I have been holding on to this recipe for a cold winter's day. It looks so rustic and warms me up inside just by looking at it.

It's been a warm winter, but this past week has gotten really cold and I knew it was my chance to take this recipe for a test drive. I also wanted to use some of my new Christmas/Birthday presents as well.

I enjoy reading food blogs and looking at food photography. I have been trying to improve my cooking, photography, and blogging skills this past year. I have seen some improvements, but I still have a long way to go to be like my food blog idol The Pioneer Woman. Her recipes are always awesome, her pictures make me drool all over my keyboard and her posts often make me laugh out loud. One thing I love about her food blog is her step by step pictures. When I see them I can picture myself making them and say to myself, " yea, I can make that." The hard part for me, and I have said it before, with such bad lighting this time of year my pictures never turn out that great. I feel like I am a slave to the light, like a vampire with out the glittering...what's with the glittering anyway? Now that we have a new lens that takes better pictures in low light, I thought I would give this whole step-by-step thing a go.

First let me tell you how much I love my new enamel cast iron pot. It makes our nice Calphalon non stick pans feel like I'm cooking on a trash can lid. Just look at it.

Now lets look at our starting line up.

Sorry I forgot to put the garlic in the picture. I had it around my neck to keep those glittery vampires away.

I always start by getting as much of the prep work done before hand, so the actual cooking part goes a lot smoother. I can't tell you how many times something has burned while I was doing something stupid like trying to open a can up with our crappy can opener. So I chop everything up and separate them into dishes. I measure out the spices and get everything ready so I just have to dump it in when I need it. It really takes a lot of the stress out of cooking, but Holli hates all the dishes it creates.

So lets cut up our roast. I followed the recipe and got a 1 lb roast, but I think next time I'm going to shoot for closer to 2 lbs. Cut your roast into 1 in cubes. and trim off any excess fat. Do you like my other Christmas present? There is nothing like a brand new knife!

I just love this picture, by the way!

Now cut up your butternut squash. Here is a nice little tutorial on how to cut up butternut squash.


Then cut your shallots into quarters.

Combine all of your spices in a bowl. Now close your eyes, inhale, and pretend you are in a Moroccan spice market. Ok now time to get back to the real world...I mean take your time, but this meal isn't going to make itself. 

Toss your meat, making sure it gets nicely coated. At this point you want to make sure everything is out and ready to go so you are not running around like a mad person.

Turn your heat to medium high. Make sure your pot is nice and hot before you add your oil. Once you add your oil wait for about 30 seconds to a minute then add your meat. This ensures your meat get nice and crispy and not limp and brown

Not quite there yet.

That's more like it! See those brown bits on the bottom of the pan? That is your one way ticket to flavor town. That sounded a lot cooler in my head :(

My guess is your house is smelling really awesome right now!

Add your shallots to the mix and give them a good stir. Let that cook for about 4 minutes or until the meat is nicely browned and the shallots are cooked. The meat doesn't have to be cooked through, you just don't want to see any pink on the outside.

Add the garlic and let that cook for about a minute. Keep stirring, garlic can burn really easily.

Now add your diced tomatoes and broth. You may have noticed in my picture up top that I used whole tomatoes. That is because I bought the wrong kind. But I just cut them into chunks and all was well, but don't forget the juice.

Bring that to a boil and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Now add you squash, reduce your heat to low or medium low and put a lid on it...not you, the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is tender.  Sprinkle with cilantro, or as I call it, the nectar of life. I just can't get enough of the stuff. I tried to get a picture of the finished product in the pot but it was just way to steamy. I couldn't get a clear picture.

While the Tagine was simmering, I cut up about a half cup of green onions and made some plain couscous. I just followed the recipe on the box. I used chicken stock and not water to add a little more flavor. Once the couscous was done I mixed in the green onions. It was a nice touch to our little Moroccan dinner along with some naan bread and hummus.

I have to admit the red peppers gave this a good amount of heat. If you are not too keen on spicy food you can always decrease the amount of red pepper.  All in all I give this 4 out of 5 stars. It was really easy, wasn't too expensive, and was full of flavor. The cinnamon was a really nice touch. So live a little and try something new!

 Here is just the recipe without my boring commentary:

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash

Cooking light 

4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Cooking time: 40 min - 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1-pound) beef shoulder roast or petite tender roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 shallots, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. 1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss well to coat.
2. 2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and shallots; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Add squash; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Here is the skinny on the nutrition facts:

Amount per serving
Calories: 283
Fat: 9.5g
Saturated fat: 2g
Monounsaturated fat: 4.8g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.5g
Protein: 25.6g
Carbohydrate: 25.7g
Fiber: 4.8g
Cholesterol: 67mg
Iron: 4.6mg
Sodium: 617mg
Calcium: 103mg