Chunky Weeknight Beef Stew and Slow Cooker Magic

I admit it, I have historically looked down on the slow cooker. I’m judgey about food, I know. But the slow cooker/crock pot just always seemed so, well like faking it in the kitchen. You throw stuff in and turn it on and poof, you have dinner. No real cooking required. But then I had a baby and realized HOLY COW, all you have to do is throw stuff in and turn it on and poof, you have dinner! Game changer people. Because let me tell you, my days of swaying about my kitchen, making up recipes as I went, spending time shopping and singing to myself as I gently caramelized something on the stove, those days have been replaced by the road runner version of myself, cradling a 5 month old in one arm and zooming about wondering if I’ll even get time to eat let alone cook.  Yea, life looks different on the other side of the bump. So I broke down and bought myself a dreaded slow cooker and the dang thing has saved my life. I’ve already braised lamb shanks (recipe to come), made chicken stock and now beef stew and that’s all in like 7 days! I drank the kool aid folks. Slow cookers rule.

Weeknight Beef Stew
a girl and her kitchen

1.5 – 2 lbs beef stew meat
4 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped into 1in pieces
4 large carrots, cleaned and chopped into 1in pieces
6 red potatoes, cleaned and quartered
1 package frozen pearl onions
3 garlic cloves, smashed (skins removed)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
 1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 c beef broth
1 c red wine
 1 tbsp Salt and 1 tbsp pepper (plus more for seasoning meat)
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 cup frozen peas
3 tbsp butter, softened
4 tbsp flour + 4 more to dust meat

Put carrot, celery, potatoes, onions, garlic, thyme, bay, paprika, worchester, tomato paste, 1 tbsp each of salt and pepper, beef stock and wine into crock pot and stir to combine.

In a large nonstick pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, toss the beef into a plastic bag (this is the easiest way) along with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper and 4 tbsp of flour. Mush the meat around in the bag until coated with the flour and seasoning. Brown the floured meat in the hot oil on all sides (a few minutes a side, you are not trying to cook it but get some color on it). May need to increase heat to medium-high when you add the meat to the pan.

Add the browned meat to the crock pot and stir again to combine. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hrs. About an hour before you eat, using a fork, mix the softened butter with 4 tbsp of flour so it becomes a paste. Then mix the flour/butter paste into the sauce in the crock pot until most of the lumps are gone. Put the lid back on and continue cooking. The sauce will thicken as it finishes cooking.

When you are ready to eat, stir in the frozen peas (they’ll defrost very very quickly in the hot stew) and serve with crusty bread!

Cooks note: you could also add a cup or two of diced mushrooms with the carrots etc if you like. And if you don't have a crock pot,  you could make this on the stove in a heavy bottom pan or in an over at like 350 for 3 or so hours. Just let it gently simmer away. Also, if using the slow cooker and then leaving the house, just set the butter out before you leave, it will be nice and soft when you get home.

Midweek Meals: Hearty Chicken Bowl with Kale and Mushrooms

One of my biggest kitchen conundrums is chicken. What to do with the endless bags of boneless, skinless chicken breast we all drag home from Costco, right?! Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy chicken and I know white meat is good for you and all that (even though I secretly cheer for team dark meat). But I just get foodie writer’s block when it comes to this most basic of chicken meals at times. So this week I did a little inspiration hunting. There’s this book I have with like a million chicken recipes. Truth be told, they’re pushing it a bit with all the chicken in that book, but one in particular I adore. It’s this creamy pasta number (surprise, surprise, I was drawn to the dish based on cheese and pasta) with woodsy mushrooms and a tangy sauce. After rummaging around the pantry and frig, I found what I needed and got to work. It’s almost a one pot wonder…almost. I combined sautéed kale spiked with red pepper flakes, creamy white beans, white wine, lemon juice, sweet carrots and peas, earthy mushrooms with chunks of perfectly cooked chicken tossed with tender pasta…a weeknight bowl that was great for leftovers and very satisfying. Feel free to change it up, toss in what you have laying around and make a mid-week feast out of it.

Tasty Homemade Salad Dressing in Under 3 minutes

I have no idea why people buy salad dressing anymore. It is so unbelievably easy to make with a few ingredients you probably have in your pantry already. My favorite go to salad dressing is a zippy little number featuring balsamic vinegar. It’s sweet and tangy and works with just about any veggies or proteins you could through into a salad bowl. And the most time consuming part of the dressing is mincing shallot, which takes about a minute and a half, so it’s a whip it up whiz of a recipe. The best part, make extra and store it in old mason jars or jam jars. Keep it in the frig and pull it out when you need it…just like store bought products but better for you and much cheaper. Try this once and I promise you’ll never look back. Enjoy!

Brunch Magic with Boozy Baked French Toast

I adore brunch. It’s part of San Francisco’s food soul. We know how to Brunch in this city and we take our late morning meals very seriously. So it’s no surprise my family opted for a brunch mother’s day fiesta. We actually got to do it two weekends in a row since my folks were in town visiting the weekend before mother’s day and then the in-laws came over on actual mother’s day. The one drawback of hosting is the hostess is always running about the kitchen and prancing in and out of conversation like a little food fairy. For once I wanted to sit and chat and enjoy relaxing while also hosting so I turned to my girl, smittenkitchen for some ideas and man did she deliver! I played with her Baked Boozy French Toast recipe and it was a major hit. Super easy; prep the night before and then throw it in the oven the day of. That’s it. I paired it with soft scrambled eggs (ie. cook low and slow stirring constantly and you get the creamiest eggs ever) and some bacon that I baked off in the oven (400 degrees for 15 mins). I threw together a quick fruit salad (or have your brother-in-law do it which was what I did the second weekend) and an easy berry compote (optional but awesome) and we were set. I could spend the morning sipping far too many mimosas and not hoarding over the stove. So next time you want a brunch that wow’s the table but doesn’t make you wish you could clone yourself, try this French toast. It’s brunch magic!

Balsamic and Mustard Spiked Lamb Loin Chops

It happened again. I saw lamb at the store and I.just.had.to.buy.it! It’s getting a bit ridiculous I know. But lamb is sooooooooooooo good! I can’t resist! This time it was a beautiful package of lamb loin chops…petite, easy to marinate and a fast cook. I soaked mine in a mixture of sweet balsamic, salty and tangy grain mustard and the umami goodness of Worcester sauce along with some fresh rosemary and olive oil. They were tender and succulent and burst with flavor. Paired with sautéed kale spiked with bacon (BACON!), shallot and a touch of red pepper flakes (with a dash of lemon juice), this was a weeknight knock out of the park meal.

Shrimp and Peas Pasta – A Week Night Wonder

This is a fast meal, full of bright, spring flavors that won’t weigh you down in the middle of the week using everyday Italian ingredients. I love shrimp. The most important thing to remember about shrimp though is not to overcook them. 2 minutes per side and that’s it. They’ll keep cooking anyway. You want them just pink and curled in on themselves so they burst when you bite into them. Paired with the sweet crunch of sautéed snap peas, the heat from a few red pepper flakes, warmth of a bit of white wine and the zing of fresh lemon juice and you’ve got yourself a bowl of greatness! I serve this tossed with whole wheat pasta, usually Farfalla because it’s roughly the same size as everything else but use whatever you like.

Old School Seasoned Breadcrumbs = Tasty Breaded Pork Cutlets

This week was a bit of a throw-back to my childhood. Any time I use pre-seasoned breadcrumbs I think of being a kid. These days we have all these fancy breadcrumb options, like panko, that are fantastic additions to everyone’s pantry, but once and a while I feel nostalgic and breakout the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs my mom used to cook with. Costco had a salt on pork cutlets, so we’ve been eating a lot of them. They’re great because they cook up fast and taste fantastic. I mixed my old school seasoned breadcrumbs with my mom’s favorite sprinkle cheese, pecorino, for a cheese, salty crust. If you use thin cutlets, they take less than 3 minutes to cook per side and you don’t use a ton of oil so it’s not exactly a terribly unhealthy dish. Paired with my sweet and tender roasted broccolini, you’ve got a meal in 12 minutes!

Roasted Lamb Shanks - a lamb love affair

I am having a full blown love affair with lamb. Seriously, someone needs to stage an intervention. It’s a tender and fantastically flavorful meat and no matter how cute and cuddly they are, lamb freaking taste goooooooood (sorry veggies, it’s true!) One of the best cuts of lamb is the shank and the easiest way to enjoy a lamb shank is to roast it. Roasting is like god’s gift to the lazy cook. I mean seriously, it works for everything. I mean it! Meat, veg, you name it…roasting it is bound to make it awesome. Wrap that lamb up with some herbs and spices, toss it in a low oven and leave it the heck alone. Go play cards, have a beer (or two), watch a movie….it’s the smartest way to kick back, enjoy a lazy afternoon and yet make people think you are a goddess in the kitchen. Not only will your home smell like heaven, but your dinner plates will be scraped clean by anyone you serve this to.

Creamed Chard and Breaded Pork Cutlets

SmittenKitchen might be one of my favorite food blogs. She’s hilarious, endearing and makes damn fine food. I found myself this week with a package of pork cutlets and a massive bunch of swiss chard without any bright ideas on what new take I could employ with seemingly standard ingredients. SmittenKitchen to the rescue! No only did I find an epic recipe for creamed swiss chard (seriously amazing discovery, which when pared with the spectacular fresh onions and garlic I found at the farmers market made one hell of a side dish) but she also was nice enough to share a delightful recipe for crunchy breaded cutlets!  I was in heaven (and so was husband when he came home to pipping big plate of creamy chard and tangy yet cheesey breaded pork). And so I bring to you my take on a SmittenKitchen classic.

A Decadent Mushroom Sauce Perfect for Steak

For the first couple weeks of the New Year, I spent some much needed time detox-ing.  My recent diet has been focused on food including tons of veggies and protein and whole grains but no wheat, no gluten, no alcohol, no caffeine, and no cow’s milk cheese. As anyone who knows me, this was a serious challenge putting a major dent in my pasta and cheese diet, but alas, I was in dire need of a couple weeks to reset the system after an indulgent holiday season.  So over the next few days I’ll be posting some meet and vegetable focused dishes. It’s been a totally fabulous experience particularly because I was allowed to indulge a bit here and there. This recipe represents one of those totally satisfying indulgences! A creamy and rich mushroom sauce draped over perfectly cooked steak seasoned with thyme and rock salt. It was lip smacking good and absurdly easy to put together. So next time you’re in the mood for steak, try whipping up a batch of this sauce. It will elevate dinner to something extraordinary.

Chicken and Mushroom Marsala Made Easy

Most nights I want a warm, scrumptious meal that doesn’t take me a year and half to make. Clearly I am a major fan of the kitchen, but after a long day of work what I mostly want to do is snuggle with the husband on the couch with a warm plate of heaven in my hands. Well, this here recipe was just the ticket! I found this one while perusing smittenkitchen, one of my all time favorite blogs. It’s delightfully simple to throw together and cheap no less! But the taste makes you think I spent hours in the kitchen. A fantastic dish. Tender chicken that has been browned and then slowly cooked in broth and marsala wine (a pantry staple) with a ton of good old white mushrooms (yes WHITE!) that have been sautéed the heck out of.  This dish comes together into a warm bowl of homey goodness. Serve it over rice, pasta or save the carbs and just bask in the glow of its mushroomy delight.

So pull those Costco chicken breasts out of the freezer to thaw, grab a pound or two of mushrooms and prepare yourself for an awesome dinner.

Simply Perfect Roast Chicken

There is nothing quite like a homemade, freshly roasted chicken. It is one of the treasures of American cuisine. Crispy, delicate skin with a salty bite that crackles while giving way to juicy, tender meat. In a word, divine. One of the great things about roasting a chicken is the two for one deal….the root vegetables that roast happily in the juices below the bird so that when you pull the masterpiece out of the oven, you’ve got a spectacular main course with a perfectly paired side dish. Caramelized carrots, onions, potatoes and garlic mingling in flecks of salt and pepper, sprinkled with herbs each with the gooey deep flavor of home. I am seriously having a foodgasm here folks.

Amazingly enough, this was my first time ever roasting a whole chicken on my own. I am highly embarrassed to admit that fact and completely astonished at how I made it nearly 30 years without roasting my own bird. I do tend to get carried away in the Italian food territory, but consider this fair warning to all….this Girl and Her Kitchen will be roasting many many chickens from now on. Not only is this a spectacularly easy meal, but it was so unbelievably gorgeous and breathtakingly delicious I am amazedI haven’t made one every single day since!

There are two basic tools that I found to be quite useful in my chicken roasting adventure. A good roasting pan with rack. I got one for a wedding present but you can find pretty good deals during Macy’s frequent sales or even on amazon.com. Second was a digital thermometer. This last items was rather clutch in helping me figure out when my chicken was done because while I understand the theory of “when the juices run clear the chicken is done,” in practice I find this method damn near impossible. The thermometer takes a lot of the guessing out of the process.

So grab yourself a whole chicken, some aromatics, a few root veggies and you can throw together a fantastic homemade meal that you will be dreaming about for weeks to come.

 

Updating a favorite – Creamy, Tangy Mac n Cheese

I know it’s only been a few weeks since I posted my macaroni and cheese recipe but as fate would have it, I came across a magnificent example of my favorite dish just down the street from me, inspiring some tweaking of my standard go to recipe. For this round I have decreased a touch of each of my trio of cheeses to make room for a fourth player – GOAT CHEESE! I know there are folks out there who are not fans of goat cheese and that is just fine (even though y’all crazy!) I will reiterate my pledge that goat cheese when warm is a whole other breed of delicious, creamy, mind blowing goodness. Adding just a few ounces of goat cheese to the sauce for this is genius…and I can say that perfectly honestly because it totally was not my idea, bias completely avoided. The goat cheese adds a very subtle tang and boosts the creamy factor without being overly goaty (yes, I definitely made that word up), which by the by I wouldn’t mind at all, but it’s just not the case here.

I really love this new cheese combination. The instigator of the goat cheese idea, though I know it’s not novel, was 2223 Restaurant in San Francisco. They combine a luscious mixture of goat, gruyere and parmesan into a gooey, over the top, decadent, heart stopping dish. And I do mean heart stopping. I felt my arteries clogging even more with every bite and it was f.a.n.t.a.s.t.i.c! I will try my hand at recreating their version one of these days. For now, check out this new twist on a classic that never gets old and always makes you a member of the clean plate club. My only trouble with this recipe is once it comes out of the oven I get so excited to eat it that I without fail forget to take a final picture of the dish before diving in. I guess you’ll just have to make it to find out what the fuss is all about.

And a special shout out to my girl Sierra, for whom I made a tray of my revamped Mac n Cheese for her going away party. She’s leaving the foggy city for the wonders of Seattle. Good luck girl! We’ll miss you!

AMAZEBALLS Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I am hands down one of the most die-hard macaroni and cheese people you will ever know. My obsession with this dish go way back and I am completely unashamed of the lengths I will go to in finding a good plate of tender pasta smothered with cheesey goodness. For as long as I can remember I have been conducting an ongoing hunt for a down-home, face meltingly delicious mac n' cheese recipe. This is actually a rather challenging task because being a complete and utter devotee of the cheese and pasta movement, just about anything remotely nearing the category of macaroni and cheese immediately strikes my fancy.

So I decided to put some parameters around it. The first was texture. I really enjoy a creamy, smooth, luxurious cheese sauce with my macaroni. At the same time, I need my pasta to stand up to the sauce, keep a little bite to it. I was also looking for something that had a bit of a spice kick, while sticking pretty close to the basics. Don’t get me wrong, fancy cheeses like fontina and gorgonzola rock, but for this particular exercise I needed a go-to recipe that could make me feel like home is sitting in a bowl of creamy, cheesey heaven. 

And so it was that my endurance in pasta and cheese eating paid off when I stumbled upon Cooking for Engineers. This recipe is completely and utterly fantabulous! What can you say about a dish that is so creamy it’s even creamy straight out of the frige! No reheating required! It’s not even in the universe of figure friendly but I have to say, I don’t give a hoot. This is the real deal. Of course I have made my own little adjustments but the combination of cheeses is superb. The engineers included "American cheese (for stability - American cheese has stabilizing ingredients), Monterey Jack cheese (for creaminess), and sharp cheddar (for flavor). (A fourth cheese is actually used - Parmesan - to flavor the bread crumb topping!)" Coupled with evaporated milk as a base, MAJOR winner folks. Serious creamy factor.

So do please, please make this recipe. It will change your life. OK so maybe it won’t change your life, but it will make you smile for days I promise.

No Grill Required Tender BBQ Ribs

We’re pretty big meat eaters in this family so when ribs went on sale this week husband nearly flew to the store. One of the best things about cooking ribs is how seriously easy they are. You absolutely do not need a grill to make fall off the bone amazeballs ribs. As you probably have surmised by now, A Girl and Her Kitchen is all about the pinch of this and pinch of that school of cooking. It’s how my mom generally cooks and while the measuring cups and spoons have a time and a place, they tend to spend more time than not decoratively hanging on my wall. This recipe is no exception to that rule. I took the base inspiration from an Emeril recipe, which is surprising because I tend to want to smack that man any time I see him, but alas there is always a first time for everything.

So despite its dubious roots, this recipe is fabulous.  The rub gives the meat fastastic earthy undertones while the BBQ sauce brings a bright and rich flavor. Your loved ones will give you a standing ovation for these suckers and never know that your hard work amounted to a solid 5 minutes of prep and the rest the meat did on its own. You do however need a few hours to sit at home while they cook in the oven so unless you are lucky enough to work from home like yours truly, this might have to wait for a weekend dinner night, but they are well worth it. So grab a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, a couple of pantry seasonings and make the easiest yet tender, mouthwatering ribs you have ever eaten in your own kitchen.

Chicken Tetrazzini

I just started a new job. My new firm is based in the DC area and since I’m based in the Bay Area that means more travel for yours truly. I’m spending my first two weeks on the job out in DC at what I am sure will be a simply spectacular Residence Inn. Not sure you will be getting too much cooking out of me while I am there, so hopefully I can round up some more guest bloggers to keep you all satiated while I’m away.

With this long trip looming ahead I’ve been feeling very homey. This led me to make tuna noodle casserole a couple weeks ago, a spectacular dish that had husband and I fighting over the last morsels. So I decided to embrace my 50s era casserole cooking theme and try my hand at Chicken Tetrazzini, which is essentially tuna noodle casserole except there’s chicken involved. I added a few other things here and there (one of which being chopped asparagus because I have been swimming in asparagus) and it was fabulous! Best of all, I made two trays of it, one of which I froze so husband doesn’t starve while I’m away. :-)

Reinvention of a Dusty American Meal

Old school American food is in my mind epitomized in the tuna noodle casserole. This dish has many variations but the version served to me at a very young age was largely based on a cream of mushroom soup foundation. A dish that was easy on the wallet but went a long way to feed a (picky) crowd. I don’t think I’ve eaten this American standard fare in over two decades, so while feeling a little nostalgic and a lot homey this week, I decided it was time to dust off this old recipe and bring it into the 21st century.

Bon Appetite magazine’s March 2010 issue took a stab at reinventing old school classic dishes, one of which being the tuna noodle casserole. Now I’m sure their original recipe is just fabulous, but being me, I’ve take some liberties in adjusting their recipe to my tastes. Here I’ve added things like sliced mushrooms, peas and some fun spices. The end result – utter love on a plate. The crushed potato chip topping (Bon Appetite’s idea, not mine, but brilliant!) gave the dish a fantastic, salty crunch while the leek and mushroom cream sauce wraps your food sole in a creamy, homey hug with bursts of freshness from the peas. This recipe has a long list of ingredient but most of them are things you are likely to have around and others not too hard to find.