Stove Top Beef Stew

Brrrr it was cold today! I really was craving some beef stew! In our house the beef stew is very basic and heavy on the meat, potatoes, and carrots.

I had planned on making it in the slow cooker but errands (including the grocery store where I was getting dinner ingredients) took longer than expected. So I cobbled together several recipes to make some beef stew on the stove!

I wish I had grabbed some bread for this because then the meal would have been perfect!

Do I prefer my stove top beef stew or my slow cooker beef stew? The stove top beef stew was very rich because it had added butter and the potatoes/carrots were on the crunchier side - but that could have been because I was rushing to get dinner on the table! The easier version is easily the slow cooker but if you have the time then making it on the stove is a great option!

Stove Top Beef Stew

adapted from Food Network, Once Upon a Chef, and Delish

serves 6-8

Olive oil for searing
1/2 cup flour
2-3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 small onions, cut into sixths (or blitzed in the food processor)
3 tsp garlic powder
1 can tomato sauce
2 cups cold water

2 cups chicken or beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 lbs medium red potatoes, quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 bag frozen peas

salt & pepper

Heat a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to fill the pan about 1/4-inch deep. Spread flour out on a plate. Season half the beef generously with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour. Shake off the excess flour, and add to the pan. Saute the meat, uncovered, stirring only occasionally, until well-browned, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted wooden spoon, transfer the beef to a plate. Repeat with the remaining beef.

In the same pot with the beef grease and such, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Return the beef to the pot and add the red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, water and broth, and bring to a boil. Cover and set to low. Stew the meat until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. I stirred mine about every 15 minutes to keep it from sticking but I also struggle with the temperature of my stove.

Add the potatoes and carrots and bring back to a simmer. Stew, uncovered, on top of the stove, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has thickened and the beef and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.

Chinese Rice Soup (Jook)

Oh the wonders of hindsight! This was my first Thanksgiving away from my family and Thanksgiving is not complete without some jook! I took the turkey bones from my fiance's family dinner and decided to make my first attempt!

Jook is Chinese porridge rice soup. In my family we serve it after dessert - around the time when lots of families are having some left over turkey sandwiches.

Once the turkey is served the bones are thrown into a pot withe some rice and cooked in that broth until thick. This is served with some green onions, crispy noodles, and some of the left over meat.

What I did:
Picked most of the meat off the turkey bones. Put the bones into the largest pot in the kitchen. Filled the pot with water until it was covered and then added in 3 cups of rice. This made a TON of soup. I ended having to take some out of that pot and starting a second pot. Once the rice was tended and mushy the soup was done. Carefully pick out all the bones and then we eat!

Next time:
I will make the broth first. Put bones in a large pot, cover with water, let simmer 30-40 minutes. Strain the broth with a sieve to catch all the bones, bone parts, and weird floating things. Pour the broth back into the pot and then add the rice to the broth (1 cup rice to 3 cups broth). Let it simmer until thick, approx 20-30 minutes. Then add the turkey meat and serve!

Update: The steps for "Next Time" worked great!

Beef Stew

Here is a yummy (and easy) slow cooker beef stew recipe! I found the recipe off All Recipes. I selected it based off the over 2000 reviews. Because this was a meal that included kids (and they will refuse to eat a meal based on seeing certain ingredients) I blitzed the onions and celery in the food processor so that there were no visuals. Keep the potatoes and the carrots in the larger chunk sizes so that way they aren't mush after cooking for so long.

I prepped and assembled the meal the night before and kept it in the fridge. I woke up on Saturday morning, plugged in the slow cooker, then we ran our errands and attended our sporting events. We came back to a delish and warm stew!

I also made a loaf this dutch oven bread.

My dad's tomato based beef stew recipe can be found here!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Serves 6-8

3 - 4 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 heaping tsp paprika
1 heaping tsp garlic powder
2 bay leaf
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of gravy master
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 potatoes, large dice
4 carrots, sliced thick
2 cups beef broth

12 oz frozen peas

Put all the ingredients (minus broth and peas) in the slow cooker and stir together so everything is coated. Then add the beef broth and give another stir. Everything will be a soupy mess.
Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving add the bag of frozen peas.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite comfort foods and is tastes great as a leftover. When I was in college I realized that I should make the crust separate from the filling so I could make individual servings and not have a soggy crust. It would taste fresh made instead of leftovers! And cooks faster than having to heat it in the oven or risk a soggy crust in the microwave.

This recipe was adapted from my own kitchen and from Simply Scratch. I like to think that this is a straightforward recipe with no random ingredients. It cooks quickly and makes quite a bit. I only used 3 chicken thighs and it could have used probably an additional one. I am actually really happy with how this recipe came out and wouldn't change any of the seasonings.

Note: The chicken could cook in the pot with the rest of the meal instead of in a frying pan. Add the chicken (small dice) in just before adding in the liquids. Cook a few minutes then add the potatoes and about 1 cup of stock. Stir around to create the thickened gravy. Add the rest of the stock and simmer until potatoes are fork tender and chicken is done.  

Another option is to use a rotisserie chicken from the store.

Fork tender potatoes literally means, when a fork is poked into the potato that it will come off the fork easily.

Enjoy!

Saute the veg in some oil

Cover in the flour

Add butter

Meanwhile cook some chicken

Add liquids, potatoes, seasonings

Add chicken and frozen veggies when potatoes
are tender and liquid is thickened

Top with a biscuit!

Chicken Pot Pie

serves 4

3 - 5 pieces of chicken thighs, or breast

3 tbsp Butter

2 whole Carrots, peeled and diced small (or about 1 ½ cups of baby carrots)

2 Celery Stalks, diced small

1 small Onion, peeled and diced small 

3 medium Potatoes, diced small

1/2 cup Flour

2 - 3 cups Chicken Broth, warmed

1-1/2 cups Whole Milk

1 tablespoon Dried Parsley

1 teaspoon Dried Thyme

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, more or less to taste

1 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, more or less to taste

1 bag frozen mixed veggies (Mine was a country mix with carrots, peas, green beans, corn, and lima beans)

1 can of Pillsbury biscuits (cooked according to directions for as many servings as you want)

Heat a frying pan and add some oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until done (no pink inside), dice.

Melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add in the diced carrots, celery, onions, salt, and pepper (1 tbsp) cook. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent and the carrots are soft, approx 5 minutes. Add another 1½ tbsp of butter and stir until melted. Add in flour, stir until all the veggies are coated with the flour and the flour isn’t white anymore.

Pour in ½ cup to 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir until slightly thickened. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth, milk, potatoes, parsley, and thyme. Simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened and potatoes are fork tender (approx 10-15 minutes).

Add more flour in about ¼ cup at a time if broth/gravy isn’t thick enough.

Add chicken and frozen veggies. Once the veggies are warmed it is ready to serve!