Mom's Beef Stew

Since the 70's I have been cooking this stew recipe for my family.  It is one of Greg's favorite dishes.  Since the Packers are in the NFC Play-Offs, I thought it would be a great day for hearty mid-western stew!

1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 Tbsp. light olive oil
3 cups hot water
2 pared  large potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
3 peeled carrots, sliced into 1/2" slices
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1-2 beef bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Place flour, salt, and pepper in a gallon size plastic bag.  Shake.  Add stew meat and shake again until the meat is coated.
2.  Melt shortening in a dutch oven.  Remove the coated meat from the bag and place into the dutch oven.  Brown meat thoroughly.
3.  Add hot water to deglaze food from the bottom of the pan. Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 2 hours.
4.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

To thicken stew:
1.  In a batter bowl add 1/2 cup cold water and 1-2 Tbsp. of flour.  Whisk until blended.  Slowly add to the stew until desired consistency is reached, while stirring constantly until mixture boils.  Boil and stir one minute.  Serve.

6 servings.

Slushy Drinks

Remember the Slushy Drink craze in the 70's and 80's?  Recently, while staying at the Ann Bean Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Stillwater, Minnesota, we were talking to a couple from Iowa who had never heard of this drink.  Maybe the craze was only in Wisconsin?  I learned that some people enjoy Slushy Drinks to cool down on hot summer days and others enjoy this beverage as a family tradition during the Christmas holidays.  What ever the season...Slushy Drinks are a pleasure. Here are some of my favorite recipes.


Slushy Drink
From the Cooking in Minnesota Cookbook, which is a collection of recipes from the Twin City Home Economists in Homemaking.  "This light, refreshing drink is nice for ladies' luncheons."

7 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 ~ 12 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 ~ 6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup gin or vodka
1 Tbsp. instant tea
Maraschino cherries
Lemon-lime carbonated beverage

• In a large saucepan, heat water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  
• Stir in remaining ingredients.
• Freeze in a plastic ice cream bucket.  
• To serve, fill tall glasses 2/3 full of frozen mixture. Add enough chilled lemon-lime carbonated beverage to fill glass.  
• Serve with maraschino cherries, if desired.  
• 12 -14 servings. 

Brandy Slush
In 1977 the Extension Homemakers in St. Croix County published a cookbook.  So many of my recipes came from this cookbook, that the cover is missing and it has seen better days!  Published in the homemakers cookbook is Karen Enerson's recipe for a "good summer drink" and it is the basis of my recipe.

1 cup sugar
2 bags green tea
1 ~ 6 oz. can thawed frozen limeade juice concentrate
1 ~ 6 oz. can thawed frozen lemonade juice concentrate
1 cup brandy
4 1/2 cups water
7-Up or lemon sour

• Using a 5 quart plastic container with a lid (an ice cream pail works great) dissolve 1 cup sugar in 3 1/2 cups boiling water.  Set aside.  
• In a bowl, steep 2 tea bags in 1 cup boiling water for 10 minutes, then add the limeade and lemonade juice concentrates.  
• Add the tea mixture to the sugar-water mixture. 
• Next, add the brandy.  Mix well and freeze.  
• To serve, fill glass 3/4 full of broken up slush, then add 7-Up or lemon sour.  Stir.  
• Yield: 15 drinks.

Buttercream Recipe

Wilton Buttercream Recipe

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (I prefer Crisco.)
1/2 cup room temperature margarine
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond flavoring

1.  Cream shortening and margarine in a mixer.
2.  Add confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla. Blend on medium speed until all ingredients are mixed well.  Blend a minute or two more until creamy in texture. To thin icing, add 1/4 teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency.
3.  Icing can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Re-whip before using.