Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew with Dumplings

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Jean Roman

“Cooking with love provides food for the soul.” – Valerie McKeehan

Cooking certainly does require a certain amount of love for those we are cooking for, wouldn’t you agree? Afterall, cooking may not be everyone’s cup of tea so to speak, but we all have to do it to a degree.

Some of us are single, living with, or married with or without kids. Who cooks in your home?

I am very fortunate that Dave & I both love to play around in the kitchen as do my boys. We enjoy sitting around the table and creating our monthly menus and trying new dishes. Dave has definitely introduced the boys to some new stuff. I’m afraid I can get in a rut… which is why menu planning is so important. You can read more about that HERE in my Organization 101 Series.

Well, stew has been a long time favorite in my home. I remember the delicious smell of stew wafting through my home as a child. My grandmother would be busy in the kitchen making homemade dumplings, and ohhhhh the deliciousness we had for dinner that night.

Sticking to my comfort food recipes… here it is friends. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Recipes

Ingredients:

4 cups lean beef stew chunks. You can use a round steak and cut into chunks as well.

1- 32 ounce container of Beef Stock

1/4 cup white all purpose flour OR cornstarch

1 cup carrots, cut into 2 inch lengths

1 cup potatoes, cut into quarters or chunks

1/2 red onion, minced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 fresh clove of garlic minced OR 1 tsp jarred

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

Yields approximately 8 cups finished product.

This recipe can be found in my wonderful cookbook, Lovingly Seasoned Eats and Treats on page 127.

I’ve altered it a bit to make it in a cropckpot!

If you still don’t own your own copy of my cookbook, click this LINK to order! Be sure to read the testimonials while you’re here!

1. Gather all your ingredients. Rinse meat off, wash veggies and prepare.

Place meat in crock pot with 1 cup of broth.

3. Sprinkle steak spice over meat & stir to blend.

4. Add cut Heirloom carrots and minced garlic.

5. Next add the potatoes. Here I’ve used Heirloom purple potatoes I purchased at the Detroit Eastern Farmers Market.

6. Cut red onions and celery, and add to meat & veggie mixture.

7. Next stir in the olive oil and mix well.

8. Cook in a crockpot on High for 6 to 7 hours.

You’ll know its done when the veggies are fork tender and meat can be easily pierced with a fork or knife.

9. Once meat and veggies are cooked, in a bowl add 1 cup of the broth with flour or cornstarch; whisk until there are no lumps.

Pour mixture along with remaining broth over meat & veggie mixture; cook for another 30 to 40 minutes on high until thickened.

10. Now, make your dumplings according to the directions. You can find this recipe in my Cookbook on page 127 with the Easy Chicken Stew recipe, or use your favorite one.

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Happy Day,
Jean

Copyright Policy

All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content without written permission.

Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Jean Roman

“Cooking is the art of adjustment.” – Jacques Pepin

Dave makes a mean fried rice, and the boys just love it. I must admit that until he made it for us, I’d never tried to. Not for any particular reason, it just wasn’t on my radar. Dave cooks on Thursday nights, and the boys always get excited at what new menu item he will conjure up for them!

Here’s his recipe, enjoy friends.

Our Favorite Recipes

Ingredients: Yields approximately 10 cups of finished product. You can cut this recipe in half easily.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1- 12 ounce bottle of Lawry’s Teriyaki with Pineapple Juice Marinade

4 cups of cooked rice of your choice. In today’s recipe I am using brown

¼ Soy Sauce- I use Braggs Amino low sodium

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 large eggs, beaten

1 small red onion, diced

2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced OR 2 tsp jarred

Non-stick spray

Other items you can add: Add ½ to 1 cup of each:

Broccoli flowerettes
Snow Peas or Sugar Pea pods
Scallions
Baby corn
Carrots
Bamboo Shoots

1. Wash and pat dry each chicken breast.

2. Place the entire bottle of marinade into a sealable plastic storage bag; place all 4 chicken breasts in the bag; seal bag and blend until breasts look well coated; lay bag down in a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes, rotating and smooshing at 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Remove chicken breasts carefully from the bag and place side by side in the baking dish; bake for 25 minutes; remove from oven and flip the breasts; place back in the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes; Check for doneness.

4. You will know the chicken is done when the juices run clear and there is no pink in the center; remove from the oven onto a cooling rack and let cool for about 10 minutes; cut into bite sized chunks in the baking dish so the meat will absorb any remaining broth/marinade.

5. While the chicken is baking, cook your rice according to package instructions to have a finished product totaling 4 to 5 cups of rice.

PRO TIP: Use Chicken Broth for the liquid when cooking rice. This will give the rice a much richer flavor.

PRO TIP: When checking for doneness, cut the thickest end of the breast to see if there is any pink in the middle. Use this technique if you don’t have a meat thermometer.

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Preparing the Fried Rice:

In a large electric skillet or wok add the oil, onion, and garlic; sauté for about 5 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally; in a bowl beat eggs; move onions & garlic over to one side of the skillet; pour eggs on the other side and fry like you are making scrambled eggs; when done, blend together.

Next add the chicken and mix thoroughly, and serve immediately.

Next add the rice and soy sauce; blend well and fry stirring for about 5 minutes.

If you enjoyed this blog, please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

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Happy Day,
Jean

Copyright Policy

All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content without written permission.

Easy No-yeast Cheesy Popovers!

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Jean Roman

“Cooking is simply a huge and often very fun puzzle of piecing together techniques with different ingredients. Once you know your basics, the world is your oyster (or your clam, your chicken thigh, block of tofu—whatever makes you happy).” – Julia Turshen

I thought this quote was perfect for today’s recipe! You can interchange ingredients so easily and it will turn out perfect every time.

This recipe has always been a family favorite and it is so easy & quick to throw together. No waiting for dough to rise. I’ve altered the recipe a bit from the original in todays recipe.

Our Favorite Recipes

Ingredients:

You can use any combination of cheese, meat & veggie you like– that’s what makes this recipe so much fun & oh so yummy!

Butter flavored Nonstick cooking spray

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt OR herbed garlic salt

2 eggs

1 c milk

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 sm.-med onion diced- or skip this.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat 6 cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray.

This recipe can be found at my blog post, Decorating The Porch, Dreaming of Summer and My Favorite Popover Recipe and Yummy Herb Roasted Potatoes HERE along with another yummy recipe & some wonderful gardening ideas!

1. In a medium bowl whisk together egg & milk until well blended.

2. Add flour and seasoned garlic salt; stir just until mixed.

3. Stir just until mixed.

4. Stir in cheese and any other ingredients you chose!

5. Fill prepared cups about 3/4 way full– about 1/3 c of the batter batter

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350; bake for 10-15 more minutes or until browned & puffed. Do not open the oven door until the end of baking time or popovers will collapse!!!!

Remove popovers from the oven and immediately remove from the pan. Pierce sides once with a knife to release steam. Serve warm with butter.

Top with a dab of butter and serve warm!

Pro Tip: When interchanging ingredients, always make sure they all total the same amount as in the original recipe. For example, the recipe calls for one type of cheese, if you want to add others, cut each one’s quantity to still equal one cup. Ie. ⅓ cup parmesan, ⅓ cup feta, & ⅓ cup of romano- 3 cheese but they still total 1 cup. Do this with any meat and/or veggie additions or changes as well.

Other combinations~

Broccoli & cheese

Spinach & Feta

Asparagus & Swiss Cheese

Dried tomato & basil with parmesan cheese

Onion & chives with cheese

Ham & Swiss Cheese

The options are only limited by your imagination.

If you enjoyed this blog, please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

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If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden!

Happy Day,
Jean

Copyright Policy

All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content without written permission.

Roasted Root Vegetables & Balsamic Glaze

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Jean Roman

“I feel a recipe is only a theme which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.”
— Madam Benoit

**My super yummy Roasted Root Vegetable recipe pairs wonderfully with Dave’s Bourbon Chicken seen here on a bed of Basmati rice!!!**

Summer has her bounty, but oh how autumn glory abounds in the garden! If you are a gardener you know exactly what I’m talking about. Here is Michigan we have 3 full seasons we can relish in our gardens sustenance! Spring with her lovely greens, summer with a bounty of tomato’s, and autumn with squash, potato, onions, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots… and so much more. Root storage crops, which all the above mentioned are, flourish in the cooler days of fall.

This savory blend of root storage crops including Brussels sprouts, fingerlings, baby purple potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and more tossed in a blend of Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and olive oil is absolutely delicious. This recipe pairs well with any meat dish, but especially delicious with Dave’s Bourbon Chicken. This recipe will be coming next week… so keep posted!

Our Favorite Recipes

Ingredients:

1 quart or 4 cups of cleaned Brussels sprouts, halved
1 cups cherry tomatoes, mixed Heirlooms are awesome
2 cups of mixed purple & red baby potatoes, halved OR use Fingerlings
1 large sweet potato peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 cup carrots, cut into 1/4 inch coins
1 cup parsnips, cut into 1/4 inch coins
1 medium red onion, sliced lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tsp jarred
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Pro Tip: You can add any veggie you like to this recipe!

You will need a large bowl to toss all the veggies in once they are cleaned, sliced & diced.

Root storage crops are very easy to store over winter.

I wanted to share more root storage crop recipe’s. Click this link to see my post with several super yummy recipes!

Click this link: https://wordpress.com/post/fordragonfliesandme.com/2477

1. Cut off the stem end; then remove the first layer of leaves and any bad spots off your Brussels Sprouts; slice in half.

Pro Tip: Cut the stem end off first, then the outer leaves will fall off much more easily!

2. Wash potatoes well, do not peal; Cut in half or quarters depending on the size. If you use fingerlings, cut them into 1″ coins if they are large or cut horizontally if they are smaller.

This would be considered a small fingerling potato.

3. Peel sweet potato; slice 1″ thick.

4. Peel carrots & parsnips; cut into 1/4 inch coins.

5. Peel onion skin off and slice lengthwise.

6. In a large bowl toss all prepared veggies in; mince garlic into veggie mixture.

7. Add remaining ingredients and toss until evenly coated.

8. Put all ingredients into a 9x13x2 inch baking dish making sure all veggies are coated.

9. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes covered stirring every 15 minutes; remove cover & cook for an additional 30 minutes stirring every 15 minutes making sure potatoes and sprouts are cooked through. A knife should slide through without resistance.

Be sure to keep posted for Dave’s Bourbon Chicken coming next Wednesday!

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Happy day,
Jean

Marinara Sauce

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Jean Roman

“To get the best results you must talk to your vegetables.”
Charles, Prince of Wales

The late summer garden calls out with her exuberant abundance in a teasing way. Almost saying… “Whatcha gonna do with all this smarty-pants?” Well this weeks bounty made more salsa & this wonderfully easy marinara sauce.

To see more recipes like this one (and my spaghetti sauce recipe) click this link https://bit.ly/3PzAkXG
to purchase my original cookbook, Lovingly Seasoned Eats and Treats. The cookbook has almost 1000 recipes on almost 500 pages! Check out the testimonial page while you’re here as well!

Our Favorite Recipes

Aaron & I went out to the garden this afternoon to check on the harvest… and wow did we score! After he saw the load of tomatoes he said, “Let’s make spaghetti sauce!”

This recipe is for a single batch, but can easily be adjusted for canning by simply multiplying the quantities. It’s super easy and so delicious. You can add other ingredients to spruce it up, however it’s great just the way it is.

If you want to make this a meat sauce, just add 1 pound of lean organic ground beef or pork. Delish!

Pro-tip: Be sure to use only the ripest tomatoes as these will give you the most flavorful sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of pureed tomatoes- about 8-10 tomatoes- Heirlooms are the most flavorful

1- 8 ounce can of tomato paste

¼ cup minced onion- about 1 medium onion. NOT white onions

4 fresh garlic cloves minced or 4 tsp of jarred

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 TBSP sugar

4 tsp basil- dried

1 TBSP pink Himalayan salt

Keep posted for Dave’s delicious eggplant parmesan recipe coming soon!

What you’ll need to have to make the marinara sauce:
Large stock pot
Food processor
4 cup measuring cup
Measuring cups & spoons

Prep before you start:
Chop onions in food processer before sautéing and wash the tomatoes. Be sure to have all your ingredients ready.

Make sure you have all your ingredients before you start!

1. While the onions & garlic are sautéing, chop washed tomatoes into quarters removing any bad spots and the stem; place in a large bowl. After all the tomatoes are quartered begin pureeing them in your food processor until you have 4 cups.

Put quartered tomatoes in processor & puree

2. Leave the pureed tomato in the processor; add oil, onion & garlic mixture, spices and sugar, blend until completely pureed. Move the mixture back to the stock pot.

Add tomato mixture back into stock pot and bring to a low boil

4. Bring tomato sauce to a low boil on medium heat covered, stirring often; cook on medium heat covered for 2 hours or until mixture has cooked down one third.

5. Add the tomato paste and whisk in; cook for an additional hour stirring often so the bottom doesn’t scorch.

If you would like to add meat, cook thoroughly and add to sauce for the final half hour of cooking.

Serve over pasta noodles, or make a delicious eggplant or chicken parmesan!

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Happy Day,
Jean!