Kids Dish

I’ve been trying to clean out my freezer to make room for Thanksgiving and I found a little more than a pound of stew meat from my buying club and a little less than a quarter of a pound of lamb tenderloin butt. I don’t know what to do with lamb tenderloin butt, especially since it’s such a small amount. And it doesn’t help that the fact that it’s called “butt” just makes me giggle like a nine year old boy. I decided I may as well combine the two and make a big pot of beef stew.

Beef stew is pretty easy to prepare, it just takes a long time to cook. If you like to use a slow cooker, you can do the prep either the night before or the morning of, and let it cook all day. I just cook mine on the stove, but I keep telling myself that I’ll use the slow cooker one of these days.

Beef Stew

Ingredients
* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper
* 2 pounds stew meat (you can buy stew meat or buy chuck and cut it into cubes)
* 1 large onion, chopped (I used leeks because I had them)
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced (I don’t peel mine)
* 6 carrots, sliced ( I used two handfuls of baby carrots)
* 2 bay leaves
* 3 stalks celery, sliced (I omitted this because I didn’t have any)
* 3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth (I used 3 cups homemade turkey stock and a can of beer)
Optional
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon cold water

1. In a large pot or dutch oven heat oil over medium high heat. In a resealable plastic bag mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Add a small handful of meat at a time and shake until well coated; brown in hot oil, about 1 minute per side. Remove the browned meat and continue until all the meat is browned.
2. Lower heat to medium and add onions. Brown onions on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Add garlic to pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the onions and garlic from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat from pot.
3. To pot add potatoes, carrots, celery, reserved onions, browned meat, bay leaf and broth. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. For a thicker broth: 1/2 hour before stew is done, combine 3 tablespoons flour and water in a small bowl and mix well, then slowly stir mixture into stew.

For the slow cooker

Personally I think it’s worth browning the beef, but if you’re pressed for time you can omit that step. Put the beef in the slow cooker, pour in the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Stir in the remaining ingredients and follow the cooking time above.

If you don’t like beef, get yourself into a Thanksgiving frame of mind by trying this crockpot turkey roast recipe.

My girls love soup. It’s easy to make and the epitome of comfort food. And fish chowder is a terrific warm weather or cool weather food unlike some soups that just feel very weather specific (I, for one, can only eat chili during football season).

Serve it up with oyster crackers, biscuits or corn sticks.

Yum, and good for you, too!

Fish Chowder

1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery, chopped with tops removed
2 T tomato paste
1 pound fresh white fish, cut into chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 whole red pepper, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
dash salt
pinch black pepper
2 c water (or fish stock, if you have it)
1 1/2 c tomato juice
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, saute the onion, garlic and celery and saute until onions are transparent and tender. Stir in the tomato paste and fish, mix to coat. Add the rest of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Slowly add water, tomato juice and Worcestershire. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for at least one hour.