Hearty Beef Stew

My middle child, Nelson, loves stew. It is one of his favorites. Not so with my husband. Since my husband was away this week on business I decided to make some. I love stew from a slow cooker. The meat cooking for 8 or 9 hours really does just fall apart. This was a new recipe - and it calls for hoisin Sauce (used in oriental cooking). I liked the addition.


Hearty Beef Stew


2 tbsp butter
2 lbs beef stew meat
1 tbsp minced garlic
12 oz pkg of mushrooms , cut in half
1 1/2 large sweet onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 parsnips, cut into 1/2 - 1 inch slices
3 carrots, cut into 1/2 - 1 inch slices
1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 - 1 1/2 lbs baby potatoes, quartered, about 10 potatoes
2 - 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 - 14 oz cans beef broth
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp dried thyme


Melt butter in skilled until sizzling, add beef and garlic. Cover over medium-high heat until beef is browned (4 - 5 minutes). You might need to do this in batches. Put all ingredients into slow cooker with rest of vegetables.

In a medium bowl combine tomatoes, broth, hoisin sauce and thyme and pour over slow cooker ingredients - stir to combine.

Cook on low for 8 - 9 hours. I did turn it to high for the last hour or so. Not sure if it was necessary.


Here is the finished product. This was most definitely a heart stew. Great flavors. A little soupy. Next time I would try flouring the beef just before frying. The flour will then mix with the liquids and help thickening things up as it cooks.

The nice thing about stews is you can throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand. I love the root veggies so plan ahead and make sure I have them on hand when I make stew.

Super-Sticky Chicken, Holy Haluski and Creamy Garlic Dressing

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been struggling with headaches for longer than I want to think about. Last week my husband was travelling. As a result of him being gone, I had a busier week and my headaches were worse - so my kids fended for themselves at mealtimes.

If I haven't mentioned it before - I am collector of recipes, recipe books and recipe magazines. I love them all. I love to try new recipes on a regular basis. I knew I needed to get back into the swing of cooking meals and blogging. So...here we are.

Super-Sticky Chicken

2 lbs of chicken pieces (I used quarts - legs with the back attached)

3 garlic cloves, crushed (I used minced garlic in the jar)

3 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp ground ginger

Place chicken pieces in large dish/roasting pan.

Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Pour over chicken, turn and coat. Leave to marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and back chicen for 30 minutes. Turn to coat and bake another 30 minutes. Check for doneness. May need a few more minutes depending on size and number of chicken pieces.

Because of my busy day, I was unable to marinate the chicken for an hour. In the future I would marinate it at least an hour - and possibly overnight. It wouldn't hurt. This has nice flavor.

Holy Haluski

This recipe is from the November issue of Food Network Magazine. My husband and son are fans of the show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri. This is a traditional Polish recipe he experienced while visiting Kelly O's Diner in Pittsburgh, PA. He made some adjustments and I did the same. I left out a couple of ingredients and was very happy with the results.

3 tbsp butter

4 oz thinly sliced pancetta, diced (bacon can be used - but I like the flavor of the pancetta)

2 large onions, sliced

1 medium head of cabbage sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 cup carrots, cut in 1/4 inch julienne

1 tsp kosher salt (regular salt works the same)

2 tsp black pepper

8 oz. wide egg noodles

3 tbsp minced garlic (again, I used the minced in a jar)

1/4 cup while wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the noodles.

In a large pot, melt 1 tbsp of the butter over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook, stirring, until crisp - 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Add 2 tbsp butter to the pancetta fat and melt. Add the onions, cabbage and carrots. Season with the salt and pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables with the butter. Cover and cook til the cabbage is wilted and almost tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer til the cabbage is very tender, about 10 more minutes.

While the cabbage cooks, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to the directions on the package.

Increase the heat to high , stirring until the cabbage and onions are golden, 10 - 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan (stirring to release the yummy bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan). Stir in the lemon juice. Add 3/4 of the pancetta, combine well and remove from heat.

Drain the noodles and add to the pot with the cabbage. Toss well to coat the noodleswith the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining pancetta and serve immediately.

This dish was amazing. There are very few recipes that I make that all 5 of us love. I encourage everyone to "critic" a new recipe. What would they change, add, take away...They are not so much critical of the cooking - but the recipe. For this one - they all loved. It is an interesting dish...unusual - but sooo yummy. Definitely a keeper - one for the binder JD.

Creamy Garlic Dressing

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp minced garlic - yes, from the jar :0)

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients; shake well. Chill.

Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 1 2/3 cup.

I used a dish and whisked the ingredients. I used about 1/3 of the dressing on romaine lettuce with some chopped mushrooms (yes JD mushrooms) and cucumber. Any lettuce mixture and add -ins can be used. Nice flavor.