It’s cold outside. Here’s some comfort food.
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Slow cooker beef stew
1 tbsp. olive oil
2-1/2 lbs. beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 lb, small yellow potatoes halved
4 carrots halved and sliced into 1-in. chunks
3 C beef broth
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 C frozen peas
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Season stew meat generously with salt and pepper. Cook meat in a single layer for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. You may need to cook in batches. Place meat in a slow cooker along with onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, beef broth, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.
Remove 1/3 cup of stew liquid from slow cooker. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Pour flour mixture back into stew; stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes or until stew is slightly thickened. Uncover and stir in frozen peas. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
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Unstuffed cabbage
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 C tomato sauce
1 can tomato soup
2 tbsp. tomato paste
28 oz. canned diced tomatoes with liquid
1 tsp. dried dill
3 tbsp. fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste
2-1/2 C cooked rice (brown or white)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 head of cabbage chopped (approx. 8 C)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13 pan. In a skillet, brown ground beef, ground pork, onion and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Add tomato sauce, tomato soup, canned tomatoes,tomato paste, dill, parsley and bay leaf. Simmer covered 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in rice.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook until tender crisp. Place half of cabbage in pan. Top with half of beef/rice mixture. Repeat layers ending with beef/rice. Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
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Easy peanut cups
1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) peanut butter cookie mix
water, vegetable oil and egg called for on cookie mix pkg.
1/4 C chopped cocktail peanuts
1/4 C peanut butter chips
1-1/2 tbsp. coarse sparkling sugar
36 miniature peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place mini paper baking cup in each of 36 mini muffin cups. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, water, oil and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in peanuts and peanut butter chips. Shape dough into 1-in. balls. Dip top half of each ball into sugar. Place one ball, sugar side up, into each muffin cup.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately press 1 peanut butter cup into center of each cookie. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
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She said, “It only takes one really long line in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I am a nice person!”
If you would like to share a recipe with me, just send it to the J-T or email it to me.
(Melanie Behrens – melb@marysvillejt.com)
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