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.

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 and Rice with Ginger Soup

I was looking for a light soup for dinner tonight, I was inspired by the chicken and rice soup with ginger from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. This makes a very light broth, but the ginger and cooking the chicken in it gives it flavor. I can't find the recipe online to link so I posted it below.

4 cups chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced,
1 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup long grain white rice
3 oz baby spinach (3 cups)
salt & pepper

In medium pot bring broth, 2 cups water, garlic, and ginger to a simmer over medium heat. Add chicken and rice and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, Cover pot and simmer until rice is tender, 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Shred chicken and transfer to pot. Stir in spinach and season with salt & pepper.

Good looking recipe, however I didn't have chicken broth, real ginger, real garlic, or spinach...So here is my interpretation:

Chicken and Rice with Ginger Soup
Makes approx 2-3 servings

1) I made the rice separate.

2) Meanwhile, I heated 4 cups of water, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, salt, pepper, and 2 frozen chicken breasts over about med high heat in a large pot. Since it was frozen it took closer to 20 minutes. Once chicken was pretty much done I added in large cut carrots (1 carrot) and celery (1 stalk). 10 minutes in the pot is plenty of time for them to soften. Shred the chicken when it is all cooked. Add it all back in and some peas if you'd like. Serve over rice!

Garlic Butter Sauce

I went to dinner with my cousin the other night and had an incredible pasta, chicken, and broccoli dish that was covered in this mushroom garlic butter sauce. Wowww. I also tragically forgot my leftovers on the table. Typical. I had even portioned out enough for lunch!!

So what else to do but try and recreate this!

I Googled several garlic butter sauce recipes and once I had a basic concept I just went along with it. Here is my creation! This meal took about 15 minutes to prepare.

Cook noodles according to package instructions. I chose egg noodles because that was what I had. Any pasta works.

Melt butter in a pan.
Add oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. I eyeballed this and shake it into the cap and into the pan.

Stir it about for a minute.

Add diced chicken (smaller pieces = faster cooking) and peas. Per usual my chicken was only semi thawed. Soft enough to cut up but definitely not thawed out. Took about 7 minutes to cook the chicken all the way through.

Add cooked noodles into the pan and toss to coat.

If you wanted more "sauce" add some pasta water and cornstarch about 1/8 of a tsp at a time.

This is enough for 2 folks. Maybe serve with salad or bread too. This is an easy enough sauce to bulk up too. Add some veggies, add more chicken, add shrimp. I would have added some sliced zucchini or broccoli if I had some hanging out in the fridge. You can always add more butter as you go if you find you are running out of "sauce" but you can't take out the extra butter.

Another thought would be to use olive oil with a little butter mixed in.. or make it cream based and add some milk and flour to thicken it... I'll keep you posted! :)

Garlic Butter Sauce
Makes approx 2 servings

1/4 of a stick of butter
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups dry egg noodles

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions.
2. Melt butter in a pan.
3. Add oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. Stir it about for a minute.
4. Add diced chicken (smaller pieces = faster cooking) and peas.
   
5. Add cooked noodles and toss to coat.

Enjoy!!

Three Pea Chicken Salad

I found this spring time Three Pea Chicken Salad recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, April 2012, also found here. This chicken salad caught my eye because I adore sugar snap peas (I eat them out of the bag). I have seen many recipes using yogurt/Greek yogurt as a substitute for mayo and I was really interested in tasting/texture changes. And finally, I've never poached chicken and this was going to either be great or an epic disaster.

Thankfully this came out great! I think it tasted even better the next day. Of course, I made some changes in the recipe due to my budget and ingredient availability. 

Dried tarragon for fresh, Lemon flavor Greek yogurt instead of plain and that also takes care of the lemon juice/zest part of the recipe as well. I used one shallot. Chives were forgotten at the grocery store. I omitted snow peas since I couldn't find them.

And so begins our adventure, poaching chicken. (The recipe said you can substitute rotisserie chicken but I had some frozen chicken breast already instead of buying one). I put half the shallot, garlic, and tarragon in the frying pan. Added chicken (cut in half or quarters so it would fit in the pan). Covered in water. Covered pan. Set to boil. Once it started to boil I took it off the burner and let it sit for another 25 minutes. I think it took longer for mine because my chicken was still frozen in the middle... oops. Very easy. Once the chicken is done cooking take it out of the pan and cut it into whatever size pieces you like. Small dice, shredded, chunky dice... its your call. I think I would shred it into bite size chunks next time. Let the chicken cool before mixing it into the dressing.

Meanwhile, I sliced the de-stringed sugar snap peas. My knife skills aren't very delicate so I cut them on a diagonal into pretty bright green bites. I poured the frozen peas into a bowl and combined them with the snap peas.

Dressing: chop the shallot and the garlic very fine or you'll end up with some harsh bites in the salad. With a whisk or fork combine oil and yogurt. Next mix in the rest of the shallot, rest of the garlic garlic, some salt & pepper, the rest of the tarragon, and some parsley. Stir it together until its all mixed in. 

Then I added the peas and cooled chicken to the dressing. Put into my lunch containers and added some chopped walnuts to the top.

I ate it out of the bowl with a piece of bread on the side to nosh on.

My thoughts? Yum! Fresh! Light! Pretty healthy too. I let a couple friends at work try a bite and they asked for the recipe and said it was very tasty. This would be great for a nice luncheon and be pretty easy to make in a large batch. The most time consuming part was cutting the peas, but if you want to take short cuts get the de-stringed ones and that should help reduce the time by quite a bit.

The recipe says it makes 4 servings, I had 3 big servings because that was going to be my full lunch without any sides.

Spring Chicken Salad

Time: 30 Min

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients

2 tsp dried tarragon

1 lg shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, 1 smashed, 1 minced

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast (2 chicken breast)

salt & pepper

6 oz container lemon Greek yogurt

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb sugar snap peas

1 c frozen peas

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Place 1/2 tarragon, 1/2 shallot, smashed garlic, and chicken into frying pan. Add water to cover by 1 inch or as much as you can. Season with salt and pepper. Bring water to a boil. Remove pan from heat, keep covered. Let stand until chicken is cooked. 15-25 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and let cool. Shred or dice chicken.

Whisk yogurt, oil, remaining shallot, garlic, and tarragon, and parsley in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Combine with peas and chicken.

Option: Serve open face sandwiches over toasted bread and/or lettuce.

Enjoy!!!

Pasta, Leeks, Peas, and Lemon

I found this recipe in Martha Stewart Living, April 2012. This a great light tasting dish that can be prepared in less than a half hour.

What is a leek? A leek is a type of onion. Similar to a scallion that has many layers and that you have to peel. You need to wash leeks carefully, there can be a lot of dirt stuck between the leaves. To wash them I sliced the bottom of the stalk off (like celery) and then peeled all the layers. I washed each piece then cut them into small slices.

Snow peas. Are. Amazing. Crisp and crunchy and sweet, they are probably one of my favorite veggies. They are very versatile and are a great addition to salads and pasta dishes. Peas can be blanched (cooked in a boiling water for 2 minutes), raw, or stir fried. I generally nosh on them raw.

Egg noodles are pasta but it has a little bit of a different texture. Most times they are flat and similar to a fettuccine or linguine, just short. If you don't have egg noodles on hand regular pasta would work just fine.

Leeks in the pan

I melted some butter over med heat in a big frying pan, when it was melted I tossed the sliced leeks into it. I continued to stir them around to ensure the cooked and didn't start to brown. The recipe calls for lemon zest. I didn't have any lemons on hand so I put in 1/4 tsp of lemon extract. (I have made this with lemon and without lemon, I think the lemon was nice but its not necessary if you don't have it on hand). This took about 5-6 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Meanwhile I started to boil some water in a medium size pot. When the water was boiling I blanched the snow peas for about 2 minutes. I tossed the peas into the frying pan with the leeks and then put the egg noodles into the boiling water. The noodles only took about 5 minutes to cook. I strained the noodles out of the water and into the frying pan with the snow peas and leeks. You want to save the pasta water for when add the ricotta cheese. This combination creates a sauce for the veggies and pasta.

I omitted the Pecorino Romano cheese because I don't care for too much cheese. I think next time I make this I would include dice chicken or grilled chicken.You can also sub for whatever fresh veggies you have on hand (e.g. asparagus or broccoli) and onion or scallion for onions. This will change the cooking times though, so be aware. :)

Snow peas and leeks in the pan

Also, If making this for 4 people and this is the main dish without any other sides, I would use the whole pound of pasta.

Egg noodles, Leeks, Snow peas, and Lemon

Serves approx 4  

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 medium leeks (white and pale-green parts only), cut into thin half-moons and rinsed well
• 2 lemons
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise (optional)
• 3/4 pound dried pappardelle or other flat egg noodles
• 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (3/4 cup)

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. 
2. Melt butter in big frying pan over med heat. Add leeks and some salt to the frying pan. Cook until leeks are soft and begin to become soft and tender (7-9 minutes). Remove from heat. Add the lemon zest (or lemon extract) to the leeks with some pepper.
3. When the water is boiling add the peas to the water and blanch about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate or into the frying pan.
4. In the water the peas just blanched in add the pasta and cook until al dente (4-5 minutes). Don’t drain the water but add pasta to the frying pan. If you haven’t added the peas to the frying pan do this now. Stir in pasta water ½ cup at a time and alternate with the ricotta and cheese until the pasta is covered in the creamy sauce.

Enjoy!

Pasta Carbonara

I found a recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara and thought I'd give it a try. I did make a few changes but I adored this dish.

To add more protein I added in a chicken breast. I had some broccoli that was getting towards the end of its shelf life, so into the pan it went. I was imagining this dish to be similar to a chicken/broccoli/ziti, so I figured the broccoli would be fine. I had a few frozen peas left, so I just emptied the bag which ended up being about 1/2 cup of peas. I read a few versions that included peas/ham, so I added the peas in too!

Since I was using turkey bacon I left it in the pan a lot longer. It crisps up differently than regular bacon. It never quite gets that hard crunchy texture, but it still gives that yummy bacon flavor (minus the grease!).

I also added about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes because I add them to almost everything.

While my eggs didn't turn into a creamy sauce neither did they taste like scrambled eggs mixed into the dish.

Here is my version:

Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 pieces turkey bacon

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 chicken breast (diced)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp garlic powder

½ cup peas

½ box of linguine

2 large eggs

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground pepper

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Combine the bacon, olive oil, garlic, and 1/4 cup water in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the water evaporates and the bacon crisps. As bacon is crisping add in broccoli, cook until done. Remove broccoli from pan. Add chicken and cook through. Remove from the heat.
2. Cook pasta as desired. 
3. Mix the eggs, cheeses, red pepper flakes and ground pepper in a bowl. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water
   Whisk the reserved pasta water into the egg mixture, and then quickly pour over the pasta, broccoli, and chicken. Mix together to cook the eggs and make a creamy sauce.  

Enjoy!!