After the holidays I have certainly had my fill of traditional American fare….please no more turkey, ham or beef.
I am craving something ethnic and hearty and with all the cold weather we’ve been having lately I find myself strolling the grocery stores isles for warm winter comfort food-but something a little different.

When a lot of my friends think of preparing ethnic food they think “expensive.” But with a few key spice purchases on the front end, you are set to introduce a world of unique flavors to your palate.

With 5 mouths to feed at home, I need not break the bank. This recipe was created with my pocketbook in mind as well – I chose whatever veggies were on sale (be creative – use whatever root veggies you find that are a good deal). Also, consider using what meat is on sale as well (I call for lamb but the recipe works for beef or chicken).

The other wonderful thing about this dish is that I make it in the crock pot – two years ago I would have scoffed at a meal cooked in a crock pot, but after 3 babies in 4 years, a business – some days it’s the only way to get it all done!

So that’s my in a pinch tip for today- the crock is truly a fix and forget it tool. However, if you don’t have one, you can achieve the same thing by using a large covered pot on the stove on low heat or even in your oven.

Moroccan Lamb Stew

  • 2 lbs of cubed lamb meat
  • 2 onions roughly chopped
  • 4-5 turnips (they were on sale and are a little different than potatoes)
  • 4-5 carrots chopped (you can buy the baby carrots bagged and this will save you time about a .5 of a bag)
  • 5-6 whole peeled cloves of garlic
  • juice of one lemon (then cut in half throw it in the crock too)
  • small can of sliced/halved olives black
  • 1 teaspoon each of the following: Cinnamon/Cumin

Instructions

  1. In a Ziploc bag toss your chopped meat with a little flour, salt and pepper
  2. brown your meat in a pan and then place in the crock pot
  3. Put the following in the crock pot with the lamb
  4. Stir together in the crock then add enough chicken stock to just cover the top of all the ingredients.
  5. Close the top, set on high for the first 4 hours and then set to low for the remaining time until you are ready to eat.
  6. Serve over any rice, I like to use Basmati.
  7. I also like to serve with just a dollop of sour cream!

Carrie Morey – Callie’s Charleston Biscuits