CROCK POT BEEF STEW

Beef for stew, or stew beef, can be rather tough unless simmered for a good while, so I decided to try and create something in my crock pot.  Below is a recipe, that for the first trial, came out very good and I hope you will try it with your own "twist" of spice and other ingredients.


With cooler temperatures and a steady rain in the forecast for the weekend, I bought some stew beef for some crock pot stew at Old Towne Butcher.  Some of the stew meat needed to be halved due to size, but what I also found was the meat did not need to be trimmed of any fat, hence almost no waste.   Equally important it had a great marbling and my hope was the flavor would be good.  I perused some recipes, decided on one, changed it up a bit and went to work.

1 1/2 pounds stew meat cut into 1” cubes
1 1/2 red pepper coarsely diced
1 jalapeno diced including ribs and seeds
2 onions coarsely diced
7 baby potatoes quartered
1 rib celery chopped coarsely
4 carrots peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 bulb fennel finely diced
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. red wine (I used Cab Sav)
2 cubes beef bouillon
2 bay leaves
1 c. flour with black pepper and other spices of your  choice, blended in.
1/4 t. ground thyme

 
Place meat in a gallon baggy, add flour with spices and lightly dust the meat.  To give the meat some color, brown it in canola oil being careful not to over crowd skillet (did mine in 2 skillets).  Drain meat on paper towels.  Put meat in bottom of crock pot, add all vegetables and the bay leaves, beef bouillon cubes, and sprinkle lightly with ground thyme.  Pour in water and wine mixture and cook on high for 5 hours.

Tastes great.  Meat is tender, flavorful, and leaves me wanting more.

Trim and cut the stew beef in about 1 inch cubes

 

 

Place meat in baggy with flour seasoned as you choose, but pepper for sure

 

Flour, making sure meat is covered.  (Flouring then browning will help gravy in the crock pot thicken during cooking)



 

Place ingredients in crock pot according to recipes and  you are ready to eat in 5 hours.

 

 

ENJOY

 

1960's...I think

I was born in the little town of Burlington, Indiana during the Eisenhower era, and raised during Viet Nam.  I thank the Veterans for their service during those difficult times.  I saw a recent FB post that made me think back to my youth.  It was an A&W Root Beer ad that brought a smile to my face.  Not sure when A&W came on the food and drink scene, but in the mid to late 60's I worked for Dog-N-Suds, a coney dog and root beer restaurant in central Indiana.  A drive in restaurant it was, where you parked, a waitress came to your car, you ordered, and the food was brought to you on a tray and hung on the car window.  Sort of a Happy Days kinda place.

The hot dogs, as I remember, were awesome with a coney sauce topped with onions on a steamed hot dog bun that melted in your mouth.  And although McDonalds started in the mid 1950's, the Dog-N-Suds made a Texas Burger that easily rivaled the Big Mac.  French fries were great and we even made onion rings while no one else did.  Got my license while working there, got my first car while working there (1964 blue Ford Failane) got my first ticket going to work there, and may have had my first crush while slinging burgers and dogs on the flat top grill.

Would I want to go back and re-live my teenage years?  No, not really.  But it does bring a smile to my now wrinkled face and reminds me that I am where I am because of those moments.

Maybe a Day Late

Had an experiment this past weekend where I fixed some, let's say...stuffed biscuits.  Was going to fix a bacon casserole but talked myself out of that when I opened my eyes at 5:30 AM on Sunday.  Ashley, Nick, and Tori were here for a visit and I was so hopeful I could pull it off, enjoy more family time, and make it be good.

Fried some bacon (did the whole pound to have plenty) let it cool then diced it up.  Shredded some some sharp cheddar cheese (1-2 cups) and set aside.  Took some Pillsbury Grands biscuits and flattened them to a size just before tearing.  Preheated oven to 350 and put the bacon and cheese into the biscuit dough and folded  over the edges like a dumpling.  Placed this dumpling seam side down, brushed lightly with butter, and baked until golden brown.  Delicious.  Only problem is someone on FB did a pepperoni and cheese biscuit on Monday and someone else on FB did a ground beef and onion biscuit today in much the same way.  Day late and a dollar short.  Story of my life.

Old Friends and Tears

As a young boy, one of the values you grew up with was to NOT cry...shows weakness right?  If you skin your knee, don't let your friends see you cry.  If your pet dies, hold in the tears.  If you don't get that special toy at Christmas, don't pitch a fit and sob.  Had a wake up call A while back and found it funny/odd how time changes life's perspective.

Ran into a buddy the other day...a buddy I had not seen in some time.  Our paths crossed for business reasons, and when we met we quickly proceeded to catch up on the days as we saw them in our rear view mirrors.  We talked about others, and each other, and tried to measure the successes and failures we had each witnessed.  We spoke of our families, how quickly they are growing up, and how the years are piling on us all.

As our visit wore short and we both knew we had to get going, our words and thoughts drifted to the now.  With the time of the day cut short, and the promise of tomorrow not given, we shook hands, said "I love you", and yes, we cried.

Col-LAB-erations

As do many of us humans, I have a best friend...my dog who happens to be a 90 pound yellow lab named Abbigail, Abbie for short.  Both of us are beings of few words (her more than me) but we have some good talks, albeit one-sided.  She lets me know what is on her mind which is basically 4 things; when she needs to go out, when she needs food and water, when she wants to go to bed, and when someone is walking on her street.  She is quite patient and I am grateful that she is, since I don't move as fast as I used to, but then again neither does she.

Abbie is 12 and is having some joint issues but doing pretty well.  She has also gone a bit deaf so some of our talks are done in sign language.  She knows my sign for eat, come, stop, and when I am happy with what she has done.  No communication barriers here.  She talks with her eyes, perky ears, ruffled brow, and an occasional bark, although in a hoarse fashion.  She also speaks clearly with her snores,,,seriously.  I have had phone callers that hear the background "noise" and ask what is that I hear as Abbie offers a deep snort while napping.  Deep down Abbie is still a puppy stuck in the body of an older dog.  Kinda like me, a little boy growing old.

If I am having trouble with some part of my day, or life for that matter, I always bounce my ideas off her yellow head and somehow I get an answer.  Talking with her causes me to slow down for some reason, and I am able to focus and do the right thing.  She listens, as best she can, as I carefully explain my dilemma and the process helps me verbalize, understand myself, and move forward.

Not real sure what I will do when her spirit leaves this world, and I do believe that dogs have spirits.  For sure it will be sad, but I will always remember the talks we had and the instincts she has passed on to me.  When my time comes, I hope to meet her at that bridge we all speak of.  But for now I will continue to relish the talks we have here and look forward to my next lesson.

Gigilos, Pimps, and Politicians

For more than a year the three words in this title have caused me to ponder their connection.  They popped into my mind while in my car and I have no idea what I heard that made them stick.  I did however, write them down and my mind has not been able to let them go from that time till now.  There must be some connection here, I told myself, so I have been trying to make some sense of it ever since.

I started to look at definitions.  A gigilo as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is, a man who is paid by a woman to be her lover and companion.  Some synonyms are, lover, cassanova, seducer, panderer or procurer. The Oxford Dictionary says a gigilo is, a young man paid or financially supported by an older woman to be her escort or lover.  In short a gigilo is a person who does favors for others for pay.  (Do politicians receive money from private interest groups for favors???) 

A pimp as defined is a criminal who is associated with, usually exerts control over, and lives off the earnings of one or more prostitues.  The Oxford says a pimp is, a man who controls prostitiutes and arranges clients for them, taking part of their earnings in return.  Synonyms for pimps would be panderer, procurer, provider, supplier or caterer (kind of like a gigilo above).  Pimps arrange for someone else to do favors for others and get paid for those favors.

So a politician...what can I say.  We the people elect them to take a job to represent OUR interests which should be enough...they get a fine salary for that.  To have the pleasure of serving their constituents in a just way and fulfilling their comittment to us, they instead get caught up in their own needs and begin seeking other revenue streams.  They are caught between working for those who elected them and the people seeking favors from private interest groups.  And we all know who wins that battle. They are primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow, short sighted reasons...like a carpetbagger or sycophant. as the definition says for synonyms for politicians.

As you can tell I have little, if any, time for those elected officials in DC.  In fact I have trouble calling them "elected officials".  The politicians inside the beltway have turned their backs on most of us and are facing a different direction much the same way a Budhist faces the east during morning prayer.  This is a problem that is hard to solve and I have no answers except to change the voting laws, but that is for another story at another time.  Suffice it to say, throw a gigilo, a pimp and a politician in a bag, shake and they will come out with the same same values.

Loss

February 11, 2017

Lost a true friend this evening.  Most of you did not know her, but I was lucky enough to say I did.  She was only here for a short time, but she blessed those she knew every day.  She was kind, gentle, loving, humble, smart, patient, and she was an excellent teacher.  She taught her siblings how to behave and her passing will leave a hole in many lives.  I saw her for the last time on 2/10/17 and am so very thankful for that visit.  I told her I loved her as I left last night and thought I would see her again, but life seldom works the way you want it to.  Got a text a few hours ago that she was gone and I felt my heart breaking and tears welling in my eyes.

Good night Miss Syrah.  Have a safe journey and enjoy your trip over the Rainbow Bridge and know that you have been loved, and you will be sorely missed in the days to come.  You will have a place in all out hearts for eternity.  Love you.