Comfort Food ala Quatre

01/25/2011 I have edited this post to link up with Randi for the Recipe Box Swap.

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Really this should be part five, because this is the fifth Friday this month, but I was a slacker sick last week and didn't link up with FringeGirl, actually she didn't put up a linky thing because apparently blogland is full of slackers and I was almost the only one who participated in her Comfort Food carnival.

Anyhoo.

It has snowed twice this week and been really cold so we have been having a lot of soup, tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, etc.  I'll spare you the recipe on those, besides I think you all know how to use a can opener.  We did make potato soup with bacon from scratch, but that's a recipe for another post.

Here's today's recipe.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

1 1/2 to 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces if needed
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch slices (2 cups)
3 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (3 cups)
1 large onion, cut into 1 inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium stalk celery, cut into 1 inch pieces (1 cup)
2 1/2 to 3 cups water*
1 package McCormick's Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew Seasoning
1/3 cup uncooked pearl barley (optional)
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

 1. Prepare all your ingredients, chop all your vegs, put meat in ziploc baggie sprinkle with salt, pepper then coat with seasoning packet.

2. Dump everything in the crock pot along with the water and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, cover with lid, set crock pot on low then walk away.

3.  Come back 8 to 10 hours later stir, serve and enjoy.

Now wasn't that easy.  Delicious even, oh and the aroma, to die for.

*If you want your stew a little thicker than mine, more like a gravy use 2 1/2 cups of water and add 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca.  "Because tapioca is one of the few thickeners that does not break down during long, slow cooking, it can be added at the beginning of the cooking time.  Thickeners such as flour and cornstarch are best added at the end of the cooking time."  I picked up this little tidbit from a slow cooker recipe book, that I got from our local grocer.

If you need more comfort hop on over to the domestic fringe and see what else is cookin'.

Comfort Food a Trois

If all the cooking was left to me in this household we'd eat a lot more Kraft mac n' cheese than we do now, however luckily for me my sister likes to cook and she lives "next door" so to speak.  Actually we share this house, she lives upstairs and we live downstairs.  So when she offered to cook the other night I jumped for joy, something yummy and delicious was to be had.  I also offered to help so that I could take pictures and post it with FringeGirl for her blog carnival on comfort food over at the domestic fringe.  I love it when a plan comes together!

Here's what we made:

Mammy McT's Beef and Guinness Pie.

2 lbs stewing steak, cubed.  (Coat this in 1/2 to 1 cup flour, salt and fresh ground black pepper.)
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup button mushrooms
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups Guinness
1 egg, beaten
1 pkg of puff pastry (you can buy it frozen, there are two sheets per package)

1.  Open the Guiness . . .  pour yourself a short glass and enjoy, but remember to leave enough for the recipe.

2.  Season the flour with salt and pepper.  Coat the stewing steak in the flour.  Shake off any excess.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or cast iron casserole pan.

3.  In small batches, fry the beef until browned.  Using a slotted spoon transfer to a plate.  

4.  Re-heat the pan and fry the onion, garlic and celery for 5-10 minutes until fragrant and softened.  Add some of the Guinness to deglaze the pan and scrape all the really good bits off the bottom.  Add the beef back into the pan.

5.  Put on medium high heat now and add the diced tomatoes, Guinness, mushrooms, carrots and parsnips.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for two hours stirring every now and again.

6.  Preheat oven to 375 F.  Divide the beef mixture among 6 smallish individual pie/casserole dishes or two medium size pie dishes.  Roll the puff pasty out and top each pie dish with a pastry lid, wetting the edges of the dishes with water to help the pastry stick.

7.  Brush the pies with the beaten egg and cut a slash in each one.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the pies are golden brown.  Serve.

8.  Enjoy with a pint or two of Guinness.

As you can see this recipe makes two pies, we cooked them both because my in-laws were here and we knew we would eat them both, but you can freeze one for later, just don't add the puff pasty to the second one, until you are ready to cook it.

My sister acquired this recipe from a friend of hers from Ireland several years back and it has quickly became a family favorite.  Mammy McT is her grandmother.

Comfort Food Part Deux

Last week when I posted my recipe for fried chicken and linked it to FringeGirl's blog carnival on Comfort Food over at the domestic fringe my brother left me a comment saying that I should post my mom's recipe for Tater Tot Casserole, so this is for you Jared, and I hope the rest of you all like it too.

Here's what you'll need:
1lb ground beef
1 can green beans, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk (approx, I usually just use a soup can full of milk)
1 bag tater tots
salt, pepper, seasoning salt and minced onion
grated cheese

Brown ground beef, drain fat and line the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper, seasoning salt and minced onion.

 Drain can of green beans, put on top of ground beef.

 Whisk together soups and milk and pour over ground beef, green bean mixture.

 Layer tater tops on top of ground beef, green bean, soup mixture.

 Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Remove from oven sprinkle with grated cheese, return to oven just until cheese is melted.  Serve and eat.

As you can see someone was hungry and couldn't wait for me to get a picture before diving in!

This is also a meal that could be made up and frozen to be enjoyed at a later date, you could probably split it and freeze it in two 9 x 9 pans or freeze one and have one for supper.  If you are going to do that I would probably use 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef and wait until cooking to add the grated cheese, but everything else should be good to go.

Okay its your turn now, head on over to the domestic fringe and see what comforts are cookin' this week.

Ta ta for now.

Comfort Food

So when FringeGirl over at the Domestic Fringe said she wanted to do a blog carnival on comfort food every friday during the month of October I told her I would participate and I have been thinking about what I could do since then.  Fried chicken with potatoes and gravy, pot roast, meatloaf, "pork chops and applesauce" (name that 70's sitcom) and all sorts of stick to your ribs kind of dishes.

But that's it.

Thinking.

Not doing.

Therein lies my problem, I have been feeling overwhelmed and under-motivated to do much lately.

So this is what I came up with, my recipe for fried chicken.

1 Husband with food order, money in his pocket and car keys in the ignition.
Drive 10 mins due east to desired location.
Pick up 8 piece bucket original recipe with all the trimmings.
Return home.

Finger lickin' goooooood.

See.

Now wasn't that easy.

My other two favorite comfort foods are real simple too, whateveryoufix and fendforyourself.

Now its your turn, head on over to the domestic fringe and link up for some real comfort.


See you next week.