Dutch Oven Beef Stew

I got a lot of new kitchen supplies for Christmas and I am looking forward to trying them all out. I decided to test out my new cast iron Dutch oven. I have wanted one of these for a long time, and was so excited to use it.

Here are the ingredients you will need for this aromatic beef stew:

• 2lbs stewing beef (cut into small chunks)
• 1 cup chopped sweet onions
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 3 med. potatoes chopped
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup beer
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup flour for coating beef

Here is how you make it:

Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch Oven over medium heat. Coat your beef chunks in flour and add to the heated oil. Braise the beef for a few minutes.

Add onions, carrots and potatoes.

Pour in Beer and Beef broth.
Add Salt, Pepper, Thyme, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and summer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally, adding more beef broth and/or beer if necessary.
ENJOY!!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and seeded butternut squash , cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 pinch sugar
• 3 large garlic cloves, thickly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups chicken broth, homemade or from a carton or can
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half (or whole milk)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Garnish: apple slices

To prepare squash: Peel the squash, cut in half at the bulge, and then cut each half again, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds in the bottom half. Cut remaining squash into 1 inch cubes.Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep saute pan until shimmering.

Add butternut squash, then onion; saute, stirring very little at first, then more frequently, until squash start to turn golden brown, 10 min.

Reduce heat to low and add butter, sugar and garlic; continue cooking until all vegetables are a rich caramel color, about 10 minutes longer.

Add cinnamon; continue to saute until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. Add broth; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender or traditional blender, puree until very smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Return to pot, add enough half-and-half so the mixture is soup like, yet thick enough to float garnish. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Simmer for 10 minutes, spoon into bowls, garnish and ENJOY!!

"Fall" Beef Stew

After a great day of apple picking and baking with the apples I really wanted a truly "fall" meal to finish off a wonderful fall day.

This stew was super easy to make, and we all really enjoyed it!!

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg stewing beef
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• 3 med potatoes (cubed)
• ¼ of an onion (chopped)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 packages beef bullion
• Water

First you saute the onion and garlic with some olive oil in a large pot. Once the onions are browned remove them both from the pot.

Braise the stewing beef a bit at a time in the hot oil, add more oil if necessary. Add onions and garlic back into the pot along with the potatoes and carrots.

Pour just enough water into the pot to cover its contents. Add 1-2 packages beef bouillon powder (depending how flavourful you would like it). Simmer on low-med heat for 1 hour.

Serve with some fresh french bread and enjoy!