Feijoada (Brazilian Beef Stew) and Top Ten Tuesday Topic #2

In February, J's step-brother returned home from his two-year mission in a remote village in Brazil. A few weeks after his return he said that he really truly was going to miss the amazing food they made there. Like a sign from an all-knowing God, Cuisine at Home's February issue included a recipe for Feijoada (pronounced fay-ZHWAH-duh), or as we call in it English, Brazilian Beef Stew. I was nothing short of amazed with how delicious it was, and J couldn't have been happier with all the meat found in it. What a protein packed Latin delight!

 Without any further ado, here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of beef, cut into about 2 inch chunks (a lot of time you can find this pre-cut in the meet department)
• 1 pound kielbasa (or one package)
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil (veggie works, but it's not as healthy, remember?)
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (14 ounces)
• 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (it says to puree one, but I didn't and it was so tasty!)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to season
• Rice (optional as an accompaniement)
• Jalepeno slices to garnish

Directions:

1. Season each side of the stew meat with salt and pepper.
2. Add the two Tablespoons of oil to a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Once the oil is hot brown the beef.
4. Transfer the beef to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the excess oil.
5. Slice the keilbasa into 1/2 inch thick sections.
6. Brown the keilbasa and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
7. One the meat is done browning, slowly whisk the orange juice into the skillet while scraping remnants off the bottom of the pan.
8. Combine the onions, garlic, tomatoes, beans, and chili powder in a slow cooker.
9. Add beef and kielbasa.
10. Add orange juice and pan juices mixture.
11. Stir the contents of the slow cooker and make sure the meat is coated.
12. Cover and cook on high for four hours or low for 6 hours.
13. Add vinegar when the cook time ends.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.
15. Cook rice as directed on the package and serve over or under the stew. (It's your choice here!)
16. Garnish with jalapeno slices for a little added flavor! (I did and loved it!)
17. Enjoy!

Simply Sweet Note: This will yeild extras, so enjoy again for lunch at work the next day (or two!).

And last, but NOT least, the Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week!

Things to do on a sunny day!

Since there's so much nice weather going on right now, let's channel summer in spring time!

I'll post the link up at midnight tonight (since it's technically Tuesday then!) and leave it open all day tomorrow!