Beef Stew

Another comfort food I remember from my youth is a barley soup or stew my mother used to make. Back in the 30's and 40s many electric stoves had a deep well cooker that made the soups, stew, beans.

These days a crock pot is used as a separate appliance to make these same slow cooked dishes. My mother used beef chunks for the stew she made. My version is similar I'm sure but does not involve the use of red meat. Slow cooking seems to give soups and stews a much better flavor than the same things made in a hurry. This one is a good one, and like many crock pot dishes, the flavors seem to get better with age. Maybe we should schedule making our slow cooked meals two days ahead, then let them age and then reheat before serving.

Beef Stew

Easy Chicken and Barley Crock Pot Stew

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups pearl barley
2 carrots, diced
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 onion, minced

Note - This recipe will make a stew that may be thinner than you like. It could be served as is over rice, but if you want a thicker stew, you could coat the onion and chicken with flour and cook in a skillet as in step 1 below. This would give a "stand-alone" dish more the consistency of a casserole.

Instructions:

1 - Cook onion in a skillet on low heat until translucent.
2 - Dump onions and rest of ingredients into a crock pot cooker.
3 - Heat on high for 5 hours.

Comment - More comfort food your guests will love you for making!

Easy Great Tasting Chicken and Barley Crock-Pot Stew

My name is Frank Ernhart. I am a retired engineer, self-made chef with over 1600 recipes, some original, some previously published all FREE. I hope you will click on some advertising links while there to help it grow. The website is http://www.frankernhart.com

Recommend : cuisinart multiclad pro stainless steel 12 piece all clad copper core 10 fry pan

If you have a home fire pit, you should put it to good use. Not only is a fire pit great for cooking and pretending you're on a camping trip, but it's a great thing to have for a bonfire party in the fall just before it starts to get too cold to stay outside for long periods of time. And there's nothing like warm, comforting crockpot recipes to make your guests feel welcome. Here are some ideas:

Crockpot Pulled Pork
The key to making great pulled pork is to get large meaty cuts of pork. It's not at all a difficult dish to make, especially in a crockpot. So try to find the meatiest cuts you can. If you can get the more tender cuts, that's great, but it's not necessary because of the long slow cooking. Before you place it in the crock-pot, cut off the fat and chop it into smaller chunks. Add minced onion and your favorite barbecue sauce, turn on the crock-pot on low and let it cook for several hours (about six to eight).

Crockpot Beef Stew
Beef stew is great to make in a crockpot and you can add whatever vegetables you'd like. Most traditional recipes call for onions, carrots, and potatoes, but you could also combine parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, and tomatoes. To make the basic beef stew, you'll need about three pounds of trimmed and chopped stew meat. Place this in the crockpot with water, salt, and pepper. Then add your prepared and chopped vegetables. Add seasonings and condiments to your taste-Worcestershire sauce, vegetable or tomato juice, tomato or mushroom soup, or soy sauce. Turn your crockpot to the low setting and let the mixture cook for about ten hours.

Crockpot Bread Pudding
Crockpots are not as celebrated for their dessert-making capabilities, but they do just as well as an oven in making delicious desserts. To close out your party, a wonderful bread pudding is a great idea. The best bread to use for bread pudding is the stale French type. Break it up into cubes. Combine your flavorings like chocolate, fresh or dried fruit, vanilla, fruit peels, or brandy, and layer these on top of the bread cubes inside the crock pot. Mix sugar with eggs, milk, and butter, and pour over the mixture at the bottom and cook for about an hour and a half or slightly longer.

Enjoy these delicious crockpot recipes while sitting around your fire pit delighting in the warmth.

Geoffrey F. Moore
Fire Pit

My Links : all clad master chef 2 14 piece cookware set circulon classic 14 piece cookware set anolon advanced 10 quart stockpot

Exotic Foods Abound in Colombia

Although "exotic" foods abound in Colombia, the most succulent, flavorful offerings are its locally-made soups. One of the many pleasures of living and teaching English as a foreign language abroad is the opportunity to sample and savor a unique plethora of foods. From chilly Bogotá, Colombia's mountain-located capitol city, through aromatic seafood soups from the Pacific coast to the steaming goodness of Cali, Salsa music capitol of Colombia, here are some of the country's best soups.

Beef Stew

Here Are Six Succulent Soups from Colombia

" Sancocho de Gallina

The national dish of Colombia, this hearty soup is made with a whole stewed chicken or rooster including the feet. Added in are yucca, yellow plantain, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and seasonings. It's served with a bed of steaming white rice and fresh slices of locally-grown avocado.

" Mondongo

A truly hearty meal in which cubes of tripe are cooked until tender, then added into a stew of vegetables like yucca, yellow plantain, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, peas and seasonings. It's also often served with a bed of steaming white rice. A cold, locally-brewed beer goes well with this too.

" Ajiaco

As creamy a soup as they get, this specialty of Bogotá is made with tender chicken breast, two varieties of potatoes; small yellow potatoes and white potatoes, yucca and lots of fresh whole milk to give it its characteristic creamy texture and light color. It's served with Guasca (a green, leafy vegetable) and Alcaparras (capers) and is a taste sensation you'll likely never forget.

" Changua

Another milk-based soup commonly served in Bogotá and environs for breakfast. It is simple with beef broth, milk, and eggs as its main ingredients. Parsley is often sprinkled on top for added color and bouquet.

" Sancocho de Pescado

Along Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, this full version of the national dish is made with several types of seafood instead of chicken. Fried slices of yellow or green plantain accompany this dish as does white rice cooked in coconut milk instead of water. Sliced fresh avocado, tomato and fried fish are often piled on a platter next to the bowl of soup which is actually more like a stew.

" Caldo de Costillas

The third highest capitol city in the world, Bogotá can get quite chilly mornings and late evenings year-round. For a great chilly morning pick-me-up you can't do better than a bowl of this simple beef broth cooked with white potatoes and a healthy slab of meaty beef rib thrown in, always still on the bone. Bread or arepa (a thick flour tortilla-like bread) on the side help fuel you up for a busy day in Colombia's capitol city. Add a hot cup of Colombia's rich, mild coffee and you're good to go for the day.

Feeling Adventuresome?

If you're feeling adventuresome, then by all means try the "Hormigas Culonas" ants from Santander, the flaky smoked shark called "Tollo", or dip into a stew of Iguana meat. But for me, I'll savor the flavors of these wonderful broths and hearty meals served with rice, fried plantain or a flat, toasted "arepa". Any way you try them, they're all simply delicious. Whether it's "exotic" foods or one of the locally-made traditional soups, your taste buds are in for a treat when you come to Colombia.

Travel in Colombia - Six Succulent Soups of the South in Colombia

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, prolific writer, expert author and public speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 120 countries. Get your FREE E-books, English language teaching and learning information at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Contact the author at the above blog address for more information.

See Also : calphalon unison nonstick 8 omelette pan

Basic crab stew recipes generally include a few everyday spices and a few everyday vegetables. Most recipes also use chicken stock rather than fish stock, which can be hard to find. But, when making gourmet seafood stew for your own family, nothing but the best will do.

You can make basic crab stew on the stove, or you can use a crockpot and slow cook it for several hours. Either way, it's delicious and perfect for when eaten in front of a fireplace on a cold winter evening.

Crab Stew Recipe

Ingredients You Will Need:

1 pound frozen crab meat

4 cups fish stock (see recipe below)

1 16-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1 can kernel corn

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 spice bag (see recipe below)

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

Set the frozen crab meat into a shallow dish, and set aside. Combine all other ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring it to a boil. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat, and simmer for about a half hour.

Remove the bay leaves, and add the crab meat to the stew. Simmer the stew until the crab is fully cooked. Do not serve undercooked, but take care not to overcook the stew, either. Serve with thick slices of bread.

Fish Stock

Ingredients You Will Need:

2 pounds of fish (heads and tails optional)

1 large onion

½ cup celery, including leaves

½ lemon, sliced

Whole cloves

Whole black peppercorns

Parsley

Salt

Boil all ingredients in about eight cups of water. Simmer for about one hour, stirring often. Strain the stock, discarding fish and bones.

Spice Bags

Spice bags can be made with cheesecloth, intended to be placed into the stew and withdrawn - bag and all before serving - or to be opened up and dumped into the stew when you make it. Use one tablespoon of each of the following spices: rosemary, thyme, parsley, saffron, black pepper and garlic salt.

When cooking crab stew, some people add saffron to make it more exotic. While saffron is not necessary in crab stew, this spice gives ordinary stew a new and different taste. When cooking with saffron, use only a pinch. The flavor will be more intense the second day.

For more information on stew, visit the food section of Life123.com.

My Links : circulon 2 10 piece cookware set