Menu of the Week #4

This week was a mix of new recipes and some old standards for us. I discovered a new way to make Brussels and cauliflower that I think you will enjoy too. We have to keep our veggie game up to trick family into eating enough, am I right?

Menu of the Week

Go figure the week that Jim thinks I hit it out of the ballpark I miss the pic of my chalkboard menu wall. At least I snapped a few pics of the dishes before we devoured them.

Pressure Cooker Chicken, Lentil, and Bacon Stew With Carrots

I'm learning that my pressure cooker is an amazing device for making flavor-packed stews in very short order. In this version, lentils are flavored with big chunks of bacon, chicken stock, carrots, onions, bay leaves, and fall-off-the-bone tender chicken. It all cooks in under an hour from start to finish.

Meatball Tortellini Soup

I was really surprised how much we all liked this recipe, Harper included. Although it's not as quick of a meal for a weeknight, there are ways to prep on the weekend to speed up the time spent standing over the stove. It's perfect for a Saturday or Sunday because it can feed an army or you can plan to eat this for lunch during the week like I do.
The recipe has three main components: Soup, Tortellini and Meatballs. I used this recipe from Food Network as my inspiration, but called on a couple other blogs and recipes I've made in the past as I went along. Keep reading to find out how it all came together.

Menu of the Week + Chicken & Dumplings Update

Our menu of the week consist of one of Jim's most favorite meals: Chicken and Dumplings. There were two other stars on the menu that I guarantee will be making a comeback on our menu board in a few weeks. The Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree was amazing. Keep reading for links to recipes.

Weekly Menu + Bacon & Bean Soup

 

This is like a "throwback Thursday" post since this was Superbowl week. Game day was an easy cooking day at our house. We had family over and everyone brought a dish to share. We let the kiddos run around while we snacked casually until we were full.

Taco Stoup made with Leftovers

Do you ever clean out the fridge to find a tower of Tupperware containing bits of dinners past? My mother in law made a fantastic taco salad bar last weekend for the family and used ingredients you would expect to see (tomatoes, lettuce, beans, black olives) and some we were surprised we liked on our salad (pecans, shredded coconut, Frito's and nopalitos, which is cactus.) Jim and I luckily ended up with a good portion of the leftover pulled beef and the ground beef with onions, tomatoes and pinto beans.

I made quesadillas for Jim and I one night with the leftovers, and nachos as a snack later in the week. What I needed now was one really good recipe to repurpose all our leftovers and create one last fantastic meal. Enter Taco Stoup from stage left. That is not a typo, "stoup" is a cross between soup and stew. He's spicy, he's meaty, he's not quite a soup but not quite chile. You can eat this Taco Stoup in a bowl with a spoon, or scooped up with a tortilla, or spooned over tortilla chips, fritos or salad greens. This is a play on my original Taco Soup recipe, but I used what I had in the kitchen...and in this case, it just happened to be some fantastic mexican leftovers.

Ground Beef with Tomatoes, Onion and Pinto Beans
4 lbs ground beef
3 large onions, chopped
2 14 1/2 oz cans peeled tomatoes
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2 12 oz cans tomato puree
4 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t garlic powder
6 t salt
2 23 oz cans Ranch Style Beans (My mother in law used pinto beans.)

Directions:
Brown beef and onions, drain fat. Add remaining ingredients except beans and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours. Add beans and heat through.

Pulled Beef
2-3 lb beef chuck, fat trimmed
3 T red wine vinegar
1 1/2 c beef broth
2 T chili powder
1 t ground cumin

Directions:
Cut roast into 3-4 chunks and place in slow cooker. Combine ingredients and pour over roast. Cook 7-8 hours. Final hour: remove beef and shred. Return to pan with juice, cover and cook another hour.
Serves 8-12

HWM Leftover Taco Stoup
Into a crock pot I scoop the leftover ground beef and the leftover pulled beef.

If you have fresh jalapenos, use them. Mine were moldy (gross) so I used leftover canned jalapenos from our tacos salad bar. This is about 1/2 cup.

The can goods I added were Stewed Tomatoes (the mexican flavored variety), Trappey's Pinto Beans (bacon flavored), a can of Kernell Corn and a can of Rotel.

I had a few fresh ingredients (that were not moldy yet,) I shredded a carrot into a saute pan over medium heat.

Next I added three celery stalks that I sliced and added 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Because I didn't plan on cooking this Taco Stoup in the crock pot all day I wanted to give these fresh veggies a head start by sauteing them for about 4 minutes before adding them to the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot.

Following my original recipe, I add one package of Taco Seasoning and one package of Ranch Salad Dressing.


I stirred all my ingredients together and added two cans of water. Set the crock pot to high and let it cook, stirring every so often for as long as you can stand it. If you have all day, then set to low and let it cook for 8 hours. I'm probably going to eat this in one to two hours. All my ingredients are cooked, I just want to heat through and let the ingredients marry and fall in love.


In place of two cans of water, use chicken broth or beef broth if you have it. And that is how I made Taco Soup using leftover ingredients. Be bold and brave in the kitchen, you just might surprise yourself!

Winter Beef Stew

When the weather outside is frightful, it's time to make a big pot of winter beef stew. What I wanted to make was Irish Beef Stew because I absolutely loved the way it turned out last time I made it. But I want to constantly stretch my culinary skills and repertoire so I searched my epicurious iPhone app for a new Beef Stew recipe.

The recipe I settled upon was definitely a different preparation that I am used to. Chunks of beef are braised with red wine, balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs and large chunks of carrots and celery. After 2.5 hours in the oven, you pour everything through a colander and reserve the liquid and beef. This sounded ridiculous to me that you would braise the vegetables and then throw them away.
 

I went along with the recipe, word for word...and I'm so glad I did. This beef stew is far superior to any beef stew I have ever had. I wouldn't change a thing with the recipe. 
 

For braised beef:

5 pounds boneless beef chuck (not lean), cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil (I used butter)
3 carrots, quartered
3 celery ribs, quartered (leaves and all)
2 medium onions, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise (I used minced garlic)
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I used slightly more tomato paste, basically an entire small can)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (peculiar ingredient, but it worked well)
1 (750-ml) bottle dry red wine (about 3 3/4 cups, please use the good stuff!)
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
2 thyme sprigs
3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
3 cups water (after I added the wine and beef broth, there was not any room left for water)

For potatoes and carrots:
2 1/2 pounds small white boiling potatoes
1 1/2 pounds carrots

Equipment: a wide 6-to 8-quart heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid

 

Braise beef:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Pat beef dry and season with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
(I prepared the pieces of beef as I would a roast. I first seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, then dusted in flour.)

Heat oil butter in pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers melts, then brown meat, without crowding, in 3 batches, turning, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a platter.

Reduce heat to medium, then add the large chunks of carrots, celery, onions, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 12 minutes.
(Because I was using minced garlic, I withheld the garlic for the last three minutes so it would not burn.)

Push vegetables to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook paste, stirring, 2 minutes, then stir into vegetables.
(This is an odd step, but reminded me of a an Anne Burrell Short Ribs recipe where she did something similar.)

Add vinegar and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
(I felt the addition of vinegar was another odd step, and as soon as I added the balsamic vinegar I thought I had messed up, the vinegar thickened and bubbled violently. No fear, you add the wine next!)

Stir in wine, bay leaves, and thyme and boil until wine is reduced by about two thirds, 10 to 12 minutes.
(Please please please use good wine here, something you would actually drink on it's own.)

Add beef broth to pot along with water, beef, and any juices from platter and bring to a simmer. Cover and braise in oven until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Set a large colander in a large bowl. Pour stew into colander. Return pieces of meat to pot, then discard remaining solids. Let cooking liquid stand 10 minutes.
(I had to read this step about 10 times before I realized that they were asking me to strain all the meat and veggies, then toss the veggies and herbs, and return the meat to the cooking liquid.)

Cook potatoes and carrots:
While beef braises, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch-wide wedges. Slice carrots diagonally (1-inch).

Add potatoes and carrots to stew (make sure they are submerged) and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 40 minutes.
(I cooked these for at least an hour, and then let the mixture cool and put it in the refrigerator for the next night. I read many reviews that said the stew is better the next day and they were RIGHT!)

Hatch Chile and Pork Stew

As summer cools down, the Village of Hatch, New Mexico heats up. Labor Day weekend heralds the annual Hatch Chile Festival, a two-day celebration of the world-famous crop that attracts over 30,000 visitors from all over the United States. My town of Austin, Texas has a love affair with these chiles during the month of August, the only time they are available fresh. You can smell the intoxicating smokey-sweet scent of roasted green chiles out front of most grocery stores. Their blackened barrels filled with fresh green chiles turning over open flames just like they do in New Mexico. Local restaurants feature special hatch dishes, and I of course wanted to showcase this special chile in a dish of my own.

The week Eat, Pray, Love came out in the theaters I went with several girl friends to catch Julie Roberts on screen. Of course to watch a movie with “EAT” in the title, we had to go to Alamo Drafthouse, a local theater (although the chain has expanded outside of Austin) that serves dinner and drinks during the movie. I ordered the Puerco Guisada, which literally translates as “Stewed Pork.” It is a spicy stew of green chiles and pork topped with crispy tortilla strips, Monterey Jack and cotija cheeses and fresh avocado slices. Served in a single serving kettle and a side of warm tortillas. I loved how the pork was ultra tender from being cooked for so long, I loved the spicy gravy it came in, and I especially loved spooning this into a warm tortilla and eating it like a taco. THIS was the dish I set out to recreate with our beloved Hatch Chiles.

For my recipe I used a 2.5 lb pork butt, onion, garlic, chicken bouillon, roasted Hatch chiles, jalapeno, tomatillos, tomatoes, Mexican beer, masa mix, cornstarch, cilantro, cumin and Mexican oregano.

You could use regular flour in this recipe combined with the cornstarch for a thickener, but I prefer to use the traditional Masa. Masa is the corn-based dough that is used to make tamales, tortillas, empanadas, and many other Mexican and South/Central American recipes. Masa harina – or dough flour - is not the same as cornmeal, which is rougher in texture (and not to be used as a substitute.) The term “masa” means dough in Spanish, although it also refers to corn flour in many regions.

I purchased a new spice for this recipe, Mexican Oregano. This is a great addition to all my hot and spicy recipes because it can hold up to the intense flavors, unlike the sweeter Mediterranean version. Mexican oregano is widely used in Latin American cuisines, as well as the regional cooking of the American Southwest. It is a close relative of lemon verbena and is prized for its intense herbal aroma and pungent oregano flavor.

These are the Roasted Hatch Chiles that everyone in Austin is going bonkers over right now. There are festivals, roastings, lectures and recipe contests popping up all over town. Lots of people stock up and freeze these chiles to use year around. The devotion to roasted chile runs deep in these parts and yes, it’s with an e never with an i.

Here are some interesting facts about Hatch Chiles adapted from the New Mexico Chile Institutes’ “Chile Pepper Facts”

• One fresh medium-sized green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.
• One teaspoon of dried red chile powder has the daily requirements of Vitamin A.
• Hot chile peppers burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn in the body, which speeds up the metabolism. (I love this tidbit!)
• Teas & lozenges are made with chile peppers for the treatment of a sore throat.
• Capsaicinoids, the chemical that make chile peppers hot, are used in muscle patches for sore and aching muscles.
• Chile peppers are relatives of tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, all belonging to the nightshade family.
• The color extracted from very red chile pepper pods, oleoresin, is used in everything from lipstick to processed meats.
• There are 26 known species of chile pepper, five of which are domesticated.

The first thing I did was trim a lot of the fat off my pork butt. And although I wanted to buy pork but without a bone, all my grocery store had was bone-in, so I cut out the bone and trimmed the fat.

Then I cubed the pork into 1 to 2 inch cubes (which I later decided to cut down into smaller bite size cubes.)

You know all that fat I cut off? I put it my dutch oven over medium-high heat. We have to start this recipe with an oil or fat of some sort, might as well use what I had on hand.

I removed the fatty pieces from the pot and then added the cubed pork to brown on all sides. Once brown I removed the pork to a plate to rest while I cook up the veggies.

Melting the unwanted fat from my pork butt gave me a perfect amount to begin this stew with. But if this doesn't appeal to you, start with a scoop of bacon grease (if you keep a jar in the fridge like I do) or a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil - enough to coat the bottom of your cookware.

Let me show you how to prep the hatch chiles. If you buy them fresh, then you need to fire up the grill and burn the crap out of them, or turn on your gas stove top and turn the chiles over an open flame until they are completely charred and blistered. Put them in a bowl, seal with plastic wrap and let them steam for 10 minutes.

Okay, that is where I am now.

The next step is to remove the skin. I do this several ways. You can take a paper towel and wipe the skin off.

Sometimes I can peel the skin right off, and sometimes I run it under cool water to help me remove the outer charred skin.

Once skin is removed we slice the chile open and remove the seeds.

Once all 18 chiles were cleaned and seeded, I chopped them roughly into 1 inch pieces. I bought a combination of mild and hot chiles and used half and half in this recipe.

In my dutch oven I put the chopped onion and about six tomatillos that I quartered.

This stew probably didn't need it, but I chopped up a fresh jalapeno to add heat. The Hatch Chiles turned out to be H-O-T.

The jalapenos get added and four minced garlic cloves get added - then I pour in 12 ounces of beer onto the veggies. Any beer will work here, it's going to impart a little flavor but it will not overpower this meal. I used Pacifico because it is a Mexican pilsner-style beer. Use your spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of your dutch oven, this is where mucho flavor can be found! You can alway skip the addition of beer and use chicken stock, beef stock or water.

I didn't want to add too much of a tomato flavor so I only quartered two tomatoes and added them to the pot.

Once the veggies were soft I added two cups of chicken broth (using Better than Bouillon in the chicken flavor) and then took my immersion blender to the pot. I didn't want to completely puree the mixture, but I knew I wanted the pork and chiles to be the stars of the dish.

In go the browned meat and all the hatch chiles!

Season with cumin, Mexican oregano and salt, cover and turn heat down to a simmer and let it cook on the stove top for 2-3 hours, until pork is very tender.

Add more liquid if it's too thick, or add a combination of masa and cornstarch to thicken the stew.

In the last hour of cooking I added cilantro. I just learned this tip from Chef Alma Alcocer-Thomas who has been the executive chef of some 5-star restaurants in Austin and recently opened TNT Tacos and Tequila. Use a fork to separate the leaves from the bunch of cilantro. Some stems are usually fine to throw into a dish, but for a stew I didn't want the texture of any stems in the stew so the leaves were all I really wanted to use.

Duh! This is a brilliant suggestion, it works perfectly and I can't believe I didn't think of it.

After 3 hours the pork is VERY tender and the stew is SPICY. My favorite way to eat this is rolled up in a tortilla.

The next day, I found the leftovers to be even better. I ladled some of the stew in a bowl and topped with a spoonful of cool sour cream and warmed a tortilla in my cast iron skillet - perfection!

{Hatch Chile and Pork Stew}

Irish Beef Stew

This is a big bowl of hearty Irish Beef Stew.

This is my Irish man. He's so handsome. And sweet. And he's trying to figure out if the wine has gone bad. After another taste test, he confirmed the wine was not good. And you know I wouldn't cook with wine that I wouldn't also drink.

Saturday was my ideal day. I woke up around 6:30 AM and got out the door early. My first stop, Starbucks, my second stop, the grocery store. I really enjoy grocery shopping. Coffee in hand, I'm wearing my comfortable shoes with a detailed and organized list in hand. Oh, I love mornings like this. I bought groceries for the week, but I was most excited about the Irish Beef Stew I was going to make for Jim today.

This hearty stew has layers of flavor, from beef stock to wine to a stout beer, I chose this recipe from Simply Recipes because it made my mouth water just reading the ingredients.

Irish Beef Stew is perfect for the Irishman in your life, or anyone who needs a stick-to-your-ribs meal in the winter. We've been having 25 degree weather here in Austin. Which, by the way doesn't sound too bad when I heard from Jamie in Kentucky that she was experiencing 11 degree weather! Oh my! Jamie, make this stew - and hurry! It will warm your house and your belly.

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
I cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

This was twice as much beef as I needed, but it was such a good price and WELL MARBLED, so I cut this in half and stuck it in the freezer - for another use, at this time we don't know its destiny.

With the remaining half, I cut into one inch slices.

Then diced into one inch cubes.

Salt the meat well.

Side Note: Do you notice anything different? Have you thought that these photos rock? Is it just my obsession with food porn? I hope I'm not alone in this. Well.... I received a Cannon T1i for Christmas and although I have a long way to go in the photography department, I'm super excited about the way these photos turned out!

Garlic! Oh how I love thee. The recipe calls for six garlic cloves, I might have gone a little overboard.

I just started mincing and couldn't stop.

In a large dutch oven I added 1/4 cup of olive oil and heated over medium-high heat. Well, I didn't measure the oil but I feel pretty good about my estimating skills.

Working in batches, add the beef making sure you do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown. Cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over.

Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes.

Jim is sitting on the couch watching some crazy movie about a woman who's astronaut husband is taken over by an alien and comes back to earth to impregnate her with alien twins. It was bizarre and he was totally into it, but the SMELL of these beef nuggets cooking was enough for him to pause, turn around and say, that smells good! Then he comes in and tries to steal a piece of the seared beef. And I let him, because he is a devilishly handsome Irishman.

Once all the meat is seared, add back to the dutch oven. Quickly before another member of your family steals another piece!

Now add in all the freshly minced garlic.

Add six cups of beef stock.

This is going to lift all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan also, creating some of the best flavor for your beef stew.

Recipe calls for Guinness, but my HEB was selling individual bottles so I purchased this cream stout. Hmmm... I wonder if I can still call this Irish Beef Stew? Oh, what the heck... My cooking, my blog.

Again, I reiterate that you must cook with wine that you would also drink! Cooking with gross stuff makes your food taste gross.

Add the wine, the beer, and you have some great layers of flavor already in this stew.

2 Tablespoons of tomato paste.

1 Tablespoon of sugar.

1 Tablespoon of dried thyme. And I must insert here that I would have halved this amount, because the flavor of the thyme in the end was a tad too strong for my taste. Maybe a fresh thyme sprig would be better next time.

1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.

Add your bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Now for all the vegetables! This is three pounds of russet potatoes, peeled and beautiful in all their nakedness.

Dice into 1/2 inch pieces. I diced mine more like one inch pieces, which I'm glad I did, because later on in the recipe we saute these, then add to the soup to simmer for 45 minutes and they fall a part a little, and I wanted chunky potatoes in the stew.

I love chopping onions. I have these really cool/cute pink onion goggles that I wear. They make me feel like a mad scientist in the kitchen. Lop off the top end of the onion, leaving the roots. Cut the onion in half from root to tip. Peel off the paper skin. Then make several small vertical slices all the way through the onion (as shown.)

Next, rotate the onion 90 degrees and slice again, creating a fine dice.

Ah, I big pile of accomplishment right there. Also note the diced celery which is a Mandy addition, not originally in the recipe. That is about two stalks of diced celery.

The stew meat and liquids are simmering away. Meanwhile, in another pan I melt one Tablespoon of butter, and add two cups of chopped carrots. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

The carrots are such a big veggie that I gave them a head start. Next I add all the chopped onion and the celery along with another "knob" of butter.

Saute vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes.

After an hour, the stew has really reduced - which is good since we are about to add lots of veggies.

Dump them in, give them a good stir.

Now for the potatoes. I tossed the potato pieces with a sprinkle of garlic powder, onion powder and white pepper in the hot skillet for a short 5-10 minutes.

Add the potatoes to the stew. My dutch oven is really getting full!

Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, I get down on the floor and test my photography skills with the babies (aka our dogs Madeline and Cole.) This is Madeline's "what's going on face."

I call her name and this is her saying "Yes mother?"

Now she's checking out the digital camera. She isn't all the comfortable in front of it.

You know where she is comfortable? In Jim's arms. (Me too Madeline!)

I love that he loves my babies as much as I do.

Raawwwwwwr!

Oh! I can't forget the squirt. Cole, my badass poodle sporting a mohawk.

It's READY!

Garnish with a sprig of parsley, serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!