Beef Stew

Tonight for supper I made beef stew and it was pretty darn tasty. As with all my soups, I never use a recipe... I just dump and stir until it looks (but more importantly tastes) right. I can tell you most of the ingredients I used, but just not the quantities.

I had leftovers from a beef roast I made earlier in the week with rosemary and fennel, and I also reserved the broth/stock. I threw that in a dutch oven on the stovetop and let it start to simmer. I also added a little canned beef broth, tomato sauce, and a little water for more liquid volume.

The veggies I used were potatoes, celery, carrots, corn, garlic, and onion.

The spices/seasonings I used included garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, paprika, bay leaves, a seasoning salt blend, and black pepper.

I am sure I added something else along the way, but this is what I could remember :) We do have a bunch of leftovers, so I am going to try to freeze some to use later. 

PS- if anybody knows a good way to take a picture of soup so it doesn't look gross, let me know!

Easter Yummies

For Easter dinner Brandon's parents and sister's family came over to our house. Six adults and 3 children. Here was the menu:

Baked Ham with a Spiced Honey Glaze
Au-gratin Potatoes
Pasta Salad
Coleslaw
Green Bean Casserole
Deviled Eggs
Fresh Fruit (pineapple, grapes, strawberries, oranges)
Buns
Lemon Meringue Pie and chocolate cakes in the shape of Easter eggs

 

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Argo® OR Kingsford's® Corn Starch
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 baked (9-inch) pie crust
• 3 egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1 cup sugar and corn starch in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in egg yolks.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and butter.
3. Spoon hot filling into pie crust.
4. Beat egg whites in small bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing to edge of crust.
6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack at room temperature for 30 minutes; refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. 

 

The cheese sauce got added later, but I forgot to take a picture then :)

  

 

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

As I have said before, I LOVE GRILLING! Today Brandon and I made some chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill for lunch.
I marinated the chicken, yellow pepper, green pepper, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini for about 2 1/2 hours prior to grilling. I also used some fresh pineapple, but I didn't put the marinade on that because I wanted it to keep it's natural sweetness.
My marinade was lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, and half a bottle of K.C. Masterpiece lemon pepper flavored pre-made marinade (I know, I cheated, but it was on sale...).  I also kept some of the bottled marinade on reserve to put on the kabobs as they were grilling.

Just ignore the dirty grill and look at the yummy food... :)

Me and my creation

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Grilling, nice weather, and leftovers... who could ask for more?