Homage

Winter has flung itself upon us and, as my husband snowblows the driveway and I stay toasty inside, I keep thinking about the amazing meal we enjoyed during this week’s Ladies’ Night.

Abbie riffed on a Cooking Light recipe and created an amazing beef stew, K made a sweet salad with bleu cheese and honey, and I supplied some girly beer, because who drinks wine with stew? It didn’t seem right.

The stew was delicious – and we all marveled at the potato-like parsnips that would surely go unnoticed by certain men who don’t regularly eat their veggies.

Abbie’s Beef Stew

• 3 center-cut bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2-2.5 lbs stew beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 C chopped onions (about 2 medium)
• 5 C sliced button mushrooms (10-12 oz)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 T all-purpose flour
• 1 (12 oz) bottle dark beer
• 2 C (1/2-inch thick) sliced carrots
• 2 C (1/2-inch hick) sliced parsnips or potatoes
• 1 1/4 C beef broth, divided
• 2 T dijon mustard
• 1/4 C ketchup
• 2 T Worcestershire
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves

1.  Cook bacon in a large skillet over med-high heat until crisp.
Remove bacon from pan, reserve drippings; set aside. Add half
of beef to drippings in pan; cook 5 min, browning meat on all sides.
Remove beef from pan and repeat with remaining beef.

2. Add onion to pan; saute 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, garlic,
and 1/4 C beef broth; saute 4 minutes or until half of liquid is evaporated. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Transfer beef/mushroom mixture to separate large bowl and add
remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Set meat mix aside to prepare
vegetables. Cut up carrots and parsnips, place in large crockpot. Pour
meat mixture over vegetables. Cook on low setting for 8 hours or high
for 4 hours, stir occasionally during the last hour. Serve hot with good buns!

For dessert we had chocolate chip coffee cake, right out of the oven.

That recipe will make an appearance soon!

Snuggle up,

Tags: Ladies Nights, Me So Hungry Sometimes, Recipes