Smoky Rosemary & Fire-Roasted Tomato Beef Stew

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

This month's challenge didn't really appeal to me since I would have to make so many changes in order to be able to eat it, but it did inspire me to make this delicious rosemary and fire-roasted tomato beef stew!

The secret ingredient here: Smoked paprika that gives the stew a rich flavor (fine, it makes it taste like it's been simmering for 18 hours rather than 2, but you don't have to tell anyone :)) I also browned the meat first which adds an incredible depth of flavor, I highly recommend it even though it takes some extra time. I also had meant to add potatoes to this stew but ran out of space in the pot!

Smoky Rosemary & Fire-Roasted Tomato Beef Stew

1 pounds beef cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups soup stock
2 sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large dutch oven over high heat. Brown beef cubes in batches (don't crowd the pan) and remove to a small dish.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil and brown onions. Add garlic, celery and carrots and cook 3-4 minutes.
3. Return meat to pot and add stock, rosemary, bay leaves and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour (you can also finish this in a 350 degree oven for 1 to 1.5 hours). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The cost:
beef: 11.99
onions: .45
celery: 1.19
carrots: .89
tomatoes: 1.00
rosemary: 1.99

Grand total: $17.51; serves 8

Unstuffed Cabbage

My mom and I love stuffed cabbage, but it can be pretty time consuming, so she started making unstuffed cabbage, where she layered cabbage leaves and the ground meat filling, then baked it in the oven.

My version of unstuffed cabbage is even easier--the same principle flavors, you just add chopped cabbage to the filling and cook it all together. It's still delicious, and takes 1/4 of the time!

Check out the other St. Patrick's Day Dinner Party menu items: Beer Bread, Irish Soda Bread, and Guinness Braised London Broil.

Unstuffed Cabbage

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb ground meat
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 bags (20 oz) shredded green cabbage
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar (I used cider)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven. Add onions and cook until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add ground meat and brown, cooking 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place cabbage in microwave for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add to pot with salt and pepper.
3. Whisk together ketchup, sugar and vinegar. Add to pot and stir to combine. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender.

The cost:
meat: 4.99
onion: .45
cabbage: 3.98

Grand total: $9.42 (less if you buy a whole cabbage and shred it yourself); serves 4-6

St. Patrick's Day Dinner Party: Guinness Braised London Broil

All I can say is, yum. Beer + red meat is an unbelievably delicious combination. I let the meat soak up my sweet & spicy Guinness marinade for a full 24 hours, and wow. But don't take my word for it, try it yourself!

Note: You can easily make this gluten free by substituting a gluten free beer.

Guinness Braised London Broil

Ingredients:

1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp spicy or dijon mustard
2 inch piece of ginger, sliced
4 garlic cloves, cracked and peeled
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 shots of Sriracha or other hot sauce
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
14 oz. Guinness or other stout
2 lbs london broil (I used two 1 lb-ers)

Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients but meat in a heavy zip-top bag. Add meat, then marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (I did a full 24).

2. Using a pair of tongs, remove meat from marinade into a baking dish. Pour in enough of the marinade so the meat is just submerged.

3. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes depending on the size of your cuts of meat (if you use a single cut at 2 lbs, it might take longer; you can also braise this on the stove-top in a large dutch oven).

The cost:
meat: 17.98
other ingredients: <3.00

Grand total: $20.98; serves 6-8

Crockpot London Broil w/ Red Wine & Fennel

I participated in a professional development program this past Spring, and I've stayed in touch with a number of other people from my cohort, especially those who live in my area. A fellow cohort member was in town from the West Coast for a conference, so I invited a small group over to my place for dinner.

It ended up being just myself and JK, but we had a great time regardless (although we missed you SG, JM and NK!). I was very happy with the dishes I made: London broil with fennel and red wine in the crockpot, curried spinach & lentils, cucumber and radish salad with ginger-lime dressing and sweet potato muffins.

Here's the recipe I made up for my crockpot London broil (and here you thought you were going to get a super-sized post with all of the dishes I made today--you'll just have to wait for the rest!). I was exceedingly happy with the flavor profile; the red wine, fennel and thyme melded together beautifully and the meat was succulent and tender.

Note: I had leftover red wine from Shabbat, but you could also use beer if you have that on hand, although it will have a bit of a different flavor profile.

Crockpot London Broil w/ Red Wine & Fennel

Ingredients:

2 onions
2 fennel bulbs
1 box cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, cleaned
2 cups vegetable stock
1 lb london broil
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fennel fronds
6 sprigs thyme

Directions:

1. Slice onions and fennel (white part only) into rounds and layer with mushrooms in the bottom of a crockpot. Pour soup stock over mixture.
   
2. Lay meat on top of veggie mixture. Pour red wine and sprinkle salt, pepper and brown sugar over contents of crockpot. Lay chopped fennel fronds and thyme sprigs on top of meat.
3. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 10-12 hours.
   

The cost:
onions: .50
fennel: 2.85
mushrooms: 1.99
veggie broth: .99
london broil: 9.49
thyme: 1.69

Grand total: $17.51; serves 4-6

Crockpot Deliciousness

Cooking with crockpots (also called slow cookers) is amazing. You throw in a bunch of ingredients, turn it on, and a delicious meal is ready for you when you get home from work. It's almost like it cooks itself! Oh wait...it does :)

Since a bunch of us didn't have plans for Friday night dinner this week we threw together a potluck. I was in charge of making a main dish, and since I Shabbat is so early now I knew I wouldn't have too much time to cook. Hence, I decided to use my crockpot.

This is a dump recipe--throw everything in, stir it up, then let the crockpot work its magic. I wanted something hearty and hot (cold weather and all), but also wanted there to be substantial meat so I threw a London broil in on top of my stew. It cooked up beautifully, succulent and juicy (you can also just use stewing beef).

Crockpot Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

1 lb lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 can chickpeas
28 oz can diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 cups beef stock
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb London broil  or stewing beef

Directions:

1. Pour all ingredients except meat into crockpot and stir to mix.
2. Lay meat on top of stew mix and push down until just submerged (if using stewing beef, stir into crockpot mixture).
   
3. Cook on high 4-6 hours or on low 8-10 hours.

The cost:
lentils: 1.00
onion: .45
carrots: .20
celery: .20
stock: 2.39
meat: 10.99

Grand total: $15.23; serves 6-8