Beef Stew with Ghoulish Mashed Potatoes

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Photo by Taste of Home™

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, halved
• 2 cups fresh baby carrots
• 2 medium parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 medium potatoes (2-1/3 pounds), peeled and cubed
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 6 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 11 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender.
2. About 30 minutes before serving, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan; add the sour cream, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mash until smooth.
3. Set aside 12 peas for garnish. Add remaining peas to the slow cooker. Increase heat to high. In a bowl, whisk the flour, water and remaining salt until smooth; stir into stew. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until thickened.
4. Divide stew among six bowls. Place mashed potatoes in large resealable plastic bag; cut a 2-in. hole in one corner. Pipe ghost potatoes onto stew; garnish with reserved peas.

Originally published as Beef Stew with Ghoulish Mashed Potatoes in Halloween Party Favorites 2009

 

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President Kennedy’s New England Fish Chowder

John F., Kennedy, the 35th United States President, was reportedly not a big eater and often had to be reminded about meal times.  For lunch, President Kennedy was particularly fond of soup–New England Fish Chowder was a favorite.

 

The President kept to his New England roots, enjoying such fish dishes.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds haddock
• 2 cups water
• 2 ounces salt pork, diced
• 2 onions, sliced
• 4 large potatoes, diced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 quart milk
• 2 tablespoons butter

Simmer the haddock in the water for 15 minutes. Drain. Reserve the broth. Remove the bones from the fish. Saute the pork until crisp, remove from pan, and set aside. Saute the onions in the pork fat until golden brown. Add the fish, potatoes, celery, bay leafy, salt, and pepper. Pour in fish broth, plus enough boiling water to make 3 cups liquid. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the milk and butter, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve the chowder sprinkled with pork dice. Serves 6.”
—A Treasury of White House Cooking, Francois Rysavy [G.P. Putnam’s Sons:New York] 1972 (p. 210-211)

 

To see the original copy of the recipe, click Here for Bon Appetit’s website.

Photo by S. Bonnie

 

To find more Presidential food favorites, go to Food Time Line.org

Chili and Chili Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

• 4 TBsp.  chili powder
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper

Directions:  Combine the spices.  Store in an airtight container or zipper-closing sandwich bag in a cool, dry place.

Yield:  20 tsp. mix or 4 batches (use 5 tsp. for each recipe of chili)

Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless round steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 5 tsp. Chili Seasoning Mix, divided  (Recipe shown above)
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes undrained
• Two 15 oz. cans chili beans, divided

Directions:  Lightly brown steak in oil in a Dutch oven; add 3 tsp. of the seasoning mix and toss to coat.  Add ground beef; cook until meat is no longer pink. Add onion and cook until tender.  Add tomatoes and 2 more tsp. of the seasoning mix. Stir in one can of chili beans.  Put the contents of the other can in a blender, cover and process until smooth.  Add to chili.  Cook on low for 30 – 40 minutes or until meat is tender.

Yield: 10 servings

Frugal Feeding’s Carrot and Orange Soup

Frugal Feeding offers tasty, creative dishes like this soup — perfect for a chilly day or any day!

FrugalFeeding

Carrot and orange soup may sound like an questionable prospect, at least on the surface, but when one considers how delicious juice of the same combination can be, supper immediately becomes that little bit more appealing. The world of food tends to have relatively stringent rules governing what is sweet and savoury and, as such, they merge infrequently. Most people aren’t particularly adventurous in their choice of sustenance, but there’s no reason to experiment and explore new combinations – an issue touched upon in my recipe for chocolate and hazelnut flapjacks. Granted, carrot and orange soup is far from brand-spanking, but it does generate intrigue and make people think for a second longer – perhaps it shouldn’t?

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Broccoli Soup

Grab a Spoon and Enjoy a Bowl of Broccoli Soup

Warm up with a bowl of this healthy soup.

Yield: 6-8 Servings (2 quarts)

Ingredients:
2 cups water
4 cups chopped fresh broccoli (about 1-1/2 pounds)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 tablespoons butter, cubed
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups 2% milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a Dutch oven, bring water to boil. Add the broccoli, celery and carrots; boil 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; set vegetables aside.
In the same pot, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour to form a smooth paste. Gradually stir in broth and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.
Stir in reserved vegetables and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Possible Alterations:

1. Substitute low sodium chicken broth and omit the onion salt, use other spices
2. Substitute the cooking water for the chicken broth or go half water, half chicken broth
3. Sauté onion and celery in butter and use 4 tbs. flour. 4 cups chicken broth with 2 cups milk. 3 cups cheese – optional

Recipe and photo by Taste of Home©