Beef and Barley Stew - Slow cooker

I have always preferred spring/summer to winter when it comes to vegetables.  But one thing I do love is a good Beef and Barley stew.  It's been a long time since I made one, but I just had a taste for it, so here is the recipe.

 

Beef Barley Stew for slow cooker (can be done on stove)

3 lb Chuck roast, fat trimmed and cut into ½ in pieces

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 large onion

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 ½ cups red wine (may use broth)

2 sweet peppers, large dice (I used 1 red and 1 orange)

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

6 small stalks celery and leaves, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups beef broth

1 tsp dried thyme (use 1 Tbsp if fresh)

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup barley

 

1.      Trim chuck roast of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large skillet over medium high heat and sear beef, in batches as necessary.  Place beef into base of slow cooker.

2.      Dice onions and and mushrooms (large pieces).  Heat rest of oil over medium heat in same skillet.  Add onions, cook until the onions start to look translucent.  Add mushrooms and cook another 5-8 minutes until liquid from mushrooms begins to evaporate.  Add garlic and cook for about a minute longer.  Pour vegetable mixture over beef.

3.      Turn off heat to skillet and pour wine into skillet to de-glaze pan (get all those good dark bits!).  Pour wine into slow cooker.

4.      Prepare peppers, carrots, and celery by cutting to large dice (bite-sized pieces).  Add to slow cooker.  Pour broth over all and add seasonings.  Mix well, then cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

5.      At end of cooking time, change to either SAUTE or HIGH to bring broth to a boil.  Add barley, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Barley will continue to thicken the stew as time goes on.  Adjust seasonings and serve!

Note: I really prefer using my slow cookers for stews and soups.  However, this could be done in a Dutch oven by simmering for about 45 minutes to an hour after everything is added (except barley.  Test the vegetables and once they are cooked to taste, raise heat to bring back to boil and add barley.  

 

 

Stewing

I stopped at the Middleton CSA table this weekend at the Midland Farmers' Market and purchased some stew beef.  I haven't made stew in a very long time, so I figured it was time to do so.  I picked up a couple small eggplants, some peppers and parsnips thinking they would be good for the stew.  I also have a six pack of Shock-Top Belgian White in my refrigerator and thought that would make a good addition for flavor.

Autumn Beef Stew

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 lbs stew beef
• 2 small onions*, diced
• 3 cloves garlic*, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow pepper*, diced
• 2 medium parsnips*, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 small eggplant*, diced
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 12-oz bottle Shock-Top Belgian White
• 4 cups homemade vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 1/2 tsp tumeric

 Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn translucent.  Add stew beef and cook until browned on each side.  Add garlic, stirring for about 1 minute or until fragrent.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered for 2 hours or until vegetables are cooked. 

*Farmers Market items

Pumpkin and Chicken

Okay, I am being terribly remiss in posting recipes again.  Today I needed to use a sugar pumpkin and some chicken that I had in my fridge.  While I looked for ideas, I roasted the pumpkin.

Roasted Sugar Pumpkin

• 1 medium sugar pumpkin

Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut stem end off pumpkin.  Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds and strings.  Separate the seeds from the strings and rinse; set aside.  Place pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a cookie sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool.  Remove flesh from skins and process until smooth in blender.


I looked at several different recipes for pumpkin chicken soups and stews.  In the end, I decided to go with a Chicken Pumpkin Chili that looked similar to Chicken White Bean Chili.  I have always liked that type of chili, but have never actually made it.  And it seemed to be the type of thing you could prepare the ingredients and then cook in a slow cooker.  I have spent part of the summer preparing vegetables and freezing them so that I would have everything on hand and decided to adjust the recipe to include some of my other favorite vegetables.

Chicken Pumpkin Two Bean Chili
Adapted from: http://picky-palate.com/2012/11/26/white-bean-and-turkey-pumpkin-chili/

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 cup frozen fresh corn
• 1 cup frozen fresh mixed peppers
• 1 4oz can green chilis
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Roasted pumpkin puree from 1 medium sugar pumpkin
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp cumin

Prepare vegetables (onions, celery, carrots).  Heat oil over medium heat.  Add prepared vegetables, plus corn and mixed peppers.  Saute until vegetables are soft.  Add garlic and saute another minute or so until fragrant.  Mix pumpkin puree and chicken stock in crockpot until well blended.  Add vegetables and remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook at HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce heat to LOW and cook 6-8 hours.

Gumbo

There are certain foods that I absolutely love, but I hesitate to make them because of the work that is involved.  Gumbo is one of those foods.  In order to make a proper gumbo, you must make a roux; and not only a roux, but a nice toasty, dark roux.  Roux, toasty ones, at least, require standing and stirring while it gets nice and toasty brown.  This is tough for me because it's hard for me to stand still for long periods of time because of my knees.  Yesterday, however, I found some BEAUTIFUL okra at the farmers market, so I took the plunge this morning and made gumbo.  It is finishing cooking in my crockpot right now.

Chicken Andouille Gumbo
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-andouille-gumbo/ 

• 12 cups water
• 3 pounds chicken parts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds okra
• 1/2 cupolive  oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 5 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely diced, reserve liquid as possible
• 1 mixed bell peppers, chopped 
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon file powder

1. Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; set aside.
3. Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes with their juices, bell peppers, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker and cook, covered, on HIGH for 1 hour. 
4. Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo.  Cover and cook, covered, for 1 more hour on HIGH.  Serve over hot rice or quinoa.

Mulligatawny Stew

I have seen recipe after recipe for Mulligatawny stew.  I don't know why, but when I was much younger, I thought this stew came from Australia, but I now know that the origin is actually Anglo-Indian.  The name, Tamil in origin, literally translates to pepper water.  While there is no traditional form, the recipe I followed today gets it's color and flavor from curry powder.  I have added mushrooms because I needed to use them up.  And I chose to use leeks instead of onions.  But it smells lovely and looks quite yummy.  Oh yeah, the thing that has always intrigued me beyond the curry base is the fact that almost every recipe calls for a tart apple.  I love curry and apples!

Mulligatawny Stew
Adapted from: 1001 Low-carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, pg 190

• 2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade)
• 2 cups shredded chicken (leftover rotissierie)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (original recipe calls for butter or ghee)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 2 ribs celery, diced (include leaves)
• 1 1/2 heaping tbsp curry powder (adjust this to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tart apple, chopped fine
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dehydrated lemon zest
• 1 cup evaporated skimmed milk

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks and sweat until softened.  Add the mushrooms, carrot, celery and curry powder.  Cook until the vegetables are fork tender.

Add stock, chicken, cooked vegetables, bay leaf, apple and seasonings to the crock of a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Then reduce heat and cook overnight on low.  Just before serving, add the evaporated milk and remove the bay leaf.

Chicken and Vegetables

After a rough week, I am finally feeling like I have energy again. Unfortunately, my meats have gone bad. I am thankful that I have friends willing to help me out. My friend, Leland, is headed to the grocery store to get me a rotisserie chicken. I hope they have some available. I decided to just make a melange of sorts and add chicken for protein. It smells really good cooking on the stove.

 Chicken Vegetable Soup

• 1/2 large onion, finely diced
•  1 small butternut squash, diced
•  3 stalks celery, with leaves, diced
•  2 carrots, diced
•  1 red pepper, diced
•  2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•  1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
•  1 small rotisserie chicken, shredded

 Prepare vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add vegetables and cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently over medium heat. Add diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Reduce to a simmer and cook 20 minutes. Add shredded chicken, cover and cook another 20 minutes. Blend a 1-cup serving.

Note: I have purposely overcooked this soup to make it blendable. Cooking times can be adjusted and chicken added with the tomatoes and stock if you prefer firmer vegetables.

Winter Vegetables

Today, I need to use up winter vegetables. I also need dishes that will fit into my pre-op diet which is pretty basic. I couldn't quite find a recipe that appealed tome, so I am going to do what we used to call potluck. I am going to take all the vegetables I have and make a fresh vegetable soup. Seems an appropriate dish for a snowy winter day.

 "Pot Luck" Vegetable Soup
 Note: This soup is made with vegetables I had in my kitchen. You may use whatever you have available.

•  1/2 head cabbage*, chopped
•  2 turnips*, peeled and diced
•  1 large Yukon gold potato*, peeled and diced
•  celery heart and leaves (about 4 stalks), sliced
•  6 oz mushrooms, quartered
•  2 cups sweet corn*, frozen or fresh
• 2 cups frozen peas
•  1 small sweet potato*, peeled and diced
•  12 cups water
•  4 Tbsp beef stock flavoring ^
• 1 tsp dried thyme
•  1 Tbsp dried marjoram
•  1 bay leaf
•  1 Tbsp minced garlic

 Prepare all vegetables and place in large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are well cooked.

^Note:Use a good beef, chicken or vegetable stock if you have one. I did not have one, so I used a stock base.

*CSA ingredients