Beef and Guinness Stew

Found this recipe on Reluctant Entertainer and changed it up just a little.

http://reluctantentertainer.com/2013/03/beef-and-guinness-stew-for-st-patricks-day/

BEEF AND GUINNESS STEW

YIELD: 6

 

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

 

COOK TIME: 3 hours

 

TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 15 minutes

Incredible St. Patrick's Day meal. Adapted from Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs. lean stewing beef, cubed
• 3 T. grapeseed oil
• 2 T. flour
• 1/4 tsp. Wildtree's Rodeo Rub spice blend
• Salt and pepper
• 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
• 1.5 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 small can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 can of water
• 1  bottle Guinness beer
• 4-5 carrots, cut into chunks
• 1/2 lb potatoes, cut into chunks
• sprigs of thyme

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toss beef cubes in a bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. 
2. Season the flour with salt, freshly ground pepper and Rodeo Rub and mix into the beef.
3. Heat the remaining 2 T. oil in a large Dutch oven over a high heat. Brown the meat on all sides.
4. Add the onions, garlic and tomato puree/water, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes.
5. Pour the Guinness into the pot. Add the carrots, potatoes, and thyme.
6. Stir the stew, cover, and place in preheated oven for about 3 hours.

Assuming everyone likes it, this should be enough for 2+ meals, so I'll freeze the leftovers and heat them up for St. Patrick's Day dinner smile emoticon 

Since I bought a package of almost 4 lbs of cubed beef at Costco the other day, I figured I'd keep chopping and use all of the meat.. I also made 2 other meals to freeze with it. I ended up cutting up 3 onions total + 3 green bell peppers, and using Wild Tree's recipe to make 2 dinners of Steak Fajitas for the freezer. So that's 4 meals, all in 30 mins smile emoticon

Potato Leek Soup

I had surgery last week and between the recovery and then going to Chicago, then the girls off school this week, no time to grocery shop! So, scrounging up whatever is in my fridge and ended up with potato leek soup. YUM!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large potatoes, diced
• 1 large leek, chopped up
• 2 cups broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• garlic, to taste (I used 1 tsp minced)
• salt (and pepper) to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.  cook leeks in butter for about 10 minutes.
2. add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to a simmer.
3. simmer for 20 minutes.
4. using an immersion/stick blender, blend, leaving some chunks.

Lentil Soup

I've been wanting to make this for a while...finally made some today and we will be eating it for lunch tomorrow. Thankfully my oldest daughter loved it and ate a bowl right away! The rest will be frozen in individual portions for later :)

Original recipe from FoodNetwork.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped carrot
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
• 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 2 quarts vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large 6-quart Dutch oven. 
2. Add the onion, carrot, and salt stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. 
3. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, and cumin and stir to combine. 
4. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. 
5. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. 
6. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency.

White bean stew

This stew started out as a vegetarian stew, but then I decided to add chicken. It could be made either way! I served this with homemade French bread.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large (28oz) can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1.5 cups elbow or other small pasta, uncooked
• 2 cups precooked white Northern beans
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock

DIRECTIONS

1. Into a large pot, pour the diced tomatoes with liquid, vegetable stock, seasonings.
2. Bring to a boil, then add the chicken and simmer for about 15 mins.
3. Add frozen peas and bring back to a boil.
4. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
5. Once everything is cooked, remove chicken and dice. Put chicken back into stew.
6. Mix baby spinach and white beans (mine were still warm from precooking in the slow cooker. If they're cold, you'll want to add them in and cook a little longer, until warmed through) into hot stew.
7. Enjoy with fresh bread!

Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

This ended up being perfect on a snowy day! I served it with homemade French Bread (following the recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Love this book! I never knew bread was so easy to make!)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts
• 8 cups water with bouillon or chicken stock
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 6 tbsp butter, separated
• 1 cup rice, uncooked
• 1 lemon, divided
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour the 8 cups of water w/ bouillon (or chicken stock) in a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add chicken, bay leaves, oregano and garlic.
3. Boil for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, make rice according to package directions. Add juice from 1/2 lemon to water. My rice took 20 minutes to cook, so this worked out perfectly.
5. While the rice and the chicken are cooking, dice up the veggies.
6. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a skillet and throw in the diced veggies (carrots, bell pepper and onion). Add 1/2 a lemon, sliced thinly (seeds removed), and cook for about 15 minutes or until softened. Remove lemon and discard.
7. When the chicken is ready, let it cool a little and then dice it up.
8. Put chicken and vegetables to the side.
9. Melt 3 tbsp butter in the skillet, then add 3 tbsp flour and mix well until thickened to make a roux.
10. Add roux to broth, then add in the chicken, veggies and rice.
11. Warm up (if no longer warm) and serve right away with some fresh bread. Yum!

Ham and Potato Soup

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/delicious-ham-and-potato-soup/ 

Straight from Allrecipes, with very few modifications, this soup was DELICIOUS and really hearty. 

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1.5 cups diced cooked ham
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk

Directions

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. 
2. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
3. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. 
4. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. 
5. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. 
6. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. 
8. Serve immediately.

Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans Stew

Recipe inspired from Everyday Food online

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 jar (11 ounces) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 large chicken breasts
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp basil

Directions

1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, flour, and 1 cup water. 
2. Season chicken with salt, garlic and basil, then arrange on top of bean mixture. 
3. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.
4. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir.)
5. Shred chicken into large pieces and return to stew. 
6. Serve topped with sour cream.

I forgot to start this early enough, so in place of the beans, I decided to serve this over couscous.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 tbsp bacon bits (or 3 slices bacon, cooked)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 2 large baked potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup half-and-half cream

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender. 
2. Stir in flour, bacon bits and oregano, mix well. 
3. Gradually add broth, then add carrots and celery and bring to boil.
4. Boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
5. Add the potatoes and cream.
6. Heat through but do not boil. 

Bean and Ham Soup

A first for us...a trial. It turned out pretty good.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cubed hm
• 2 cups Great Northern Beans
• 1/2 an 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups baby carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pot, saute onions, carrots and garlic in butter until crisp tender. 
2. Add ham and saute for another couple minutes.
3. Add broth and tomato sauce and mix well.
4. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to simmer. 
5. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until beans and veggies are tender.

Lamb and Lentil Stew

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/mediterranean-lamb-and-lentil-stew/Detail.aspx

This recipe was really good! I made it back while I was on my blah-restricted diet over the summer...just never got around to blogging about it. So here it is, with a few minor changes, from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder arm chops, cubed, round bones reserved
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the lamb cubes and bones and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes. 
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add onion and garlic and continue cooking about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Stir in the lentils, 2 cups of the chicken broth, tomatoes, carrots and the sage and basil. 
5. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender but not quite done, stirring occasionally. Depending on the type and freshness of the lentils, this will take from 15 to 30 minutes. 
6. If the stew seems dry, add more broth (up to one cup additional). 
7. Discard the lamb bones.
8. Add the spinach and cook 5 minutes more

Spiced Pork and Apricot Stew

Original recipe inspired from Real Simple: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spiced-pork-apricot-stew-00000000039498/index.html

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 tbsp strawberry or apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• ½ cup dried apricots, halved
• 1 cup baby carrots
• cooked couscous, sliced scallions, and chopped roasted almonds, for serving

Directions

1. In a large slow cooker, mix spices and onion with pork.
2. Add chicken broth, preserves, vinegar, carrots, chickpeas and dried apricots. 
3. Cook on low for 6 hours. 
4. Serve over couscous.

Black Bean and Shredded Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts, frozen
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can black beans
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 cup frozen chopped bell peppers
• 1 cup frozen corn
• sour cream, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients to the crock pot.
2. Mix and cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours).
3. Add frozen corn and cook another 30 minutes.
4. Shred chicken in crock pot, stir, then serve with sour cream if desired.

Italian Chicken Soup

Original recipe from Parenting magazine, November 2009

Perfect on a cold Fall day! Next time I'll probably use fresh chicken (just haven't found frozen chicken that I like..) and will serve w/ French bread.

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken stock
• precooked chicken slices
• bunch of spinach, chopped
• pinto or cannellini beans
• frozen gnocchi
• oregano to taste
• garlic to taste

DIRECTIONS

Head prepared chicken stock in a large pot.
Season.
Add chicken, spinach, and beans.
Bring to a boil and then add in frozen gnocchi.
Cook for about 8 mins (or according to gnocchi package directions).

Waterzooi

This traditional Belgian meal is one of my absolute favorite meals of all time! :) Being from Belgium, of course it has always been a staple in our diet. Growing up, my mom made this soup often and I always requested it as my "Birthday dinner". This recipe is my own. I've never actually looked up a recipe for Waterzooi, but have always made it based on how I remember my mom or my Grandma making it and how it seemed at restaurants.. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp butter (use real butter, it tastes so much better)
2 leeks
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 baby red potatoes
2 large boneless chicken breasts
4 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
Crusty French baguette

DIRECTIONS

Peel, slice and dice vegetables. (For leeks, first slice and seperate, then wash. It's easier to get all of the dirt and grime out that way.)
Melt butter in a deep pot.
Saute vegetables on medium high for 5 minutes.
Add broth and chicken.
Add basil, salt and pepper.
Turn heat to high, cover and set timer for 20 minutes.
Once stew is boiling, turn down to medium or medium high (so it doesn't boil over).

Whisk cream and egg together.
Add a ladle of broth into the cream and egg mixture to temper it, then add to the waterzooi, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.

Ladle into bowl and don't forget your French baguette for dipping!

Throw-together Chicken-Veggie soup

Not feeling well + tired + no grocery shopping = throw a bunch of stuff together to make soup!

INGREDIENTS

4 cups light chicken broth
3 large potatoes
handful of cherry tomatoes
couple handfuls of baby carrots
broccoli left over in the fridge..
frozen chicken strips

DIRECTIONS

peel/wash/cut veggies.
Pour broth in large pot, add veggies and frozen chicken.
Bring to a boil then cook for another 20 minutes.
Serve with some French bread.

Tuscan Beef Stew

While browsing the blog "Mommy, What's For Dinner" I came upon this delicious looking Tuscan Beef Stew recipe and couldn't resist trying it! It made the house smell sooooo good and turned out great! And it's so easy to make.
INGREDIENTS

1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can condensed beef broth
1/2 cup apple juice
2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into chunks
3 large carrots, cut as desired
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
32 oz canned cannelloni beans (white kidney beans) rinsed and drained

DIRECTIONS

Put all ingredients except beans in crock pot on low for 8-9 hours.
Add beans during the last 10 minutes before serving.

Kielbasa Soup

Recipe from Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good.
A bit greasy, but what can you expect from kielbasa..

INGREDIENTS

16-oz pkg. frozen mixed vegetables, or your choice of veggies.
6-oz can tomato paste
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 1/2 lbs. kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I used 2 pieces of packaged kielbasa)
4 qts. water (I just filled the rest of the crockpot up with water after adding all the ingredients)
fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients except parsley in large slow cooker.
Cover and cook on Low for 12 hours.
Garnish individual servings with fresh parsley.

Chicken, Bean and Kale soup

This week I got my first order of fruit and veggies from Door to Door Organics. I was very happy with the selection they sent! Everything was super fresh and nice.. I have a hard time finding such nice fruit/veggies at the supermarket! And how nice is it that it gets delivered to my door step, is very reasonably priced, is organic, and you even get to substitute items that you want/don't want! Definitely check them out if they deliver in your area.

One of the vegetables offered this week was kale.. I considered substituting it out since I have never cooked w/ kale (have I even eaten it before? My husband thinks it's in minestrone soup..?). I decided to go for it and try something different. So in search of a good kale recipe (allrecipes.com wasn't much help this time), I asked on the cooking board on thenest.com. Thank you blogger Savory Spicy Sweet for suggesting your Bean and Kale Soup ! It was delicious!!! I have to admit I was a bit wary of how it would turn out, but even my husband commented that this was one of the best soups he's ever had... that says a lot coming from him! ;)

I made a few changes.. mainly added chicken to the recipe. You can see the original recipe by clicking on the link above.INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, cut to bite size pieces
4 cups chopped raw kale (1 bush)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves (for once I used real garlic as opposed to powdered! Thank you Door2Door ;)
1 cup frozen chopped onions
4 cans chicken broth
2 cans beans (I used white and pinto)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

In a skillet, brown chicken in some olive oil.
Heat olive oil in a large pot.
Add garlic and onion. Sauté until soft.
Add kale and stir until wilted.
Add cooked chicken, broth, beans, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil then simmer 20 minutes.
Ladle into bowls.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  
• 1 can corn
  
• 1 cup frozen chopped onion
• 1 can lite kidney beans
  
• corn tortilla chips
• 1/2 cup shredded mixed Mexican cheeses

DIRECTIONS

Saute chicken and cook until almost done.
Add the garlic, cumin, onions and nutmeg and mix well.
Add the broth, corn and tomatoes.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Break up some tortilla chips into bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with cheese and a little sour cream.

Cheddar Broccoli Soup and Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches (crock pot)

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich in Crock Pot

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 white onion, diced
* 1/2 red onion, diced
* 1 cup frozen sliced bell peppers
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 6 ounces beef sirloin
* 1/2 block cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup water with beef bouillon cube
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 French baguette, cut in half lengthwise
* 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese toasted on baguette

Place in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Toast baguette with swiss cheese on top of one half. Strain beef and vegetables and place on baguette.

Cheddar Broccoli Soup