Beef Stew with Noodles

This was a nice, hearty meal that would be lovely to come home to on a cold fall day. I really enjoyed this, but Nate felt like it tasted like chicken soup with beef awkwardly added in. I'll leave it up to you to decide.



Beef Stew with Noodles

1 tbsp. oil
2 lbs. boneless beef chuck, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 med. onion, sliced lengthwise
2 tbsp. flour
3 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
2 med. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
2 c. egg noodles
3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1 tsp. red wine vinegar

1. Heat oil in dutch oven over high. Add beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until seared and browned, ~6 mins.



2. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is softened, ~5 mins.



3. Stir in flour until beef and onion are coated and cook another minute. Add broth and 3 cups water, stirring and scraping up browned bits. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until beef is tender, ~25 mins. Add carrots and potatoes and cook until potatoes are tender, ~10 mins.



4. Add noodles, cook ~8 mins. Season with salt and pepper, stir in parsley and vinegar.

7-Layer Mexican Lasagna

I've never been a huge fan of lasagna, but given that I've been trying to develop some more casserole recipes that are beef-centric (Nate really doesn't like any other kind of meat), this one seemed worth giving a try.

It wasn't out of this world amazing, but it was definitely satisfying, and kept well for leftovers and lunches throughout the week. Plus, it's super colourful.

7-Layer Mexican Lasagna

6 large flour tortillas
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp. cumin
1 c. enchilada sauce
1 large red onion
1/2 each of green, yellow and red pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fajita seasoning
1 pkg. frozen corn
2 c. shredded cheese (I used medium cheddar)
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13" dish and line bottom with 4 tortillas, trimming edges as necessary.



2. Brown meat, seasoning with cumin. Once thoroughly browned, add enchilada sauce and heat through. Set aside.



3. In separate skillet, heat oil, add onion, peppers and garlic. Sprinkle with fajita seasoning. Cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add corn and heat through. Set aside.



4. Spoon meat mixture over tortillas in dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cheese. Place remaining tortillas on cheese. Spoon veggies on top. Sprinkle remaining cheese.



5. Bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantrio and serve with guacamole and sour cream.

(Sorry- forgot to take picture once it came out of the oven! Use your imagination!)

Emily's rating: 8 out of 10
Nate's rating: 7.5 out of 10

Chipotle Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

I've been unsure about what to do with recipes that don't turn out, and whether I should even bother posting them here. I decided to go ahead and do it, in case someone else wants to try their hand at improving upon my failures.

In this case, this dish was just...weird. I can't remember where I got the original recipe, but I remember writing it down because a) I love normal shepherd's pie but Nate hates it and b) we both love sweet potatoes.

But the combination here just does not work. The spiciness of the chipotles does marry nicely with the sweetness of the potatoes, but the rest just tastes funny in terms of texture and flavour.

Anyway, if anyone does want to take a crack at re-jigging this thing, please let me know, because I would love to figure out how to make it work.


Chipotle Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Topping
1 (7oz.) can of chipotle peppers in adobo
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 c. 2% milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Filling
2 lbs. ground sirloin
2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped carrot
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. crushed tomatoes
1/4 c. fresh parsley
3 tbsp. steak sauce
2 tbsp. tomato paste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Remove 1 chile and 2 tsp. sauce from can; reserve remaining for other use. Coarsley chop chile.



3. Place potatoes in a sauce pan; cover with water. Bring to boil, cooking approx. 15 minutes until tender. Drain.



4. Place potatoes, chile, adobo, milk, salt and pepper in mixer and beat until smooth.



5. Cook beef until browned. Remove from pan; drain.



6. Sauté onions, carrot and garlic 8 mins. Add beef. Stir in peas and remaining ingredients. Cook 2 mins.



7. Spoon beef into casserole; top with potatoes. Bake for 30 mins.



Emily's rating: 3 out of 10
Nate's rating: 1 out of 10