Beef Stew

This is my absolute winter favorite (chubby little bear cub I turn into in winter...)

Ingredients:
Roughly 1 1/2 lbs of beef chunks.*
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 can of dark beer (Guiness or other stouts recommended)
3 cubes beef bullion
2 cups water
1 onion, quatered
1 stick celery sliced
4 large carrots or about 1 cup of baby carrots chopped into small pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup quick-cook barley

Mix together flour, salt, and pepper. Toss the beef in the flour mixture until totally coated.

Heat oil in a soup pot on the oven (I use a spaghetti pot). Toss in beef and extra flour. Brown on all sides. Pour in beer and water. Add bullion and onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low heat.^ If you, like me, like the flavor of celery but not the texture add it now so it can cook to mush.

Let cook for at least 30 minutes. Add carrots. Cook another 15 minutes. Add peas and barley. Let cook for 10 minutes or until a lentil that has been fished out is tender.

OPTIONS!
-Potatoes instead of lentils: add at the same time as carrots
-Rice instead of lentils: add at same point as lentil would be added
-Additional veggies: rule of thumb is that you should add them at the same time as one of the other veggies of similar toughness. For example, corn would go in about the same time as peas (ditto other types of beans) radishes would go in at the same time as carrots.
-Tomatoes: always add last. Even after the lentils. They fall apart quickly.
-Red wine: different sort of flavor. I think the stew needs thyme mixed in with the flour if you use red wine. (About 1/4tsp)


*You can buy a tenderloin or other large pieces of meat if you like and cut it down. Flank steak is often a good choice for price alone
^The longer you cook this the more tender your beef will be. If you don't want to take the time, leave at medium and keep an eye on it (chances are good your pot will be almost full.)

Quick and Easy: Squish

Sometimes I just want some cookie dough. But... we don't have any and I don't really have any desire to cook any.

Thereby I began making Squish (Which is what I told my then 4 year old sister it was when she asked) which tastes not at all unlike spicy cookie dough and also does not contain raw egg which I hear is allegedly bad for you.

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter softened (best option) or melted (also acceptable)
1 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cloves
Allspice
Ginger

Directions:
Squish the butter and sugars together. Add two shakes each of the spices (or to taste), then enough of the flour to form what appears to be cookie dough. Eat!

Website

http://www.simplysimplewithsasha.com is now up and working, though for the moment all it shows is this blog. We're still working it out.

Quick and Easy: Meaty Mushrooms

Another quick and easy recipe: this can be used as a substitute for beef tips in a lot of recipes. Great with mashed potatoes

Ingredients:

• One large container of Button mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced
• One medium onion, sliced
• One tablespoon oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh Sage, chopped
  

Directions

Put oil into a large skillet and heat over medium (oil should not pop) Add onions and stir until just tender. Add mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have browned. Add sage, toss to incorporate. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Quick and Easy: Summertime Stirfry

This stirfry is the taste of summer for me, being a dish passed down in my family for years and cooked with only the freshest vegetables.

Ingredients:

• One yellow squash, well washed, sliced and cut into quarters
• One zucchini, well washed, sliced and cut into quarters
• Half an onion, diced
• Three cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• One tablespoon of oil

Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and toss in everything. Cook under the squash and zucchini are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold.

Vegetarian Bean Burgers

Let me share a secret with you: what makes most burgers taste the way they do (unless you're one of those people that just eats it plain) is the condiments, not the burger itself. These burgers, with condiments, will taste almost exactly like a regular burger, though the texture is a little different

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of black beans (I use low sodium, but that's optional)
• 2 cups cooked sushi rice
• 1 medium onion, ends cut off and paper removed, quartered
• 2 jalapeno peppers, half and seeds removed
• 3 cloves of garlic, paper and end removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Put both cans of black beans in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Drain, and shake until as dry as possible (patties will not form if too much moisture remains on the beans!) Set aside

Place the onion, peppers, and garlic in a food processor or blender (I recommend a food processor, as blenders tend to suck a certain amount towards the bottom and then fail to process the rest) and pulse until everything is roughly chopped. Be careful not to over-process or the onion will liquefy. Scrap into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put half of the beans and approximately 1/2 of the rice into the food processor and blend until totally smooth. Mix the puree and remaining beans and rice in with the onion mixture. Stir well. The mixture should stick together without being crumbly or too liquid (shouldn't ooze off the side of your hand if you pick up a handful)

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pat mixture into approximately eight flat, round patties. If the patties are not flat, they may break when you flip them.

Bake for 10 minutes. Gently flip the burgers, making sure the spatula is under the whole burger before lifting. Bake 10 more minutes.

If you want to add cheese, do so in the last minute of baking.

Enjoy!


Notes:

These are also excellent with sour cream and chives as an appetizer (if you cook them in smaller patties, keep an eye on them so they don't burn)

They reheat well in toaster ovens, but microwaving tends to make the patties soggy.

Quick and Easy: Herb and Tomato Pasta

I like this recipe for its simplicity and how pretty it looks on a plate. It's quick, easy, and can be served either hot or cold.

Ingredients:
1 box pasta noodles of your choice (I recommend thin spaghetti or linguine)
1 can diced tomatoes, low sodium (If using fresh tomatoes, substitute about two cups chopped.)
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon fresh chopped marjoram
1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
Chopped parsley to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions or until desired texture. Set aside for warm, or drain and set in refrigerator for cold pasta.

Put all other ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Toss with pasta.