Vegetarian Stew

Last night my grandmom had our family over for dinner.  We had a DELICIOUS enchilada casserole, and will be posting that recipe soon!  That being said, Meatless Monday had to be put off until tonight!  This week, for Meatless Monday, I made a vegetarian stew.  With my favorite produce store going out of business, I was forced to buy frozen vegetables.  When I am put in a bind like this, I always opt for frozen over canned.  Frozen veggies are a smidgen better for you and retain a good portion of their nutritional value!  If you are using frozen veggies for this recipe, be sure they are defrosted, and if you are using canned veggies, be sure to strain the excess liquid off of them before adding them to the pot! 

Vegetarian Stew 
Yields 6 generous servings


Ingredients 
1 small onion, peeled and diced
2 large potatoes, washed and cubed
1 carrot, washed and diced
8 ounces corn kernels
8 ounces green beans
8 ounces peas
28 ounces pureed tomatoes
3 cans water
8 ounces of whole wheat pasta (I used fusilli) 
Salt
Pepper
Paprika

To Prepare the Stew
1. In a large stew pot, add the onions, carrots, and potatoes.  Heat them over medium heat while constantly stirring. 
2. When the onions have started to become translucent, add the corn, green beans, and peas. 
3. Stir everything together well. 
4. Add the pureed tomatoes and 2 cans of water. 
5. Cook over medium heat.
6. When the liquid comes to a boil, season with the salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. 
7. Add the pasta. 
8. Add the last can of water as needed to make the stew as thick or runny as you prefer it to be.  
9. When the pasta has cooked through and the potatoes are soft, your stew is ready!

Individual Sized Beef Pot Pies

Well, I don't know about the weather wherever you may be reading this, but it is FUH-REEZING here!  What this means to me, though, is nice pipping hot and hearty meals that leave everyone feeling warm and fuzzy (and more importantly...full)!  Tonight was beef pot pie.  I have been itching to make this for a while now and finally put my foot down...tonight was the night!  My mom had bought mini casserole dishes a few years ago, and tonight was only the second time I managed to find an excuse to use them.  I really should pull them out of the cabinets more often!  Anywho, the pot pie was a hit all around, and pretty easy to make!  Enjoy!

Individual Sized Beef Pot Pie
Yields 4 hearty servings

To Prepare the Pot Pie
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour a 1/2 cup of flour,  1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper onto a plate, and mix it together. 

3. Begin to heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat in a frying pan. 
4. Dredge approximately 1 pound of stir fry cut beef through the flour, and place it in the pan once the oil it is hot. Don't stir it until it starts to brown and juice!

5. Cut 2 large potatoes, or a hand full of small potatoes into approximately 1 inch by 1 inch pieces, and also 1/3 pound of carrots cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick rounds.  Tonight I used purple, red, and white potatoes that I found at the grocery store. 
6. Boil the potatoes and carrots while you continue to prepare the pot pie. 

7. Prepare your casserole dish with pie crust.  I admittedly do not make my own pie dough...I am horrible at making it!  I cheat and use the pre-made and rolled dough from the grocery store.  I bought 2 packs of the dough, which gave me 4 individual pie crusts.  Press the dough into the casserole dishes, making sure that it is flush with the bottom of the dish first, and then the sides.  Pinch and press to patch any holes that may have happened while maneuvering the dough! KEEP THE EXCESS DOUGH...you will need it later in the recipe!  If you don't have or don't want to use individual casserole dishes, you can use a pie plate, large casserole, or even a loaf pan! 

8. Place your dough filled casseroles in the oven.  If you are using individual size, put them on a baking sheet so they are easy to fish out of the oven later (I learned this the hard way tonight).  They will need to cook a little bit to prevent the dough from being soggy! 
9. By now your meat should be browned and ready, so you can go ahead and take it off of the heat! 
10. Drain the water out of your boiling veggies, and pour the veggies into the meat. 
11. Drain 1 can of corn and 1 can of green beans and add them to the mix!  Normally I would encourage you to use fresh corn kernels and green beans, but I was in a rush tonight!

12. Pour 1 jar (approximately 12 ounces) of beef gravy over the entire mixture and stir it all together!

13. Pull your casserole dishes out of the oven, and fill with the mixture. 
14. Roll out your extra dough and cut into 4 squares that will fit over your casseroles.  I pressed a round cookie cutter through each for the pot pie to vent while it cooked. 
15. Place a square over each pie and press down around the edges, and cut off any major excess pieces!  If you didn't press a cookie cutter through, make a few slits across the top for the steam to escape. 
16. Place them back in the oven and cook for approximately 15 - 20 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown! 

Red Wine Beef Stew

When the weather really starts to turn cold, I always start to make more dishes that I like to refer to as "Belly Warmers".  These are the meals that are filling, and make you feel warm and cozy from the inside out!  Amongst our favorites are beef and chicken stews.  My mood while grocery shopping will determine whether or not is a thick stew, or more like a chunky soup.  This time around, I wanted a thicker stew with more of a gravy sauce.  Sick of the regular brown gravy, I decided to try a red wine gravy.  My family really enjoyed it and said that this was their favorite batch of the stew that I have ever made...which just proves that booze makes everything better!

Red Wine Beef Stew
Yields 8 servings

To Prepare the Stew 
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using a pan that is both stove top and oven safe, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  If you do not have a pan that is made for both on and in the oven, cook your meat in a frying pan on the stove top.
3. Sear approximately 1 pound of either stir fry cut beef or cubed stew meat in the olive oil.

4. While the beef is cooking, peel a small onion and cut it into approximately 8 wedges.
5. Add the onions to the beef and continue to cook everything until the beef had browned and the onions have turned translucent.

It's gettin' pretty steamy in there!

6. While the beef and onions cook, you can prepare your other vegetables!  Wash your potatoes and carrots, and peel them if you choose to.  If you are using fresh green beans, you will need to wash them and cut the ends off of them.  If you are using fresh corn, you will need to shuck it and rinse it with some cool water.  Remember to keep an eye on your beef and onions while you do this, and turn them off when they are done cooking!
7. Cut approximately 2 pounds of carrots into 1 inch lengths and add them to the beef and onions.  If you are using an oven safe and stove top safe dish, add the carrots directly to it.  If you are using something that is only oven safe, transfer the beef and onions over to that pan with the carrots! 
8. Add 1 pound of green beans, 1 pound of thawed frozen peas, and the kernels of 3 ears of corn (or approximately 1 pound of thawed frozen corn kernels).  If you are opting for canned veggies, use 2 drained cans of each veggie for the serving size above (8), or 1 can for 4 servings!

9. Cut 1 pound of potatoes lengthwise, and then cut them 3 to 4 times width wise, and add them to the pan.

10. Pour 1/4 a cup of red wine over the entire mixture, cover the pan with either a lid or foil and bake it in the oven for approximately 1 hour.  The culinary jury is out on what kind of wine to use.  Most professionals will tell you to only use a wine to cook if you would drink it on its own.  Personally, I have had pleasant experiences with cooking wines, and used one for this recipe.  I really like the Holland House brand (found at most grocery stores)!
11. To prepare the red wine gravy, heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan with 2 level tablespoons of flour.  Heat and mix these two together until they become a bubbling paste! 
12. Add 1/2 a cup of red wine to the flour/butter mixture and heat it until it thickens.   Add salt and pepper to taste.

13. Pour the red wine gravy over the stew and mix it in so everything is coated. 
14. Cook for approximately a 1/2 hour longer, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. 

15. Enjoy over rice, or on its own with a glass of red wine!

Creamy Chicken and Green Bean Casserole

It is the official start of my self proclaimed CASSEROLE WEEK!!!  Why casseroles, you may ask?  They are easy and cheap to make, are a great way to get left overs out of the fridge and freezer, and can be made a head of time and reheated!  Plus, casseroles are great for lunch the next day or two!  I know that some of you do not have ovens or access to them, so I would like to take a quick second here to tell you that you do not have to have an oven to enjoy a casserole!  All of the ingredients can be prepared and heated and then served on top of each other.  For example, with tonight's recipe, you can heat the green beans in the sauce while the chicken cooks, and then top with the stuffing mixture.  Sometimes, we just have to get a little creative to enjoy our kitchen and dinner!

I have made this casserole for some of my friends in the past, but never for my family, so it is new for my dad and sister...hopefully they will be digging in for seconds!

Creamy Chicken and Green Bean Casserole
Yields 6 - 8 servings

To Prepare the Casserole
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
3. Once the olive oil is hot, add 1 pound of chicken.  I used boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins!
4. While the chicken is cooking, start making the sauce by adding 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and 1 cup of white wine in a bowl and mixing it well.  (Be sure to pour yourself a glass of wine while you are at it!)

5. Pour a thin layer of sauce in a large casserole dish.

6. Put 2 pounds of thawed green beans in the casserole dish.

7. Evenly spread the cooked chicken on top of the green beans.

8. Cover the entire casserole with the remaining sauce.

9. Top with dry, seasoned stuffing cubes.

10. Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the stuffing is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling! 

Enjoy your casserole with a glass of white wine!