Beef Stew 2.0

You thought I forgot about this huh!

Well I did!

I tweaked my beef stew recipe and it is so much better. It has a much richer flavor. I always felt stew 1.0 was missing something but couldn't put a finger on it. This recipe doesn't make very much (as its just me, husband, a three year old and a two year old). For the four of us it made enough for three adult servings and two child servings with a wee bit leftover. It doubles nicely, just get a bigger pot.

1 lb stew meat
1/8 c flour
2 Tbsp oil
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed (about 1 in cube)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp each minced garlic, oregano, and parsley
1/2 tsp bay leaves dried
1 packet brown gravy mix
Chicken stock
Water

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Roll stew meat in flour and brown in oil with garlic. Add carrots, celery, potatoes and tomatoes (with juice). Cover half with water and half with chicken stock (just until it covers the veggies and meat). Stir in salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce. Increase temp to medium high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add gravy packet and stir to dissolve (you can also dissolve it in water beforehand to make sure it doesn't clump). Simmer another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and potatoes are soft.

Hope I still have people that poke around to see this :) ill try not to forget you again little blog.

Idaho Broil

I tried a new recipe last night for London Broil.

It was terrible.

I'm sure the recipe would have been fine if my oven wasn't completely stupid.  Most ovens I've seen have the normal temperature settings and then a broil setting.  If you were lucky it had a self cleaning or a "warm" setting.

My oven is an over achiever. 

It not only has ALL these things, it's broiler has TWO settings. HI broil and LO broil.

Recipes do not support my broiler operating system.

This is where I have to guess.  I tried HI broil first and after about 3 minutes I noticed smoke coming out of my oven.

awesome.

I opened the door to find my roasting pan warped, smoking, and utterly ruined.  We hurriedly ripped open all the doors and windows so our super sensitive smoke alarms wouldn't go off and cause my children to start screaming at the "beep beeps".

I should have stuck with my tried and true recipe for this sometimes difficult cut of meat.

Beef with Asparagus

1 lb London Broil
Dried Rosemary
4 Tbsp butter
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch asparagus
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt n Peppa
Garlic Powder

MEAT: Start by making cross cuts 1/8 inch deep and 1 inch apart on both sides of the meat, creating a diamond pattern.  Next, melt the butter in the microwave with the minced garlic and rosemary.  Season meat with Salt n Peppa and rub butter mixture on both sides, making sure to get into the cuts.  In a heavy skillet (I use cast iron), heat vegetable oil over medium high heat until hot.  Add meat and cook 5-7 minutes on each side.  If you don't like how pink it is, just cook a little longer.  Remove from pan, cover with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.  Slice against the grain into thin slices.

ASPARAGUS: Wanna see something easy?  Trim ends off asparagus (super easy, just hold it in the middle and bend. It will break where it's supposed to! MAGIC!) and place on a foil lined baking sheet. drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (depending on thickness of asparagus).  That's it.

Serve 'em side by side with some fresh fruit salad or mashed potatoes or wild rice.

Bazinga.

♥ K8

Aw now that's just cute!

I've seen these around on Pinterest, but I don't like most meatloaf recipes.

Mostly because they call for bread crumbs and I don't like the way they turn out.

When I found my staple meatloaf recipe from Paula Deen on Food Network, I was in love.

So I made these using my meatloaf recipe I posted HERE and they turned out SO cute!

(and SO good)

Meatloaf "Cupcakes"
(made 10 "cupcakes")

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
1 egg slightly beaten
Salt and Peppa

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together until well combined. using a regular size muffin tin, throw a glob of meatloaf mixture into the..."divets"...I guess? I don't know what to call them. Press the mixture into a bowl shape about 1/4 inch thick on the side and bottom. Repeat with remaining mixture in the other "divets". Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


Whip up a batch of mashed potatoes (I used instant) and spoon into the bowls of the meatloaf cups. Top with gravy (mine came from a packet) and serve!

Peaches loved eating her Hamburger Cake and Husband filled his with ketchup, mustard, easy cheez (barf) and lettuce to make a little cheeseburger. We served them up with the remaining mashed potatoes and gravy and some sauteed spinach (washed baby spinach sauteed in olive oil with a little minced garlic until wilted).

♥K8

Winter Food in July

I love cold weather...around Christmas time.

After Christmas, I'm done. I want summer back.

If we could jump from big, fluffy snow on Christmas to 85 and sunny on December 26th I would be in heaven.

One of my fave winter foods is stew.

Thick, Hearty, Warms your bones.

Well, it's July.

But I wanted stew.
{and I forgot to take pictures}

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 1/2- 2 lbs stew meat
5 potatoes {washed and peeled as much or as little as you want, i like a little peel}
1/2 lb baby carrots
5 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf {or a few shakes of dried, crushed bay leaves}
few shakes of dried rosemary
Salt & Peppa
1 package Au Jus gravy mix {or brown gravy mix}
2 Tbsp oil
some flour {maybe 1/2 cup?}
6 cups water

Heat oi in a large pot. Roll individual pieces of meat in flour until coated. Brown meat in oil with garlic, Salt & Peppa, Bay leaf and Rosemary until meat is seared on the outside. Slice potatoes into 1/2 inch thick half circles. Add potatoes, carrots and water. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer on low until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add gravy mix and simmer until thickened.
{if you want it thicker, mix 1 Tbsp corn starch with 1 Tbsp cold water until smooth and throw it in the stew}

I served it with Buttermilk biscuits

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp SACO Buttermilk Blend
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup water

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles corn meal. Add water and mix until dough is pliable. Do not overbeat. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 30 seconds. Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick, no less {i did mine about an inch thick}. Cut with floured biscuit cutter {i used a cup}. Place close together on ungreased baking sheet {i greased min with a little Pam}. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
{Recipe from Saco Buttermilk Blend can}

Big thanks to neighbor Audrey for the buttermilk powder stuff. Those biscuits were DELISH! {and the stew was too of course!}

♥ K8

BTNBS

Beefy Tomato Noodle Bake Stuff

its good, I promise.

I don't have a story to go along with this one...just know that while it looks like barf, it doesn't taste like barf.


Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (can also turkey)
1 onion chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can RoTel (or off brand equivalent)
8 oz wide egg noodles
some cheddar cheese (of course)

Cook beef and onion until browned, add soup and RoTel and stir until its all mixed up and coated in soupy goodness. Boil noodles until they're done, drain and return to pot. Grate cheddar cheese. Combine beef mixture with noodles and, yup, give it a stir until noodles are well coated. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, uncover and bake 10 more minutes. I whip up either garlic toast or cornbread to go with it.

If you don't like the spice too much, you can do plain diced tomatoes in place of the RoTel.

♥ K8

Rainy Day Friday

I was going to post recipes on Wednesday and Thursday...

No really, I was.

But then I got tired.

So I didn't.

It's raining and cloudy and chilly today and that means one thing.

Soup.

Behold, a delicious chili recipe perfect for a chilly day.
(you like that play on words, I know you do.)

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans
1 can white kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water

Cook hamburger and onion until browned, add beans and tomatoes including juice, add taco seasoning, chili powder and cinnamon, add water. Give it a good stir. Go on, don't be shy with it. REALLY put some muscle behind it. Whoa, not that hard. There you go. Bring to a boil, cover, simmer on low for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

You can sprinkle some cheddar cheese or do a dollop of Daisy. I like to serve it up with some cornbread. Don't get fancy, I just use the Jiffy mix.
Hint: if you don't like crumbly cornbread, just add an extra egg!

Enjoy your heart (and hand) warming meal my friends.

♥ K8

p.s. high five for 2 followers!

Comfort Food

Fried chicken, a hot casserole, good ol' mac and cheese.

Comfort food.

Makes a rainy day cheerful and can heal a broken heart. I figured I would start with my favorite comfort food:

Meatloaf

My husband thinks it's a waste of meat. I think it's incredible. This one is a very straight forward recipe with nothing spectacular...except the sauce. The sauce makes this meatloaf extraordinary. I pair it up with some mashed potatoes (instant is A-OK with me) and gravy and green beans.

Makes about 4 servings (2 slices per serving)

2 lbs ground beef (can also use ground turkey)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg slightly beaten
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup oats (can use quick or old fashioned)

Mix it all together and shape into a loaf in loaf pan or baking dish.

Sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl mustard

Mix together and spread over top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour. Let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Another thing I love about this recipe is by using spaghetti sauce, you get some veggies in there. It also makes AMAZING sandwiches the next day!

♥ K8