BEEF STEW 01/27/2010
 I bought some stew meat, about a pound, and cut off the stuff I don't want to eat, fat, gristle. Then I threw a little flour, salt and pepper on top and stirred it around to coat.  Put about 2 Tab. of oil. I used canola oil. Heat and add meat to brown. Cook in batches till all is brown.  Now you can cook the onion you chopped or the garlic you crushed in the pan. Cook till tender. Deglaze the pan. You can use wine...or broth...or both...or water. I like to use wine and broth...it adds so much more flavor. Add about 4 cups of liquid. I then peel and cut up to large baking potatoes, some baby carrots, about half a bag. Put the meat back in and cook till meat is tender. About 30 minutes. Add in frozen peas and heat through...if you want. Take two heaping tablespoons of corn starch and a little water and make a slurry. Pour into broth and heat till it boils. Boil 1 minute to get out pasty taste. Now, you can mash some potatoes and put stew on them, or noodles, or make a pie crust and make pot pies. Or make some biscuits to sop up the gravy. Very vesitile non-recipe, Add Comment KABOBS 01/25/2010
 This is The Lad giving his approval on dinner. I bought a fillet mignon roast the other day for real cheap. After I trimmed the silver skin and waste off, I had several odd shaped pieces left over. So...I decided to have kabobs.  I had a partial bag of pearl onions. When they are frozen like this...the outside gets a little tough. So...I run warm water till the onions thaw enough so I can "slip" the outside skins off by pinching the onions with three fingers.  Here is my broth recipe in ice cube form. I just want a little broth to cook the veggies.  Here are the veggies...the onions and baby carrots.  This is a little less than a pound. 3/4 pound maybe. I cut it in chunks that were small. The veggies are already cooked the just need to be warm. I also used 2 small cans of whole peeled potatoes.  I poured some teriyaki sauce over the meat just till the oven was hot and the sticks were soaked for 1/2 hour.  Sticks soaking.  Since the veggies were cooked...it was easy to put on the sticks. As you can see, I alternated the meat, onions, and potatoes on some of the sticks. These were broiled in my oven on high for about 3 1/2 minutes. Then I turned the sticks over and broiled for another 3 1/2 minutes. The Lad and I "killed" these by ourselves. SAUSAGE POTATO SOUP 01/19/2010
People have been asking for my recipe for the Olive Garden sausage potato soup. So I thought I would put it up today.  I like to use these. The store brands are OK but this is what I use if I can get it. Especially if they are on sale. That is just how I roll!  Then I take a big onion and chop it up in a medium dice. Now...I also chop up bacon into small slices. I do that by taking 5 slices stacked up on each other and slice 1/4 inch pieces...or just a little wider. I put the bacon in the pan and brown it up a little...then I throw in the onion and cook down till translucent.  Now I take a sharp knife and slice open the casing on the sausage...  ...and peel it off. Then I cut it in small pieces and throw it in with the bacon/onion goodies.  Stir it all around and let it cook down a bit. It doesn't need to be too brown.  This is when I add 2 cloves of garlic that I put through my garlic press. I do it now so the garlic won't burn. Burnt garlic tastes bad!  While that is cooking wash up two large baking potatoes, cut in quarters, and slice in 1/4 inch slices (or a little thicker). No need to peel (unless you want to).  You can also chop up the kale. I love kale! I will be growing it in my garden this year. To clean kale, fill your sink with water and put your kale in a colander and swish it around to loosen any dirt. It will fall through the colander. Then shake off the water. Take each leaf and fold it in half, length wise. You can then cut off the rib down the middle or pull it off. Then chop it in small pieces. By doing this...the kale will cook evenly.  At this point...if you are worried about "FAT" you can put this mix through a sieve or colander to drain off some of this fat. Personally..I think it "carries" a lot of the flavor so I leave it in...for now.  Add in two cans of chicken broth. I always look for the kind with NO MSG!!! MSG be duh Debil! (Name that movie...sort of)  To add another layer of flavor...I add in a whole ice tray of my broth recipe. Once the broth has melted add in the potatoes and cayenne pepper. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes then add the kale. Cook about 7 minutes more and add a cup of heavy cream. At this point do not boil...just stir it in and heat through. I would say this recipe serves about 6 good size bowls. I like to put big croutons on top.  Now would be the time to put it in the fridge and chill it...the fat will harden on top and would be easy to pick off....If you want less fat. That way the flavor is all in the soup...AND very yummy. Sausage Potato Soup 5 slices of bacon cut in small pieces 1 large onion, medium dice 1 pack of Italian sausage, casing removed, chopped in small pieces 2 garlic cloves, pressed 2 cans of chicken broth...no MSG 1 ice tray of my broth OR 2 more cans of broth or water 2 large baking russet potatoes 1 large bunch of kale 1 cup of heavy cream OR milk Cayenne Pepper of red pepper flakes to taste (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Start to brown bacon...then add in onion and sausage. Then garlic. Once that is mostly cooked, add in broth(s) and potatoes. Cook about 10 minutes. Add kale and cook for 6 more minutes. Add cream and cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste...heat through. Serves 6 hungry people. |
