Deep Fried...Something

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

One of the first things I made in my pressure cooker was beef stew, but it was extremely simple (probably TOO simple), and I felt like it was missing something.  I decided to try again tonight, and the result was amazing.  This is by far the best beef stew I've ever made.  Everything was tender, the flavors blended really well, and since it's cooked in the pressure cooker, it didn't take long at all.  The only problem I had was that I slightly overfilled the pressure cooker (past the fill line) because I was too lazy to move everything to the bigger pot I had, so it sprayed a tiny bit of the juice/gravy/sauce out when I released the steam.  Not a huge amount, just enough to remind me not to be lazy next time. 

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 1½-2 pounds stew beef
• 12 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 pounds red potatoes, chopped
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken or beef stock
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil, separated
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch

Directions:

1. In pressure cooker pot, mix 2 tablespoons oil and butter.  Heat over medium-high heat until butter is melted, then add mushrooms. 
2. Cook until mushrooms start to release their water and brown, about 8 minutes.
3. Add onions, and cook until onions are transluscent.  Put onions and mushrooms in a bowl and set aside.
4. Add remaining oil and brown the beef on all sides.
5. Add stock and scrape the bottom, getting all browned bits. 
6. Return onions and mushrooms to the pot, and add all remaining ingredients except for corn starch.  Stir and cover.
7. Bring to high pressure (15 psi), lower heat to just maintain pressure, and cook for 9 minutes.
8. Release pressure and remove lid.  Mix corn starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, then add to pot.  Stir well and cook over medium-high heat until sauce starts to thicken.

Notes:
If you don't have a pressure cooker, you could do this in a slow cooker as well, it would just take several hours of cooking instead of a few minutes. Picture was taken with my phone instead of my normal camera!

Curried Carrot Soup

Two weeks ago, our early bird CSA from Breezy Willow Farm started.  Sarah's been writing a bit about it over here, including some great pictures of the food we're getting.  This week's pickup day rolled around and we needed to make some room for the next batch of produce.  We had two carrots, some potatoes, some apples, and some garlic left over from the first week.  Let me back up.  I say we had two carrots, but these were not normal carrots.  These were the biggest carrots I've ever seen in my life.  Here's a picture from my phone of our son holding the carrots:

Like I said, big carrots.  Anyway, I decided to take almost everything we had left and make soup out of it.  The results were pretty dang good, especially considering I was just throwing things together and hoping they'd taste good.

Curried Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds carrots
• 4 small potatoes
• 3 stalks celery
• 3 small apples
• 7 cloves garlic
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 10 cups water
• Fat-free Greek yogurt (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat curry powder in a large pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, until curry powder gets fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.
2. Put curry powder in a small bowl and add enough water to make a paste.  Mix and set aside.
3. Chop all of the vegetables (and fruit!) except for the garlic.
4. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute carrots, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the curry paste, and stir well to mix. 
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables are soft.
7. Remove from heat and blend until smooth.
8. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Notes:
This would be good with a wide variety of other vegetables too.  I'm sure I'll make it again, it's a great "CSA Leftovers" recipe.

삼계탕 (Samgyetang/Ginseng Chicken Soup)

I was chatting with a friend of mine a few nights ago, and the topic turned to food.  I asked her for her favorite Korean recipe, and she pointed me toward this web site.  I talked to her a bit more and picked this recipe because of its simplicity (and also because she said it was delicious).  While it only has a few ingredients, half of them were things I had never cooked with before so it was quite an adventure.  If you don't have access to an Asian grocery store, you probably won't be able to make this recipe.  It's worth the trip though, even if you get as disoriented as I do in a grocery store where you can't read most of the labels or recognize most of the food.

삼계탕 (Samgyetang/Ginseng Chicken Soup)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cornish game hens
• ½ cup sweet rice
• 15-20 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch green onions
• 12-15 jujubes (red dates)
• 2 small ginseng roots
• Water
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Soak sweet rice in 1 cup of water for 1 hour.
2. Wash and rinse the two game hens in cold running water.
3. Stuff each hen with a couple spoonfuls of sweet rice, a ginseng root, a few jujubes, and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Place them side by side in a dutch oven.
4. Pour water into the pot and cook over high heat for 20 minutes.
5. When it starts boiling, skim off any foam and fat that rises to the surface, then pour in more water, the rest of the garlic, the rest of the jujubes, and the rest of the sweet rice and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes.
6. Add chopped green onions.  Remove the skin from the hens and cut meat into pieces.  Remove bones and ginseng root. 
7. Serve with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:
You don't have to remove the ginseng before serving, but it has a fairly bitter taste so I took it out.

Chicken Curry

Several years ago, my friend Selina made a big batch of curry while a group of us were out in the woods of Canada, and said we had to try it.  I didn't think I liked curry, but after trying it I was hooked.  I got her recipe from her and asked her to send me some of the curry powder she used (Malaysian red).  She sent me enough to last me for years, and chicken curry has become a go-to recipe when it's cold out. 

More recently, I've started tweaking the recipe a little bit.  I had switched from regular coconut milk to light, and yesterday I decided to try it with fat-free Greek yogurt instead of coconut milk at all.  I also forgot a few of the ingredients while I was at the grocery store, so I modified it a little bit for what I had around.  The result was every bit as enjoyable as the original recipe, and only slightly less rich in flavor.  This will probably be my new go-to version of the recipe.  I'm posting it here partially so you all can see it, but partially so I don't forget what I put in it. :)

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1½ Tablespoons curry powder
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 medium red potatoes
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 containers Dannon fat-free Greek yogurt, plain
• 1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed
• Water

Directions:

1. In a large pot/dutch oven, dry fry the curry powder over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.  Remove from heat, add a little water, and set aside in a spearate bowl.
2. Add oil to pot and raise heat to medium-high.  Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is transluscent.
3. Add garlic and stir.  Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through, stirring regularly.
4. Add potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, curry paste, yogurt, and garbonzo beans.  Stir to mix, and add enough water to barely cover all ingredients.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are cooked through (about 25 minutes).
6. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Notes:
I served it with quinoa instead of rice.  The original recipe uses a can of whole peeled tomatoes, cut up into smaller pieces.  It also uses a Tablespoon or two of tomato paste with the coconut milk.  Other things you can add: squash, eggplant, more onions, bell peppers, etc.  Be creative, this is a very simple recipe that has a ton of flavor.

Belgian Pot Roast with Onions and Mushrooms

I went looking for a stew recipe, and ended up finding this pot roast recipe instead.  I'm not generally a big fan of mushrooms, and I don't drink beer at all, so it might seem odd that I picked a recipe that relies heavily on both.  For some reason though, when this is all cooked together, it comes out as something amazing.  I've made this twice in the last two weeks (I forgot to post it the first time because I was too busy eating it), and it's a definite winner.  As the original post says, make sure you don't go with a cheap beer for this recipe.  Because of the relatively small number of ingredients, a cheap beer would be fairly obvious in the end result.

Belgian Pot Roast with Onions and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 to 4 medium yellow onions
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 12 ounces Belgian-style pale ale
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound sliced mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
2. Pat chuck roast dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Heat a large lidded ovenproof skillet over medium-high flame. Add one tablespoon each of canola oil and butter and swirl to combine.
4. Brown roast thoroughly on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. About halfway through browning of second side, reduce heat to medium. Transfer roast to plate.
5. While roast is browning, peel onions, halve lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch slices. You want about 6 or 7 cups of sliced onions total.
6. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to pan in chunks and swirl to melt.
7. Add onions and toss to coat with butter/oil mixture. Season with a little salt and pepper (use a light hand). Cook until slightly browned, stirring often, about 4 minutes.
8. Stir thyme into onions and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
9. Sprinkle flour over onions and toss to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
10. Add broth to pan and stir, scraping up any browned bits.
11. Add beer to pan, stirring to combine.
12. Add bay leaves. Return meat and any accumulated juices to pan, nestling the roast among the onions. Cover pan and transfer to oven.
13. Roast meat in oven for about 1¼ hours. Nearing the end of this time, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium flame.
14. Swirl last tablespoon each of canola oil and butter together in pan.
15. Sauté mushrooms, stirring frequently, until they release their moisture and begin to brown, about 7 to 10 minutes.
16. Remove roast from oven and turn meat in pan. Spoon mushrooms around roast, cover pan and return to oven. Roast until meat is very tender, about 1¼ hours more.
17. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent with foil. If the sauce is too liquid, simmer it on the stovetop until it’s reduced to the thickness you like. Conversely, if it’s too thick, whisk in a little water.
18. Just before serving, whisk in the Dijon mustard. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings.
19. Slice roast into ½-inch slices (it will shred some - that’s okay). Plate and top with onion mushroom sauce. Serve.

Notes:
I used one sweet yellow onion and two white onions to add a little variety.  I used Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale the first time I made it and Hoegaarden White Ale the second time.  Both came out great!

Drunken Irish Stew

I'm not really a fan of beer or wine, so of course I decided to make a beef stew that involved both.  It might seem silly to make a giant pot of stew for two adults and a toddler, but the leftovers are so good that they won't be going to waste.  The only thing I'll probably change the next time I make this will be to increase the meat to two pounds.  Otherwise, this recipe doesn't need much tweaking!

Drunken Irish Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1¼ pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 7 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup Guinness
• 6 cups beef stock (or broth)
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1½ tablespoons white sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 pound russet potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces (peeled or unpeeled, gentleman’s choice)
• 1 pound baby red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces (again, gentleman’s choice)
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow or white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch + 1 Tablespoon water
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy, large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the beef stew meat and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add garlic cloves and sauté another minute, until fragrant.
4. Add the beef stock, red wine, Guinness, tomato paste, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil.
5. When boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for one hour. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
6. In another large pot, melt the butter over medium heat until slightly foaming.
7. Add the potatoes, celery, onion and carrots, sautéing until golden, about 15 minutes. Set aside until the stew has simmered for one hour.
8. Add vegetables to beef stew and simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.
9. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water until combined. Add slowly to the stew, stirring for 1 minute until thickened.
10. Discard the bay leaves and remove any fat that may have accumulated on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:
Getting the right amount of salt is key in the last step.  The wine and beer make this stew require a little more salt than you might think.  Add it slowly, taste frequently, and enjoy!

Chicken, Barley and Kale Soup

Kale is one of those vegetables that I know I *should* eat more often, but I never do.  It has a little bit of a bitter flavor to it that usually turns me off.  I've had it before in soup and enjoyed it, so I decided to try to find another good soup recipe with kale.  This recipe had a little bit of everything I was looking for.  It's a nice hearty soup, it's healthy, it has things in it I don't think I've ever tried before (fennel bulb and fennel leaves), and it has kale in it.  The fresh herbs that you add at the end are a strange combination, but it really comes out tasting great!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Chicken, Barley and Kale Soup


Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• 8 cups low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, chicken breasts, rinsed and dried and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed, leaves coarsely chopped
• ½ cup chopped fresh dill
• ½ cup chopped fresh fennel fronds
• 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

1. Combine 3 cups water and 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock. Add barley and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until barley is tender, about 40 minutes.
2. While barley cooks, heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Add chicken to pot, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pot and set aside.
3. Add onions, fennel and white pepper to the pot and cook, over medium high heat until onions are browned and fennel is softened, about 10 – 15 minutes.
4. Add the wine and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining stock to the pan with the barley and any remaining liquid. (Soup can be made up to this point 1 day ahead – cover and refrigerate).
5. Bring stock and barley mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the kale and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.  
6. Add fennel fronds, dill and mint and simmer for 5 minutes. 
7. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice – taste and adjust seasonings, adding more lemon juice as desired.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Ladle into bowls and serve. Accompany  the soup with some good crusty bread and/or a small salad.

Notes:
I have nothing to add really to this recipe.  It was delicious as-is, and I'll definitely be making it again soon. 

Creamless Broccoli Soup

Today's recipe comes from The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: 200 Gourmet Recipes for Any Budget.  I was flipping through the pages and this recipe looked almost too simple to work.  I like all of the individual ingredients though (except leeks, I don't know if I've ever eaten them outside of the vegetable stock I made), and I love cream of broccoli soup, so I decided to try it.  Judging by the minuscule amount of soup that's left in the pot, I'd have to say this one was a success.

Creamless Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 small potatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons mustard seed
• 1½ pounds broccoli, cut into florets
• 5 cups chicken stock
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese or sour cream for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, potatoes, leeks, carrot, and mustard seed.  Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add broccoli and stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
4. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Working in batches, blend in blender until smooth.
5. Return to pot, and add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. 
6. Garnish with Parmesan cheese or sour cream, if desired, and serve.

Notes:
I didn't have mustard seed, so I used ~2 Tablespoons of dry mustard.  I also replaced the chicken stock with vegetable stock to make it a vegetarian recipe.  Both the sour cream and the Parmesan are delicious for a garnish.

Crockpot Cider Beef Stew

Several of my friends have been talking about wanting more crockpot recipes lately, so I started digging around and found this one on about.com.  It sounded almost too easy to work, but I decided to give it a try today.  The results were great!  I will say that if you don't have a large crockpot, you might want to half the recipe.  It's amazing how much space 8 carrots and 6 potatoes takes up in the crockpot.

Crockpot Cider Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean beef stew meat
• 8 carrots, sliced thin
• 6 medium potatoes, sliced thin
• 2 apples, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups apple cider

Directions:

1. Place carrots, potatoes, and apples in Crock Pot.
2. Add meat and sprinkle with salt, thyme, and chopped onion.
3. Pour cider over meat. Cover and cook on LOW heat for 8 to 10 hours.
4. Thicken juices with a flour and cold water mixture (about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons water), cooking on HIGH in slow cooker until thickened (or transfer to a large stockpot over medium heat and cook down juices then thicken.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes:
I made a couple of minor modifications.  I used an entire onion instead of just 1/2 cup, and I chopped my carrots and potatoes a little thicker.  I also used a combination of buffalo stew meat and beef stew meat, just because it was what I happened to have around.

Hearty Spinach and Chickpea Soup

I saw a link for this recipe on my friend Andrew's Facebook wall a couple weeks ago, and finally got around to making it.  I made a few modifications to the recipe based mainly on the fact that I went to the grocery store without looking at the recipe first so I forgot a few of the ingredients.  It came out great though, a very enjoyable soup for this cold weather we've been having.

Hearty Spinach and Chickpea Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 6 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 bags (9 ounces) spinach
• Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a rapid boil. Stir in brown rice and return to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook, without lifting lid, for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat.
3. Check rice after 30 minutes; if it's not yet tender, cover and continue cooking, up to 10 more minutes. Stir 2 cups cooked rice and chickpeas into the broth; return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes to allow flavors to blend.
4. Stir in spinach and cook, uncovered, until just wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese; serve immediately.

Notes:
This will make more rice than you need, feel free to tweak the amounts a bit.  I could have sworn I had dried rosemary, but I didn't, so I threw in a little bit of sage, basil, and oregano instead.  It was delicious without the onion from the original recipe, but I'll probably throw that in next time.

Per serving 455 calories; 21 g protein; 10 g fat; 78 g carb; 12 g fiber