Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What I Cooked: Brunswick Stew for a Crowd

My Dad's favorite.  Turned out fantastic--best i've ever cooked.  Made for his birthday, last night.  Huge pot.  Served 12 with ample leftovers.

Prep time: 30 minutes (all the chopping!)

Ingredients:
Several pounds of meat (I used pork chops)
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can V8 juice
3 cans chicken broth
1 can corn
2 small packages of frozen succotash
5 extra large potatoes, or 10-12 smaller ones, cubed in hearty chunks
extra frozen lima beans if you want them (there wasn't enough for me!)
a few celery stalks, diced

Spices:
2 bay leaves
Poultry seasoning
Worcestire sauce and salt to taste
Dash of wine
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Sear meat in some olive oil, while salting and peppering each side as you go
Degalze pan with a little wine or broth, then add the rest of the broth
bring to a boil and add all the various tomatoes
lower heat
Add potatoes and celery, and simmer on low until potatoes and meat are tender (several hours, if possible)
At the end, add all the corn and Lima beans, and boil until everything is tender, about 20-30 minutes
Before serving, remove any bones from the pork chops, and shred/cut up the meat to distribute evenly.  Remove any visible fat and bay leaves.  Salt and pepper to taste.

I used the various types of corn and canned ingredients, because that's what i had, but i could have substituted things if i needed to.  Don't use too much Worcestire sauce--that's why i had to add the canned corn (added sweetness), to cut down on the "sour-ness" because i overdid it on the Worcestire!

What I Cooked: Lentil Quinoa Tomato Stew

I'm starting a chronicle of my cooking on here--not because I'm a great chef, but because I'm a lazy, make-due-with-what-you-have cook, and I rarely remember my "recipes" even if they were really good.  If something works out, I'm going to keep track of it here, so I can repeat it.

This was INHALED by my kids, and I liked it too.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour on the stove

Ingredients:
1 piece of meat (I used a large pork chop type piece that was double sized, yet flat)
1 Package Lentils
3 handfuls of Quinoa
1 can tomatoes with mild green chiles
1 can stewed tomatoes
A bunch of carrots, cut into large chunks
Spices: Cumin, "Foxpoint Seasoning" (mostly parsely?)
About 8 c. or water/broth, or more, if needed
Salt to taste

Directions:
Sear meat on high heat in bottom of pan in some olive oil
Deglaze pan with some water or broth
Bring to a boil
Add remaining water and all other ingredients
Turn down burner to low
Simmer for an hour or more, or until lentils are soft and flavors are mixed
Salt to taste

I was out of broth, so I used water in this recipe, and it was still extremely flavorful.