Hoosier Stew Recipes

HOOSIER BEEF AND NOODLES OVER MASHED POTATOES

Steps:

• 1. Add oil to a large Dutch Oven over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and toss to evenly coat cubes with flour. Brown half of the coated meat in hot oil. Remove from pan. Brown the remaining meat and remove. Set aside.
• 2. In the same pan, brown the onion and garlic, adding more oil, if necessary. Drain off any excess fat. Return all meat to the pot. Stir in the broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is tender.
• 3. When meat is tender, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool briefly. In the meantime, stir noodles into broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Shred beef and add back to pot with noodles. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until noodles are tender and mixture is thick. Add additional broth or water if necessary (if noodles are absorbing it all). Add salt and/or pepper if needed. Remove bay leaf.
• 4. Serve beef and noodles over hot mashed potatoes.

HOOVER STEW

Steps:

• 1. Cook macaroni according to the instructions on the box.
• 2. While it cooks, slice the hot dogs into very thin "coins."
• 3. Open cans, but do not drain.
• 4. Combine the contents of the cans and the hot dog slices in a large pot, and bring to a simmer.
• 5. Break up the tomatoes into small chunks as the mixture heats. Drain the macaroni when it is barely Al Dente. Reserve the cooking water to add to the pot, if needed.
• 6. Add the macaroni, and continue simmering until all of the ingredients are thoroughly heated and the hot dogs are cooked.
• 7. ***There are substitutes for all quantities and ingredients as necessary for the budget and to suit your tastes. If using another style of canned whole tomatoes, add finely minced green pepper and onion to the ingredients; they can be cooked with the macaroni as it boils.
• 8. ***** Recipe by Mrs. Dunn, recipe found on Depression era Recipes. Here is some fun information regarding the recipe.
• 9. Mrs. Dunn says: This recipe dates from the depression years and on through WWII; and was then a luxury or celebration meal, since it included meat. We kids loved it, and it was a stand-alone meal needing nothing else - though we usually had it served with carrot and celery sticks when available (if Papa, the cook in our family, hadn't already added them to the pot of macaroni as it cooked). The macaroni usually was technically overcooked in the end, but Papa had us convinced that that was how it was supposed to be for this dish (calling it macaroni rags), and we thought it was delicious. The Hoover in the name refers to President Herbert Hoover, who was popularly blamed for the depression years at that time.