Hearty Beef Stew

INGREDIENTS

1/4 c Oil (I used Canola)
Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer
1/3 cup Flour
about 1lb each of Beef Stew Meat and Meaty Soup Bones
5 Garlic Cloves, Smashed and Chopped
1 Onion, Quartered and Diced
1 lb Carrots, Rough Cut
1 bunch of Celery Hearts, Sliced
1 32 oz Can Diced Tomatoes with Juice
1 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce
2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar (optional)
Black Pepper, to taste
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Thyme
Celery Seed
4 cups Boiling Water
4 Beef Boullion Cubes
Traditional Beef Stew require the addition of Worcestershire Sauce. I didn't have any on hand.

I chose not to add salt to this recipe. The canned vegetables already contain salt. There is salt in the Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer. There is also sodium in the Beef Boullion Cubes. Taste this to see if you prefer additional salt.

Enjoy!

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and Prepare Vegetables. Set Aside
2. Wash Meat. Sprinkle with Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer and Black Pepper.
    Toss Meat in Flour. Set Aside.
3. Heat Oil in Heavy Bottomed Dutch Oven
4. Brown Meat on Both Sides. Remove From Pan. Set Aside.
5. Saute Mire Poire in the Oil.
6. Add Garlic. 
7. Add Herbs.
8. Add Diced Tomatoes with Juice and Tomato Juice.

9. Dissolve Boullion Cubes in Water. Add to Pot.
10. Dissolve Corn Starch in Cold Beef Stock. Add to Pot.
11. Add Reserved Browned Stew Meat to the Pot. Cover with Lid. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for   
2 hours.
You may serve this over rice, cubed baked potatoes or cooked egg noodles.

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Mushroom Barley Soup

Barley is a long chain carbohydrate. It has a low gycemic index. I have a love for mushrooms. These are what piqued my interest in this recipe. There's nothing like a hearty hot soup to warm your insides on a cold day. We enjoyed this soup! The hubby said it was missing just one thing, "MEAT". Maybe I will try preparing it with a few beef stew cubes in the future. I felt like this had too much barley. The next time I prepare this I will probably reduce the amount of barley in half.

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp olive oil
1 rounded tsp chopped garlic
1 yellow onion chopped
2 carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1/2 pound white button mushrooms diced or sliced, whichever you prefer

64 ounces of hot broth (divided)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
1 cup of pearlized barley
1 tsp White Wine Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in heavy bottomed stock pan.
2. Add garlic, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook until tender.
3. Add mushrooms.
4. Add herbs and seasonings and White Wine Vinegar.
5. In a separate pot heat half of the broth until boiling. Once it has boiled, pour over softened veggies.
6. Rinse sort and rinse barley. Add to stock pan.
7. Simmer on low for 2 hours.
8. The barley will have swollen and softened. As a result you may not have very much stock left.
9. Add remaining half of hot broth to the stockpot and stir.
10. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.

Enjoy

Braised Lamb Shoulder

I was watching Dives Diners & Drive-Ins on Food Network.
Two of the featured restaurants prepared braised lamb recipes.
I suppose this is an amalgamation of both.






Split the Leek & soak it in cold water.
This will get rid of the sandy grit.





Prepared Veggies with Olive Oil, and Herbs



INGREDIENTS

6 Lamb Shoulder Chops
1 Red Bell Pepper cored, seeded & chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper cored, seeded & chopped
1 Onion, quartered & sliced
1 Leek, rinsed & sliced
1 Turnip, peeled, & cubed
1 Celery Stalk, sliced
2 Carrots, rough chopped
12 Cloves of Garlic (6 whole, 6 fresh pressed)
1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Juice
4 oz Red Wine
4 oz Chicken Stock
A Few Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
Fresh Sage
Fresh Rosemary
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Cumin
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
1 Lemon

Rinse & Dry the Meat
Squeeze lemon juice all over the Lamb.




Sprinkle Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Salt & Pepper on the Lamb.





Press 6 garlic cloves & press into both sides of the Lamb.
Set Aside.

Assemble all of the prepared veggies in a roasting pan. Drizzle veggies & sage with olive oil. Coat them well.




Place Lamb on top of veggies.




Sprinkle Rosemary leaves over lamb. Pour wine over lamb.



Pour Diced Tomatoes with Juice over Lamb.




Pour Chicken Stock Over Lamb.




Set Oven to 325. Cover roasting dish. Cook for 3 hours. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, remove the top from the dish & baste the meat with the juices.
When the meat is done, it should be falling off of the bone.
Serve with hot buttery mashed potatoes.



This is a hearty Winter dish! It was delicious. The next time I make it, I will use a deeper roasting pan. Mine was shallow this go around & there was an overflow of liquid.

Ginger Chicken Soup

This is an awesome recipe. It is more medicinal that your typical chicken soup recipe because of the ginger! Can you just feel it clearing your sinuses already?
I can!



Rather than buy a cooked bird, I bought an oven ready roaster



It is so worth your time to fill the house with the good roast chicken smell.









De-Bone the Roasted Chicken



Rough Cut/Pull Apart Chicken



Ginger & Garlic in Mini Food Processor





Using prepackaged Soup Mix from your market's Produce section is convenient.







While the bird is roasting, chop your veggies.



It made more sense to me to add the hardest veggies 1st. I also didn't want to scorch the garlic

Add Parsnips to the hot oil





Cubed Turnip
(A great way to sneak in veggies/minerals)









Add the Frozen Peas






Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 25m
Total Time: 55m

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 5-inch piece fresh ginger, minced (3 tablespoons)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 32-ounce boxes low-sodium chicken broth (8 cups)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded (2 cups)
1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 scallions, trimmed and sliced

Directions
1.In a large saucepan or stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the parsnips, turnip, carrots, celery, broth, and salt and bring to a boil.
2.Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
3.Add the chicken, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
4.Remove from heat, stir in the peas and scallions, and let sit, covered, for 1 minute.

Got this recipe from
Real Simple

Will Make this week & post photos.
Update:




12/02/09 Unless you are a HUGE fan of ginger, it may be overwhelming to this dish.
I found it to be a little bitter. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I had a sick little one home from school so I decided to try this. I wasn't able to make it to the market to get parsnips or rotisserie chicken, so I had to use what I had in the pantry. I was able to get turnip, ginger & scallion from a local Jamaican market.
I will make this again. Perhaps with 1 less tablespoon of ginger. Not sure if that will make a difference. Out of the 5 people in my family, 2 really enjoyed it, I thought it was ok & the 2 sick folks (hubby & kid) didn't like it. Hubby said "this soup will put some hair on your chest). LOL Oddly enough, they were the ones for whom I made it & needed it most to cure their bug.

12/05/09 Hubby REQUESTED this soup again! It's helping to clear his congestion.
It looks like this recipe will be added to the winter recipes.

Easy Beef Pot Roast

This is so simple!

I usually buy london broil or top round when it goes on sale at the market.

You Will Need
















FLOUR



RED WINE



BEEF STOCK





INGREDIENTS

About 3 lbs of Beef Roast.
(I used 1 lb london broil & 2 lbs top round)

3 Carrots sliced

2 Ribs Celery sliced

1 Onion quartered & sliced

1 pkg sliced mushrooms

1 Pkg Vegetable Soup Mix

Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

1/3 cup Flour

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 cup Red Wine (optional)

1 cup Beef Stock

DIRECTIONS

Heat Olive Oil in heavy pan.

Rinse the meat. Pat dry. Cover & pat in Sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper.
flour the meat. Sear the meat on each side. You want it to brown.

Add cut veggies to the crockpot (Carrots, Celery, Onions, Mushrooms)
Sprinkle dry soup mix over the meat.
Make sure there are no chunks of the boullion flavor.
If you have to break it up with your fingers.

Pour 1/2 cup of Red Wine in the crockpot.
Add 1 cup of Beef Broth.

Cover with lid. Set it on high for 4hrs. Voila Ici! It's DONE!

2 Hrs Cooking

4 Hrs Later It's Finished Cooking






Place Meat on Platter, Cover Loosely with Foil Let rest 15 Minutes Before Carving



Aux Jus with Veggies. YUM

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You can make a quick roux on the stove & add beef stock to make more gravy if you prefer. I usually shred the london broil with two forks so there are lots of meat bits in the gravy. This is delicious served over rice.