Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb

Fun fact about DJ: he does not like American lamb.  He says he enjoyed the lamb he ate growing up in Ethiopia, but the lamb here is "too lamby."  When asked to define "lamby":  smelling and tasting like wet wool.  ::insert shrug emoji here::  Mel really enjoys lamb, so the times we've made it at home DJ just had to deal.  Until we tried THIS lamb from Fresh Direct: 

Mel ordered it on a whim because it was on sale, and lamb is usually pretty pricey.  And now, we are OBSESSED because DJ has declared it is "not lamby" and Mel concurs!  We're pretty sure it has to do with how the lamb is raised on this particular farm:




We looked into the option of buying directly from Brother's Ridge, but it looks like Fresh Direct made an exclusive deal with them so we'll have to stick with ordering from the middle man.  Our favorite way to prepare it is in the slow cooker.  We've found it comes out the most tender and flavorful that way.  The first time we made it, we used this recipe and it turned out fantastic:  Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb.





Served with a bit of spinach and cauliflower rice: delectable!


One day Mel was in a bit of a rush for mixing all the spices.  She realized that this Organic Berbere Seasoning (a gag gift from Sara one Christmas) is actually a blend of a lot of similar spices. 


Turns out that it works just as well for seasoning the lamb.  Sprinkle it over the lamb liberally, place the meat in the slow cooker on top of some onions and broth, cook on low for 6-8 hours, and you're all set!   Gotta love when a perfect meat meets a perfectly simple preparation.

Jersey Exploration: Basilico

For a long while after we moved to Jersey, our go-to option when we didn't feel like cooking was the hot buffet at Whole Foods.  But now thanks to the flurry of restaurants joining Door Dash, we are slowly getting back in the habit of treating ourselves to take-out meals on the weekend like we did when living in the city.  Our most recent take-out splurge: a bit of Italian flavors from Basilico in Millburn.

We're still doing our best to avoid processed foods and sugars, so we were pleased to find lots of delicious options that don't include pasta.  We wound up sharing three dishes, and the servings were so plentiful we had leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next day.

Calamari Fra'diavolo

We love a good calamari dish, and this one hit all the right notes.  Spicy, as promised by the name, and not too chewy.  Definitely a win.

St. Tropez Salad

A nice dish featuring crab meat and shrimp.  Refreshing and light, and the grapefruit added a nice touch of acid to balance the seafood.

Chicken Liguria

We requested mixed vegetables instead of the pasta the dish usually comes with.  The chicken  was a bit tough, but the sauce and vegetables were tasty. 

We had heard great things about Basilico before, so we're glad we finally had a chance to try it.  We'll definitely remember them next time we're in the mood for Italian.

Jersey Exploration: The Salad House

One of the things Mel missed most when we first moved to NJ was all the places where you can get a fresh "make your own" salad.  Sometimes all you want is a nice leafy bowl of spinach topped with all your favorite items and tossed with a great dressing.  And sometimes buying all of those individual ingredients and making it yourself is much more expensive and annoying than going to a great "make your own" bar.  Unfortunately, a lot of those salad chains are not to be found in the Jersey mini-malls, and the ones that we did find were too far to be convenient. 

Finally, with the big boom of restaurants using Door Dash, we can now order from The Salad House in Westfield and get a delicious salad delivered!  Mel definitely did a food-happy-dance when we placed our first order.  The salads arrived super fast, and all the ingredients were super fresh.  We appreciate that they come in environmentally-friendly cardboard bowls, and the dressing is packed neatly on the side so you can drizzle or drench the greens to your liking.

Create Your Own Salad

(a whole smorgasbord of all our favorite ingredients; so easy to click and add from the Door Dash menu!)

The Grateful Gobbler

(spinach, oven roasted turkey, craisins, applewood bacon, cheddar cheese, seasoned croutons, and apple cider vinaigrette)

It's a no-brainer: we'll be ordering from here whenever those salad cravings hit!

Noble Made: Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce for the Win!

Wanted to dedicate a brief post to this fantabulous line of sugar-free sauces:  Noble Made by The New Primal.  (We find it at our Whole Foods.)

One of Mel's favorite slow cooker recipes of all time is 3-step pork ribs:  

1. Put ribs in slow cooker.
2. Douse ribs with one bottle of BBQ sauce.  
3. Cook on low for 7.5 hours.  

Really doesn't get simpler than that, and they always turn out great.  Then we decided to cut sugars and jarred BBQ sauce has a LOT of sugar.  Womp womp.  We thought we had to say goodbye to the easiest ribs ever - until now!  (Their Mustard BBQ sauce, not pictured here, is also amazing.)  Hooray to Noble Made for bringing this recipe back into our lives and tummies.  We now keep at least one jar of it in the pantry at all times. 

Rotisserie at Home?! Best.Grill.Ever.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, DJ was super pumped to invest in a grill of his choosing this year.  Two of the awesome features that really sold him on it are the built-in rotisserie and smoker box (insert soaked wood chips and let the smoky goodness commence - makes the whole yard smell like an awesome campfire).

For most of the summer, we focused on making steaks and burgers because the rotisserie requires a bit more effort.  Finally on a quiet day off from work, DJ decided to give it a spin (pun intended).  First, he turned on the grill to get the wood chips smoking.

  

Meanwhile, we seasoned a whole chicken with our favorite Jake's Grillin Poultry Rub and then skewered it with the main rotisserie pole and support prongs.

Ready for action!

Gently placed the rod onto the grill and prepared to be amazed.

 Once we turned it on, however, we realized a slight technical difficulty.

Mr. B, intrigued by all the excitement, came out to check the whole scene and used some of his PBS cooking show knowledge to help us readjust the prongs and tie the legs.  Now we're cookin'!

 

The end result:  truly the best chicken we've ever had.  Anywhere.  Ever.  Every bite so juicy and flavorful - even without the skin.  Mel couldn't stop marveling at how it tasted like we had doused it in sugar-laden BBQ sauce when we really only used dry spices.  We are never preparing whole chickens another way again.  We will go out there in snow if we must.

In fact, the chicken was so out of this world that a week later when we had family over DJ got adventurous and made two chickens simultaneously.  Everyone couldn't stop raving about them and asking for more.  This grill has truly been one of our best home improvements yet.