Moroccan Beef and Butternut Squash Tagine

I'm still not feeling great, but after spending 18 hours in bed, I had to at least try and be productive. So I vacuumed, I cleaned the bathroom, I washed sheets...the essentials.

As a sidenote, I've also been putting the new TiVo Premiere to good use. This thing is amazing, and it's not even hooked up to cable yet! (apparently only 4 service guys in Kern County are familiar with TiVo Premiere, which requires a special cable card instead of the normal cable box. I am not joking. Couldn't get an appt for 3 weeks.)

You know I love Netflix. And I also love my TiVo. So the fact that this combines the two makes me oh-so-happy. (It streams Netflix and blockbuster on demand, pandora, YouTube, picassa, etc. etc. etc.)


Ramona helped set it up. Good god, every cat toy we own made it in this shot. Spoiled little shits.

Anyway, I have discovered the show Bones about 6 years late, and since Netflix carries the entire series on demand...it's embarrassing/disgusting how many epis I've watched this week. So to sum up, I love Netflix, I love TiVo, and I love Bones...and I'm not entirely sure what my point was there. And I love making the most of being sick? Sure. Moving on.

Being sick also means soup and not cooking. But since I bought meat for stew 3 days ago, I figured I better use it asap. So the Moroccan Beef and Butternut Squash Tagine I saw in Cooking Light it is.

I wish you could smell my house. It's cinnamony and spicy, garlicky and meaty.


(Yes, I shot from this angle so you can see my new adorable kettle. Everything in my kitchen is becoming orange and red and I love it.)

Here is the recipe I took this from. My only changes were pre-cut butternut squash, a bit of extra garlic and all spices, parsley instead of cilantro, and using a cheaper cut of meat. Problem with cheap meat, however, is that you've got to cook it differently.

Instead of only cooking 5 minutes once the tomatoes boil, I turned the heat to low, covered it, and let it cook slowly til soft for about an hour. Then I put in the squash and cooked until they were done. I also added a small mixture (a tbsp or so) of cornstarch and water to thicken it before I added the squash.



I chopped some extra shallots and garlic when I was prepping the stew, and sautéed them quickly for a couscous (below) to serve.


Herbed Couscous
1/2 cup couscous
1 cup broth
1 chopped shallot
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 thinly sliced green onion
About a 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
Small handful chopped Italian parsley

Add the broth to the sauteed shallots and garlic, bring to a boil, then add couscous, turn off heat, cover, and let stand 10-15 minutes.

Add herbs. Add salt if you'd like (or are having it on its own), but with the Tagine it really doesn't need it.