So, now I'm cooking from the freezer and am not allowed to purchase any marked down beef. Pork and poultry, yes. Beef, no. This week's menu consisted of three beef meals. I like to vary our proteins but the excessive amounts of beef in the freezer means I need to be more creative. I think I've done well, so far. Stir fry and now this stew. Tomorrow is fajitas. Those I'm REALLY looking forward to. I haven't had beef fajitas in a while. A WHILE!
This was a whim. I searched for beef stew recipes and read quite a few before stumbling on this gem. It's simple with ingredients not usually found in the AKH kitchen. I like rutabaga, but it's not easy convincing S that it's good eats. They make for good chips and good mash. I think I'll have to try that soon; rutabaga mash.
I'm sure you all can relate to the freezing cold temps we had this week. It hasn't been this cold in a while. Most people in this area aren't used to these types of temps. I spent 5 years in Rochester, NY so I'm familiar with these low temperatures.
It actually got worse than this and felt like -3 some mornings and colder. It was layering weather for sure!! And me, walking the dog at butt crack early in the morning meant I had to REALLY layer up. I was VERY grateful for my Columbia OmniHeat boots. They kept my feet SUPAH warm while I was walking Missy. I don't know about you, but my feet are THE FIRST to get cold. Well, feet and hands. I've given up on the hands thing. Unless I have 2 or 3 layers of gloves, they're jsut not going to be warm AT ALL. But the feet? They LOVED the new boots.
If you don't know about the Columbia Omni-Heat then you should learn. It's FABulous stuff!!
I have a puffy jacket with this stuff inside it. It's warm and the perfect mid layer. Since it's a little on the snug side right now, I use it as a mid layer and put my winter coat over it to keep warmer. Yes. I'm a cold person but I LOVE LOVE LOVE winter. I love cold and snow. Even in the coldest temps we had this week, I enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy the morning it almost took my breath away, but the brisk air felt good to me and I enjoyed snuggling with S under our covers.
- Omni-Heat™ technology helps regulate your temperature by reflecting and retaining the warmth your body generates, while dissipating moisture and excess heat to keep you comfortable.
Hence the stew. Stew is always a soul warmer for me. The thick broth, the tasty vegetables and tender beef. It's just warming to me. And since this was a slow cooker meal, it REALLY was nice to come home to. The house smelled yummy!!
I often wonder if Missy smells the food cooking and gets hungrier than usual. I know when I walk in the door and small the food cooking I am almost immediately hungry. I'm sure that's a mental thing, but on this day it wasn't. I didn't have much for lunch. I've been trying to eat only when I'm actually hungry, which for me, isn't an easy thing to do. Some people it's like second nature. For me? It could be second nature to just eat all the time. Sad. I know. I lack that gene or filter.
This was simple but yummy. Sometimes, it's good to let the ingredients just speak for themselves. With rutabaga being so powerful and flavorful, I just let it sing all by itself. It mingled well with the taters and onions. The herbs were just enough to complete the flavors. Simple and tasty. Perfect for a nice, hearty, slow cooking stew.
Welsh Beef Cawl
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 1 cups onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cups rutabaga, peeled and diced
- 2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cups leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- Place the stew meat in the liner of a slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Top with the onions, rutabaga and potatoes. Add the fresh thyme, bay leaves, and black peppercorns.
- Pour the beef broth over top and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or until the rutabaga is fork tender.
- Turn heat to high for 30 minutes.
- Combine water and cornstarch. Add to slow cooker broth and stir to combine. Continue to cook until broth has thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.
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