Beef Stew

When I visited the US over the summer, it was August in NYC: hot. I was so shocked by the heat and humidity and wondered how on earth I had ever lived in this climate (yes, a mere 3 months after moving to London). Then I walked into AC and remembered, "ah yes, blasting AC makes summer bearable".

Similarly, I seem to have forgotten about how cold winter is on the east coast. It got 'cold' in London a few weeks ago and I was craving some hearty soup or stew. I made a fair amount of soup in the winters in Boston but would use my crockpot for stews.

Not having a crockpot, I resorted to old fashioned beef stew on the stove instead. After reading the warning message about how cold it was in Boston, I cherished this warm stew and packed my warm, wooly socks for my travels back for the holidays.

We start by browning stew beef. Most stores sell red meat already cubed for stews but you could also get strip steak and cut it up yourself. It's important to only brown the beef because it will be cooked further with the vegetables and if you've already cooked it during the browning process, the meat will be tough and chewy.

Once the beef is browned, set on a plate and use the same pot to brown onions and garlic. Don't worry if you see the bottom of your pan collected burned bits. The stew will soak those up and add delicious flavors.

Add the water and bouillon or just broth to the pot. I use bouillon cubes here and instant hot water (pro tip). The instant hot water really helped clean the bottom of the pans of all the meat and onion drippings to incorporate into the stew.

To the pot, add your carrots and potatoes along with spices. Allow them a head start in cooking before adding the mushrooms and beef. The mushroom and beef won't need as much cooking time and you don't want to over-cook either.

The whole stew should simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Serve hot or reheat for those cold winter nights.

 Recipe

• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pounds stew beef (cubed meat)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cups beef  broth or water with bouillon cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 2 large carrots, roughly sliced
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 5-6 button mushrooms, sliced

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and brown the pieces of beef on each side. Reduce the heat as needed.
2. Place beef on a plate lined with a paper towel.
3. In the same pot, brown the minced garlic and diced onion until translucent.
4. Pour the broth or water into the pot.
5. Add the carrots and potatoes with the paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes. 
6. Add the beef and mushrooms. Lower the heat to a simmer.
7. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes (possibly longer) until potatoes and carrots are softened.

Chicken Butternut Squash Stew

I'm doing this thing, no big deal, but this healthy eating thing. In case you're a regular, you may have noticed fewer baked goods on this blog of late. Don't panic, my sweet tooth is very much still intact but my desire to be healthy has muted it a bit.

Along these lines, I've tried to make balanced meals each week that have a good helping of protein and vegetables while not neglecting the grains. To the crockpot!

Butternut squash is a favorite for me, especially if it's soup. But I'm lazy when it comes to prep will sometimes cave and get the pre-peeled, pre-diced version. But those chunks always look a bit dry seeing as they've been exposed to air for awhile. So I decided to get clever. Although squash rinds look pretty thick, it's actually fairly easy to use a vegetable peeler! Amazing.

This soup came out more of a stew for me since I used 4 cups of broth instead of the recommended 5 cups. If you prefer soup to stew, you can add more liquid (either broth or water). The chicken, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, garlic, quinoa and squash all go in the crockpot and are covered with the broth.

Set to high for 3-4 hours (or low for twice that long), the liquid cooks a nice and tender chicken. Similar to the chicken tortilla soup, you can shred the chicken with a couple of fork. I used hefty sized garlic cloves so this had a strong garlic flavor (sorry, office mates) but you can season with pepper or paprika for a little more kick if you prefer.

Recipe

• 1-1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked but rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 4-5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1. In a crockpot, place the chicken breasts on the bottom. Pour the beans, tomatoes, squash, quinoa and garlic over the chicken. 
2. Stir carefully to mix ingredients.
3. Pour broth over ingredients. For more of a stew, use 4 cups. For a soup consistency, use closer to 5 cups.
4. Set the crockpot to high for 3-4 hours until chicken is cooked through and squash is tender (alternatively, cook on low for 6-8 hours).
5. Serve hot!

White Bean and Chorizo Stew

Keeping in line with my resolution to use my crockpot more, I bring you stew! I've officially upgraded the storage location of the slow cooker from the lower cabinet all the way in the back where I can barely reach it to an above the fridge cabinet. Easily accessible and doesn't require contortion to remove.

New this round is also a test of crockpot liners. I've found when using anything tomato-based, the bright white of my crockpot is harder to achieve and takes up my entire sink soaking. So for those occasions when tomato is needed, I think I'll continue using these Reynold's liners.

Super simple: everything is thrown into the crockpot and set to cook on high for 3-4 hours (or low for 6-8). I used chorizo sausage which was already cooked so added that in the last half hour of cooking to warm it up. If you're using raw meat though, brown it first and add to the crockpot at the start of the cooking period.

This is what we call a hearty stew, chopped full of goodies and not as broth-based as soup. Typically I go for buffalo chicken dip for the Super Bowl but this would also make for a great and easy dish to bring to a party. Even if the Patriots aren't playing.

If you're in the market for a new slow cooker (or anything else for your home, for that matter), Wayfair has a great selection with a variety of sizes and features. One lucky reader could win a $100 gift certificate, courtesy of Wayfair to be used towards anything from the site! The contest continues until there's a new Super Bowl champ so plenty of time to enter.

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And while you're surfing the internet, check out these other game day recipes:

Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ from Eat.Live.Blog
Buffalo Chicken Empanadas from Appetite for Instruction
DIY Snack Stadium from Wife in Progress
Homemade Pimento Cheese Stuffed Sliders from Aimee Broussard
Taco Dip from Anchors and Bows
Corn "Tamale" with Black Beans and More from Good Cook Doris

Recipe

• 13 oz. Chorizo (sliced)
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 cup carrots
• 2 cans (15 oz.) Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup broth

1. Chop the peppers, onion, zucchini and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Add to the slow cooker.
2. Drain and rinse the Northern beans (or white beans of choice). Add to the slow cooker.
3. Pour the can of crushed tomatoes and broth over vegetables.
4. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
5. About 1 hour before the cooking time is over, add the sliced Chorizo. 
6. Serve warm and cuddled under a blanket watching some football. 

Vegan Peanut Stew

You know it's fall when...you finally succumb to the first cough of the season. Colds are no fun and chest colds are rough. But if it means an excuse to drink all my meals as soup and tea, then I guess there's a silver lining.

This stew comes from the Oh She Glows cookbook. I've dabbled in these vegan recipes from time to time and this stew sounded like it was the right amount of hearty and spicy for the darker days of fall. Plus, it has all kinds of veggies in it and after all the Halloween sweets I ate, it's time for a reset.

The vegetables are chopped and cooked first. I thought about adding carrots, you totally could, but in the end, stuck to the recipe. Onions, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper and sweet potato--that's a lot of chopping.

While those start to cook and soften, add the diced tomatoes. Hopefully, your can opener won't break at the beginning of this process like mine did. Fortunately, you can still use the sharp part of the can opener to punch tiny cuts into the lid, it will just take ten times as long to open the stupid can. Struggles.

The diced tomatoes and juices will help to cook the vegetables while you mix up some broth. Peanut butter and 1 cup of broth are whisked together until no clumps survive. This mixture and another 3 cups of broth (conveniently making one carton) are added to the vegetables. Now we're in business!

Allow the stew to cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the chickpeas and spinach last so they will warm and soften. Clearly you should serve this hot but if you're feeling extra hungry, you can also add some rice.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go make some tea and curl up in a ball of warmth and sniffles.

Recipe

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 28oz can of diced tomatoes (with juices)
• Paprika (optional for additional heat)
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter
• 4 cups of vegetable broth (divided into 1 and 3)
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of spinach, roughly chopped

1. Mince the garlic and chop up your onion before adding to a large pot with the olive oil. Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent. 
2. While the onion cooks, peel the sweet potato and chop up with the red bell pepper and jalapeno. Add to the pot with the onion and garlic.
3. Pour the canned tomatoes with juices into the pot. If you like a spicier soup, add paprika to your liking. Stir everything together and allow to cook over medium heat while you prepare the broth.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and 1 cup of vegetable broth. Once all of the peanut butter clumps are gone, add to the pot of vegetables. 
5. Next, add the remaining 3 cups of vegetable broth.
6. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook until the sweet potato is soft and easily skewered with a fork.
7. Last, add the torn spinach and drained chickpeas. Stir to combine and allow to simmer until the spinach is wilted.
8. Serve hot and potentially with rice.