Chomp Zone

Although I assume, that many beef stews are one pots. Unless you are making Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon. Which I have a done. And it took five hours. Maybe longer. I cant remember. It was good, but five hours good? I don’t know…

Anyway, we had some leftover steak in the fridge. Not enough to warrant a meal on its own though. So I decided to make beef stew. This recipe is pretty forgivable and you could add or subtract any variety of items.

Here’s what you need -

• 1 - 2 pounds boneless chuck/steak/stew beef, cut into 1 inch cubed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cubed
• 3 medium carrots, scrubbed, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 2 stalks of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp of tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup red wine

Preheat the oven to 325F. Combine all of the ingredients together in a 3.5 quart (or larger) dutch oven minus the wine. Toss the tapioca and spices to evenly coat the meat and vegetables. Pop into the oven, stirring every hour for three hours. Pour the red wine in at the second stirring (two hours in) and stir to combine.

Lately we’ve been frequenting SOWA (south end open market). This is mostly to get our grilled cheese fix/fill, but last weekend James and I decided to check out the farmer’s market portion. Since we have a CSA, we rarely buy vegetables, so we gravitated toward the meat stands. Best beef I have ever had, hands down.

The meat came from John Crow Farms and next time I’m in the SOWA neighborhood, I will be picking more up.

I made two meals from a pound of ground beef (I bought two though! One is frozen). The first night James and I had burgers on an English muffin with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese. Served with mustard greens and green beans from the CSA.

The second night, I decided to “mix it up” a bit (because who can eat hamburgers two nights in a row?) and made Shepard’s pie. Recipe is as follows -

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1/4 lb of steamed green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 larger yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 turnip
• Cheddar Cheese

Peal and cube the sweet potatoes and turnip. Place in a medium sauce pan with cold water. Turn heat on high and let cook for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, on medium heat, saute the onions for a few minutes. Add the beef and brown. Add Worcestershire sauce to taste. Once the beef is coked all the way, place on the bottom of a medium casserole dish or two smaller ones.

On top of the beef, layer the green beans. Saute the bell pepper quickly and layer on top of the green beans.

Once you can pierce the potatoes and turnips with a fork, remove from heat and drain water. Add in a pat of butter if you wish, and a splash of milk. Mash. Spread on top of the green beans and pepper. Top with a slice of cheddar cheese. Pop in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Nope, this is not a vegetarian recipe. This is just another way to infuse some veggies in our meal. Inspired by a recipe on Epicurious, I decided to use up the leftover beef in our fridge rather than freeze it.

Here’s what you’ll need -

• 1/2 lb ground beef (I use organic, but I’m not going to pull a Gwen Paltrow and say “preferably organic”)
• 3 oz tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (about one small)
• 1 medium zuchinni chopped
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Brown your beef for a few minutes, then throw in the onions and zuchinni. Saute for a few more minutes. Add tomato paste, water, garlic and spices. Simmer for a few minutes (stir occassionally so the meat doesn’t stick!). Serve on a bun with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

For the side I fancied up some leftover green beans by tossing them in some olive oil, garlic and lemon juice over medium heat for a few minutes.