Porter Beef Stew

I wanted a beef stew with a deeper flavor than just broth.  Since I had a busy day planned, I also wanted a stew for the slow cooker.  Even with those ideas in mind, I wasn't completely sure about how this would turn out.  I made a casserole earlier this year that had beer and tomato paste as the base, so I thought this would work.  I was pretty impressed with the end results.  It is especially delicious with a crusty bread or multigrain roll.

Serves 4

1 scallion, minced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 lb beef, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 bottle porter beer
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. Cut up scallion.  Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl and stir with scallion.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until scallion is soft.  Stir in cornstarch until paste forms.  Pour mixture into slow cooker.  Add beef cubes and mix well.  Pour porter over mixture, then stir in tomato paste and broth.  Season with thyme and salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  Stir as needed to prevent mixture from sticking to the slow cooker crock.
2. About an hour before you plan to eat, add potato and carrot pieces.  Stir well.  Cook until potatoes are cooked through.  Serve hot.

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

I had baking and other things to do yesterday, so I decided that something in the slow cooker was in order.  In looking at slow cooker recipes online, I happened upon one that was for a turkey breast.  I thought it would be far enough away from Thanksgiving to have turkey.  I decided to make it more-or-less how I would make a turkey for Thanksgiving, herbs and all, and was impressed by the results.  The turkey was moist and had a good flavor, just without the oven being tied up for hours.

Serves 4

1/2 onion, cut into pieces
2 sprigs fresh thyme
9-10 fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 cups water
2-3 lbs turkey breast with bone and skin
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Scatter onion pieces over bottom of slow cooker.  Add thyme, sage, garlic salt, and water.  Place turkey on top of this and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook turkey on low for 7-8 hours.  Remove from slow cooker carefully, as turkey will likely fall apart.  Cut into pieces to serve. 
3. If desired, reserve broth for another use.  Use a slotted spoon to remove onion pieces and herbs, then pour broth into a container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Slow Cooker Minestrone

Because my birthday cake was delicious, but also sort of rich, this was the soup that accompanied it.  It was hearty but also not terribly heavy, which was good because it has been unseasonably warm here and heavy food hasn't really been and option of late.  Putting this in the slow cooker also meant no added heat to the house, which is a definite bonus.  In the interest of full disclosure and giving credit where credit is due, I should also point out that I didn't make this soup.  It was made for me for my birthday.

Serves 6

2 links hot turkey sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
12 oz can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can diced tomatoes, Italian seasoned style
2 bay leaves
9 cups chicken broth
2 cups small pasta
Parmesan cheese

1. In small skillet, brown hot turkey sausage with onion and garlic.  Season with salt, thyme, and basil.  Stir in flour and continue to cook over medium heat until liquids are reduced.  Pour mixture into pot of a slow cooker.
2. Add chicken, carrots, beans, and diced tomatoes to sausage mixture.  Stir well.  Add bay leaves and chicken broth and stir well.  Cook soup on high heat for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8 hours.
3. About 30-45 minutes before you are ready to eat, add pasta.  Serve once pasta is cooked through.  Remove bay leaves for serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Week 17 Box

This was the last box that we will get this year, the newsletter this week informs me.  It was a little strange in its proportions (for example, the box had one brussell sprout in it) and a lot of it was already of a somewhat-questionable freshness.  Many of the sweet potatoes have already been thrown away because they were already moldy.  What is listed below is what I saved.  It should also be mentioned that the herbs listed here are actually from my mom's garden, so they were in extremely plentiful quantities.

• Carrots
• Garlic bulb
• Sugar pumpkin
• Butternut squash
• Oregano
• Basil
• Thyme

Beef Stew

I love the convenience of the slow cooker.  Even though it is still in the 80s here, I decided it was close enough to fall to justify beef stew.

Serves 4

2 lbs round steak, cubed
6 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
4 red potatoes, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. In slow cooker, mix together beef and broth.  Stir in Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, red wine, thyme, and bay leaf.  Season to taste.  Cook beef and liquids on low heat for 8 hours.
2. Stir potatoes and carrots into slow cooker.  Remove bay leaf.  Raise heat to high and cook for 45-60 minutes or until potatoes are done.  Serve hot.

Week 15 Box

I neglected to pick up the box from the person I share with last week, so you might have noticed that there was no post for what was in the box.  I still had produce from the week before, though, so it was nice to use that up before getting new.  This week, though, I have the box all to myself so I'm going to have to work hard to use up all the stuff.  Fingers crossed.

• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Thyme

Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe was developed last year, when we decided that chicken and dumplings were pretty Southern.  I think it is one of the few recipes that I invented that has not changed since I started making it. To me, it is perfect just as it is.

Serves 3-4

1 onion, quartered
2 carrots, quartered (or about 15-20 baby carrots)
1 stalk celery, cut in half
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
2 slices of lemon
3 lbs chicken thighs with bones and skin, skin removed
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Extra water as needed

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper
3 tablespoons shortening
1/4-1/2 cup cold water
Extra flour, for rolling

1. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, lemon, and chicken thighs in large stock pot.  They can be stacked.  Pour chicken broth and water over top.  Add thyme, garlic salt, and bay leaf.  Stir to distribute, cover, and heat to a simmer.  Simmer on low heat for at least an hour or until chicken is tender.
2. Remove vegetables, bay leaf, thyme, and chicken from pot. Discard vegetables and herbs.  Allow chicken to cool while you prepare the dumplings.
3. In bowl, combine flour and seasonings.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles crumbs and a a handful clumps when you squeeze it.  Stir in water until it forms a dough.  On floured surface, knead dough until smooth.  Roll dough out into an oblong rectangle that is about 1/8 inch thick.  Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut dough into 1-inch wide strips.
4. Return broth to a simmer, if it isn't still. If broth looks lower than 1-2 cups, add a cup of water and bring broth to simmer.  Tear strips of dough into pieces and drop into simmering broth.  Simmer dumplings for 10 minutes, uncovered, while you shred the chicken and drop it into the broth over the dumplings.  After 10 minutes of uncovered simmering, cover the stockpot and simmer for 10 minutes more.  Serve immediately.

Week 13 Box

I didn't do a great job with using last week's box, so this week the goal is to get it gone before another box shows up. We'll see how that goes.

• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Okra
• Green peppers
• Sage
• Thyme
• Tarragon
  

Ziti with Roasted Tomatoes

I wanted to try some use for tomatoes other than the traditional sauce, especially since the traditional sauce takes more time than I typically have on a weeknight.  I had read a blurb about roasting tomatoes in a cooking magazine a while ago and decided to give it a try.  Adding other vegetables produced a pretty tasty sauce in about 20 minutes, which is much more my weeknight speed.

Serves 4

1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, cleaned with stems removed
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 small onion, quartered
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme)
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups ziti, uncooked
15-20 leaves swiss chard, stems removed and chopped (about 3 cups chopped)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, and onion in gallon-sized baggie.  Add salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil.  Seal baggie and shake to coat vegetables in oil.  Place vegetables on a lipped baking sheet.  Bake vegetables at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until tomatoes are popped and browned.
2. While tomatoes are baking, cook pasta according to package directions.  When there is 5 minutes remaining on the cooking time, stir swiss chard into boiling pasta water.  Drain completely when pasta and swiss chard are done.  Set aside.
3. After tomatoes are removed from oven and still very hot, use a wooden spoon to burst tomatoes.  Push on garlic cloves until they pop out of peels; discard peels.  Using wooden spoon, mash garlic cloves and onions into tomatoes.  This mashing should create a thick sauce on the baking sheet.
4. Return pasta and swiss chard to pot.  Stir tomato sauce into pasta, coating pasta and evenly distributing sauce.  Stir Parmesan cheese into pasta and sauce.  Serve hot.

Week 3 Box

The amounts in this week's box were of a more-manageable size, which I appreciate. It has been extremely hot and humid here, so I would think the summer vegetables are growing early and the late-spring ones are probably dying early.  It also means that this week's box contained a lot of herbs.  Using those will be a special challenge.

• Spinach (smaller quantity)
• Snap peas
• Lettuce
• Collard greens
• Sage
• Dill
• Thyme
• Oregano