Belgian Beef Stew

 Here is a recipe I have been wanting to share with you for while now.

Things have been quite hectic around here.

I had the worst scare of my life last week.

Well to be honest, it wasn't just last week.

My symptoms have been going on for a couple weeks. 

And last week, since things were not getting better, 

I thought it was time to see a doctor.

When you are requested forced to have tests done

you automatically assume the worst.

Right?

I know I do.

I'm sure when the doctor requests forces medical tests,

he/she is assuming the worst too.

But with my fear of being the next cancer patient put to rest

with the test results my life can get back to normal.

I was dealing with such a bad case of anxiety last week 

that I couldn't function normal.

 And being able to share this recipe with you is my healing way

of getting my life back on track.

And poor Johnie......

I'm sure he was assuming the worst too.

He was beside me every day during my testing and hospital stay.

I couldn't ask for a better man.

 With this recipe I'm just going to share the link and 

tell you about the changes I made. 

Above is the beer I chose to use in my stew.

But you can use any kind you like.

This is the perfect body warming stew.

Especially since temps are getting colder,

and colder,

and colder.

Here is the link to the actual recipe:
My Recipes

These are the changes I made:
I used about 8 of the Green Giant tri-colored mini potatoes (cut in half)
I omitted the bacon
I used celery in place of parsnips
One can whole button mushrooms
1 c. beef soup base according to package directions (found in the soup isle)
And I served it with garlic toast
No bay leaf
No caraway seed

This will definitely be made in my house again. It is an awesome rich tasting stew.

See Ya'all Soon

Meat Loaf & The Weekend

With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping,

planning,

dreaming,

and decorating,

We really think it's time for some comfort food.

 Meat Loaf is a comfort food, right?

It is in our book anyway.

Meat Loaf is so versatile.

You can eat it just as is in the photo,

or you can make 

cold meat loaf sandwiches,

add it to a grilled cheese,

brown it in a skillet for breakfast,

crumble it and add in taco shells,

and the list goes on......

 We went out three times over the weekend 

to torture ourselves in the madness of Christmas shoppers.

Stocking stuffers always kill the pocket-book.

Our kids out-grew the stockings years ago.

They have advanced to large Christmas bags.

And they are stuffed full!

 We spent some time at Kay's Jewelers.

Johnie was doing a lot of sneaky business with the sales person......

Does that look like a bunch of Kay's boxes under the tree?

And I am being tortured to WAIT.

Kay's was having a really awesome holiday sale. 

We got all the adult girls some beautiful jewelry. 

 Then we went to Hobby Lobby.

Can you believe I have NEVER been in a Hobby Lobby?

First time ever on Saturday.

I was in crafty heaven.

I put together this bouquet of flowers to dress up our newly painted bathroom.

I also got some really cool candle holders.

And their clearance isle.....

Well, that filled most of the Christmas bags. 

 So after endearing all the madness, we created ourselves some comfort.

MEAT LOAF

 Meat Loaf is a "dump all" kind of food.

All the flavors meld together to create goodness.

 And some of the things we added to this one gave it just a little kick.

 Meat Loaf

1 1/2 lb. ground pork (seasoned)

1 1/2 lb. ground chuck

1 c. salsa (of your choice)

2 eggs

2 TBS hot pepper jelly

1 c. crushed, Duoz Cheez-Its

1/2 sleeve soda crackers, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

4 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. prepared mustard

Mix ingredients all together.

Using two loaf pans, divide meat mixture.

Press meat mixture in to both pans.

Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 50-60 minutes. 

Definitely the comfort we needed.

See Ya'all Soon

Cheeseburger Pie

 This is a sure way to satisfy those finicky school kids at dinner time. 

And it is so easy to make.

It is so easy that I chose this dish to be my lunch.

 You just brown the beef and onion, and then add whatever else you want.

Then it all goes into a pie plate,

placed in the oven,

and presto!

You have an awesome meal.

I chose to eat mine with a sliced tomato.

 Does it taste like a cheeseburger?

It sure does.

And you don't have all that startchy bun to deal with.

You could even make this dish with less calories.

Just substitute ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef. 

Was it good?

What do you think by the looks of my plate?

Cheeseburger Pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1 lb. ground beef

6 green onions, sliced, tops included

Brown beef and onion together in a skillet. Drain grease.

Return to stove and add:

1/4 c. mild pepper rings, chopped

1/4 c. dill pickle slices, chopped

Heat thoroughly. Add to pie plate.

Top with 1 c. shredded cheese of your choice (I used a cheese that I found at Aldi, pepperoni marinara).

Mix together in a bowl:

1/2 c. pancake/waffle mix (I used a multi grain pancake mix)

1 c. milk

2 eggs

Pour over beef mixture in pie plate. Place in oven for 25 minutes (mine took about 28 minutes).

Mustard/Mayo Sauce

2 TBS Mayo

1 TBS mustard

Mix together.

Place a dollop on top of each serving and sprinkle with a little dill weed.

Johnie's Thick Chili and The Weekend

Angie talked Johnie into making his signature chili.

She talked him into writing down all his measurements 

and ingredients to make things easy for you.

So his secret chili recipe is now given to the cyber world.

Not a secret anymore Johnie....

When you operate a blog there are no secrets.

Everything is thrown out of the closet kitchen.  

When a man cooks in the kitchen and enjoys it,

a woman must keep her opinions and mouth shut.

Just let the man have free rein.

Angie stepped back and let Johnie work his magic.

And she knows that silence is golden.....

She wants him to cook more for her.

And the chili.....
It was amazing!
Nice and thick,
cracker sitting thick,
rib sticking thick,
and it produced an awesome nose run.
You can tell when something is spicy good by the way your
nose runs, and produces good forehead perspiration beads. 

The weekend was quiet.

The temperatures were quite chilly so we locked ourselves in

and did some cleaning and rearranging.

We brought our outside plants inside for the winter.

Sunday was a SyFy day along with cat naps.

It is October.....

Johnie is in the mood for scary movies.

This is how Johnie made his chili:

Johnie's Thick Chili

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 med. onion, chopped

Salt & pepper

Brown meat with onion.

In a small bowl add:

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you don't like the hot)

1 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 envelope chili seasoning of your choice

Add to meat mixture after meat is fully cooked.

Mix in:

3 (4 oz. cans) mushrooms, undrained

1 (28 oz. can) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 (6 oz. cans) tomato paste

2 (15 oz. cans) prepared chili of your choice

4 (8 oz. cans) tomato sauce

1 (15 oz. can) black beans, rinsed and drained

Bring to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally.

See Ya'all Soon

Beef & Bean Rival Soup

 First off, let us say 

Happy National Lasagna Day!

I panicked when I found out it was National Lasagna Day.

Johnie is working a double and I was concentrating on

using the leftovers from yesterday's roast.

I heard about lasagna and almost stopped everything I was doing.

But my thoughts went to, 

"There is no way I have time to put lasagna together." 

So I headed to the freezer where we have a huge Schwan's stash.

The Schwan man saved the day.

But I celebrated alone.

The demands of a Corrections Officer are never ending.....

 So while Johnie is at work, I will share this wonderful recipe with you.

I took our leftover roast and potatoes and turned it into soup.

Since the weather here has been like fall I felt soup would be okay.

What I'm going to do is go straight to my notes.

Yes, I write down everything when I'm free-style cooking.

Place in pan:

4 c. leftover broth with chopped beef

I removed the potatoes so they wouldn't turn to mush.

They get added in later.

I added 4 more cups water to the broth

2 TBS beef soup base

I always soak too many beans. 

But that's okay. I will drain and freeze what I don't use.

1 1/2 c. soaked (overnight) great northern beans

A couple shakes of white pepper

Bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer. Cover and simmer until beans

are tender (45 minutes to an hour).

Add potatoes after beans are cooked.

 Now for the rivals:

1 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper in mine)

3 large eggs

Mix until flour and egg come together.

 You don't want it too wet.

Bring the soup back to a boil and drop in small amounts

of rival mixture.

I just drop them in by using the fork I mixed them with.

I have known some people to use their fingers and pinch off the 

size they want.

But that can get kind of messy.

Let the rivals cook for a few minutes.

This is the ending result.

A small lite lunch for Angie, and yet hearty enough for Johnie when he 

eats his dinner. Which may be tomorrow......

See ya'all soon.....