Spicy Beef Stew with Kale and Pinto Beans

I wanted a stew that combined beans and kale. This does it in a tasty, spicy easy-to-make stew. You can make it hotter or milder depending on the amount of chili powder you use. Or you can add some cayenne if you really want to spice it up. Garam masala is a delicious blend of coriander, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, charnushka (I honestly don't know what that is), caraway, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. So you could add any or all of those if you don't have garam masala. I made this with dry beans, but you can really cut down on the time involved with canned beans.


1 lb. beef, elk, antelope, etc. stew meat cut in bite size pieces
1 chopped onion
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed OR
1 ½ c. dry beans (rinse, cover with water, cover pan with lid, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Let sit at least an hour. Drain, rinse, drain, rinse. Cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer 1 hour

4 c. kale
2 tbs. tomato puree or tomato paste
2-4 c. beef or turkey stock
1 tbs. red chili powder
1 tbs. coriander powder
½ tsp. garam masala
Salt to taste
1 tbs. olive oil

In a large pot with tight fitting lid, heat the oil.

Add the meat pieces in two batches and stir fry till browned.

Add the onion

and sauté about 5 minutes. Add the chili, coriander, and garam masala. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Add tomato paste, stir. Add stock to taste and beans if you used dried beans. Bring to a simmer. Cover with lid and simmer 1-2 hours till beans and meat are tender.

Or, if you used canned beans, wait and add those after you’ve simmered the meat. Just simmer the meat 30-60 minutes until tender. Add kale

and salt, then canned beans. Simmer another 15 minutes.


This is a great winter stew!

Christmas Cooking

We had a quiet little Christmas Eve dinner – just Walt and me. So I thought I’d try something different for both dinner and dessert. Both were delicious and I will definitely make them again. We served them with some sparkling non-alcoholic grape juice. 

You’ll need some of this for the Cajun Chicken Pasta.

Cajun Spice Mix

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/4 cup cayenne

1/4 cup paprika

1/4 cup garlic granules

1/4 cup ground black pepper

2 tablespoons onion granules

2 tablespoons oregano, dry

2 tablespoons thyme, dry

 

Mix all these together

 This is a pretty Christmas dish – red peppers and tomatoes, green peppers, and white chicken and noodles. And it’s simply delicious!

CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

3+ tsp. Cajun Spice Mix

½ - 1 lb. frozen shrimp

1 lb. fettuccine

2 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. butter

1 whole green pepper, seeded and sliced

1 whole red pepper, seeded and sliced

½ large red onion, sliced

3 minced cloves garlic

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 c. chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream (or you can used low-fat half and half)

Cayenne pepper to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Chopped parsley, to taste (I could do without the parsley, but don’t let me stop you)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Remove tails from shrimp. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon Cajun spice over shrimp.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

Add more olive oil if necessary. Stir fry shrimp 2 minutes. Remove from pan.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic.

Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes

 and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Ok – I wanted to eat all four of these as soon as they came out of the oven. It has the nicest, light crunchy top, and creamy warm chocolate underneath. Absolutely fabulous! And easy!

BAKED FUDGE

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

2 heaping tbs. cocoa

¼ tsp. cayenne or chipotle (optional)

2 tbs. flour

½ c. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 315°.       
   
Beat eggs until light in color.

Beat in sugar until just combined. Add cocoa, flour, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix gently until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into four large ramekins or one 8-inch square baking dish. Set ramekins or pan into a larger pan halfway full of water.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until upper crust is crispy and the rest of the batter is firm but not set. Toothpick should come out…not clean, but mixture should not be overly runny. If you pull it out of the oven and have second thoughts, stick it back in for ten more minutes.

 
Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream; I like my chocolate straight up, thank you very much, so I didn’t add cream or ice cream.

Walt and I went to Beth’s (middle daughter) house for Christmas day. We decided that it would be delicious, fun, easy, to have all sorts of appetizers for Christmas dinner. I made Stuffed Mushrooms and these tasty Tex Mex Eggrolls – they are nearly a meal in themselves.

TEX MEX AVOCADO EGG ROLLS
5 oz. pkg. Spanish rice mix
1 lb. hot bulk pork sausage
15 oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 c. chopped green onions
1 ½ c. salsa
2 c. (8 oz) shredded Monterey jack
½ c. canned jalapeno chilies, chopped
24-40 egg roll wrappers
2-3 avocados, sliced
Canola oil for frying

Prepare rice mix and let cool. Brown sausage, drain and cool. Stir in rice, beans, green onions, salsa, cheese and chilies.

Spoon a scant 1/4 c. onto center of each egg roll wrapper.

Top with avocado slice.

Fold 1 corner of wrapper over filling and tuck in edges.

Dip finger in water to moisten remaining corner and press to seal.

Fry in 375˚ till golden, about 2 minutes.

Serve warm. Makes 24-40 (or cut in half on diagonal for double servings)

This is in the Dinner Party Blog. You can see it for more instructions.

Classic Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

You can use either cremini or regular button mushrooms. The recipe can easily be scaled up - doubled or tripled. Scrub the mushrooms well first, then just snap out the stems. They'll come out easily, no need to use a knife. For parties, make the stuffing and have the mushrooms cleaned and stems removed ahead of time. But don't cook them until you want to serve: Once cooked, stuffed mushrooms do not hold up well for long periods. Bake some, serve and repeat.

18-24 button or cremini mushrooms, scrubbed clean, stems separated from the caps

1 Tbsp butter

2 small shallots, minced, about 2 Tbsp

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

Salt

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (basil, fennel, thyme) or dried thyme

2 Tbsp breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp chicken stock

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Finely chop the mushroom stems. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small frying pan over medium-high heat.

Sauté the chopped mushroom stems and the shallots for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and walnuts and sprinkle with salt. Stir well and sauté 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and add the parsley, herbes de Provence and breadcrumbs. Pour the chicken stock into a food processor, then the rest of the stuffing. Pulse several times to get a fine mixture, almost a paste.

Toss the mushroom caps with olive oil. Fill each mushroom with the stuffing – about 1 tsp. per mushroom.

Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over each mushroom. At this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake them. Let them come to room temperature before baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375°F., or until the cheese browns a little. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before serving. Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.

 

We had the prettiest table FULL of appetizers:

These are proscuitto and phyllo-wrapped asparagus spears. Then baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or so.

Beth made this and I didn’t think to take pictures until the end. But it was SO good and a wonderful way to end the Christmas eating.

PEAR TARTE TATIN

2 tbs. butter

½ c. sugar

4 peeled ripe Anjou pears, cored and halved lengthwise

1 tbs. canola oil

5 (14x9) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

3 tbs. crème fraiche

Preheat oven to 400°.

Coat a 10” cast iron skillet with 1 ½ tbs. butter. Sprinkle 6 tbs. sugar into pan. Arrange 7 pear halves, cut sides up, in a circle in the pan; put remaining pear half in the middle. Cover skillet and cook over medium low heat, without stirring, for 15 minutes until sugar mixture is bubble and caramelized. Place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, place rest of butter and oil in a bowl; microwave until butter melts. Lay 1 phyllo sheet horizontally on a flat work surface; brush lightly with butter mixture. Sprinkle 2 tsp. sugar over phyllo. Place next phyllo sheet vertically on top of first. Repeat procedure twice (6 sheets in all) with remaining butter and sugar. Fold in edges to form a 9” circle.

 

Place phyllo circle in pan over the pears, pressing gently. Bake at 400°for 16 minutes until filling is bubble and crust is browned. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes.

Place a plate upside-down on top of pan. Invert tart onto plate.

Cut tart into wedges. Top each wedge with crème fraiche, or toffee sauce or chocolate sauce or whatever sounds particularly yummy to you at that moment.

I hope your Christmas was merry! And I hope you can use some of these delicious receipes throughout the year!

Green Pork Chili

We are BIG green chili fans. I've tried several recipes over the years, and this is my current favorite. It's just hot enough (but you can adjust the heat as you please) and has a wonderful flavor.

GREEN PORK CHILI

2 red onions, chopped
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
3 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and halved (I used roasted chilies that I had in the freezer)
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes, or you can use elk, deer, moose, etc.
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
salt
pepper
10 flour tortillas, warmed

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the onions, tomatillos, jalapenos, and garlic with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread on a baking sheet.

Cut off the tops and scrape out the seeds.

Just peel off the husk, wash and quarter.

Roast until soft and starting to brown, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring twice during roasting.

Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat.

Brown the pork, in batches, until well-browned. Add all of the pork back to the pan and cover with chicken stock. Add the roasted vegetables, cover the pan and place in the oven. Cook until the pork is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Or you can put everything in a slow cooker and let it cook for the day.

While pork is cooking, place the cilantro in a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of water and puree. Remove the pork from the oven and stir in the cilantro puree.

Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Serve with warm flour tortillas.

This will warm your home and your tummy! Enjoy!