minutes to get the flavors to really combine. Serve garnished with the parsley.

I could eat this soup all week, and probably will, too! It's just so yummy! And the curry powder, while not overwhelming, adds that certain "something" to it, without it being overly present. Variations I've seen incorporate coconut milk in place of the heavy cream, and Thai spices in place of the curry, which I imagine is just as tasty. I'll definitely have to try that next. But, for the time being, I'm enjoying my yummy-nummy soup!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

In a Jam...

... or jelly. Since my loving husband has robbed me of the digital camera, here's a recipe for some

really delicious salmonberry (or, any berry, for that matter) jelly that not only tastes good, but is really easy to make as well.

My birthday this year went really, extremely well. My husband had to fly out the night of my birthday, so he treated me to a nice day while he was here, and I had to take him to the airport that evening after dinner. It was barely even 6:30pm, so I called a new friend of mine to see if she'd like to make some salmonberry jelly with me. She had just won the blue ribbon at the Fair the previous weekend, so she was more than willing to show me the ropes.

I was amazed at how simple it was to make jelly. The hardest part for me was getting enough juice out of my salmonberries that I had collected this summer. See, I froze mine (it makes the skins more willing to break and release those yummy juices) but they weren't quite thawed out by the time I got to her house. I took some elbow grease on my part to get those bad boys beat into submission, but I managed!!

My first attempt came out a little on the sweet side, but I have such a major sweet tooth that I was like, "Bring it on!". Amazingly enough, I ended up giving away 5 of my 7 jars of salmonberry jelly I made to my dear friends and family, so it's a good thing I picked lots more berries this week so I can make another batch!! I've already gotten requests from all over for jars of my jams and jellies I'll be making. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, I just started doing this!

Anyway, if you've been fearing jarring/canning, trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. Just take it step by step (like a Daring Bakers challenge!!) and make sure you have adequate time and equipment and you'll do fine. Here's the recipe:

Berry Jelly-

Ingredients:

-4 cups of your favorite berries (I used salmonberries, but blackberries/raspberries/etc will do just fine), if you prefer seeds in your jam, don't strain, but if you're making jelly, then you'll need to strain the juice out of your berries and discard the pulp and seeds

-4 to 5 cups of sugar

-1 box of pectin

-mason jars (you can pick the size- mini, regular, jumbo)

-lots of water

Instructions: In a large pot, heat enough water to cover your jars. Place your jars face down, and make sure you put your lids and rings in the water too. Once it boils, allow to boil for 10 minutes (10 minutes seems to be the rule of thumb for canning). Carefully remove the lids and jars from the water and allow to rest on your counter while you make your jam/jelly. In a medium/large saucepan over medium heat, combine the juice, pectin and sugar. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Once the mixture bubbles, continue to stir for about a minute. Remove from heat and ladle into your jars (my friend used a really cool funnel for this, but you don't have to if you're careful). Fill to the lower ring (about 1/4" inch from the tippy-top) and screw on the lids and rings hand-tight, but not super duper tight. Place in the boiling water for 10 more minutes. Remove from the water and allow to cool on the counter. You'll hear the lids pop, that's a good thing, that means they're sealed. Allow to cool overnight prior to re-tightening their rings.

This was so much fun! A very girly thing to do on my birthday. I decorated mine with some flannel and ribbon. Word to the wise: when decorating jam jars, don't use slippery ribbon. You're better off using twine or something that's grippier than ribbon. You would not believe the sheer amount of expletives I uttered when trying to tie those damn flannel squares on the lids. But, in retrospect, they sure do look purdy.

I'm looking forward to this weekend where I'll get to do some more canning, and then send them out to spread joy over the Earth! Have a good weekend!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

From The Archives

Well, I know I had promised that since September is my month that I'd be posting a lot more, which is why it hurts to say that I am without a camera for much of this month. See, my husband had to go out of town on business and won't be returning for three weeks, and managed to make off to Yorktown, VA with our digital camera!! Luckily, though, I managed to find some old recipes that I had saved to my compter before our move to Alaska, so I'm able to at the very least, post those.

When we lived in the Seattle area, we had a Trader Joe's (my FAVORITE store, I could spend hours in there, which is pretty amazing because it was on the small side as far as grocery stores go) within walking distance of our house, and I became really used to having such luxury at my fingertips. One of my favorite meals was a variety of the basic Indian dishes they sold there. Our favorite by far is their Punjab Choley: garbanzo beans in a spicy tomato-y sauce. I'd serve it with some curried chicken, jasmine rice and a piece of Trader Joe's naan bread (we LOVE naan, and I can make it on my own using my George Forman grill -haha, I'm crafty!- but if I was in a hurry I'd pick up a bag of naan for like $2.50).

So, if you're in a pinch and you're fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe's nearby, I highly suggest picking up one of their Indian Fare side dishes. You won't be disappointed. They cook up really fast (we're talking 2 minutes in some boiling water and there's your side dish) and are a nice complement to curry dishes.

Mehgan's Chicken Curry:

Ingredients:

-1 can of coconut milk (if you want to cut down on calories, you can use 1/2 can coconut milk and 1/2 can 1% or fat free milk)
-1 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed if frozen
-1 packet of curry seasoning (believe it or not, I find my curry packets by the Mexican seasonings at the grocery store)
-pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow to marinade covered in the fridge for about an hour. In a medium sauce pan, over low-medium heat, cook the chicken until the chicken is done. Don't worry about the sauce getting thick, because you can use it on your rice, but do make sure that the sauce is bubbling so you know it's hot enough. Serve over jasmine rice, with naan and your choice of sides.

I love this dish, it's just so easy, but it tastes like it took forever in the kitchen. Judging from the photos, you can probably tell that I made this either when I first started food blogging, or during the winter months. Anyway, I hope you try incorporating more ethnic dishes into your meal routine, you'll love it!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan

Another Year

Hello people! Well, it's my birthday again, and I can't believe it's been a year already. It seems like just yesterday I was baking up a batch of Cuba Libre cupcakes and toting them to work with me. This year is turning out to be much the same, except now I'm in Kodiak instead of Seattle, and in place of Cubra Libre cupcakes I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Red velvet is bar far my favorite cake, and cream cheese frosting just sets it off perfectly. They go together like peanut butter & bananas, Bert & Ernie, or peas & carrots.

My boss let me off a few hours early, so I ran home to bake up a batch of these bad boys, which in my world is perfect Friday afternoon. The sun was shining, and my house smelled like baked goodies. YUM! I got the recipe from one of my favorite cupcake bloggers (which, unfortunately, she's no longer posting new recipes, but has kept her site up) Chocylit from Cupcake Bakeshop.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting-makes 36 cupcakes

-3-3/4 cups cake flour

-1/4 cups cocoa

-1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

-1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

-3/8 teaspoon salt

-1-1/2 cups buttermilk

-3 teaspoons vinegar

-1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

-1/2 ounce red food coloring paste

-2-1/4 cups sugar

-3/4 cups butter

-3 eggs

Instructions: preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder (or cream of tarter), and salt into medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring in small bowl to blend. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well fluffy, 3 minutes
add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended. After each addition, about 30 seconds
beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions. Scoop into cupcake tins and bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting-

Ingredients:

-12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese

-1/2 stick butter

-4-5 cups sifted powdered

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add 4 cups of the sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla (I used clear vanilla, I didn't want a brown tinge to my frosting) and beat until combined. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like, then fill frosting bag and pipe onto cupcakes.

I love, love, LOVE these cupcakes, however I forgot to halve the recipe and ended up with WAY too many cupcakes than I need (like that's ever a problem) so now my fridge is full of these pretty babies. And it never fails that whenever I go to make cupcakes, I NEVER have enough powdered sugar, so I end up with runny frosting/glaze. But, that's ok, because I tend to prefer my cream cheese frosting more on the cheesy side than the sugary side anyway.

I encourage everyone to make cupcakes for themselves on their birthday. That way, you get what YOU want and won't feel guilty about it (well, not much at least). Ok, so I'm not going to stay long, because I really must go devour one of these NOW!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Scampi anyone?

Well, hello there! It's been a while since I've made a dish using shrimp (with the exception of the paella a while back) because I cooked so much shrimp in the summer of 2007, my husband got totally sick of it and asked that I not make anything with shrimp for a while. I obliged, but since it's been a while, I figured I'd start sneaking it back into our kitchen here and there.

I don't know about you, but I much prefer my shrimp un-breaded and not deep fried. That's unlike most people, who the only way they'll eat shrimp (or any kind of seafood for that matter) is if it's piping hot from Long John Silver's fryer and into their dinner baskets. No, thank you!

I've been craving shrimp scampi for about a week now (those darn Red Lobster commercials! we don't even have a Red Lobster here!), and seeing as how it's Friday night (and the night before my birthday) I'd give it a go. But, I didn't want your traditional scampi, laden with butter and no veggies in sight. So, I threw in a few of my favorites that I love and know would freshen up the dish. The results were delicious, and I think it has everything to do with the fact that I made sure I used a splash of the wine I just bought for the sauce.

Mehgan's Shrimp Scampi-

Ingredients:

-1 lb fresh or frozen, uncooked and deveined shrimp (if frozen, make sure you thaw them out first).

-3 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-1/2 white onion, chopped

-3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

-1/4 cup dry white wine

-a pinch of salt and pepper

-two roma tomatoes, cut into 1/4" pieces

-a few sprigs of parsley or cilantro (depending on what you like, I happen to be a big cilantro fan)

-grated parmesan cheese

-2 servings cooked pasta (angel hair pasta is popular, but I used some stuff I got as a gift that was made from dried mushrooms)

Instructions: Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Once the onion starts to get transparent, slowly add the wine. Let that cook down for about five minutes, then add the shrimp and seasonings. As soon as the shrimp start to get a bit pink, turn off the burner and cover (the shrimp will continue to cook even though the burner is off. This keeps them from getting rubbery). Pour the sampi over the pasta and garnish with tomatoes, parmesan cheese and parsley/cilantro.

I've seen folks cook their tomatoes for this dish, but I don't like to. I like the fresh pop of flavor they add. I served this with a simple green salad with feta cheese and homemade Italian dressing. It was fabulous! And not to mention super easy, too. Yummy! See you all next time.

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

My Salsa...

Welcome to Day 2 of My September, everyone! I can't guarantee there'll be a new post every day this month, but I'm sure going to try to post a lot more often than I have been, that's for sure.

Today, while surfing around the internet, I got to thinking about a birthday gift I just received from my lovely husband: a KitchenAid 12-Cup Food Processor (in pink, of course, to match my stand mixer). What should I make with my pretty new toy, hmmmmm? I bajillion thoughts ran through my mind, but I kept coming back to salsa. I wanted FRESH salsa, nothing pre-packaged, I wanted everything to be as fresh-tasting as possible.

I couldn't settle on just one recipe, so I decided to just wing it and threw a bunch of stuff into my food processor, and voila! Salsa! (It made me want to dance around like Eminem at the end of the "My Band" music video, but I restrained myself. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably laughing to yourself at the thought of me dancing around my kitchen like that, going "My salsa!").

Anyway, back to the story: I couldn't just make salsa. I had to make dinner, duh! So, I decided on something easy-peasy, that my husband could totally make even if I weren't here. Also, my dear friend Angee is getting ready to prepare a dinner-date at her house for her new man-friend, and requested a guy approved recipe from me. And, since my husband gave me the two thumbs up on this one, this is the recipe I recommended to her.

Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas with Homemade Salsa and Guacamole (A Mehgan Original):

Ingredients:

For the salsa:
-1 white onion
-1 jalapeno pepper, minus the stem & seeds
-3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, juices squeezed out
-juice of 1/2 a lime
-5 to 10 sprigs of cilantro (depending on how you like it)
-1/4 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-pinch of pepper

For the guacamole:
-2 ripe avocados
-2 to 3 scoops of the salsa above

For the quesadillas:
-4 taco sized flour tortillas
-1 1/2 cups monteray jack cheese
-1/2 can of corn, drained
-1/2 can of black beans, drained
-1 small can of sliced olives, drained
-cumin, garlic salt and pepper for sprinkling
-a few dollops of sour cream
-softened butter or margarine

Instructions: If you have a food processor, combine all the salsa ingredients and pulse until you achieve the consistency you want (some people like it chunkier than others). If you don't have a food processor, don't worry, you'll just have to do all that chopping by hand. You can make it as chunky or as runny as you like. To make the guacamole, slice the avocados in half the long way and pull the halves apart. To get the pit out, place your avocado face up on the cutting board and swiftly hit the pit with the blade of your knife and then twist the pit out. Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash it with a few spoonfuls of your salsa.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread a thin layer of butter onto one side of a tortilla. Place the tortilla butter-side down, then layer on the cheese, seasonings, corn, black beans, olives, a few leaves of the cilantro, then more cheese. Butter another side of a tortilla, and place it butter-side up on top of the rest of the quesadilla. Carefully flip it over and brown on both sides of the quesadilla till they're golden brown. Cut into fourths (I like to use a pizza cutter, it's faster and cleaner than a knife), and then garnish with the guacamole, salsa, dollops of sour cream and sprigs of cilantro.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. I made mine a bit spicier than the recipe calls for (I made mine with two jalapeno peppers, instead of just one), which my husband loved since he loves all things spicy. This recipe gives you a lot of creative freedom: if you want more onions, go ahead, throw in some more. It's all up to you and your tastes. Lemme know how yours turns out if you do try it!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Welcome To September

Hello there, everyone! I'm very happy to welcome you to MY month, yes that's right, September is my month! My birthday is this month, and I am a true September baby to the bone. As well, I did some modeling in the past and got chosen to be Miss September for our promotional calendar, so right now our calendar in the kitchen is showing my bright shiny face. And one last thing, I also got married in September, so this month holds a special place in my heart. So, in order to ring in the new month in a big way, I decided to make a dish that I've never tried before (never cooked it, let alone eaten it anywhere), yet I've been wanting to make for a long time.

I've been eyeing different variations of tagines since I saw an episode of "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" back in June when he made a trip to Morocco. I had a tough decision to make: should I make it vegetarian (which is how I've been eating lately) or should I make it the traditional way with lamb? I decided to make it the traditional way, even though it almost made me pass out when I had to slice the meat off the lamb shanks last night!! It was worth the effort, though, because the result came out delicious! The lamb was tender and flavorful, thanks to marinading it in the olive oil and spices overnight, and the rest of the dish just came together so beautifully. Besides ommitting the meat, there's not a thing I would change about this recipe.

I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com (one of my favorite places I turn to for new recipes) and only had to tweak a few things here and there due to availability to products here in Kodiak. So, without further ado, here we go!

Lamb Tagine (adapted from Allrecipes.com):

Ingredients:
-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
-2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
-2 teaspoons paprika
-1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-1 pinch saffron
-3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
-2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
-1 package baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
-3 cloves garlic, minced (I used some already minced garlic from a jar)
-1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I ommitted this)
-1 lemon, zested
-1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
-1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste (I instead used a small can of tomato sauce, to create a more saucier dish)
-1 tablespoon honey
-1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
-1 tablespoon water (optional)

Instructions:
Place diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss around to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. This is VERY important so that the lamb becomes nice and tender and infused with the spices.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste/sauce, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.
If the consistency of the tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water during the last 5 minutes. (I didn't need this last step, it thickened up just fine on its own).

I served this with some herbed pine nut couscous, and it was dangerously delicious!! My husband and I actually ended up arguing over who got to bring the leftovers to work tomorrow for lunch! (He ended up winning, for the record).

It is my pleasure to welcome you to My Month-September, and hope you enjoy your stay with me this month, because there is plenty more to come, my friends!!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~