Sunday Night Stew Recipes

SLOW-COOKER SUNDAY STEW

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Pour off any excess oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the skillet.
• Put the flour and some salt and pepper in a resealable plastic bag and add the beef. Toss to coat the beef thoroughly. Heat the bacon grease in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef to the skillet in 2 batches and brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Set aside.
• Put the onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add the beef, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, garlic and jalapeno. Season with a big pinch of salt and some black pepper. Cut the bacon into large pieces and sprinkle them over the top.
• Pour the beer into a pitcher, whisk in the tomato paste and Worcestershire and then pour it over the vegetables. Add enough beef broth to just cover the meat and top with the parsley and rosemary sprigs. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
• Serve with Buttery Lemon Parsley Noodles and garnish with about 1 teaspoon of parsley per portion.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. (If using angel hair, stop just short of the al dente stage.) Drain and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the parsley, garlic and lemon zest and stir. Throw in the drained pasta and cook, tossing and coating it in the mixture, so that a few of the pieces get a little bit of a pan-fried texture to them, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and some salt and pepper and toss again.

SUNDAY NIGHT STEW

Steps:

• Salt and pepper stew meat. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add butter, and as soon as it melts, brown half the stew meat until the outside gets nice and brown, about 2 minutes. (Turn it as it browns.) Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown it, too. Remove it to the same plate. Set the meat aside.
• Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring it to coat it in all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir it into the onions and let it cook for 2 more minutes.
• Pour in the beef stock, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire and sugar. Add the beef back to the pot, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
• After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add the diced turnips and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine, put the lid back on the pot, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, but if it seems overly so, splash in some beef broth until it thins it up enough. Feel free to add beef broth as needed!
• When the carrots and turnips are tender, stir in minced parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve piping hot in a bowl with mashed potatoes, letting the juice run all over everything. Sprinkle with extra minced parsley at the end.
• Cut the potatoes into quarters and cover with water in a large pot. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then put them back into the same pot. With the heat on low, mash the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes to release as much steam as possible.
• Turn off heat, then add cream cheese, butter, cream, seasoned salt, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
• Serve potatoes immediately or spread them into a buttered baking dish to be reheated later. To reheat, put them in a 375 degree oven, covered in foil, until hot.

SUNDAY CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In a large shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper; add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and turn to coat. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil; remove and keep warm. Gradually add broth to the skillet; bring to a boil., In a 5-qt. slow cooker, layer the carrots, celery and onion; sprinkle with rosemary. Add the chicken and hot broth. Cover and cook on low until chicken and vegetables are tender and stew is bubbling, 6-8 hours. , Remove chicken; when cool enough to handle, remove meat from the bones and discard bones. Cut meat into bite-size pieces and return to the slow cooker. Stir in peas. , For dumplings, in a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary. Combine the egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto simmering chicken mixture. Cover and cook on high (do not lift the cover while simmering) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean.