Crockpot Beef Stew

-- Adapted from several recipes --

Who doesn't love coming home to dinner already done in the crock pot?  This is a pretty easy recipe although does require a little prep work.  I prepped the night before but you could also wake up early and prep in the morning.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 slices bacon (browned and crumbled)

2 lbs lean stew beef, in cubes

3 cloves garlic minced

2 cans of crushed tomatoes, undrained (~28 oz)

2 cans of stewed tomatoes, undrained (~28 oz)

1 can no-salt added white beans, rinsed and drained (~15 oz)

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

2 bay leaves

3 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 cup Red Wine

2 cups beef broth

 

 

Directions:

Place meat in a large plastic bag.  Combine 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; pour into bag with meat and shake to coat.

 

Cook bacon until crispy.  Add stew meat and cook until evenly browned on the outside.  Remove and place into crockpot.

 

Chop all your veggies and gather all your spices (makes things easy in the morning to just wake up and dump everything in the crock pot!)

 

Add remaining ingredients into crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4 hours.

Chocolate Kahlua Cream Pie (No-Bake!) w/home made Kahlua whipped cream

My pies have taken a strangely alcoholic theme..
This recipe is adapted from Serious Eats.

I don't really like desserts, especially chocolate.  But I want to eat this pie every day of my life.

Ingredients:
One box chocolate wafers (I used "Famous Chocolate Wafers")
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar (I used turbinado, but cane sugar is good too I'm sure)
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 ounces dark chocolate
3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin
10 tablespoons Kahlua
3 1/3 cups heavy cream (cold)

Directions:
- Pulse 36 wafers in food processor until finely ground.  Dump crumbs into a large bowl.  Melt the 8 tablespoons of butter and stir into the crumb bowl with 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 teaspoons water until it's all mixed and moist.  Press firmly into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
-Put chocolate in a large heatproof bowl.  I pulsed it up a bit in the food processor first so it would melt faster and more evenly.  Melt over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently.  When smooth, turn heat off.
- Add 1 tablespoon of water into a small, microwave safe bowl.  Sprinkle gelatin over the top of the water and let it sit there 3-5 minutes until it's soft and gloopy.  Microwave bowl 10-15 seconds until gelatin is melted.
-Whisk 8 tablespoons of Kahlua into melted chocolate. When mixed, whisk in the melted gelatin.
-In a separate bowl, whip 2 1/3 cups cream with 1 tablespoon sugar to medium peaks.  I did this by hand, but I suppose an electric mixer would work too.  Fold the cream into the chocolate mixture in three batches until just combined. 

-Crumble up the rest of the chocolate wafers (8-10 ish) to whatever size you want.  I left them kind of big for a cookie surprise in the pie.

-Pour mixture into pie shell and chill for about 3 hours, until set.  I went to the gym during this time to not feel so bad about eating the pie later, I recommend it.

My assistant took this time to lick the bowl.

-Just before serving, mix one cup cream and 2 teaspoons sugar.  Add 2 tablespoons Kahlua and whip to soft peaks.  Serve on the side or on top of the pie.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (I tried to get this at Trader Joe's, but they looked at me like I was crazy.  QFC had it!)
3 large eggs
2 cups pecans
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 9 inch frozen pie crust (you can make your own pie crust, but I was feeling lazy)


Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
-Thaw pie crust.
-In a large bowl, beat the eggs.  Stir in the sugar and melted butter and mix until smooth.
-In a food processor, chop the pecans but just a little bit (or just get halved/chopped pecans to start).

-Add the corn syrup, pecans, and bourbon to the sugar/sugar/butter mixture and stir until everything is combined.

-Pour mixture into pie crust.  Place on cookie sheet on middle rack of oven and bake for 10 minutes.

-Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 25 additional minutes.  Check the temperature of the filling and it should be 190-200 degrees before you take it out.
-Remove pie from oven and allow to cool fully.

Beef, Leek, and Barley Soup

-- adapted from Smitten Kitchen blog --

 

Be forewarned - this one needs to sit on the stove for awhile so it's a good weekend soup if you're going to just be home hanging out (or in my case, studying) for awhile.

1. Trim 2-6 big, meaty short ribs and put them on the bottom of your soup pot.  (I used 6.  Who doesn't love short ribs?!)

2. Add 1 cup of barley, three big cloves of garlic shopped up, and three leeks cut lengthwise and then into segments–use both the white and the green parts. You can also add mushrooms, onions, and any other vegetables you might like. Grind in a little black pepper.

3. Add about eight cups of filtered water or beef stock and let it simmer on the back burner for at least three hours while you go about your business. You can also add lima beans, cube potatoes, peas, corn, string beans and chopped tomatoes at any point, or the second day, should you have any leftover.  (I added peas and corn since that's what I had handy in the freezer.)

4. Before serving, skim off the fat–there will be a bit, as short ribs are quite fatty–take the meat off the bones, chop it and put it back in the soup.


Enjoy!  :)

Mom's Mexican Soup

-- adapted from my Mom's recipe box --

This is a super easy recipe that doesn't take much time at all.  Plus - you might often already have these ingredients on hand so can make it in a pinch when you don't feel like going to the store.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1-2 bell peppers (color of your choice)
1 can chicken broth
1 jar salsa (16 oz)
Italian salad dress mix envelope (sold in the dressing aisle usually by the other packet seasonings)
1 bag frozen corn
1 cup uncooked pasta (elbows or shells or anything really)
8 oz velvetta chunks (or other cheddar cheese)

Directions:



 

 Brown ground beef.  Add bell pepper(s) and cook until tendercrisp.  Drain.

 

In a large pan (I just used the same large pan as I made the meat in), add chicken broth, salsa, 2 cups water, salad dressing spices, ground beef, pepper to taste, and frozen corn.  Bring to boil.

 

Add 1 cup uncooked pasta.  Simmer 10-12 minutes

 

Add cheese cut into chunks.  Cook until melted, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar

-- Adapted from SmittenKitchen.com --

Serves 4 (though closer to 6 if served in mugs)

Who doesn't love soup topped with cheese?  Tyler doesn't even like tomato soup much and he liked this because of the cheese!  Woo hoo!

Ingredients:
Soup
3 pounds tomatoes, halved lengthwise (plum tomatoes were recommended)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Grilled Cheese Lid
4 1-inch slices from a large loaf of rye bread, whole wheat sourdough or bread of your choice (or 16 1-inch slices from a baguette), toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one side
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 cup coarsely grated cheese (or more to taste) - mozzarella or cheddar would be my top choices.  But I'm sure anything would work.


Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves.

Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a large pot and use an immersion blender to create a chunky puree.  Chunks of tomatoes are definitely nice surprises in the soup.  You can also use a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until the consistency is reached.

Add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Create cheese lid: Preheat oven to 350. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls, crocks or large mugs on a large baking sheet. Stir grated onion into the warm soup. (Although I don't love onion so I left this out).  Float toast slice(s) in each bowl, buttered side up and divide grated cheese generously over top. (If you’re using a wide bowl, you might find that you want more cheese to create a thick, broiled lid.) Bake soups on tray for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. If you’d like it even more bronzed on top, preheat your broiler and finish soups for a minute or two under it. Serve immediately.

Do ahead: Soup can be prepared one day ahead, and kept covered in the fridge. Rewarm before serving, or before finishing with cheddar crouton.

Lemon Meringue Pie

I used a frozen pie crust for this one, since I had it in the freezer.  For a meringue, preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F); let the crust sit out of the freezer for 10 minutes and the poke the crust all over the bottom and sides.  I didn't poke it enough at first and it ballooned up, so poke it more than you think.  Bake the crust at 400 for 10 minutes.

To make the lemon filling:
In a medium saucepan, whisk the following ingredients:
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 2 tablespoons pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup water
- zest from 2 large lemons
- juice from two large lemons

Cook over medium-heat, stirring frequently, until boiling.
- Mix in 2 tablespoons butter

Seperate 4 large eggs.  Whisk the yolks together in a bowl and slowly add to the boiling sugar mixture.  Continue to stir until thick.  Remove from heat.

Whip the egg whites together in a bowl until frothy.  Gradually add 6 tablespoons of fine white sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

Pour the hot sugar/lemon mixture into the pie crust.

Spread the meringue over the filling, making sure that you get it to all of the edges of the crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown.

It was pretty jiggly when I pulled it out of the oven, but let it sit undisturbed for at least an hour to cool.  Different recipes online prescribe that you keep it away from drafts and fans, so the meringue doesn't fall.  I put it in the cupboard.

It didn't stay there long...

Broccoli Spinach Soup

Adapted from simoneskitchen.net

Broccoli Spinach Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of coconut oil
• 1 medium broccoli, chopped
• 2 sprigs of celery, cut in slices
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
• 2 tsp tumeric
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• large handful of chopped (fresh) spinach
• 1 liter of vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 4 bay leaves
• 100 ml coconut milk
• some feta cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1.  Put the coconut oil in to a large pot on the stove. As soon as the oil is hot enough, add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a short while. Add the ground spices and bake until fragrant.

 2.  Add the celery and broccoli.  (It helps to have these chopped in advance.)

3.  Stir and add the vegetable stock.

3.  Add the bay leaves.

4.  Bring to the boil and turn down the heat. Let it simmer until the broccoli is cooked (about 10-15 minutes). Add the spinach at the last minute.

5.  Once cooked, remove the bay leaves and puree the soup.  An immersion blender works great for this and if you don't have one, they are only like $25 on Amazon!

6.  Serve with a bit of coconut milk, and sprinkle with feta cheese.