Recipe #82 - Easy Beef Pot Roast

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This is a quick and easy recipe my mother has made for my family ever since I can remember. When there were 6 of us youngins running around all of the time, she needed something that didn't require a lot of attention. This crock pot recipe fit the bill.

Rinse beef then heavily salt and pepper.

Coat each piece of beef in the flour. Drizzle a large skillet with oil, add beef and brown on all edges, but don't cook all of the way through. Remove beef and place in the crock pot.

In the same skillet, saute onions until they are transparent.

Add the onions and beef broth to the crock pot and turn on high heat. Let simmer for 6 hours.

Add carrots, potatoes, celery and bay leaves. Simmer for another 2 hours.

And you're finished! Very easy. Very tasty. And the portions are extremely flexible. Just add more of which ever you like best. Just make sure you have enough beef broth to keep it moist enough. 

Rating: 8

Time: 8 hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef stew meat

Baby carrots

Baby potatoes

Celery, chopped

2 onions, chopped

3 bay leaves

4 cups beef broth

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper

Recipe #62 - Moroccan Chicken Stew w/ Sweet Potatoes

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"Cinnamon and ginger complement the sweet potatoes in this easy but exotic-tasting chicken stew. Fluffy couscous absorbs the aromatic sauce." - Everyday Food

Place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken and cook until browned, 4-6 minute per side; transfer to plate.

Add onion, ginger, and cinnamon to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.

Return chicken to pot. Add broth, sweet potatoes and, if using, saffron. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard ginger and cinnamon. Stir in lemon juice, and season stew with salt and pepper.

While stew is simmering, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Serve chicken stew with couscous garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Rating: 8
Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches long), peeled
1 cinnamon stick
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Pinch of saffron, (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup couscous
Cilantro springs, for garnish (optional)

Recipe #20 - Irish Lamb Stew

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Getting into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. I decided to make a traditional Irish recipe. I got the recipe from my next door neighbor, Mrs. Leah Ruddock. She has impeccable taste and a knack for cooking, which I've witnessed time and time again. It was an easy decision to use her recipe over the many I found over the internet or in recipe books.

Brady, Teresa and Brett came into town for St. Patty's Day. It was the guy's spring break, so they all decided to make a trip here to meet the parents and celebrate with us. Now the original recipe calls for beef, but Brett is allergic to beef. Consequently, I substituted lamb, which some of the other Irish stews I researched called for, so I didn't feel like it was too far off target.

I made the recipe the day before St. Patty's Day, cooled, then stored for reheating the next day.

I heated the olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. I bought "Lamb Stew" at the Whole Foods Market, but the pieces were still a little too large. So I cut them down into bite size portions. Lightly salted them. Working in batches (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown), and cook without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then using tongs I turned the pieces over until all sides are browned, about 10 minutes. Then I added the garlic and saute 1 minute. Added the beef stock, Guinness, red wine (I used Dad's home brew - sooo yummy), tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stirred together till combined. Brought mixture to boil. Reduced heat to medium-low, then covered and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

While the meat and stock was simmering, I melted the butter in another large pot over medium heat. Added the potatoes, onions, and carrots. Saute veggies until golden, about 20 minutes. I set them aside until the beef stew in step one had finished simmering.

Next, I added the veggies to the lamb stew. Let simmer uncovered until the veggies and lanb are very tender, about 40 minutes.

If serving right away, discard the bay leaves, tilt pan and spoon off fat. Since I made mine for the next day, I left the bay leaves and fat and discarded them before serving.

To serve: add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley.

Side note in original recipe: Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.

Time: 2 hours
Rating: 8
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well marbled lamb stew meat, cut into 1- inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine (in my case, my father's home brew)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion)
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley