Savory Beef Stew

Wow...its been a while since I've posted any recipes on here. I've been trying to eat healthier since the holidays so dinners have been lots of salads & grilled chicken.

Today though it was cold & rainy & raw outside and a perfect day for beef stew. I didn't follow a recipe....just worked with what I had on hand....and sometimes those are the meals that come out the best. What I used is as follows if you'd like to give it a try. Enjoy.

Savory Beef Stew

1 lb angus stew beef

1 med onion coarsely chopped

2 T vegetable or canola oil

2-3 cloves garlic chopped

1 stalk of celery sliced

3-4 sliced carrots

1/2 C chopped green pepper

1 jalapeno pepper finely minced

3 large potaoes peeled & cut into 1 1/2 "cubes

1 - 32 oz carton of College Inn Bold Stock beef sirloin broth

1 packet Lipton Savory Herb with Garlic soup mix.

In large dutch oven pan saute onions & garlic till soft in 1 T of oil. In separate pan in 1 T of oil, brown stew beef that has been dredged in flour, till slightly browned. Add beef to onions & garlic. Add remaining ingredients except potatoes to pan , bring to boil then reduce heat, cover & simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add potatoes and simmer for approximately 15 more minutes till tender. Thicken before serving with 1-2 T flour mixed with a little water.

Beef Hash

Sometimes the leftovers are so much better than the original meal aren't they? That was the case with this expensive beef roast I purchased for our Christmas Eve dinner. It was good...but the whole meal to me was just "ok"

So with lots of leftovers I looked online for ideas for using leftover beef roasts. I found a recipe for beef hash, made a few changes/additions & below is what I came up with for dinner tonight. Yum !!!

Beef Hash

4 C leftover beef roast coarsely chopped

2 large carrots chopped

4 med unpeeled redskin potatoes chopped (med = about the size of a tennis ball each)

1 onion chopped

1 med green pepper chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp regular salt)

1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all together and place in 1 large or 2 med well greased shallow baking pans ( I use cooking spray)

In separate bowl or large measuring cup whisk together 2 C water with 4T of brown gravy mix. Pour over casserole, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes till carrots & potatoes are tender. Uncover & brown briefly under broiler. Enjoy.

2 new recipes

I just tried to post 2 new recipes on here for Poor Man's Turtles & Buttery Chocolate Bark but I mistakenly posted them on my other blog. If you want to check them out they can be found here.

Carrot Souffle

I got this recipe from a Vermont country inn about 8 years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. The original recipe called for 3 cups of sugar....I cut it back to 2 cups & it is still very sweet...but oh so delicious. This is such a nice recipe to go with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. When I make it for just my children & I then I do half the recipe. Enjoy...and if you do make it I'd love to know how you liked it.

Carrot Souffle


3 lbs carrots - sliced & cooked till tender
1 & 1/2 C butter softened
6 eggs
1/2 C flour
2 C sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon


Beat or blend all ingredients together till smooth. Spoon into 2 lightly greased souffle dishes. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour till set and lightly browned. Serve immediately.


Note: If you don't have souffle dishes a glass or corningware casserole dish (3-4 inches deep) works fine also. Enjoy !!!

Caprese Salad

I saw this recipe on TV recently & it looked so delicious I made it for dinner that same night. The only problem I had was that it called for fresh basil & I could not find a single store that had it in stock. So I used a bit of dried instead. It was still delicious but but there is just nothing like fresh. Recipe below...enjoy.

Caprese Salad

6 ripe roma (plum) tomatoes - cut in half lengthwise & seeds removed
12 oz fresh mozzarella cheese sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic minced
fresh basil
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Place tomatoes on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil & vinegar. Sprinkle minced garlic over tomatoes and season with a little salt & pepper & roast in a 250 degree oven for 2- 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt & pepper & let cool slightly. Then layer tomatoes alternating with the mozarella slices over a bed of mixed field greens or other lettuce of choice. Sprinkle snipped fresh basil over and serve.

Jakes favorite blueberry muffins

I found this recipe online a few years back & it is now the only blueberry muffin we make in this house. I try not to make them too often though because they are not the healthiest food...plus Jake loves them & eats them too fast. So for us they are just an occasional treat. It may seem like there is too much of the topping but use it all...it cooks down into a delicious crispy streusel topping. Sorry for the blurry photo.

Recipe is below. Enjoy.

Blueberry Muffins

1 & 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 C milk
1 C fresh blueberries

Topping

1/2 C sugar
1/3 C flour
1/4 C butter cubed
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix all topping ingredients together with a fork or pastry cutter. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Place the oil into a 1 cup measuring cup. Add the egg & enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this into the flour mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups almost to the top and then sprinkle with topping mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes till topping is golden brown. Makes 8-10 muffins.

Soft Snickerdoodles

These yummy cookies should be arriving in Iraq right about now. Both of my kids love these cookies. I lost my usual recipe but found this one and they are the best Snickerdoodles we have ever had. Recipe below..... enjoy.

SNICKERDOODLES

1 C butter

1 and 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

2 and 3/4 C flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Coating = 3T sugar, 3tsp cinnamon

Beat butter, sugar & eggs together till smooth. Mix dry ingredients together and then gradually mix into egg mixture. Chill dough for 30 minutes then roll into 1 inch balls, roll in coating mixture and then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets. Remove to wire rack to cool.