Clean Moroccan Beef & Root Veggies

Got the new issue of Clean Eating and it is chock full of soothing comfort food - my fav!!  The first thing I had to try was the Moroccan Beef.  I thought it was pretty good and it really made the house smell lovely.

There are also recipes for Thai Vegetarian Chili and Chicken Tetrazzini that I want to take a stab at this week (hopefully).  One thing I can't get the hang of is making dinner when work is busy.  This week we resorted to pizza one night, Whole Foods buffet another, and most unfortunately, one night when it was just me, a 1/2 bag of cheese curls.  Ugh.

So, here's to better eating from here on out!!  In case you want to give the beef a whirl, the recipe is below.

olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
2 navel oranges
1 1/2 lb. stew meat
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 3/4 chicken stock
1 small turnip (peeled & chopped)
3 parsnips (peeled & chopped)
2 carrots (peeled and chopped)
12 prunes
3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
3 scallions (thinly sliced), for garnish

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove peel of one orange with a veggie peeler (removing as much pith as possible), set aside.  Juice one orange, set aside.

Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Brown meat in batches and set aside.

Drain any fat from pan and heat more olive oil.  Add onion and cook until tender.  Add cumin, coriander, cinnamon & cayenne.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add 1 3/4 cups of the stock, reserved orange peel and juice.  Bring to a simmer and then add beef and any juices back into pot.  When simmering begins again, cover and place in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Remove pot from oven and add remaining 1 cup of stock, turnip, parsnips and carrots.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven again and add plums.  Return to oven and cook for another 25 minutes.

About 15 minutes before beef is done, bring 1 cup water to boil.  Add couscous, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork and divide among bowls.  Top with beef and veggies and garnish with scallions and zest of remaining orange.

Yum!!
Here's my attempt at taking better and more appetizing food photos.  :)

Approximate nutritional info as per Clean Eating:
Calories: 492
Fat 13g
Sat Fat 3g
Carbs 64g
Fiber 10g
Sugars 19g
Protein 34g
Sodium 422mg
Cholesterol 50mg