Irish Stew

Stew and whole wheat soda bread....a perfect pair.

Stew is one of those meals that feels like a hug in a bowl.

My family is Irish, Scottish, German. Our varied heritage means we embrace a little bit from each piece of our backgrounds. Well, mostly we embrace the Irish and the German. I should work on the Scottish.

Irish stew is one of my favorite dishes.

Most Irish stews are made with lamb. The reason, lamb is less expensive in Ireland.

Purist Irish stew is lamb (mutton), potatoes, onions, and water…

This is not a purist stew.

1. I am not using lamb, because of the higher price of lamb vs. beef and because the idea of eating a lamb always causes a mutiny in my household.
2. I add carrots, turnip, garlic and barley.

This stew recipe should work with either lamb or beef.

• 2 1/2 pounds of stew meat (I used beef)
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
• 2 cups of carrots, diced or sliced
• 1 small turnip, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 4 cups of beef stock
• 1- 12 ounce Irish stout beer *optional* if you’re not adding beer, increase your stock my 1 & 1/2 cups
• 1/2 cup of pearl barley
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon of parsley
• potatoes *4 large potatoes peeled and diced, or 1 bag (about 4 cups) of small potatoes left whole*
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Heat the oil in a cast iron dutch oven or large stock pot. Add the flour to the meat, coat the meat as evenly as possible. Brown the meat. Once the meat is browned (8-10 minutes), add the beer to the pot. Add the onions, carrots, turnip and garlic. Add the seasoning and spices. Add the beef stock. Add the pearl barley. Stir to combine.

Place the lid on the pot and cook on a medium heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After 1 hour, add the potatoes. Stir to fully combine the stew with the potatoes. Return the lid to the pot and continue cooking for 1 more hour. (Total cook time, 2 hours).

The lid can be removed for the last 30 minutes to thicken the stew if you wish.

The finished stew

How do you make your stew?

Slow Cooker Monday, this week in FAIL

Cream of Leek and Potato soup

I wanted to make something that could be made for meatless Monday or could be made Vegan.

I decided to make Julia Child’s recipe.

I made a few small changes. Instead of water I used homemade veggie stock, I used little potatoes instead of large russets and I did not peel them & I used half & half instead of heavy cream and sour cream.

• I cooked the soup in my slow cooker on High for 5 hours
• I used my immersion blender to make the soup creamy
• The soup was perfectly creamy without the milk products added to it. *Stop here for Vegan*
  
• I added the half & half to the soup and allowed it to cook on low for 1 more hour.

The soup was not entirely successful. Two of us liked it, two of us hated it so much that we only ate salad for dinner.

Hopefully Allie has a more than 50% successful post for us today.

Please join Allie and me by linking up your new or previously posted slow cooker adventures!

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• Last Chance Winter Soup (blendedgoodness.wordpress.com)
• Southwestern Red Bean Vegetable Soup (challengeu2cook.wordpress.com)

This week in FAIL….fishy edition

This has been my view since Thursday....mostly

I had one heck of a week last week. 3 visits to the doctor’s office, an x-ray, an MRI and a shot.

One doctor’s office visit was for my daughter, who stayed home most of the week with a sinus infection.The other 2 doctor’s office visits, the x-ray, the MRI and the shot were mine.

My knee has bothered me for about a year and a half. I had x-rays taken when it started hurting. The doctor said….bone spur in my knee. We began cortisone injections. I got very little relief from the shots. About 3 months ago the pain got worse. I did my best to ignore the pain, because I did not want to have surgery on my knee. However, the pain got so bad that it was affecting everything. I was sleeping more, grumpy and almost weepy at times.

Stupid? Yes.

I decided to make an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor. I had x-rays taken, yes I have a bone spur, but that is not the issue. I have OsteoArthritis in my left knee. After the x-ray I was scheduled for an MRI, to check for a Meniscus Tear. 45 minutes in an MRI gives you time to think or day-dream. I day-dreamed about new kitchen gadgets and new dishes….I’m a foodie through and through.

After the MRI.

I had to wait until Thursday for my results. Thankfully, there is no tear. Since there is no Meniscus tear, no surgery is needed at this time. I was given a shot. Synvisc-One. Right now, my knee hurts more than it did before the shot, which is so frustrating but it is feeling a little better each day.

I would really just like to be pain free. Is that too much to ask?!?!?!?!?

What does that have to do with a FAIL?

While at the doctor’s office this week, I watched a lot of Accent Health (by CNN) TV. On Accent Health I saw a recipe for Cioppino, which sounded interesting. I needed to make a few changes, because my people do not eat scallops and only 2 of us eat shrimp.

I used flounder and tilapia. I omitted the wine, because of the kids and used veggie stock instead.. The soup smelled lovely.

cooking away

Unfortunately, we did not love it. Three of us did not even like it.

Served with bread

It was too fishy or something. The fish overpowered the entire soup, and not in a good way.

We are calling this a FAIL.

Because of my knee, I may not post much this week.

Have you had any FAILS lately?

Slow Cookin’ Monday

One of the fun things about cooking is experimenting.

The more comfortable you get in your kitchen, and with your kitchen tools, the more likely you are to get really creative.

I’m fairly comfortable with my slow cooker.  So, I mess about sometimes.

My, what large gnocchi you have.

On December 1st I cooked another turkey.  We’re “tentatively” calling it December Firsties. *it’s similar to Thanksgiving, but on December 1st* 

So, I’ve got left-over turkey (again).

I started out thinking White bean Turkey Chili.  I ended up with something more like a goulash.

Soup-ish stew-ey goulash....also known as kitchen sink soup-ey stew-ish something.....

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pre-soaked Navy beans
• 6 cups of turkey stock
• 2 cups of shredded turkey meat
• 1 can of green chillies
• 2 TBSP garlic
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 2 cups of shredded carrots
• 2 TBSP cumin
• 2 TBSP dried (or freshly chopped) oregano
• 3 tsp black pepper
• 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp of tarragon
• 1 can (or package of frozen) corn
• 1 package of potato gnocchi

What to do:

• Place the pre-soaked beans into your slow cooker.
• Add the turkey stock
• Add the remaining ingredients (except the carrots, corn and gnocchi)
• Cook on high for 4 hours.
• Add the carrots and corn, cook for 2 more hours
• reduce the heat to the low setting and add the gnocchi, cook on low for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Serve with corn bread, biscuits, or crusty bread.

Make sure to pop on over to Allie’s Blog and check out her slow cooker meal.

If you’ve got a recipe to share, please link up with us!  Follow the link below to add your post to our slow cooker link-up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all my wonderful friends have a great Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for every one of you.

Thank you for being you!

I’m off celebrating the holiday with my family.

If you’ve made a turkey, don’t forget to make turkey stock with it after you remove all the meat from the bird.

Place the bird and any left over raw veggies into a stock pot or your slow cooker and cover it with water.

In the stock pot, simmer for 2-3 hours or in the slow cooker, let it simmer over night on low.

Discard the bones and veggies, separate the stock into 2-4 cup servings and freeze for future soups and sauces.

I will be using some of my stock to make turkey and lentil soup on Friday.

XOXO. Have a wonderful day! I’ll be gone Friday. It’s a family day.

I’ll be back on Monday.

Turkey and Gnocchi Soup

One of the great things about Thanksgiving, besides the family time is left-overs….turkey to be specific.

What do you do with all that left-over turkey once you’ve eaten a few of the pre-requisite turkey and stuffing sandwiches?

I love using the left-over turkey to create new twists on recipes.

Olive Garden has this amazing soup. Chicken & Gnocchi soup. It’s so tasty.

I’ve copy-catted, or is it copy-katted?, it.

It’s not exact, but it is very similar. You can make this with chicken or turkey.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this creamy, dreamy soup.

• 2 cups turkey or chicken, cooked and diced

I used turkey cutlets in the soup since I’ve not cooked my turkey yet.

• 4 cups turkey or chicken stock or broth
• 2 cups cream
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup carrots, finely shredded
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon of tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 pound (package) of potato gnocchi
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese – for garnish.

What to do:

• I used frozen meat, so I first cooked the meat in the broth, once it was done cooking I removed it from the broth. I cooled it, then diced it.
  I sautéed the veggies in a separate pan and then added them to the Stock/soup base.

• Sauté the onion, celery, garlic, carrots in the olive oil until they begin to soften.
• Add the turkey/chicken, broth, and & spices.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add the gnocchi into the boiling broth.
• Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
• For thicker soup add 2-3 TBSP of corn starch or masa flour to a bit of the broth and stir it into the soup.
• Add the cream and spinach.
• Slowly allow the mixture to come to a boil and then turn it off.

I serve this soup with crusty bread and a salad.

What are your go-to left over meals?

Chicken Pot Pie

What could be more comforting or more fall – winter-ey than

chicken pot pie?

That question was totally rhetorical.

In my opinion, no store-bought pot pie will ever come close to the taste of a home-made pot pie.

I’ll be totally honest, home-made takes a little more time to make, but it is totally worth it.

Creamy, hearty and oh so good.

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The recipe I use is not my own. It’s an Ina Garten recipe.

Here is the ingredient list.

I use less butter than the recipe calls for. I will mark my changes in blue.

I use store-bought crust, but you can totally make your own.

• • 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on I used boneless, breast fillets
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
  • 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter I used 1 stick of butter
  • 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
  • 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions I omitted the whole onions
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

The directions and the full recipe are listed on the food network website.

How do you make your pot pies?

And now a teaser about tomorrow’s post……

Thanksgiving and Holiday prep, an a confession about shopping

The North American holiday, Thanksgiving is just around the corner (for those of us in the United States).  If you follow many foodie blogs that are U.S. based, I’m sure you’re already very aware of this.

Let's Talk Turkey!

We are talking turkey, getting very verbal about veggies, posting a plethora of pies.

Oh, that was silly.  I’ll stop now.

Suffice it to say that check lists are being made.  Frozen and fresh turkeys are being pursued.  Cranberries are in high demand.  Pumpkin and Pecan are kings in pie land.

Anyhoo….

Thanksgiving is about family, food, thankfulness, food, football, food, naps, and food.

Did I mention food?

A few lovelies to check out for Thanksgiving food ideas……

Sweet Caroline’s Cooking

Rufus’s Food and Spirits guide

Savoring Every Bite

For tips on the lighter side of Thanksgiving, check out my friend Lori (MommyFriend)’s Turkey Notes post on Babble.

The other things Thanksgiving means is, shopping.  Black Friday* is Big here.

*Black Friday = the day after Thanksgiving sales.

Black Friday means I need to be done or mostly done Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving.  Yes, you read that right.

I plan to be mostly done shopping before Thanksgiving.

In years past, I have trudged out into the pre-dawn world of Black Friday shopping.  I have shopped for hours, returned home with my trunk full and my body exhausted from lack of sleep.

I’ve gotten some great deals, but I’ve been a real B-itch to live with for a day or two afterwards. Family time be darned,  I’m getting a good deal.  It was almost an addiction. Must get the good deal, must…..

Meh.

Last year, after talking to my husband, I shopped before Thanksgiving.   We spent a lovely Friday together as a family, decorated our Christmas tree and wrapped presents.

So, while I am prepping for Thanksgiving, I am also out doing my Christmas shopping.

Getting things purchased or at least outlined, so I’ll be able to spend Friday with my family not fighting for bobbles in a store at 4 A.M.

So, while I will miss the deals of early morning shopping on Black Friday, I’ll be a nicer wife and Mommy by opting out.

When do you start your Christmas prep?

Slow it Down, Slow cooker beef stew.

The Winner of my Yoplait giveaway was Linda of Savoring Every Bite! She recently posted a lovely Pumpkin Rugelach recipe that you should totally check out!

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I adore my slow cookers. Yes, I said cookers…as in plural, as in I have 3. Well, I have 4 of you count the little dipper (warming only). I make oatmeal, applesauce, soups, stews, roasts, cobblers, lasagna (the list goes on and on…) in my slow cooker.

Yes, I adore my slow cookers.

When I was a single gal, I loved making a soup or a stew via the slow cooker. I’d come home to an apartment that smelled lovely and be able to eat a healthy dinner without a lot of after work fuss. Which was good, because without my slow cooker the Taco Bell near my apartment would have known me even better than they already did.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for bean burritos.

Once I was a seriously dating gal and an engaged gal I was able to wow and impress my boyfriend/future husband with my chili and stews. It was in no small part due to the slow cooker. I have found that any meaty morsel that is allowed to cook low and slow for hours will become tender and wonderfully flavorful.

Anyhoo…. Allie and I are hosting a Slow Cooker recipe link-up. This link up will happen every 2 weeks for a while. So, if you have a slow cooker recipe to share please feel free to follow the little blue frog and enter a link to your slow cooker recipe post. We’d love to have you join in the slow cooker fun!

Beefy Stew

Ingredient List:

• 2 lbs beef or pork stew meat
• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 3-4 cups of stock (beef or chicken or veggie) I start with 3 add more if needed
• 2 + 1/4 cups of water
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes (poked with a tooth pick) or 1 can of chopped tomatoes.
• 1 large onion chopped OR 2 cups of frozen caramelized onions
• a splash of red wine
• 1/3 cup + 4 TBSP of corn starch
• 2-3 TBSP of garlic chopped
• 1 TBSP salt
• 1 TBSP pepper
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

What to do:

I like to use a liner in my slow cooker, it makes clean up easier. Reynolds sells slow cooker liners (in fact, there is a coupon on the Reynold website for $1.00 off your purchase in case you’d like to give them a go), and they work wonderfully.

• Mix your stew meat with 1/3 cup of corn starch (or flour if you prefer) making sure to coat each piece of meat.
• Add a little olive oil to a hot skillet and brown the meat, this is an important step that you should not skip.

Brown baby, Brown.

• While your meat is browning, chop your veggies. I prick my cherry tomatoes with a tooth pick so they will cook well and not be little tomato bombs. Trust me that you do not want tomato bombs in your stew. Tomato bombs= bad so poke your tomatoes or use canned tomatoes.

Whoa! Bright red tomatoes.

• Add the stock, wine and water to the slow cooker.
• Add seasoning and garlic to the slow cooker.
• Add the meat and veggies to the slow cooker.

One big happy stew-ey family.

• Stir to combine.
• Place the lid on the slow cooker and Slow cook for 8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high.

About 1 hour before serving, add 4 TBSP of corn starch to the 1/4 cup of water. Mix well to combine. Pour into the stew and mix well to combine.
The corn starch will thicken the stew.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the shocking lack of potatoes in my stew. Shocking right? I do not care for mushy, stew-ey potatoes. So, I make mashed potatoes and serve my stew on top of them.

This one is for my husband.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday….3 bean soup.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!   We’ve had a wonderful weekend here in central Texas.    The Texas State Fair opened on Friday, we’re planning to visit the fair tomorrow (Tuesday).  My children have Monday and Tuesday off this week, for the fair and a teacher in-service (6 weeks grade entering day).

On Sunday (yesterday) I decided to make 3 bean soup for Monday dinner.    I’ve got a repair man coming to fix my drippy ice maker today, so it’s won’t be a good day for cooking.

I’ve said it before, but it bares repeating…. I am not great at meal planning.  I usually have some sort of loose plan in my mind of meals to make, but I rarely plan more than 1 or 2 days in advance.  Horrible?  Yes.

Sunday morning  I decided to make bean soup, but I had not soaked my beans overnight.  OOPS!  I decided to throw caution to the wind and make soup without pre-soaking my beans.  Crazy right?

Fo Shizzle….that’s how I roll.

Monday’s meatless soup can become a meaty soup on Tuesday night, since I am going to be tired after my day at the fair.  Hopefully I will not gorge myself on fried Kool-aid, fried bubblegum and fried beer. 

This soup is wonderfully flavorful and so worth the extended time it took to cook it.  11:00 am to 4:00 pm cooking time.

*you could make this soup in the slow cooker, place everything into the slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours, low for 8-10(+) hours*

Ingredient list:

• 4 cups of dried (mixed) beans.  I used a mixture of Organic Navy Beans, Organic Great Northern Beans and Organic Cranberry beans.
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green and 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 6 cups of veggie stock
• 2 cups of water (plus more if needed) I ended up with 4 cups of water in my soup.
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons of garlic salt
• 1 package of sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon of parsley

What to do….

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a cast iron pot.  Saute the onion, garlic, and peppers until soft.

Add beans, spices, stock, tomatoes and water to the pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer low and slow (stirring every so often) for about 4 hours.

If you need to, add more water or stock to the pot.  I ended up adding about 2 cups of water during the cooking time.

*You could totally cook this a lot quicker if you pre-soaked the beans*

 

 

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I’m making a whole wheat cornbread to enjoy with the soup. 

Are you meatless this Monday?  What are you making?