Guinness Beef Stew

 This is a recipe we had before Christmas at the home of friends.  It was good to get together; almost normal after almost 2 years of pandemic ruined gatherings.  This is delicious and hearty; a perfect winter meal with some crusty bread.  A word of warning early in the cooking process, this smells terrible.  Don't worry, the bad smell goes away quickly and then your house smells amazing while it simmers.

4 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces (do not skimp on this, it adds great flavor)

2 1/2lbs stew beef; marinated in salt and pepper

2 onions; rough chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

1 14oz can Guinness

1/4 C. tomato paste

4 springs fresh thyme

3 carrots; rough chop

2 stalks celery; rough chop

2 1/2 C. chicken stock

Bay leaves (I used 2 large), salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes (I used Yukon gold roughly 3lbs) cut into large pieces

In a stock pan fry bacon, remove and set aside.

Brown beef, remove.  Soften onions for 5 minutes.  Add minced garlic for 1 minute.  Deglaze with Guinness.  Scrape with wooden spoon for 2 1/2 minutes.  Add tomato paste, thyme (I tied the sprigs with butcher's twine), carrots, celery, bay leaves and potatoes.  Add stock, cook on high until mixture comes to a boil and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cover for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until fork tender.  Uncover and raise heat to reduce and thicken.  Add a cornstarch slurry for further thickening if desired.

French Onion Soup

 I have loved French onion soup since I was a child.  Although, back then it came out of a can with a red and white label.  One warning, making onion soup will make your house smell like onions for a while so stock up on Febreze or light a candle or something.  

1/4 C. unsalted butter 

6 fresh thyme sprigs 

1 bay leaf 

5lbs. large sweet onions, vertically sliced, about 16 cups

1 tbsp. Sugar

6 C. unsalted beef stock

2 tbsp. Red wine vinegar 

1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 

24 slices whole grain French Bread baguette 

5oz. Gruyere chees, shredded, about 1 1/4 cups

Place butter, thyme, and bay leaf in the bottom of a 6qt. slow cooker.  Add onions; sprinkle with sugar.  Cover and cook on high for 8 hours.  

Remove thyme and bay leaf; discard.  Add stock, vinegar, salt, and pepper; cook, covered, on high for 30 minutes.

Preheat broiler to high.  Arrange bread in a single layer on 2 baking sheets; broil 30 seconds on each side or until toasted.  Place 1 cup soup in each of 12 8oz. ramekins or oven proof bowls.  Top each serving with 2 bread slices and about 2 tbsp. cheese.  Place 6 ramekins on a jelly roll pan; broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Repeat with remaining ramekins. 

Per serving: 240 calories, 8g. fat, 9g. protein, 33g. carbohydrates, 

Weeknight Lemon Chicken Skillet Dinner

This will take much less time than my regular lemon chicken recipe and it will be heartier than my regular recipe as well.

12oz. baby red potatoes, halved

1 tbsp. olive oil, divided 

4 6oz. boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 3/4 inch thickness 

3/4 tsp. kosher salt divided 

1/2 tsp. freshly grounded black pepper, divided 

2 thyme springs

4oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered 

1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

1/4 C. whole milk

5 tsp. all purpose flour

1 3/4 C. unsalted chicken stock

8 very thin lemon slices

1 8oz. pkg. trimmed haricots verts

2 tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer 12 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Heat a large oven proof skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 tsp. oil to pan.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.  Add chicken and thyme sprigs to pan; cook 5 minutes until chicken is browned.  Turn chicken over.  Place pan in oven; bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until chicken is done.  Remove chicken from pan.

Return pan to medium high heat.  Add remaining oil. Add potatoes, cut side down; mushrooms, and 1 tbsp. thyme; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring once. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add remaining salt, pepper, flour mixture, stock, lemon and beans to pan; simmer 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes or until beans are crisp tender.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Per serving: 342 calories, 9g. fat, 43g. protein, 23g. carbohydrates, 642mg. sodium

Roasted Beet Chips

 I have loved beets since I was a kid and we are getting into beet harvest season.  I am going to give these a try.  Hopefully soon, it will cool off enough to run the oven.

3 medium red, golden, and/or white beets, 1lb. total, trimmed and peeled

1 tbsp. vegetable oil 

1 tsp. desired seasoning (see below)

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line two large baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.  Use a mandolin to slice beets 1/16 inch thick.  Layer slices between paper towels; press firmly to remove excess liquid.  Toss beets with oil, desired seasoning and salt.  Keep different colored beets in separate bowls.

Arrange beets in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.  Bake about 50 minutes, removing chips as they crisp.  Let them cool on paper towels.

**Seasoning suggestions

Red beets-Steak seasoning, Five spice powder, Caraway seeds

Golden beets-Curry powder, Sesame seeds, 1/2tsp. ground chipotle pepper 

White beets-za’atar, herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning 

Yoda’s Cream of Chicken Soup

For those that don’t know, Yoda is our beagle.  While she didn’t do the actual cooking, I can attest that she was underfoot for the entire process.

 

Prep Time:​20-30 minutes

Cooking Time:​45 minutes

 

Ingredients

1 whole Roasted Chicken

1 bag of Gnocchi 

 

Soup Base

4 T Butter

½ C Chopped Onions

½ C Chopped Celery

½ C Chopped Carrots

½ C Flour plus 1 T Flour

1 Pint Whole Milk

6 Cups Chicken Stock

1 heaping spoonful of Better Than Bouillon Chicken

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

2 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

2 spoonful Pimento

 

Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Old Bay

½ teaspoon Pepper

½ teaspoon Paprika

½ teaspoon Celery Seed

½ teaspoon Dried Parsley

¼ teaspoon Thyme

 

Steps

1. Shred the chicken.  Separate dark meat from the white meat into different bowls.

2. Combine all spice mixture ingredients into a bowl, put aside.  

3. For soup base, start by melting butter.  Add onions, celery and carrots and cook for 10 minutes.  

4. Add flour and stir until flour is absorbed.  Flour may take on a sand like appearance.

5. Add milk and whisk mixture until it thickens.

6. Add 2 C Chicken Broth.  Str until broth is combined into the mixture.

7. Add Better Than Bouillon Chicken.  Str until it is combined into the mixture.

8. Add 2 C Chicken Broth.  Str until broth is combined into the mixture.

9. Add Spice Mixture ingredients.  Stir until it is combined with the mixture.

10. Remove 2 C of Soup Mixture.  Blend remaining soup until smooth.  Add 2 C of Soup Mixture back to pot. 

11. Add 2 C Chicken Broth.  Str until broth is combined into the mixture.

12. Add Parmesan Cheese.  Str until it is combined into the mixture.

13. Add Lemon Juice.  Str until it is combined into the mixture.

14. Add Pimento.  Stir until it is combined into the mixture.

15. Add Dark Chicken Meat. 

16. Cook soup for 20 minutes on low.

17. While soup is cooking, prepare Gnocchi. In a pan, fry Gnocchi.  After browned, put Gnocchi in a separate bowl.

 

Serving

1. Place white chicken meat in soup bowl.

2. Add warm soup.

3. Add Gnocchi.

Air Fryer Apple Pie Egg Rolls

 Here we are back at the air fryer.  Here is a quick dessert.  A little unexpected for sure.

3 C. peeled chopped apples

1/2 C. packed light brown sugar 

2. 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided 

 1 tsp. cornstarch 

8 egg roll wrappers 

1/2 C. spreadable cream cheese 

Butter flavored cooking spray 

1 tbsp. sugar 

2/3 C. hot caramel ice cream topping 

Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine apples, brown sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and cornstarch.  With a corner of an egg roll wrapper facing you, spread 1 scant tbsp. cream cheese to within 1 in.  of edges. Place 1/3 C. apple mixture just below the center of the wrapper.

Fold bottom corner over fill8ng; moisten the remaining wrapper edges with water.  Fold side corners toward the center over filling. Roll egg roll up tightly, press I at tip to seal.  Repeat.

In batches, arrange egg rolls in a single layer on greased tray in air fryer basket; spritz with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown; 5-6 minutes. Turn; spritz with cooking spray.  Cook until golden brown and crisp, 5-6 minutes longer. Combine sugar and the remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon; roll hot egg rolls in mixture.  Serve with caramel sauce.

Air Fryer Ham and Egg Pockets

 We recently bought a new range which has an air fryer.  It might be the best thing ever.  We always struggled with the size of a regular mail fryer.  Fries had to be done in stages to feed the whole family.  In the range, it’s a whole rack.

1 large egg

2 tsp. 2% milk

2 tsp. butter 

1oz. thinly sliced ham 

2 tbsp. shredded Cheddar cheese 

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls 

Preheat air fryer to 300 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine egg and milk.  In a small skillet, heat butter until hot. Add egg mixture; cook and stir until over medium heat until eggs are set.  Remove from heat.  Fold in ham and cheese.  

Separate crescent dough into 2 rectangles.  Seal perforations; spoon  half of the filling down the center of each of the rectangles.  Fold dough over filling; pinch to seal.  Place a single layer on greased tray in air fryer.  Cook unti, golden brown, 8-10 minutes.