Beef Stew

I found this on Allrecipes.com. I don't know who Kyle is, but his stew could use some work. This recipe yields ten servings. I cut everything in half and it made plenty for a family of four with leftovers.

Kyle's Favorite Beef Stew

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 cups boiling water
2 (1 ounce) envelopes onion soup mix
3 tablespoons butter
3 large onions, quartered
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup burgundy wine
2 (6 ounce) packages fresh button mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Toss the beef, flour, and salt in a sealable bag until the beef is coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the beef and Worcestershire sauce in the skillet; cook until the beef is evenly browned on all sides; transfer to a slow cooker, but do not clean the skillet. Add the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper to the slow cooker. Combine the boiling water and soup mix in a small bowl; add to slow cooker.

Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the melted butter until soft; transfer the onion and garlic to the slow cooker and return the skillet to the heat. Combine the wine and mushrooms to the skillet; cook until the mushrooms begin to absorb the wine; pour the mixture into the slow cooker.

Place the cover on the slow cooker and set to High; cook for one hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook until the beef is fork-tender, 6 to 8 hours. Whisk together the warm water and cornstarch; stir into the stew; cook uncovered until stew thickens, about 15 minutes.

Review - Nothing special. It tasted like regular beef stew. I'm not sure all of the extra steps (browning the meat, sauteing the onions, etc.) really made that much of a difference in the flavor. I'm pretty sure it would have tasted the same had I just thrown everything into the slow cooker. I'll probably save this recipe only because I don't already have a beef stew recipe. Hopefully by the end of this year I'll have found a tastier replacement.

Cougar Gold Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 1 ½ quart baking dish. Bring 6 cups water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan with 1 ½ tsp salt.

Add 2 cups elbow macaroni (8 ounces) and cook just until tender.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. You will need the following:

2 1/4 cups grated Cougar Gold
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups whole or skim milk

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. While whisking, gradually add the flour and milk. Stir in the following:

1/2 medium onion, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sweet paprika

Simmer at a low temperature for fifteen minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from the burner and stir in 1½ cups of the Cougar Gold. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked macaroni. Pour about half of this mixture into your baking dish and sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the top. Pour on the rest of the mixture and top off with the cheese.

For a final touch melt 1 T butter and toss it with ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs. Sprinkle this mixture on top of your casserole and bake for 30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden.

Serves 4-6 main-course servings; 8-10 side-dish servings

Review - This was ok, but a waste of Cougar Gold, in my very humble opinion. The flavor of the cheese was completely lost and overall, the dish was fairly bland. I've yet to find a macaroni and cheese recipe that lives up to my expectations. For now, I think I'll stick to the blue box variety.

If you're interested in ordering a tin of Cougar Gold cheese, here's the link: http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/

Pork Steaks with Brown Sugar Apples

4 pork steaks (1/2- 3/4 in. thick)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. chopped sage

2 red apples, sliced

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. butter

Place pork, oil, vinegar, and sage in shallow dish and set aside. To make the apples, press slices into brown sugar. Place butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook apples for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden and soft. Set aside and keep warm. Place a frying pan over high heat. Drain the pork and cook for 3-5 minutes each side or to your liking. To serve, place pork on plate with apple slices and steamed green vegetables. Serves 4.

Review - The flavor of the marinade was wonderfully simple. When I make this again, I think I'm going to double the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and let it reduce to make a sauce (thanks for the tip Lisa). Jay wasn't crazy about the apples, but he's not a big fan of any fruit/meat combo. I thought apples and pork were customary everywhere, but I guess not if you're from Texas. Josie took a few bites of the pork. I served with polenta and peas. I liked the alliterative quality: pork, polenta, and peas.