Beefy Stew and a Warm, Wet Fall

10-29-12

  Hey people! So this post features a recipe I used to make a delicious French Beef Stew. My client gave me the recipe when I told her that I had some stew meat and wanted to do something with it. We scoured her favorite cookbook until we found the recipe she'd been thinking of. I got home and adjusted a few ingredients, but was super excited to find out how it turned out. The next morning I got up an hour earlier and started chopping and dumping ingredients into my crockpot (shout out to my hubby here for his great foresight in getting it for me for Christmas last year; I use it a lot!). I had my hubby turn it down two hours later, as I was at work, and then I added some veggies after I got home from work. The stew spent a total of 10 hours in my crockpot and when we at it for dinner that night the meat with nice and tender and just fell apart on your fork, so yummy! With no further ado I have my recipe and the original recipe below. Happy Cooking!

French Beef Stew

3 lbs   Beef Stew Meat

3 cups  Chicken Stock

3       Onions, chopped

3 Tbsp  SCD Bread Crumbs(I used some from a "flop-loaf" I'd froze)

3 Tbsp  SCD Yogurt

2 cups  Carrots, chopped

5 stalk Celery, chopped

1)  Combine all ingredients (excluding carrots and celery) in slow cooker, mixing well.

2)  Cook on high for 2 hours; then turn down to low for at least another 4 hours.

3)  Add carrots and celery before 2 hours before finished cooking.

4)  Serve over "FauxTatoes" and enjoy!

Original Recipe:

2 lbs   Beef Stew Meat

2 cups  Beef Broth

2       Onions, chopped

2 Tbsp  Bread Crumbs

2 Tbsp  Tapioca

1 smCan Mushrooms

1)  Combine all ingredients in large baking dish. Mix well.

2)  Bake on 325^F for 4-5 hrs in covered dish.

3)  Serve over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.

 

Shepherd's Pie?

10-15-12

  Life has been busy here in the Boro for me. I got busy with work and ran out of honey, so my baking/cooking pursuits were put on hold for a bit.  But I'm back with the report of what I threw together for dinner last night. I originally got the inspiration from a recipe I saw in Sunset Magazine for Shepherd's Pie. The unique thing about the recipe in the magazine was that they'd used mashed Pumpkin for the top of the dish, instead of the usual mashed potatoes. I was thrilled with the idea because it helped me to realized that I don't actually have to use the common ingredients to make traditional dishes. With this in mind, I purchased an Acorn Squash to use for dinner two nights ago. I had some chicken and veggies on hand, so I decided to create my own version of this Shepherd's Pie (and yes, to all you Gordon Ramsey fans, the original recipe called for lamb). So with all other explanations aside, my recipe is below.

Always,

Kittydid

Chicken and Squash Bake

Yeilds: 3 Servings

1        Acorn Squash, cooked and mashed 

2  Tbsp  Butter, room temperature

2  cups  Chicken, (cooked & seasoned) sliced

1        Bell Pepper (I used green), chopped

2  cups  Carrots, chopped (I only had baby carrots, so I sliced lengthwise and halved)

2  Tbsp  Olive Oil

1/2      Onion, coursely chopped

1  clove Garlic, minced

1-2 cups Chicken Stock

2  Tbsp  Almond Flour

1)  Preheat oven to 375^F

2)  Mash together squash and butter in small bowl; set aside.

3)  Place chicken, bell pepper, and carrots in bottom of 8x8 baking dish; set aside.

4)  In saucepan heat oil, onion, and garlic over medium heat, until onion is translucent. 

5)  Sprinkle flour over top of onions and mix continuously until you can smell a warm almond-like scent; add chicken stock and any pan drippings from chicken. Simmer until slightly thickened.

6)  Pour gravy mixture over veggies and meat in baking dish, then top with squash mash.

7)  Bake, uncovered, for approx. 30 minutes, or until veggies are cooked.

Serve and enjoy!