Hearty Beef Stew

Guess I have been on a cooking spree lately...tonight I made another new recipe.  This recipe, called Hearty Beef Stew, came from the cookbook, "Farm Recipes and Food Secrets from the Norske Nook."  The flavoring was very tasty, although I made some changes to the recipe.  You can find the original recipe in the cookbook on page 29. 

Hearty Beef Stew

3 lbs. stew meat

1 Tbsp.  Curt's garlic extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. meat seasoning (recipe below)

6 medium carrots

3 stalks celery

1 large onion

8 potatoes

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup water

1.  Place olive oil in a large skillet and add the meat. Sear meat until brown.  Reduce the temperature to medium.  Add the meat seasoning, stir and continue cooking 5 minutes longer. Add enough water to cover the meat and cook until the water begins to boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until the meat is  tender.

2.  While the meat is cooking, prep the vegetables.   Peel the carrot and slice into 1" pieces.  Cut the celery in half lengthwise and slice into 1/2" pieces.  Next, dice the onion into 1/4" pieces.  Finally, peel the potatoes and dice into 1" pieces.  Place vegetables into a stock pot, cover with water and cook until slightly tender.  Drain water into a bowl.  Place the vegetables in an oven-proof 2 quart casserole dish.


3.  Preheat the oven to 350'F.  Leaving the juice in the skillet, remove the stew meat and add the meat to the casserole dish.

4.  Pour the vegetable liquid into the skillet with the meat juice.  Make a slurry with the flour and water.  Add to the juice.  Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wire whisk, until thick and smooth.  Pour thickened slurry over the vegetables in the casserole dish.  Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until bubbling.

Meat Seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. onion salt
1 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store in a tightly covered container.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to bake some cookies for Greg's lunch tomorrow.  I found the recipe in "The American Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook" by Kitty and Lucian Maynard.  The cookies were so good that I decided to put the recipe on my blog before I went to bed!

Chewy Ginger Cookies

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup slightly chilled margarine
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1.  Using a fork, cream together margarine, shortening, and sugar in a large bowl.
2.  Stir in eggs and molasses.  Set aside.
3.  Sift together dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture. Stir until mixed.
4.  Using a medium size cookie scoop create walnut size balls of dough.
5.  Roll into sugar and place balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
6.  Bake in a 350' F oven for approximately 8-10 minutes or until crinkled and brown.

Mustard Apricot Pork Chops

Tonight I tried a new recipe and I am very pleased with the taste.  My resource was "The Diabetic Four Ingredient Cookbook." ( As a food teacher I find that some of my students are diabetic, so I had this cookbook in my bookshelf.)  The menu for tonight was Mustard Apricot Pork Chops, Boiled Red Potatoes, Steamed Green Bean, Cucumbers with Salad Vinegar, and a Lettuce Salad.  Let me know if you try this recipe on a grill...it should be good!  Yum!

Mustard Apricot Pork Chops

1/3 cup light apricot preserves (I like Smucker's Simply Fruit Apricot)
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 pork chops
2 chopped, green onions including stems

1.  Combine preserves and mustard in a small saucepan.  Heat on low and stir until the preserves are melted.  Set aside.

2.  Place chops in a frying pan on a higher temperature and cook, for 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.  Do not overcook.  (If your pork chops are thin, you can omit this step.)

3.  Next, place chops on a broiling pan or iron platter and broil for 5 minutes.  Brush chops with half of the glaze and turn.  Broil 5 minutes longer.

4.  Turn and brush with remaining glaze.  Broil 2 minutes or until the pork chops reach 160'F.

5.  Garnish with green onions before serving.

Crunchy Asian Coleslaw

Looking for a quick and easy salad recipe?  Follow the link, Kraft Recipes: Crunchy Asian Coleslaw, for a coleslaw recipe that includes Ramen Noodle Soup Mix.

Oriental Chicken Salad

Grandma is coming for lunch today, so I thought I would make one of her favorite salads.  Years ago I found the recipe for Oriental Chicken Salad on the Internet.  Since I wanted to give the author credit, I searched the Internet looking for the source. Wow...there were many "hits" for the recipe.  Looks like  Top Secret Recipes was the web site where I found the recipe.  If you want the original recipe click on the link.  I also found the recipe in the book, "Top Secret Recipes / Classics." Below is my version with a couple of changes.   As I am cooking the recipe today, I will see if there needs to be more changes.  Have to go...time to get cooking!

Dressing:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sesame oil

Salad:
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cups Romaine lettuce
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup Napa cabbage
1 carrot
1 chopped green onion, including green top
1 Tbsp. sliced almonds
1/3 cup chow mein noodles

1.  Prepare dressing ingredients by mixing in a small bowl with a wire whisk.  Cover and refrigerate while preparing salad.

2.  Cut each chicken breast into 5 strips.

3.  In one bowl, beat egg with milk.

4.  In another bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt and pepper.  (To crumb the corn flakes:  place corn flakes in a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin.)

5.  Using one hand, dip individual chicken piece in egg mixture.  Next, using your other hand, dredge the chicken piece into the flour mixture.  Coat all pieces.

6.  Pour olive oil in a frying pan and fry chicken until browned.  Set aside.

7.  Prepare the salad.  Wash lettuce and cabbage and dry by placing on a paper towel.  Tear Romaine lettuce leaves and Napa cabbage, in bite size pieces, from the core of the stem. Place in a large bowl.  Add sliced red cabbage.  Using a vegetable peeler, slice carrot and add.  Toss.

8.  Sprinkle green onion, almonds, and chow mein noodles on top of the lettuce.

9.  Place the chicken on top.

10. Serve with salad dressing on the side.


 Top Secret Recipes Classics  Here is a link if you are interested in purchasing the book from Amazon.com.

Italian Mushroom Chicken

Tonight I was looking for a quick recipe for chicken breasts, so I looked through "The Diabetic Four Ingredient Cookbook" for ideas.  A person doesn't need to be diabetic to enjoy the recipes in this cookbook.  I bought the cookbook, because the recipes were healthy, easy to prepare, and require only four ingredients!  At the same time, I made some changes to the recipe by adding EVOO and Queso Blanco cheese.  Any EVOO can be used in the recipe, but I enjoy "Oilerie" from Curt Campbell's store in Fish Creek, WI.  Here is a link to Curt's web site:  http://oilerie.com

Italian Mushroom Chicken
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. Oilerie Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups sliced, with stems removed, fresh mushrooms
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 14oz. jar Prego Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 cup crumbled Queso Blanco cheese

Add EVOO to a skillet.  Next, add the chicken breasts and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned.  Remove chicken from the skillet and keep warm.  Saute the mushrooms and onions in the skillet until tender.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and add chicken.  Cover.  Simmer for 25 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165'F.

An optional preparation method, which adds much flavor to this dish, is to crumble some Queso Blanco cheese on top of the chicken, cover, and simmer for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.  One tablespoon of cheese will add 90 calories to the recipe.

4 servings.

Caramelized Pork Chops

After finding a recipe called, "Caramelized Pork Slices," in the Taste of Home Cookbook, I made some changes and prepared this recipe last night.  The ingredients gave the pork chops a great flavor.  Another good idea would be to brown the pork chops on a grill and then finish the cooking by baking the pork chops, in the oven, with the sauce.  The truffle oil is purchased at Oilerie in Fish Creek, WI.
http://www.oilerie.com/ 

Caramelized Pork Chops

2 pork chops
2 tsp. truffle extra virgin olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. molasses
Salt and pepper to taste

In a nonstick skillet, brown pork chops in olive oil over medium-high heat.  Remove and keep warm.  Using the same skillet, saute garlic for 1 minutes; stir in brown sugar, orange juice, molasses, salt, and pepper.  Return pork to pan; cook on low, uncovered until the pork chops are fully cooked.

2 servings