Crockpot Beef Stew

Now, I've been making the same beef stew recipe for years (it's my mama's recipe), and up until today, never found a recipe that could compare. I was skeptical about even trying another recipe. I mean, when something's good, why mess with it? But, I'm all about trying new recipes, and this one is a winner!

Here's the recipe:

Crockpot Beef Stew

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 lbs. beef cubes
2 T. oil

1-1/2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can condensed tomato soup
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1 teaspoon basil
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2-3 medium sized potatoes - cut into pieces
1 onion - cut into quarters
2 stalks celery - cut into pieces
3 carrots - cut into pieces
1 jar mushrooms or 8 oz. fresh
3/4 cup frozen peas

• Put flour in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Add beef cubes; shake to coat.
• Heat oil; brown beef cubes then put in crockpot.
• To pan, add water and bouillon cubes. Dissolve and stir; scraping pan to remove bits.
• Remove from heat and add soup, seasonings, and bay leaves. Stir together and pour over meat in crockpot.
• Add potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms.
• Cover and cook on high 4 hours or low 6 hrs. Add peas for the last 30 minutes.
• Discard bay leaves and serve.

Recipe adapted from: Gonna Want Seconds

Stuffed Mushrooms (Olive Garden copycat)

I picked up some nice mushrooms a few days ago with a recipe in mind.

I had Olive Garden's Stuffed Mushrooms when Peter and I ordered take-out on Valentine's Day (post here). They were soooo good, I just had to give them a try at home. I found the copycat recipe online and made them for dinner tonight.

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

(an Olive Garden copycat recipe)

Ingredients:

 

8-12 fresh mushrooms - remove stems/wipe off with a damp paper towel

 

6 clams - minced/drained-reserve 1/4 cup juice

(you can substitute a 6 oz. can if you can't get fresh clams)

 

2 T. minced onion

(recipe calls for green onion, but I substituted)

 

1/2 t. minced garlic

(I always use minced garlic in a jar)

1/8 t. garlic salt

 

1 T. melted butter

 

1 t. oregano

 

1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs

 

 

Don't you love these Pier1 measuring cups? Hand-me-downs from Mom. I love odd measuring cups! :O)

 

Okay, back to the recipe......

 

1 egg- beaten

 

2 T. grated parmesan

1 T. grated romano

2 T. grated mozzarella

 

I actually substitued and used what I had on hand - 3 T. grated fresh parmesan and 1 T. grated parmesan in a canister for the stuffing.

 

1/4 cup melted butter

 

1/4 cup grated mozzarella (I used swiss since I had it on hand)

 

parsely - for garnish

 

Directions:

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray baking dishes with pan spray.
• Remove stems from mushrooms and wipe off with a damp paper towel.
• Combine clams, onion, garlic, garlic salt, butter, and oregano in a bowl and mix well.
• Add bread crumbs, egg, and clam juice mixing together well.
• Add cheese to stuffing and mix well.
• Spoon stuffing into each mushroom cap and slightly mound.
• Place stuffed mushrooms into baking dishes and drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter. (I also topped with a little swiss)
• Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Grate a little fresh parmesan on top and garnish with parsely.