Beef Stew

1 more day until the hockey season is over! It’s been a ridiculously long season and we’ve watched every game or updates from every game the entire year. I could walk into the living room and have no clue who we were supposed to be cheering for… do we really need to watch a Capitals versus Rangers game? REALLY??? (side note: if these 2 teams have never played each other, feel free to correct me) Currently we are watching the PVR’d Canucks at Bruins game from last night. And apparently we are analyzing an almost goal. 

I realize it’s almost summer (or definitely summer, depending on where you live) and stew isn’t a summer food but our weather here as been so screwy. The forecast has been for rain almost every day and nothing tastes better on a cold/rainy day than something warm and filling. This stew earns extra points for having bacon in it… Bacon makes everything delicious. 

Beef Stew


Ingredients


2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut into bite sized pieces
salt and pepper
1 litre beef broth
28 ounces canned tomatoes
2 bay leaves

1/2 pound bacon
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
4 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pound green beans, 1″ pieces
3 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups beef broth (more or less..depending on your taste)
2-3 tablespoons tapioca flour

Directions


Season the stewing beef liberally with salt and pepper. In a large pot, heat butter or olive oil. Brown beef on all sides. Pour in 1 litre of beef broth, canned tomatoes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; until meat is very tender.

In a large stock pot, fry bacon until cooked through. Remove from the pot with slotted spoon, leaving the bacon fat in the pot. Chop the bacon into bite sized chunks. Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the bacon fat over medium-high heat until softened; 5-7 minutes. Scrape up browned bits in the bottom of the pot as the vegetables cook. Stir in mushrooms, green beans, garlic, and chopped bacon; cooking for 5 more minutes.

Stir in stewed beef mixture, oregano, and salt and pepper. Add 2 more cups of beef broth; the vegetables/meat should be just covered with liquid. Taste and add more seasoning if desired. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer (covered) for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk tapioca flour with a bit of water until there are no lumps. Pour into the stew and simmer until the stew thickens slightly.

Italian Wedding Soup

In some countries, prisons use sleep deprivation as a form of torture. In my house, sleep deprivation is a very real thing. Last week I realized, after my shower, that I hadn’t even conditioned my hair or washed! I spent much of the last couple of weeks in a semi-conscious state…I remember very little of what went on and now I’m in that semi-paranoid state. You know, where I’m pretty sure I made an appointment and I didn’t write it down because I couldn’t bring myself to search for a pen? Yeah, what stage of sleep deprivation is that?

The reason I’m so sleep deprived is, of course, the kids. I’m pretty sure they are plotting against me. Before you laugh, hear me out…. The toddler and the baby wait until I ‘just’ fall asleep to wake up screaming. The older children wait until I have to use toothpicks as eyelid support to have a nightmare. And they all wait until I am so exhausted that I can’t even formulate a proper sentence to pick up a stomach bug. They know.

I should play a little game of ‘Guess what Tara forgot to put in this soup’. Nah, I’ll just tell you….I forgot the spinach. I was excited about the spinach and I forgot it. The worst part is that I didn’t even realize I forgot it until lunch time the day after! At least it still tasted great!

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

Meatballs:

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 pound turkey sausage, casings removed

2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

3 tablespoons milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

salt and pepper

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced onion

3 medium carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

10 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup dried orzo

1 tablespoon dried dillweed

12 ounces baby spinach, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Making the meatballs: Place ground turkey, turkey sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, milk, egg, salt, and pepper into a large bowl and combine gently. Drop into 1 inch meatballs on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. You should have around 40 meatballs. Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through. Set aside.

Making the soup: Heat olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; saute for 5-6 minutes. Add the chicken stock and white wine; bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 6 minutes, until pasta is just tender. Stir in the dill and turkey meatballs. Season with additional salt and pepper if desire. Add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with grated parmesan.

Recipe from Made In Mel’s Kitchen.

Vegetarian Chili

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions… I feel like they are just promises to myself that I’m sure to break. Instead, I set goals. Is that the same thing? Maybe it is… but I set attainable goals. This year I was inspired by the photo 365 projects that some of my friends are doing but instead, I am doing a 365 mile project. In 2011 I will walk, run, bike 365 miles (on top of my regular exercise program). 

See? Attainable! 1 mile a day is all I need to do. My husband decided to get in on this as well, pushing me to complete my goal. We have a calender taped onto the treadmill and while I’m on the treadmill I add up my miles. (then I add up his and feel relief that I’m still ahead) 

Bulgur’s texture, once cooked, is almost identical to ground meat. The test, however, was to see if my kids could tell that there was no meat in their chili. My husband and I set out the bowl…with a mischievous smile, we asked if they knew what was missing. None of them noticed! I have hope that we could have one meatless meal a week without a lot of fuss.

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large red belly pepper, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

14 oz can black beans

14 oz can kidney beans

1 cup corn kernels (thawed if using frozen)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup bulgur wheat

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, carrots, and garlic; saute until onions are softened (about 5 minutes). Add red pepper, jalapenos, celery, and chili powder. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, corn, salt, and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (covered) for 20 minutes. Stir in bulgur wheat. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add balsamic vinegar right before you serve the chili.

Recipe from Door Sixteen.

Tomato Soup

Kindergarten ends at 11:30 here which means I’m picking up, driving home, and scrambling to get lunch made. If it was up to Gavin, we would have grilled cheese sandwiches every…single…day… The days we don’t have grilled cheese sandwiches, he asks why we didn’t have them.

I tend to spend more time making lunch on days when Gavin doesn’t have school which makes me happy. Homemade tomato soup on a frigid, snowy day, loaded up with vegetables so it’s healthy as well. Truthfully, I cannot remember the last time we ate soup from a can and, if I had my way, we will never eat canned soup. Something about the ‘schloop’ noise coming out of the can makes it highly unappealing. 

The soup was hearty and delicious. But…Gavin would have preferred grilled cheese. *sigh*

Tomato Soup

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 medium onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

2 28ounce cans chopped tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute garlic, onions, carrots, and celery until the onions are softened. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and basil. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until carrots and celery are softened (15-20 minutes). Using a blender or food processor, puree the soup. (I was too lazy to bring out the food processor so I used a hand held blender) Serve hot, topped with cheese if desired. (or grilled cheese if you’re in the mood)

African Peanut Soup

Our impromptu trip to visit the newest member of the family has come to an end. I said my sad goodbyes and we drove the 2 days home…through a snow storm. The kids did exceptionally well with the drive and the night in the hotel. Maybe the waterslides had a little bit to do with their great behaviour? 2 days later and my nerves have finally recovered from the drive. 

Today’s post is a bit of a tribute to our trip..mainly since it was my Mom that actually made the soup. The recipe comes from Prairie Ink, a restaurant in McNally Robinson’s bookstores. The food there is to die for…warm, comforting, absolutely delicious… I was a little iffy on the idea of sweet potatoes AND peanut butter in a soup but if my Mom likes it, it had to be good. 

And good is an understatement. Even having added too much cayenne pepper, it was an amazing soup! My Mom claims to not enjoy cooking but this same woman can make almost anything..including a batch of unbaked cookies while we packed so that the kids would have fresh goodies for the drive. The day before she whipped up some stuffed jalapenos and 2 lemon meringue pies. Doesn’t enjoy cooking she says… Phhhft! 

African Peanut Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup diced celery, with leaves

2 medium onions, diced

3 cups sweet potatoes, chopped

12 cups water

2 cups smooth peanut butter

14 ounce can whole tomatoes

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Directions

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute carrots, celery, and onion in oil for 3-5 minutes, until softened but not browned. Add sweet potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes and peanut butter. Puree until desired consistency (smooth or a little bit chunky). Return to pot and add salt and cayenne pepper. Serve hot, topped with a dollop of sour cream, chopped peanuts, and (or) parsley. 

Recipe from Prairie Ink

Chicken and Stuffing

September 1st has come and gone..signalling the start of the school year. I have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, and a kindergartener now which means my days are spent driving to or from the school. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day anymore! I was feeling rather melancholy until my Mom sent me a link to 1000 Awesome Things. (And there’s a book too! The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things) It made me smile and realize that such little things can really brighten my day.

This recipe is one of those little things that make the day great. If you find yourself craving a big Thanksgiving meal, this is sure to satisfy you! 

Chicken and Stuffing

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup celery

1/3 cup onion

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

4-6 bone in, skin on chicken breasts

Directions

In a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add celery and onion; cook until softened. Stir in poultry seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper; cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and pour over fresh bread crumbs. Stuff 2-3 tablespoons of stuffing under the skin of each chicken breast and place into a 9×13″ baking pan.

Preheat oven to 375°. Baste the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Bake chicken until cooked through, basting every 5 minutes with pan drippings.

Gruyere Stuffed Meatballs with Vegetable Sauce

Apparently I walk into grocery stores and pick up things I think I need but really don’t. Last week I bought gruyere cheese but you think I can find the recipe I was intending to use it in? Nope! So this week I decided to put it to use. This falls under the ‘I like food stuffed into food served on other food’ category.

Gruyere Stuffed Meatballs with Vegetable Sauce
Makes 50 meatballs

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
28oz canned diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

100 grams smoked gruyere cheese
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/4 cup minced onions
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions


In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic cloves; saute for 5 minutes, until soft. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut gruyere cheese into 50 1 centimetre cubes. In a large bowl, combine beef, minced onions, bread crumbs, egg, milk, paprika, liquid smoke, and salt. Using your hands, mix it up and roll into 1 inch balls. Flatten each ball and place 1 cube of gruyere in the middle. Form the meat around the cheese and roll back into balls. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through.

Put half of the vegetable mixture into a food processor and puree until the pieces are fine but not smooth. Add back into the sauce and taste. Add more seasonings if desired. Serve meatballs on top of vegetable sauce.