Toddler-Approved Family Stew Recipe

Of all the things that would get my 2-year-old excited about potatoes and carrots, I never expected it to be a 50+ year old stew recipe passed down from my husband’s French grandmother.

My typically picky eater actually made audible mmm sounds while eating the potatoes and thanked me. Zut alors!

Here’s my modified version with shortcuts for busy mamas. (I’ll also include the original handwritten recipe from my mother-in-law because it has that extra special je ne sais quo.)

Warning: this recipe takes 3 hours and has lots of flour, butter and potatoes. Mon dieu!

First, make sure to pick up the following ingredients:

-Pre-cubed stew meat (1.5 lbs)

-Pre-washed baby carrots

-2 potatoes

-4 onions (I had red on and, but any will do)

-Garlic

-Thyme

-Low-sodium beef broth

Wondra All Purpose Quick-Mixing Sauce ‘N Gravy Flour

-Butter

-Salt & pepper

You’ll need a Dutch oven or large pot, plus a sauté pan:

1. Toss the meat in a bag with a few shakes of flour, salt & pepper

2. Brown the meat in half a cube of butter (yep, you read that right) in the main pot

3. Meanwhile, sauté 1.5 cups diced onion; add it to the main pot

4. Add 10.5 oz beef broth, 1.5 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, and a whole clove of garlic to the main pot

5. Sauté the remaining diced onions and add to the main pot

6. Bring back to a simmer

7. Add the baby carrots (about 2 cups’ worth) and simmer until tender; which takes about 45 minutes

8. Peel and quarter the potatoes and add to the pot when the carrots are nearly done

9. Simmer for another 45 minutes or so, until tender

10. Salt & pepper to taste

For additional ingredients, here’s the original recipe:

Next up, we’ll try my family’s stew recipe which is more of an Irish-style dish. In either case, it’s good for Sundays so you have leftovers for 1-2 other weeknights.

Ground Turkey Shepherds Pie in the Crock Pot

Ever since I made my first corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot 10+ years ago, I’ve been hooked on slow cooked St. Patty’s fare.

With limited staples on hand, I decided to try my hand at this Shepherds pie recipe using ground turkey, baby Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots and broccoli. It turned out well! Luck of the Irish perhaps?

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First, prepare mashed potatoes using your preferred technique and scoop into a bowl so you can use the same pot for the meat to cut back on dishes. 

Brown ground turkey and 2 cloves of garlic, and then add the following:

  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 generous handfuls of sliced baby carrots (or 2 regular chopped carrots)
  • 1 cup frozen broccoli (or peas)
  • 1 cup broth (I used chicken)
  • 1/4 cup wine (I used white)
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Generous sprinkling dried thyme

Stir and simmer until liquid is almost fully absorbed. Add to a greased crock pot in an even layer and then spread the mashed potatoes over the top. Season with salt and pepper.

After cooking on low for about 3-4 hours, grate cheddar cheese over the top. Slainte!

Good Things in Small Packages: Mushroom Quinoa

I’m always on the lookout for healthy ingredients that don’t require refrigeration, or at least have a long shelf life, especially for weeknight dinners. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a $5 bag of dried Maitake mushrooms at the non-frugal Ferry Building and a bag of ready-to-cook red quinoa at a nearby market. Bingo!

First, soak the mushrooms in hot water for 15-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to instructions, and prep your ingredients of choice. I sautéed minced garlic with chopped green onions and carrots in olive oil, before stirring the mushrooms in. I added spinach directly to the pot of quinoa, and microwaved frozen peas, before pouring in the sauté mixture. For seasoning, I used a generous sprinkling of salt and a couple shakes of fish sauce.

Basically, use your imagination and enjoy guilt-free!

Pin Real Life: Veggie Scramble

There’s Pinterest, and then there’s real life. There are farm fresh eggs and vegetable gardens, and then there are potatoes sprouting limbs and eggs about to expire. So today’s brunch creation was a marriage of fantasy and reality.

Inspired by this lovely pin, I was thrown a curve ball when I pulled some scary looking potatoes out of the cupboard. My plan B was to pull some frozen veggies out of the freezer, and go from there.

-Swirl some olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add one chopped clove of garlic
-Pour 3/4 quarters of a bag of frozen veggies, and a handful of frozen breakfast sausages into the pan and cover
-Note: Cut the sausages into slices either before they go in the pan, or after they’ve thawed a bit, like I did (PS – I really like Applegate)
-Once the veggies and sausages are cooked through, crack 4 eggs over the top, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low
-Once egg whites are opaque, remove lid, turn off heat; optionally, sprinkle with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, or salt and pepper as desired

Part Pinterest, part real life, and totally easy!

Easy Like Sunday Morning Crock Pot Pork & Mashed Potatoes

2014 is the year of the crock pot, in my book. But finding recipes that use my favorite staples, like pork tenderloin, without delving into canned this or processed that, can be difficult. So this morning, I borrowed from some basic crock pot concepts and added my own healthy spin, to attempt pork tenderloin and carrot stew with mashed potatoes. Fortunately, it worked!

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You will need:
– 1 onion
– Pork tenderloin
– Baby carrots (1 package)
– Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
– Salt & pepper
– Optional: green onions, butter for mashed potatoes; flour for gravy

Slice a whole onion and spread evenly to create a layer on the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add two pork loins (from one package) on top of onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour one small package of baby carrots on top of the pork. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For the final layer, add as many freshly peeled potatoes as you can fit on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

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Cook on low for 6 hours, and then keep on warm while you prepare the potatoes (or as long as needed).

For the mashed potatoes, remove the cooked potatoes one by one with a spoon from the crock pot (they will be soft). Then mash in an oven-safe casserole dish with desired ingredients. I used 1 cube of melted butter, 1 cup of almond milk, 1-2 chopped green onions, and salt & pepper to taste. Keep warm in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve.

For gravy, I ladled some of the juice from the crock pot into a small saucepan and whisked in about 1/8 cup of flour slowly. My gravy turned out pretty lumpy, so this part will require further refinement.

I may also add more liquid next go around, so there’s even more juicy goodness. But all in all, this was a hearty and health home style meal without a parade of dishes!

Starting Fresh

Fresh produce from @FarmFreshtoYou = healthy weekend kick-off. Tonight I went to work in the kitchen, chopping up all the seasonal veggies I could get my hands on for dinner. David and I both ate pretty decadently this week (hello, In-n-out) so we thought it was a good night to start fresh.

First, I shredded a head of cabbage, reserving two bowls’ worth for the base of a pseudo farmer’s market salad. Next, I chopped up tomatoes and walnuts, sliced two carrots, and diced an avocado. And a salad in the Jackson house isn’t complete without dried cranberries and Ranch. 😉

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Meanwhile, I steamed fresh corn on the cob and roasted a combo of fingerlings and sweet potatoes on a makeshift foil “tray” in the oven. I only had two sweet potatoes, so I mashed them up with ricotta and brown sugar. The fingerlings were delicious with a bit of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.

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No guilt this Friday night! And it probably cost less than $10 given it was half my delivery from Farm Fresh to You.

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Eggs in Heaven

Inspiration from @epicurious iPad app + @farmfreshtoyou vegetables = heavenly potato, egg, veggie casserole. For tonight’s dinner, I had 8 eggs to use up and figured some sort of potato casserole would be a good route to explore. I came across “Eggs in Purgatory with Artichoke Hearts, Potatoes and Capers” through an Epicurious recipe search, but the tomato-artichoke sauce sounded a little like heartburn hell (plus I didn’t have all the ingredients). So instead, I improvised with fresh zucchini and carrots from Farm Fresh to You, and whipping cream for what I like to call, “Eggs in Heaven.”

The result was a deliciously creamy potato, egg, and vegetable casserole. Divine!

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Red Carpet Rebel

Pasta + fresh veggies + turkey meatballs = too hearty for couture. Thank goodness I didn’t have to walk the red carpet like Giuliana, Sandra and JLO, so instead David and I enjoyed a fiber-rich meal while watching the action from our living room. What a treat to take in big forkfuls of pasta while the leading ladies sipped champagne and nibbled on gourmet morsels! (Don’t get me wrong, I’d still trade places in a Hollywood minute.)

The script: Fresh carrots, broccoli and parsley had been waiting patiently in the fridge for their 15 minutes of fame. So I cast turkey meatballs as the lead (with fresh chopped parsley in a supporting role), and sliced carrots and broccoli tips shared the spotlight with the boiled pasta. For the finale I tossed in more fresh parsley, parmesan and olive oil.

Lights, camera… dinner!

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Menu by Twitter

Surplus of spinach + @BHGFood tweet re: risotto = 2010 dinner planning. This morning I came across “Spinach-Pea Risotto” on Tweetdeck, courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens and it fit the bill: I had an abundance of nearly expired spinach and carrots in the fridge, Arborio rice and garlic in the cupboard, and frozen peas and homemade vegetable broth in the freezer. So minus a couple of ingredients (namely green onions, radishes and tarragon), we enjoyed risotto alongside turkey meatballs for dinner tonight.

Note: don’t leave the burner on after you add the final veggies and cheese to the cooked risotto. Turn it to low to keep it warm until served (or serve immediately as BH&G suggests). I ended up with a burnt pot but saved dinner in time!

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Faux Vegetarian

Seasonal veggies + cleaning out the fridge = experimental vegetarian. Last week’s pre-made dinners were a breeze, and with the short holiday week I set out to create a similar outcome. I started with enchiladas, which are hearty enough for three nights as a main course – and not to be mistaken as healthy or vegetarian! 😉

From there, I had an overabundance of Capay vegetables left to deal with: butternut squash, collard greens, cabbage, carrots, and apples, oh my! I searched high and low on Epicurious and Everyday Food, and came up with the following items:

Butternut Squash, Apples and Braising Greens – An adaptation of SF chef Traci des Jardin’s recipe on Epicurious; I used butternut squash in place of sweet potatoes (based on the reviews I wasn’t the only one to do so!) and collard greens. I didn’t have parsley, but didn’t notice. Tomorrow night, I might try blending the dish and adding it to stock to make a soup – another reader’s suggestion.

Vegetable Stock – The perfect solution to freeze for later use! Using ideas from Martha Stewart, Sam Beall and Epicurous, I made my own hybrid by sauteeing chopped onions in olive oil, and then adding chopped cabbage, 5-6 cups of water, sliced carrots, dried oregano, a little white wine, and salt and pepper. After boiling for an hour, I strained out the veggies and brought the stock to room temperature before putting in tupperware for the freezer.

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