In The House Stew

Kristy at The Crislers has asked for crock pot recipes.  If you’ve got one, you can go to her blog and help her out by leaving your recipe there.  If you don't have a recipe, you should go there anyway and read her blog.

I love my crock pot (slow cooker, for those of you who call kleenex “tissue”).  A few days ago I made this recipe for the first time.  It was very well received by the clientele here in the Common Household, all three of us.  It doesn't quite meet Kristy's request for "tried and true" recipes, but I think it's a good one.

I also have two other crockpot recipes on this blog, here (Peanut Chicken) and here (Financial Crisis Soup).  (But my all-time favorite “soup recipe” is here.)

I am calling this “In the House Stew” because I changed the original recipe in major ways, based on what I did or didn’t have in the house.  (Sometimes I simply can’t face the grocery store.)  My husband always wants me to change my recipes by adding cream of mushroom soup, but the very idea disgusts me.  Even thought I didn’t make that change, he truly enjoyed this stew. 

The whole reason I decided to make this in the first place was because I had a sweet potato (okay, actually, it was a yam) in the house.  My husband usually calls such a yam The Ornamental Sweet Potato.  I am prone to buy a yam for some recipe or other, and then not have the enthusiasm to make that recipe, so that the yam sits on display forever, looking nutritious.  This time the yam was fresh and I did not want it to become ornamental.

Here are the changes I made.  I would bet the original recipe would be even more delicious.

- I used beef instead of pork, because I had beef in the house.  Major shift in taste.

- I used half a can of plain diced tomatoes, because that’s the amount that was leftover in the fridge.  The stew was quite thick, probably because it had only half the liquid it was supposed to have.  Next time I will use a whole can.

- because the tomatoes didn’t have green chilis in them, I added 1/16 tsp red pepper. 

- On a whim I decided to throw in a stick of cinnamon.  Yum! Took it out about half-way through cooking, when it had unfurled and the house was smelling nice and cinnamony.

- I used regular yellow onions instead of scallions, because I had onions in the house, but no scallions.  Also, are scallions the same as green onions?  Either way, I didn’t have them in the house.

- I never got around to putting in the lime juice, although I did have it in the house.  I think lime juice would go better with pork than with beef.

- I did not put in cilantro, because I didn’t have any in the house.

- I cooked it for about 6 hours.

- I fully intended to serve it as suggested, with a salad of black beans, orange, and red onions, but got engrossed in actual paid work, so I never got around to making the salad.

Cuban-Style Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew

A Weight Watchers recipe

7 SmartPoints per 1 ½ cup serving.

Prep Time: 15 min    Cook Time: 7 hr 5 min          Serves: 4        Difficulty: Easy

Description

This stew's both a little spicy and a little sweet. Serve with a salad of black beans, orange and red onion tossed with low-fat vinaigrette.

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

(I used one large yam.  I have no idea how many pounds it was.)

1 pound uncooked lean only pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces

14 ½ oz canned diced tomatoes, with green chiles

1 clove garlic clove, minced

1⁄4 cup unsweetened orange juice

2 medium uncooked scallion, chopped (green parts only)

½ tsp table salt

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped

Instructions

1. Place potatoes, pork, tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, scallions, salt, cumin and pepper in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 7 hours.

2 .Stir in lime juice and cilantro; cover slow cooker and cook for 5 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving (including some cooking liquid).

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just in case you want to exactly replicate my stew protocol, here is my revised recipe.

In The House Stew

Ingredients

1 large uncooked yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 pound uncooked lean beef stewing meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

half of a 14 ½ oz canned diced tomatoes

large dollop of minced garlic – probably about 1 ½ tsp

1⁄4 cup unsweetened orange juice

2 small yellow onions, chopped

1 cinnamon stick

½ tsp table salt

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp black pepper

1/16 to 1/8 tsp red pepper

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 5-6 hours.

2 .Remove cinnamon stick after a few hours.

Serve.

Sweet Potato Rolls is another delicious way to use a yam,
Ornamental or Not.

West Pennsylvanian Peanut Soup

Here is the next installment in my search for vegetarian food to serve to potential guests.  I would rank this one a big success – it wasn’t difficult to make, and 3 out of 4 Common Household test subjects liked it.  It was smooth and creamy, without using any cream.  I think it actually qualifies as vegan.

Still Life: Soup with Jif

I am not sure how authentically West African it is, given that I used Jif peanut butter.  The recipe is originally from the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook.  The amounts I have given here are half the recipe in the cookbook – my version made about 5 cups of soup.   My version filled the blender entirely, so if you are doubling my amounts, you will have to put it in the blender in batches.

Reactions from the family:

I put a small amount of soup (with just a few chopped scallions) in a bowl at each person’s place, for a taste.

Then I said to my son, “Would you please say a blessing?” 

He said, “A blessing.”  Then we waited and waited, with heads bowed, until finally he said, “Thank you, God, for the food, such as it is, and the peanut soup.”  [See what he did there, classifying the peanut soup as non-food?] He tasted one spoonful, which was enough for him.

Younger Daughter tasted it, and said, “Mmmm!”  But then, “It’s too hot!  Make it less spicy next time…. Did you have to put those vegetables (scallions) in it?” 

My husband tasted it, and said, “Mmmm!”  Another taste and another enthusiastic “Mmmm!” 

I asked, “Is it too spicy?” 

He said, “It’s perfect!”  He did not suggest that I substitute cream of mushroom soup in the recipe, which is a success right there.

Without further ado, the recipe:

West African Peanut Soup

This peanut soup is rich and spicy.  The chopped scallions or chives are an integral element, not just a garnish. 

Makes about 5 cups.  7 WW PointsPlus per cup.

1 cup chopped onion

½ tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil

¼ tsp cayenne or other ground dried chilies (or to taste)

½ tsp grated peeled fresh ginger root

½ cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped sweet potatoes (up to ½ cup white potatoes can be substituted)

2 cups vegetable stock or water

* * * * * *

1 cup tomato juice

½ cup smooth peanut butter

½ tablespoon sugar (optional)

½ cup chopped scallions or chives

Sauté the onions in the oil until just translucent.  Stir in the cayenne and fresh ginger.  Add the carrots and sauté a couple more minutes.  Mix in the potatoes and stock or water, bring the soup to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

In a blender or food processor, purée the vegetables with the cooking liquid and the tomato juice.  Return the purée to a soup pot.  Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.  Taste the soup.  Its sweetness will depend upon the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potatoes.  If it’s not there naturally, add just a little sugar to enhance the other flavors.

           

Reheat the soup gently, using a heat diffuser if needed to prevent scorching.  Add more water, stock, or tomato juice for a thinner soup.

           

Serve topped with plenty of chopped scallions or chives.

Notes:  I used store-bought organic vegetable stock.  I used ground red pepper (cayenne).  I did not add the extra sugar – Jif peanut butter already has sugar in it.

I need to figure out how restaurant servers get
soup in the bowl without slopping it all over the place.

Soup recipe

This happened when Youngest Daughter was in first grade.  I referenced it in my bat mitzvah speech, and afterwards had many requests for the recipe.  So here it is.

Written to my extended family on May 18, 2006

I get lots of papers home from school requesting me to do various things - approve the field trip, send in flowers for the teachers, make a meal for the teachers, etc.  A few weeks ago, a request came home from Youngest Daughter's teacher to please send in my two favorite recipes, one appetizer and one dessert.  I tossed the paper, deciding that I did not have time to send recipes in to school.

On Mother's Day, Youngest Daughter gave me lots of gifts, all made at school. (Making Mothers' Day gifts has been deemed an educational activity.  But not making Father's Day gifts.)  One of them was a wonderful recipe book, containing favorite recipes, submitted by all the Moms of first graders.  I leafed through it, finding recipes for Crab Loaf Dip, Cheese Fondue, Stuffed Mushrooms, and the like.  I knew that there would no recipe under my name.  But much to my surprise, I found my name on the following, written in Youngest Daughter's printing:

    Elephant Soup

1 cup Elephant meat

1/2 cup carrots

4 eggs

Elephant mix

3 Elephant toenails

1 cup mushrooms

1/2 cup marshmellows

1/3 cup brocili

Back in the "Desserts" section, I found:

    Apple Cake

1 1/2 cup water

1 c. aeg

3 eggs

1 T Youngest Daughter

This was also submitted under my name.  So I think it will be a long time before I live down my reputation among the Moms of first-graders!

Take that, Chef Ramsay!

Thank you, Annie, whoever you are, for making possible my gift to my husband for Valentine’s Day.

The Common Household Husband has been requesting Lobster Bisque for months. He and Oldest Daughter watch cooking competition shows and then ask me to duplicate the carefully orchestrated TV dishes.  Gordon Ramsay I am not. 

My husband had even gone so far as to give me a recipe for Lobster Bisque, but I was reluctant to spend all that money on lobster for something that probably wouldn’t taste remotely like Chef Ramsay made it.  And all those heavy cream calories!  I threw out that recipe.

Last week he asked what I would like for Valentine’s Day.  Chocolate, of course.  I asked him what he would like, and he said, “Lobster Bisque.”  Requesting it for Valentine’s Day raised the ante.  Uh oh.

The first recipe I found had instructions that included:

“Add lobsters head first and boil until cooked through, ....  Coarsely chop lobster shells and bodies;”

The next recipe I found said:

“Dispatch the lobster by plunging a sharp knife directly behind its head. Cut the lobster in half lengthwise; make sure to collect the juices that will run out. Remove the claws and tail pieces and set aside. Remove the head sac and liver and discard them; cut the body into pieces. Alternately, you can have your fishmonger do this.”

Those were the recipes on the big-name chef sites. Not only did they require me to execute the lobsters myself, but both sounded incredibly messy and time consuming.  Coarsely chopping lobster bodies probably requires an axe. I am not in the mood to be removing head sacs. I do not want to collect any juices flowing from any bodies; there was enough of that when the kids were in diapers.  And I don’t have a fishmonger.  Does anybody?

But then I found Annie’s recipe.  Oh, the beauty of it!  Onion! Wine! Tomato! Milk! Red pepper!  Perhaps it does not count as genuine lobster bisque because it uses chicken broth, rather than broth from coarsely chopped shells.  I used frozen lobster tail, another cheat in Chef Ramsay’s book, I’m sure.  Lucky for me, Chef Ramsey wasn’t here when I cooked it.

Last night I served my soup. It was a huge success, and very appropriate for Valentine’s Day because it is pink.

Did you make any Valentine's Day requests?  Receive any pink food?

Annie's Lobster Bisque

By: Annie

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Annies-Lobster-Bisque/Detail.aspx

Prep Time: 15 Min             Cook Time: 45 Min             Ready In: 1 Hr              Yield 6 servings 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 white onion, chopped [I used 1 cup of white onion, which was half of my gigantic onion}

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup cooking sherry

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

half of a 6-ounce can of tomato paste

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

5 cups milk (2%)  [Just for Valentine’s Day, I used 1 cup heavy cream and 4 cups 2% milk]

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste [I used slightly less than ¼ tsp]

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay®)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 green onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups cooked lobster claw, cut into bite-sized pieces

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the chopped onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the white wine and sherry. Cook and stir until the liquid has reduced by half.

Sprinkle in the flour while stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Once a thick paste has formed, stir in the tomato paste, then pour in the chicken broth and milk. Season with cayenne pepper, black pepper, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and green onion.

Cook and stir over medium heat until the bisque begins to simmer, about 15 minutes. Stir in the lobster meat, and reheat before serving.

Coldest Day requires hot soup

This morning at 7:00 AM the thermometer reads -7 degrees F. My dear son is headed outside for the day, to the Klondike Derby, where the Boy Scouts practice winter skills like ice rescue. I believe they do this on a tarp spread over solid ground. I hope they practice skills such as keeping hands warm when it’s -7.

My job is to provide soup. I much prefer this to ice rescue practice.

Yesterday was even colder, with a high of -4F. It probably will turn out to be the coldest day of the winter here. I’m sure it’s colder in places like Minnesota and Canada, but -4 is cold enough for me. The kids decided it was finally time to go sledding.

Soup is good for the body and soul

Financial Crisis Soup

This soup has staying power to help you remain stable as the market lurches, lots of healthy fiber to keep your economy moving, and it costs just a few cents per serving. It’s made in a slow cooker, which my son calls the crack-pot. Perhaps that could be thought of as a reference to the people who thought they were running the financial system.

Enjoy!

Make in a slow cooker.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Slow cooker time: 4 to 5 hours on high, or 8 to 10 hours on low

Ingredients
1 package navy beans (2 cups)
Soup bones *
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
½ tsp garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp pepper
6 to 7 cups water
1 tsp salt
optional: cubed ham

• You can use: 1-2 ham hocks, smoked pork bones, chicken drumsticks, beef soup bone, or smoked turkey with bone.

1. Layer in a slow cooker, in order, peas, meat, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and pepper. Pour in water. Do not stir.

2. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours or until beans are very soft.

3. Add salt.

4. Remove meat bones and bay leaf. If you prefer a smoother soup, cool slightly, then puree the mixture, 2 to 3 cups at a time, in a blender container. (I never bother with this step.)

5. Cut meat from bone, dice, and return meat to soup in slow cooker.

6. Optional: add cubed ham and stir

Note: I like less salt than most people. Add more salt if it seems to need it.

You can also make this soup with green split peas - the color of money!