Friday, September 21, 2012

Hearty Beef Recipe

Missy, here. I'm doing this post ahead of time since I'll be in Dallas, Texas, for the ACFW conference when you're reading this. Since I may not be around much today, I thought I'd just share hearty beef recipe I created last week. I hunted for a recipe I'd seen made on Food Network but couldn't find it. I figured I'd watched enough shows that surely I could figure out how to cook some beef stew just from memory. :)

So...

Missy's Beef Stew


I had a pack of stew meat (chuck) in the freezer that I thawed out.

Put a little oil in the pan and heat on medium high heat. Add the beef and sear each side until you get good caramelization (only about a minute each side since the beef is cut in small pieces. Don't cook it through!).


Remove to a bowl.

Add chopped onion to the pan (that now has nice brown bits from cooking the beef) and stir, cooking until translucent. Then add any other vegetables you'd like to include. I wanted sliced carrots but only had a bag of julienned ones so I added a hand full of them. I also had a few fresh mushrooms leftover to add. Cook until softened.


Then add about 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar or red wine. Let cook for a couple more minutes while scraping the bottom of the pan, to deglaze.


Add about half a small can of tomato paste for richness. Then pour in about half a box of chicken or beef stock (I only had chicken). Return the meat to the pan, cover, and then simmer on low until tender (at least 2-3 hours for the chuck).

I decided to serve on polenta, made according to package directions. It was tasty!


Well, I hope I'm getting to see some of our regular blog visitors in Dallas! For those of you who couldn't come to ACFW this year, I hope you'll hold down the fort and have a nice chat at the cafe!

Oh! A recipe preview!

In case you want to make the recipe that I'll be sharing next week (my daughter's birthday cake), then be sure to buy these ingredients at the grocery this week:

1 package cream cheese (I used "light" and it was fine)
1 tub of CoolWhip (you'll need 2 cups)
1 box Devil's Food Cake mix
1 package Oreos
Semi-sweet bakers chocolate or chocolate chips
staples like eggs, oil, sugar, butter

Sounds amazing, doesn't it? :)

6 comments:

  1. hi Missy! night shift here! beef stew sounds good!
    I'm back to reading your book - got sidetracked-again with the Kindle I never know what I'm reading :-( but the one with Mark! man they're sure hard on him - now being mad 'cause he stayed out of touch is one thing but blaming him for some stupid teenager turning into an alcoholic? He was a hurting teen himself and I doubt he held a gun to her head -sheesh! that woman should grab him and ditch her mom IMO! :-) he's a better catch! anyways liking it! :-) I'd be done with it but darn it they keep interrupting me with work!

    no way I'm buying those dessert ingredients- they wouldnt' last til next week!

    Susanna

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  2. I agree with Susanna about next week's ingredients. You expect us to buy Oreos this week, and still have them in the house next week? And I can't even blame the boys for that one!

    By the way, we're having a great time here in Dallas, but I'm not running into Missy or Mindy often enough. And Virginia and Ruthy are no where to be found. Next year in Indy :)

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  3. Thanks for the heads-up on the ingredients! That recipe sounds wonderful!

    Ruthy,
    Jan said: "And Virginia and Ruthy are no where to be found."
    She wouldn't be rubbing it in, would she??? NO, not sweet little Jan..

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  4. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Donna, I just love you! Hey, I'm keeping the home fires burning here... not today, but I did have a tiny fire last weekend, just enough to take the edge of the dampness...

    AND.... I'm fifty pages revised of my current rip so it will be ready to be on Melissa's desk next week when she gets back to NYC from ACFW.... And that wouldn't have happened if I was schmoozing!!! So this gets me solid for fall because I'm doing two research weekends and a trip to Boston and a trip to North Carolina. Next year, I'm hoping!!!!

    So, I love this, Missy. Must try it. And Jan, if you buy ENOUGH OREOS when they're on sale, you can hide a box under the bed. Or in a drawer.

    Dave got me harvest colored M&M's two weeks ago. They never have them long, and I don't do the Halloween ones, and I like them for Thanksgiving... so gold and brown and orange and autumn-y, right? But if you don't buy 'em now, all you see in November are the Christmas ones. And here's a Ruthy tip: I never buy the Christmas ones because they make them way ahead of time. I buy the multicolored ones because they're prettier than the red and green and fresher... Christmas candy was shipped into stores weeks ago.... all pre-order.

    So feel free to take that grocer's wife tip with you to the market!

    Now I'm dying for this cake, Missy. But I think tomorrow I might try the Betty Crocker Red Velvet cake mix that Dave brought me home to try. I'm never ever happy with red velvet cake...

    so maybe Betty's is different.

    I'm doing a Cannoli Cake here tomorrow. Stinking easy and pastry-rich you will love it and it would go great with this beef!

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  5. Oh, YUM!!! My husband is definitely a red meat kind of guy. I'm going to try this in the next few days. Or Missy can come over and help me make it. Either way. :D

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  6. Hi all! Only have a second. LOL on the Oreos!!

    Am having a blast. Ate lunch with Jan!

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