Beef Stew

With all the cold weather we’ve been having I thought it was time to make something hearty and satisfying.  Beef stew is my favorite for this time of year.  In order to give it a little more depth, I use Guinness for a base – similar to my pot roast.

• 2 pounds stew beef
• 1 40oz bottle of Guinness
• Two parsnips, chopped
• Handfull of baby carrots
• beef stock
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• hot sauce
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 full leek, chopped
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• worcestershire sauce
• soy sauce

Sautee the onion, capers and garlic in olive oil.  Add the beef and brown.  Add the Guinness and allow to settle.  Add the leek, tomatoes, parsnips and carrots and mix thoroughly.  Add a splash of worcestershire, soy, and hot sauce, and add enough beef stock to fill the pot about 4/5 the way full.  Cook for at least 2-3 hours, then add the celery, dill, and parsley.  Allow to cook on very low for another hour and serve.

Pot Roast.. and a few thoughts.

Today I will be posting a recipe for pot roast.  Delicious, satisfying, hearty pot roast.  But before we get to the deliciousness, I thought I’d mention why I started posting recipes in the first place.

First, I have lived the last ten years with a diabetic.  Cooking can be a minefield at the best of times, but last year we embarked on a modified-low-carb-low-glycemic-it’s-not-a-diet-it’s-a-lifestyle (MLCLGINADIAL for short) lifestyle food plan.  I mention that it isn’t a diet because it really isn’t.  I’m not as close a follower due to my love of fatty snacks and generally bad for you food.  I do follow it because I cook for two, not two meals for two people.  I have been known, during my work-at-home day, to crawl in the corner and eat a box of ho-hos in what can only be described as an orgy of self loathing, but it happens less often than you’d think.  Since embarking on this MLCLGINADIAL food journey I have managed to lose some weight. 

Second, I was adopted at birth.  Who, what, and how that happened is a subject for an entirely other blog.  Suffice it to say I have met my birthmother and have some of my medical history available to me.  Some.  Attempts to locate my father have been fruitless (thank you adoption laws in Florida) so I have no idea what medical oddity lies there.  A little over a year ago I fell and broke my shoulder.  In five pieces.  I tripped on a curb.  Really.  Who, what, and how that happened is a subject for yet another other blog.  I learned two things from that – first, I have developed a true hatred and eternal loathing for a major healthcare provider in the Washington DC area over how my case was handled, and second, I learned that I have high blood pressure.  Really high blood pressure.  According to the doctor I should have stroked out in the ER after it happened.  Don’t worry – I’m OK now.

Why do I mention all of this?  Both the diabetes and the high blood pressure can be partially controlled by food.  Since that’s the case, I have attempted to modify my recipes so that neither one of us ends up dying or suffering anything long term shortly after dinner.  Reductions in salt and in sugar have both done wonders.

So, on to why you’re here.  Pot roast.  In a crock pot.

• 2-3 pound chuck pot roast – WELL MARBLED
• 40 oz Guinness (you can get an actual 40 at the grocery store.  If they don’t have it, tell them they’re not snazzy enough)
• 10-15 baby carrots
• 1 medium sweet onion, quartered
• 1 medium rutabaga, cut into bite sized pieces
• beef broth
• worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• capers (optional)
• one tbsp prepared horseradish (optional)
• corn starch for thickening

Take the WELL MARBLED chuck roast and put in the bottom of the pot.  You can pre-brown it if you like, but I don’t.  Add in the quartered onion, the rutabaga, the baby carrots, and top with garlic.  Pour the Guinness over the meat and allow it to settle.  Add in worcestershire sauce to taste (I blanket it liberally) and enough beef broth to bring the pot 4/5 the way full.

Set crock pot to high, then walk away for a couple of hours, set to low, and let run until you’re ready to serve.  A minimum of 4-5 hours.

After decanting the vegetables and the meat, pour some broth in a sauce pan, add the horseradish and capers, then thicken with corn starch.

 

 

Hamburger Steak

Time for an old staple.  This is a southern dish updated.  Easy to make, inexpensive, low in carbohydrate, and downright delicious.  I’ve made this as a standby after work when I didn’t feel like starting something in the morning and waiting for it to finish or when I don’t have much time in the evening and just want to get something on the table.  Here I’ve plated it with a vegetable medley (broccoli, squash, bok choi, carrots, and snap peas that have been stirfried) and cauliflower and parmesan, which I will cover later.  Total prep time for this.. around 30 minutes.  Usual eating time.. 10 – tops.  This recipe is for two servings.

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef – 80/20
• worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 package of portabello or white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 heaping tablespoons of corn starch
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup beef stock

Form the beef into rough steak shapes – something New York Strip-y.  Season with worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.  Fry on high until the meat sears, flipping to get both sides, then cover and cook on a lower temperature until cooked to desired level of doneness.  Remove and plate the steaks.

In the same pan, sautee the onion and mushrooms in the leftover fat from the hamburger.  Add wine and beef stock and bring to a boil.  Mix cornstarch and enough water to make a liquid and pour into the pan.  Immediately bring the heat to low and stir in the cornstarch and water mixture.  Once thickened, put over the cooked steaks and served.