Gone All Day Stew

I first had this stew when my mother-in-law made it. I'll be honest, I'm not a big meat and vegetables fan unless there's also cheese involved, but I really enjoy this stew especially if served with cornbread. It's so tasty and comforting, perfect for cool weather (or if you're like me, any time of the year).

The first time I tried making this I followed the original recipe's instructions to cook the stew in the oven, but since I don't own a roasting pan or oven-safe pot, I had to borrow one from my mother-in-law. Then the next time I made it (last week), I forgot all about needing an oven-safe pan until the last minute, so out of necessity I turned this into a slow cooker recipe. I think I prefer the oven method, but that's probably because my slow cooker is an overachiever and doesn't cook as slowly as it's supposed to, resulting in overcooked food.

Unfortunately, I completely forgot about taking a picture of the stew. That's how distractingly good it was!

Gone All Day Stew

2 pounds beef, cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes
4 to 5 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 1 inch diagonal slices
4 to 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 1/2 inch chunks
3 to 4 small onions, cut into large chunks or 1 inch wide strips
8 ounces fresh white mushrooms
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 can (10.75 ounce) condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Place beef, vegetables, and bouillon cubes in a large roasting pan or oven-safe pot with lid. In a medium bowl, combine soup and flour until smooth. Add seasoning and water; stir until well combined. Pour mixture over meat/veggies in pan. Cover and bake at 275° degrees for 4 to 5 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving. Yields 6 to 8servings.

Slow cooker version: Reduce the water to 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup. Cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Savory Shepherd's Pie

Up until this week, I didn't like Shepherd's Pie. Or rather, I had never had one that I particularly cared for; I'm just not a meat-and-potatoes girl. But I wanted to cook something Irish on St. Patrick's Day and corned beef just didn't sound that appealing. So I thought, how about making a spiced up version of Shepherd's Pie? I planned to kind of make up my own thing, so went to Food Network to get some ideas and instead ended up finding the perfect recipe. Although it was somewhat time consuming to prepare, this pie (which I actually made in a rectangle baking dish) tasted incredible! The blend of flavors was just perfect and the mashed potatoes were probably the best I've ever had (I plan to make them again just as a side dish). I think that the beer (incidentally also something that I do not like) really gave the meat filling some great flavor, so I recommend not skipping it even if you, like me, are not a beer drinker. I now have several bottles of leftover beer sitting in my garage. I might try making some chili with it...

Savory Shepherd's Pie

Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
10 garlic cloves, peeled
4 tablespoons (half a stick) butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black

Meat Filling:
4 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 cup carrots, roughly chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (12 ounce) light or dark beer
1/2 cup beef broth
1/3 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
Dried or fresh parsley (optional)

Mashed potatoes: In a large pot, cover the potatoes and garlic with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and garlic. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. With a garlic press, mince the garlic over the potatoes. Add butter and beat on low speed with an electric mixer until butter is melted. Add the sour cream, 1/4 cup of broth, salt, and pepper. Beat on low until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and the potatoes are fluffy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of broth if necessary.

Meat filling: In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until almost crisp. Carefully remove the bacon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the oil, onions, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the bacon grease in the pan and cook over medium heat until the onions just begin to brown (about 10 minutes). Stir in the sugar and continue cooking the onions until they start to caramelize (about 3 minutes). Add the ground meat and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned. Stir in the carrots, peas, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start softening (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes paste and flour and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour in the beer and bring to a boil. Continue boiling for 3 minutes while scraping the bottom of the pan, loosening any bits that are stuck. Stir in the cooked bacon, broth, rosemary, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt; return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Grease a 10-inch round or 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture into the bottom of the dish and distribute evenly. Cover the meat mixture with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly browned and the edges are bubbly. (You may want to place a baking sheet underneath to catch any liquid that bubbles over.) Remove dish from the oven and sprinkle the cheese over the potatoes. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. After removing the dish from the oven, wait at least 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley if desired. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from Melissa d'Arabian.

Potato Bacon Torte

I discovered Melissa d'Arabian, the most recent The Next Food Network Star winner, a few weeks ago. I wish I could watch her new show Ten Dollar Dinners all the time but alas, do not get the Food Network channel. But at least all of her recipes are listed on Food Network's site as well as some clips from her show. Melissa says that this particular recipe costs less than $4 to make, but several comments on the site seemed to doubt that it was really so cost effective. Even I initially looked at it and thought, Cream? Bacon? Cheese? Seriously?! But it looked so good that I had to give it a try. And although it was somewhat time consuming, it was well worth the effort and surprisingly economical.

Budget Breakdown: Melissa was correct in stating that this recipe can be made for under $4. I made one modification by using Swiss cheese instead of the Gruyere cheese called for in the original recipe, but I also tripled the amount from 1/4 to 3/4 cup of cheese. So I probably didn't actually save any money by using a less expensive cheese since I used so much more, but at least I got to use more! Anyway, here's how I calculated my cost. The double crust cost cost me $1 in butter and 25 cents in flour. I forgot to weigh it beforehand but estimate that I used about 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes from a $2.50 10-pound bag, making the cost of the potatoes 38 cents. I used one-third of a $1.99 package of bacon; so that was 67 cents. One-third of a 16 ounce carton of cream ($1.74 at Wal-Mart) was 58 cents. The 3 ounces of Swiss cheese ($3.19 for a 16 ounce block) costs 60 cents. Add 10 cents for the egg and in total, it was about $3.58 to make this!

Potato-Bacon Torte

3 sprigs fresh thyme or about 1/2 tsp. dried thyme flakes
2/3 c. heavy cream
2 prepared pie crusts
3-4 medium baking potatoes, peeled
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt and black pepper
3/4 cup Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the cream and thyme just to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. If using fresh thyme sprigs, remove after steeping.

Roll one pie crust into a 10-inch circle and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then thinly slice. Layer the sliced potatoes evenly into the bottom of the pie crust. Season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie dish is filled or until the potatoes run out (you should get four layers). Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the final potato layer. Carefully pour the cream over the top of the cheese, allowing it to seep down the sides and between the potato slices.

Roll out the remaining pie crust. Lay over the top of the pie dish and press to seal the edges. Trim off excess dough. Brush the top and edges of the crush with the egg yolk. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust to allow steam to escape. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake at 375° for about 50 to 60 minutes or until the crust is browned and crispy. (You may need to cover the edges of the pie crust to prevent them from overcooking.) Let the torte rest for about 15 minutes before cutting into slices.

Recipe adapted from Melissa d'Arabian.