Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

from http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/beef_stew.htm

This was my first experiement in my Dutch Oven...Not the quickest recipe but definitely tasty! Perfect for a snowy day!

2 pounds beef stew meat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon salt
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
dash of ground allspice or ground cloves
6 medium carrots, scraped and quartered
5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound pearl onions, peeled
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Brown beef on all sides in hot oil in a Dutch oven. Add the 3 cups of water and the next nine ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and discard the garlic clove and bay leaves. Add the carrots and potatoes, cover and simmer 30 to 45 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Carefully remove beef and vegetables with a slotted spoon. Cover and keep warm. Drain off or skim fat from drippings, reserving 1-3/4 cups drippings in the Dutch oven.

Combine the 1/4 cup water with the flour, and stir until smooth. Stir a few tablespoons of the drippings into the flour mixture, and stir again until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the drippings in the Dutch oven, stirring constantly, until smooth. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Return meat and vegetables to Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Makes 9 cups.

Grammie's Veggie Soup

With Fall in the air and Winter just around the corner, there is never a more perfect time for Soup, and lots of it. Here is my favorite vegetable soup...so much is it my favorite, that Grammie makes it often when we go to visit. I wish that was able to be more frequently, but since we are a little farther away than we used to be, I just have to make my own...This recipe is very simple and extremely yummy!!

Ingredients:
3-4 RED potatoes (palm sized), cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans butter beans (or 4 cups frozen)
2 cans okra (or 4 cups frozen)
2 cans cream-style corn
2 cans whole corn
1 can tomato sauce
water
salt
sugar
worcestershire sauce

Combine the ingredients above in a large pot and cover with water. Cook until potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt, sugar and worcestershire sauce.

Can add chopped tomatoes if you have tomato lovers in your house. We have one tomato lover, so I usually opt to leave those out.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

8 Tablespoons butter
2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. flour
3 c. Chicken broth
3 c. milk
2 c. diced cooked chicken
1 t. Worcestershire
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. curry powder
1 cup 1/2 and 1/2
1 c. corn (fresh or frozen)

Melt butter, add carrots and onion. Saute until tender. Blend in flour. Add broth and milk. Cook and stir until thick and smooth. Add remaining ingredients.

Just a few notes: I like to add more corn. :). Have made with reduced fat/fat free half and half, and it is good too. Just depends on how rich you want it! Same with the milk--of course whole milk will be the creamiest, but not absolutely necessary!