Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I have been craving Chinese takeout for the longest time. I have come very close to breaking and ordering out… so i decided to make my own takeout. I used to make authentic stir fries when i lived back at home with the parentals but they loved it so much that i was making some kind of protein with broccoli every single week… and i got way bored.

So fast forward 5 years and here I stand in my kitchen 8 miles away from my moms kitchen about to make my own beef and broccoli stir fry.

And as i type this up, I am so glad homemade beef and broccoli is back in my life.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry (serves 4)

Ingredients: 1lb of lean top sirloin (sliced into strips), 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 2 tsp dark sesame oil, 1 cup of chicken broth (divided), 1 head of broccoli (cut into florets), 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, Optional: 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Slice the top sirloin into thin strips –

and dredge in 2 tbsp cornstarch. In a large skillet, heat sesame oil

and cook strips of sirloin over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side. When the beef is cooked, remove from pan. Pour 1/2 cup of chicken broth in the pan to de-glaze- about 2 minutes stirring gently with a whisk.

Add the fresh broccoli and garlic to the pan, lower heat, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. While the broccoli is steaming in the sauce, in a separate bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 tbsp cornstarch with water, soy sauce and broth.

When the broccoli is crisp tender, pour in the cornstarch and soy sauce mixture. Allow it to heat and simmer for an additional 5 minutes and then return the steak to the pan.

Stir fry for an additional minute. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

JUST like take out… but better- cuz its homemade!

If i had an eggroll..or some egg drop soup- amazingness. Noted for next time.

Boeuf Bourguignon, or something a lot like it

As soon as the weather became cool enough to require a jacket, my father has been talking about one thing: Boeuf Bourguignon. And not just taking a trip to our favorite french spot for a hearty little pot of the stuff (i checked, its not on the menu yet), but asking me if i could try it on my own so he can have hearty beefy buttery stew whenever he asks…

If it was my mom, I’d give her a hard time- just because its mom (but I would make it for her anyway)…but because dad said I should make it, i thought “hmm, why the eff not?”

Sadly, I made a honkin pot of this stew and he never got to taste it. When I told him what I made last week, he was about to bribe me with a shiny blue le cruset (to match my new kitchen aid) but i need stuff to open on Christmas day! right? But lucky for dad, I made a few tweaks and know for next time how to wow the socks off of everyone!

When it comes to recipes, there are so many to choose from. I decided that Ina had a great looking recipe so i used her recipe as inspiration.

Unfortunately, I was baking at the same time as I was preparing this dish and I just went with what felt right, and you know what? it was pretty damn tasty!

Inspired by Ina’s Beef Bourguignon (but totally BSed at some point by Yours Truly)

1 tablespoon good olive oil

8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced

1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced (I left the mushrooms whole)

1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks

2 yellow onions, sliced ( i used pearl onions)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided (i used a stick of butter..Paula Dean would be proud)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone (i used Burgundy wine)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)

1/2 cup Cognac (i drank it instead)

2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes

1 can (2 cups) beef broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste (i left this out)

1 pound frozen whole onions (I left this out because I used the pearl onions)

See, what had happened was:

I started with some thick cut smoky bacon that i rough chopped and crisped up in my crappiest pot. I had every intention of throwing this in the oven… but I didnt… and im not upset about it. After the bacon got all crispy, i removed them from the pot and was left with a substantial amount of bacon fat. So I added a tablespoon of butter….to the bacon fat.

and threw the mushrooms in the buttery bacon fat. they cooked down quite a bit and so did the bacon butter…so i added another tablespoon of butter. I want to say that adding butter a tablespoon at a time really alters your perception.

One doesnt realize that a whole stick of butter has gone missing until they throw in that last tablespoon and say “Holy Shit! Who stole the butter?”

And the answer to that is always Paula Dean.

I then decided to add some of my picturesque carrots from the farmers market…

a few leftover fingerling potatoes and pearl onions. I covered and let the veggies make love in the buttery bacon fat for about 20 minutes. Until they were *almost* done. I removed the veggies and set aside.

I came to the realization that the pot i was using was ridiculously too small to get the job done so removing the veggies to sear the beef was the next order of business. But before that I added the red wine to deglaze the pan and remove all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. I added two more tablespoons of butter (surprise, surprise) and then added the beef.

i was SUPPOSED to dredge the beef in the flour. But when i added the beef I said “”Shit, the flour!” so i whisked it in… I left the beef cook for several minutes, then i seasoned with salt and pepper. When the beef was cooked I threw everything back into the pot… which was now filled to the brim.

I poured in the beef broth, covered and let simmer for 30 minutes.

I really should have followed Ina’s directions… but I kind of just went with it and i was pleased with the results. I def think this was delicious on account of all the freakin butter that ended up in this pot… but it was my first time. Next Time, i will do it Ina’s way….or just go to Tournesol for my own pot of bouef bourguignon and not have to do the dishes!

I prepared a bed of egg noodles for my stew…

And devoured.

Im lucky this worked out in my favor, but have you ever tried to Bullshit a recipe and it totally flopped???

Lazy Girl Stuffed Peppers (again)

When i took a walk to the Union Square Farmers Market, my intentions were to pick up apples. Thats it. Just apples. But when I caught sight of a gorgeous bin of yellow and orange peppers I couldnt pass them up.
As I was picking my peppers I started to brain storm what exactly I would do with them. I have a pretty hectic schedule and didnt want to spend an evening chopping peppers and onions to make something stove top… i wanted something effortless but yummy…
And stuffed peppers came to mind.

I had half an onion that was already chopped in the fridge so i sauteed the onion with tomato soup and a heaping spoonful of sofrito. I dont know why i decided to get creative with this… but sometimes you just gotta go with it.

I added a pound of ground beef and crumbled it into the pan. Seasoned with salt and cooked until the beef was no longer pink.

I also had on hand some leftover white rice… so i threw that in there so soak up all the beefy goodness.

Once i mixed the rice and the beef i spooned the mixture into the peppers which i seeded and cut in half.

I didnt have any cheese…. but i covered them and baked them for 30 mins at 400*.

When they were done, they smelled incredible. As I was about to dig in I got a text from Patti.

“Wanna go to Dani’s?”

I looked at my peppers and then at my phone…

“be there in 15”

I packed up my peppers and met Patti at Dani’s house of pizza.

Warm italian bread…

And Chicken Francese. This was Patti’s. It was my first time trying this (cause I have issues with citrus flavors on savory things)… and I really wish i would have ordered that…twas yummy.
My chicken parm was karma coming to teach me a lesson. It was dry. And the sauce was too sweet.

Next time, i stay home.

Or Order the Chicken Francese.

Take 5: Moroccan Burgers

Its so nice to come home and know exactly what is for dinner. Its even nicer when someone else cooks it for you.
Sadly, No one cooked for me. But the way that I’ve been cooking these days, one can hardly complain! I am still whoring out my Take 5 cookbook and I love it. It has yet to disappoint. I will note (again) that it can use a heavier hand in the seasoning area.
But whatever.
My purpose every week when menu planning is to have a wide variety of things to try without a serious number of repeats. I got a good deal on some ground beef so i searched for a good beef recipe and i think i got a good one: Moroccan Burgers
Sometimes I search these recipes and find that some ingredients are hard to find (or kind of pricey) so a great thing I’ve learned is that there is almost always a good substitute for ingredient you need.

Ingredients: (tweaked for my convenience)

1 lb of lean ground beef

2 tablespoons of Raisins (or dried currants)

1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

Using your hands, mix up all the ingredients and then form them into 4 burgers. Don’t forget the little dimple in the middle to prevent them from puffing up when they cook. You can pan fry these or use your George Foreman…

4-6 minutes should do the trick…or when its no longer pink in the middle. : -)

And Boom. Moroccan Burger.

At this point one would put it on a bun and devour…

You wouldn’t look in your freezer for a bun you thought you had.

You also wouldn’t curse about it.

You WILL however improvise…

And make a Moroccan Burger Wrap.

I enjoyed it. Tremendously with a side salad. Stored the extras in the freezer for those lazy days when i want something a little exotic. nah mean?

I did think it needed a little something extra but couldn’t think of it. Any ideas? Tzatziki maybe? hmmmm.

What would you add to this baby?

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hey, its friday! TWO POSTS in ONE DAY all before 11am!
Story time post is up… but if some of you aren’t in the mood for a story or the sweet treat I left for you at the end of the post… here is something on the savory side.
STUFFED PEPPERS!
Yet another awesome dish i got from the Take 5 Cookbook. I have owned this book for a little less than a month and ALREADY the spine has broken! lol. I wore it out. I saw the most BEAUTIFUL peppers at the market the other day and I wanted them so badly… the first thing that popped into my head was stuffed peppers and i was even more delighted to know that my take 5 cookbook had a recipe…
but as I read the recipe, i found I didnt want to make it the way it was in the cookbook… so here’s my version with some tweaks and improvs.
I set some rice to steam. I seasoned the rice with salt and basil. While the rice was cooking, i started to cook a pound of lean ground beef.
I seasoned the ground beef with adobo… but feel free to use whatever you like to season ground beef. I mean, this will be YOUR dinner so why not season it the way you want! Oh and I think soy crumbles would work nicely in this recipe for my vegetarians (Hi Mari!). I cooked the beef until it was no longer pink and broke it up into crumbles.
When the rice was cooked i added it to the beef and stirred it around to get the rice and the beef well acquainted.

Give it a taste… it might need more seasoning. At this point I sprinkled a little bit of salt and pepper. Just cause i can.

I then grabbed my peppers. Cut them in half and removed the seeds and ribs. I filled the peppers to the top with the beef and rice mixture. Sprinkled it with sharp cheddar cheese, cover with a sheet of tin foil, and place them in a baking pan on 400* for 25 minutes.

I poured some vegetable juice into the pan… for no other reason than I wanted to use it up…lol. And it looks pretty, i guess?

Try not to eat your screen. I served myself two pepper halves because one was not enough. these babies were awesome and i shared the loot with my mom and dad who arent really big fans of the Pepper…

They asked if i had any more…

Def gonna make these again but want to try them with soy crumbles for a leaner and lower calorie pepper! yum!

La Esquina

Several people have been telling me that I have to experience the wonderfulness that is the Calexico Cart. Obviously, by the title of this post I am not going to be discussing the Calexico Cart because the damn cart is too popular! i ventured out in the hot muggy weather, risking serious sweat that would threaten my beautiful barely there makeup job (conceited much?) and walked through SoHo to find this popular cart. With the help of my google maps and Smart Phone (that really isnt that smart) I found the location of the cart. Two men busting out burritos and mexican fare to the hungry people of Downtown Manhattan… a very LONG line of hungry people. Wish I could have taken a photo of this line. It was, i kid you not, 30 people deep. I asked someone on line how long they have been waiting and he looked at his watch and said “about 40 minutes”. FORTY MINUTE WAIT FOR STREET FOOD? FOR MEXICAN STREET FOOD?
Let it be known guys, I am gonna get to that cart and Im gonna eat… something from that cart SOME DAY and im gonna write about it.
My lunch crew walked our rumblins bellies back towards the office and walked up on La Esquina.
Taqueria. They serve tacos. And Quesadillas. And Burritos. And their line looks a lot shorter. La Esquina is ON THE CORNER of Kenmare and Cleveland. La Esquina means THE CORNER.
We all go into the cramped establishment. Its clean and kitchy but really really small. Grab a paper menu and order at the small counter. Once we order we take our receipts and wait outside a giant window.

We would proceed to stare at this window for 30 long hot minutes. I ordered a watermelon juice that was so refreshing i missed the photo op…

But there were other bevvys to behold! with unique names!

Like Chaparritas! Which is what Jess used to call our little circle of girlfriends. So cute.

Just as I was about to go across the street to the hummus place to see if the line was shorter for food there I heard my name, or something that was supposed to be my name.

Monica?

MONICA?

I HAVE TWO TACOS FOR MONICA.

If you mean Monique, than thats me.

Yes, Monica.

WTF???? I rolled my eyes and picked up my order, or should i say Monica’s order.

they score points for environmentally friendly packaging! It smelled good… and i couldnt wait to go back to my desk.

On the left is the beef stew taco. and on the right is the Lengua taco.

I started with the Lengua taco because I have heard GREAT things about tongue tacos. Yes. TONGUE. I hear its tender, beefy, and delicious. I lifted my taco and discovered a soft corn taco- GROSS. i hate corn tortillas… unless they are deep fried. the corn ones are a bit spongey. yuck. The cheese on the tacos? Mild and I couldnt taste it. The Tongue? Tender and flavorful… but next time will ask them to shred it or chop it or something because upon further inspection i could identify tongue parts… and i got a lil grossed out by the slimy side and the gritty side (dont be grossed out…it was still tasty) but the worst part was the pickled jalapenos. They were so OVERPOWERING that this tasted like a jalapeno taco and nothing more. FAIL.

The beef stew taco, soggy corn tortilla and all- DELICIOUS! Not overpowering in flavors at all. The stew was the perfect star in this taco- well seasoned and just overall wonderful. I am glad i saved the beef stew for last.

So i’d recommend it- just request you tongue tacos be chopped up and hold the jalapenos!

Whats the weirdest Food you ever ate? it was my first LENGUA ANYTHING…

Oh How I loathe Thee

SNOW.
I friggin hate it.
Its gorgeous when it falls but in NYC that beauty is short lived when it starts to turn black on the corners and gets slushy in the street and then walking to the trainstation you wanna physically beat the people who didnt shovel their sidewalk properly and now have a lovely sheet of ice for you to crawl on on your way to the train station. Four blocks never seemed so long.
But there is one lil cutie that surprised me with her love for the snow.
This lil diva. This is on our 2nd walk in the snow. I was dreading the first one and after seeing her in action, i had to take pics… my first dog as a child HATED the snow… so this was quite a sight.

She kind of hates when i make her sit so i can take a pic of her. Im such an evil mom.

shes literally bouncing like a bunny in the snow… the leash wasnt long enough for her strides…

but she bounces right back. Eating, snorting, sniffling the snow. She makes snorting sounds and she excitedly sniffs for a spot to mark. I was laughing at her. Even today as the snow is getting gross, she still dodges any and all opportunities to put her paws in it and jump around! LOL

She was diggin in the snow with her face. Way to use your head Mickey!

I came home and desperately wanted take out. But I couldnt order out without feeling guilty for the guys that have to schlep one measly order… so i faked my take out. Sitr fry is easy enough. I had a few things lying around that would be great in a stir fry. Broccoli, onions, sliced steak, snap peas, and stir fry sauce.
the beef was leftover from some steaks that I didnt think were worthy of being served whole, so i sliced them up ahead of time and froze them. (plan ahead!)
I heated a little sesame seed oil and threw in my onions and frozen veggies and tossed around until it was semi cooked. I threw in some peppers and beef, a bit of stir fry sauce and a few tablespoons of soy sauce. I seasoned with garlic poweder, onion powder and added a lil heat with some red pepper flakes.

I needed some rice to go with it so i set up my steamer (oh how i love u) and steamed some brown rice. Literally, just add rice and water and set to cook!
When my stir fry was done, I let it chill out while my rice finished.
Nice and fluffy! Perfectly cooked!
USE SMALL PLATES! They really are deceiving… You are look at 3/4 cup of rice and 1 cup of stirfry… VERRRRRRY Filling!

Wasnt authentic but was definitely tasty and better than those freezer stir frys!

Clean out the Pantry Day!

“I must Not Waste Food!”
“I must Not Waste Food!”
“I must Not Waste Food!”
I am sure with these stupid economic times we all are making an effort to NOT be wasteful, right? I hate throwing away food, So when i start to see the white shelves in myfridge, I know its time to reorder some groceries and use up some of the old.
Kale. I bought a HUGE bunch of kale to make green monsters. But I came to realize after the first day of a real green monster that I don’t care for bits of kale in my breakfast. So there went that. But on one particular day I really wanted something salty, like fries and crispy like chips. So I decided on kale chips! Rinse your kale really well and cut up into big chunks being sure to remove the spines (they turn to twigs in the roasting process). Preheat oven to 425*.

I also had some “meatloaf” meat from the butcher. Its a mix of ground beef, pork and veal. I figured since I was making Kale chips, I could make some burgers too. But my pantry was also looking kind of bare so I threw in some Montreal Steak Seasoning and Country Bobs sauce. I figured I could be experimental since I was trying to use up the last of the meat. I also ran out of bread so these burgers were going to be big suckas!

Mixed it all up and then noticed something in my fridge that might be nearing is death.

Cheese. When Henry’s fam went to ecuador some weeks back, they came back with some cheese. I dont know what its called… but it stinks and tastes really good. If I learned anything from Andrew Zimmern its that you shouldn’t smell your food first if you are easily influenced by smells. On smells alone this cheese would have went right to the trash. But I love cheese- stinky ones and all! This is considered a fresh cheese. Its a cross between fresh mozzarella and cream cheese. It has a great flavor thats pungent and creamy and I thought would make a great contrast with my tangy burgers.

grabbed a patty.

Put some stinky cheese on it.

then put the other half of the burger on top. MMM. Cheese pockets! I didn’t feel guilty since I was omitting the bread. this sort of became a low carb dinner.

I grilled these babies on a screamin hot grill pan. And whle these were cooking, I threw in the kale. I let the kale roast for 10 minutes. i checked on them and wanted them a lil more crisp. I like mine a little burnt. 🙂 Must be the puerto rican in me.

Look whats ready!!! When the burgers cooked up the cheese oozed out. The stinky cheese tastes FANTASTIC when its melted. I think I will be trying this cheese in a soup!

Naturally, everything was ready at different times and because I was so friggin hungry, I ate the kale chips first. SO YUM! If you can get over the green part you really wouldnt know this was a roasted green! If you are a chip addict i dare you to try these! they make great low cal, low carb and fat free substitute for french fries and chips… a bit of a warning tho- these should only be eaten fresh- they dont hold over well testure-wise over night.

I scooped up all the melted cheese in the pan and put it on top of the burger. It was juicy and I was impressed with the seasoning. I usually add so much stuff but since i was out of damn near everything I improvised and it came out great. I love the contrast with the cheese and beef. And i enjoyed the 2nd burger even more the following day!

Honey, I’m Home!

I have a new roommate… its not a surprise– she’s been living with me for a little over a month now. But the other day she mentioned she was getting home early and would be cooking.
“Do you like Mexican Food?”
HELL NO- I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD.
“Good, I’m making burritos”
And then I closed my eyes and thanked CHEESES for bringing this wonderful soul to Kew Gardens to live with me (Hi Dara!)
You kind of have to wait till the end of this post to see how dinner came out… but be patient. There’s plenty to keep you occupied till then.
Like goodies that came in the mail.
Amazing Grass. Superfood. Green Monsters. Oh the healthy possibilities. Jumping on the green bandwagon with both feet…

I wanted to make my first green monster. I really should have read up on these things before I got all excited. One of the biggies stating that chocolate is the best green one.. but I thought- i can handle a little grassy tasting bevvys… right?

Yeah, So I used my Rocket – love that thing- to blend banana, skim milk, berry amazing grass, and ice.

And then because the first taste was like chewing the leaves on a strawberry, I added a tablespoon of cocoa powder. And by this time you would think I learned that if one thing doesnt make it taste good, a few other things aren’t going to make a difference. Dont know what i was thinking but I had me a big old glass of Dirt. yes it tasted like dirt. I was going to either drink this like a big girl or toss it and starve…

Oh me! Oh My! someone has come to work with bagels and scratch red velvet cupcakes??? And on the day my dirt smoothie wasnt cutting it. I quickly dumped the dirt smoothie and went to hog heaven on the best bagel I have ever had. Seriously, how good would anything taste after drinking liquid dirt?

Soft doughy innards with a slighty crisp crust on the everything bagel with cream cheese… and half a cupcake… I needed to try it! The cupcake was great although it was more pink than red- the flavors were spot on and they even made their own cream cheese frosting. yuh–mee!

Alright. Henry took me to trader joes and i buy everything under the sun and I tell him to pick up stuff that he wants as well – even though hes paying for everything! LOL– and never ceasing to disappoint Henry comes back with something spicy. That boy can live on hot stuff. He lives for the torture but he cannot for the life of him eat anything that is steaming hot right out of the oven- i will never get that. I DIGRESS

The boy comes back with a jar of wasabi mayo. Never mind that I have a jar of wasabi at home and a jug of mayo- he wants already made wasabi mayo. ( he smeared some of it on his steak quesadilla from the night before – yuck)

But when searching for a lunch option, I eye the tuna. Then in the corner of my eye I can see the wasabi mayo… SO i went with a wasabi tuna sammie.

Toasted up some bread (i hate soggy tuna sammies) and added some romaine – because i love crunch in my sandwiches… and it was pretty good! I had to cut the wasabi with some regular mayo because my nostrils were burning but the combo was tasty! Henry asked if i could make him one and complained i didnt use enough wasabi… so i gave him the jar and a spoon and when i came back his eyes were watery and he was holding his nose to alleviate the burn… and by george he went right back into the jar for more punishment!!!

Around slump time… i mean snack time ( you say coffee break – i say snack time) I enjoy some jarred pears in natural pear juice. What is it about pear juice that drives me crazy? ( in a good way) I told my mother how I would love for nothing more than to drain the jar of pears into a cup and just sip and enjoy… thats when she told me i was addicted to pear juice as a baby. Awwww. after all these years i still love it. 🙂 slurp slurp slurp!

And now im excited because Im going home to dinner! Mexican dinner! by a New Mexican.

When I got home Dara whipped up some beefy burritos and blew my mind with “cheese sauce”. I will call this treasure: “OMGTHISISFREAKINGAWESOME“

I watched her cooking and forgot the action shots. But I have a great plate shot.

so from left to right: a tasty beef burrito with cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and a milk salsa verde, then above that is some black refried beans ( i love refried beans!) and to the right of that is a scoop of mexican rice.

It was delicious and even more delicious because i didnt have to cook it, clean up, and enjoyed leftovers later in the week… (coming soon to a blog near you)…

Oh and while were were eating…

“and they called it puppy love”

Our doggies lovin on eachother.

Beef Stew

Trader Joes is an amazing place.
While shopping I walked along the meat aisle and picked up some grass fed beef. The price was amazing and the quality was superb.
1.5 lbs of stew meat for $7. For Grass Fed beef that is quite a bargain. I haven’t gotten rich enough to try the strips or fillet mignons but I plan on it!!!
With the NY weather getting a lil cooler and night sky falling earlier, I made some hearty beef stew.
Traditionally I make Carne Guisada, a spanish style beef stew, but not feeling like playing by the rules, I just threw stuff in the pot and came out with a regular ol beef stew. But it was quite yuM! I started by seasoning the beef with garlic and onion powder and some flour to coat. I love beef stew but find that the beef dries out so I intend to sear the beef and set it aside until i am ready to simmer the sauce. The flour will help seal in the juices.

I heated some oil with store-bought Sofrito. (hoping to get Natalie‘s recipe for the homemade stuff- apparently the homemade stuff is waaay better than the store-bought stuff…. natalie– i’m waiting! lol)

Once the pot was screaming hot, I added the beef and let it sear. Once it was “cooked” on the outside, I removed the beef and was left with a sticky mess in the pot.

I added a bit of red wine to de-glaze the pot and help pick up all the yummy bits that were stuck to the pot.

It worked really well!

I then added an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, salt and pepper, onion and garlic powder (if needed), 1 chopped up potato, 1/2 a bag of baby carrots and 2 cups of water.

I let it come to a boil then i lowered the heat and added the beef.

I let it simmer for 20 mins or so (or until potatoes and carrots are fork tender).

I always taste as it is cooking to properly tweak the recipe. Taste it to know how much or how little of something you want to add. This is good on its own or with a little rice.

Lots of leftovers! And plenty to feed Roomie and Boyfriend; both enjoyed the beef stew.

If your looking for an easy, filling stew- here it is. it freezes well too.

Oh and in case you were wondering- searing the beef was totally worth it!

side note: I am so devastated by Patrick Swayze’s death. I can recite the entire script of Dirty Dancing and will always squeal like a lil girl when I hear him say “Nobody puts baby in the corner!”