Beef Stew with Collard Greens

So we'll just continue on with this really intense winter. As a friend of mine posted on Facebook, she had thought whew! January is done, but "Well played February, well played." We had our 11th snow cancellation today. Tomorrow we are on a 2 hour delay. The county I teach in is on a level 2 snow emergency though. That pretty much means that unless the roads get a lot better it's gonna be day 12 tomorrow. 

Big tender pieces of beef, tender carrots, and delicious collard greens!

Fortunately, I now own a pair of snow boots. I ordered those at Christmas. And then I got some birthday money and ordered a pair of snow pants. And today the Princess and I frolicked in the snow after she woke from her nap and I finished snow blowing our enormous driveway. (Our driveway isn't enormous like long, it's enormous like a parking lot.) We had a BLAST!

Here's the interesting thing about parenting. At the same time as I'm experiencing pure joy, I could also be experiencing some pure frustrations. Today, the Princess was as cute as could be. See? Isn't she darling peeking out from behind the tree? Who can resist her? 

She told me to stay where I was because she was peeking!

And yet. She is full of bodily fluids and they all happen to come out on me. On snow days like today when I don't manage to get up before her and her nap time lasts only as long as the snow blowing, I don't get to shower and I get the vague feeling I smell like poo. Or throw up.

This morning, after a difficult start, the Princess sat in her high chair in the kitchen coloring pictures for Grandma Peggy while I whipped together this stew for the crock pot. I should probably say I started with a tasty looking stew that I found on Pinterest by Betty Crocker. But it's been very snowy. And I did not have any beef bullion granules. (really who does?) And I wanted to serve it over rice because my mother-in-law says that rice helps to stop up a baby with a digestive system on overdrive. So I left out the potatoes. And my mom always put celery in her chili and putting celery in stew made me think of her so I doubled it. And then I got a little fancy with the deglazing the pan with red wine. (But that might have been because at that particular point in the morning I was wondering how stay at home mother's don't crack open the wine before lunch. The length of time I deglazed was about equal to checking the Princess for a fever, picking up the crayons that were thrown on the floor, wiping applesauce off the floor, the counter, and the Princess, and then giving in and parking the Princess in front of Daniel Tiger. But that doesn't sound all nice and recipe like. So until it is reduced by half.) And then I had some collard greens in the fridge and I thought that they wouldn't turn to gross mush when sitting in a crock pot forever and they might be a tasty addition. And yeah I don't have any quick cooking tapioca. I bought some about 5 years ago for a mushroom pork chop crock pot meal and I haven't cooked it in forever and I haven't used the tapioca since. So I threw it away. Last week. So I smooshed up some butter and flour to thicken the sauce instead. I will tell you that it turned out great. The Princess loved it. The Brain liked it. It might be the leftovers that won't last long. I just wish it photographed better.

Beef Stew with Collard Greens
an original Shazamer recipe

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine (a cheap, but drinkable variety)
2 stalks celery cut into chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 cups V8 (or other non-name brand vegetable juice)
2 big handfuls of chopped up collard greens
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour

Pat the beef stew meat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium high heat.  Working in 2 batches brown the meat on all sides. Put the meat in the slow cooker. Pour the half cup of red wine into the fry pan and scrape up the crusty bits in the pan. Simmer for a while until the red wine is reduced by about half. Pour it into the slow cooker. Add the celery, onion, Worcestershire, V8, and collard greens to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Smoosh together the butter and flour, then stir into the slow cooker until it dissolves. Continue to cook for another half hour then eat. Serve over rice.

Lamb Stew with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans

There's a nasty cold/flu that's going around. It flattened me for the weekend. It flattened the Brain for most of last week. That's one of the things about being married. We usually make each other sick. HAHAHAHAHA! (sorry, I couldn't resist.) But really, it happens with roommates or brothers and sisters. It's the nature of the beast. The nice thing is we have someone to take care of us once they've passed the bug on. For example, the Brain was right there with the Sprite and the cold medicine. He turned up the heat and gave me extra blankets. He was very nice.

When the Brain was sick, I made him this Lamb Stew. It's nice and hearty and full of healthy vegetables. The lamb gets so tender in the tomatoes that it almost falls apart. I suppose if you didn't buy an entire lamb at a county fair or lamb is hard to find, you could probably substitute some pork or beef, but I think the lamb adds a nice quality. This is a nice stick to your ribs kind of stew and it's really pretty easy to throw together.

Lamb Stew with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans

inspired by Bon Appetit

1 pound lamb stew meat

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup tomato sauce (one small can)

1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach thawed and drained

Sprinkle lamb with salt, and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add lamb and saute until brown, about 10 minutes. Add onion and carrots and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add garbanzo beans, broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer gently until lamb is tender, about 1 hour.

Add spinach to stew. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until spinach is warmed through.

Maybe

This morning in an attempt, yet again, to have a nice filling home cooked meal between coming home from work and going to that Monday night spin class, I pulled out the crock pot. The Brain's first response on his way to the shower was, "Oh are we having pizza tonight?" I told him maybe.

This latest attempt at crock-potting involved a Boston butt. (Isn't that the greatest name for a cut of pork?) Anyhow, this is another Cooking Light recipe and I checked out the reviews before making it. A lot of people liked it, and the ones that didn't thought it was bland. So I doubled up on the garlic, added some ground black pepper, some beef broth, and a 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. When I finally got home I was eager to find out if I was having Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans, or if we were indeed ordering pizza. The result?

It was OK.

It smelled good. I was excited to see the pork literally falling apart in the pan. The beans were soft and almost creamy. But it tasted kind of beige. Well the garlic and the salt came through, but it needs a kick. I'm not sure exactly what kind of kick it needs though. As I'll be eating plenty of leftovers of it, I may try adding a swirl of balsamic vinegar. I know vinegar always helps a navy bean soup. Or I might try sprinkling in some cayenne pepper for a little heat. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll get great overnight in the fridge.

Crock pot 2 Me 0.

Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 (1 pound) bag dried navy beans

1 Tbsp minced fresh sage

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground fennel

16 cloves garlic, minced

21/2 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)

4 cups water

1 cup beef broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

a couple shakes of black pepper

Sort and wash navy beans and place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; Cover and let stand overnight.

Drain the beans and place in the crock pot. Place the Boston butt on top of the beans. Rub the herbs and seasonings and garlic into the pork. Pour on the water and broth. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

Stew in Fall- What a match!

Today, the sun was shining and everyone on our street was outside raking leaves. It was a beautiful fall day. The kind of day that makes you wish that fall would last for most of the year. Clean, crisp, chilly. The kind of day that when you come inside you want something hearty and warm. A day you appreciate that "stick to your ribs" character of stew. I'm not talking about those days that are so cold the snot inside your nose freezes and you need chili, heavy on the jalapenos, to start to feel human again. Just a nice warming stew in fall.

Being that I've already shared my favorite fall stew here, I decided to try a new stew. This is Moroccan-Style Braised Beef with Carrots and Couscous from Cooking Light. After a week of Ice Cream Terrine and decadent Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes, I'm really good with something from Cooking Light. I did think it would be more interesting with more vegetables in it and there definitely wasn't enough couscous for the amount of stew. But, the stew itself was good and I even liked the gravy. Normally I'm not such a fan of gravy, but this gravy is rich and thick and has some darn tasty undertones.

Moroccan-Style Braised Beef with Carrots and Couscous

Cooking Light

Beef:

2 tsp olive oil

1 pound lean beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 medium onions thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground ginger

2 (14oz) cans less sodium beef broth

1/4 cup packed dried apricots

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

4 large carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Couscous:

2 tsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/3 cup less sodium beef broth

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup uncooked whole wheat couscous

1/4 chopped green onions

Remaining Ingredient:

1/4 cup fresh parsley, divided

To prepare beef, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add beef to pan, and cook 4 minutes or until beef is browned on all sides, turning occasionally. Transfer beef to a bowl.

Add onions to pan; cook 10 minutes longer or until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic cloves and next 4 ingredients (through ginger); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to a boil. Add apricots; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 30 minutes. Using an immersion blender in pan, puree onion mixture. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Return beef to onion mixture; cook over medium-low heat 1 hour or until beef is tender. Add carrot to pan; cover and cook 15 minutes or until carrot is tender. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped parsley.

While beef cooks, prepare couscous. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add crushed garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric. Stir in 1/3 cup broth and 1/3 cup water; bring to a boil. Gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Stir in green onions.

Spoon couscous onto plates. Top evenly with beef stew, and sprinkle each serving with parsley.