Well there is nothing like the feeling of waking up on a cold cold morning prepared to get your gang up and off to school and then hear the words “ school is canceled!” We got to hear it two days in a row! The R&R was much needed and appreciated. It is really nothing like the snow days when we were kids – talk about bored out of your mind. We had one telephone line and 3 t.v. channels. These days we all stayed busy playing on the internet, facebooking, texting, conquering the Winter Olympics on the Wii, watching endless amounts of recorded shows on the DVR, playing in the snow, and sleeping of course! Are we not a spoiled generation?
One thing I really love about winter and cold and snow – is cooking winter food. I especially love soups and stews. I realize that most people know how to make a basic stew – so mine is nothing out of the ordinary. I am really putting it here so that my kids can have the recipe someday. I know they are going to call me and I am going to at the movies, getting a pedi, having a facial, or any other numerous activities that I have put off while they are home – yup…I plan on living it up. Ü
And seeing how Cambry ate 4 bowls of this stew…she’s going to need the recipe one of these days.
Basic Stew Recipe
- sliced cooked chicken or stew meat
- onion
- carrots
- canned corn
- canned green beans (any style)
- cubed potatoes
- tomato sauce (small or large can depending on how big a stew)
- seasonings :salt, pepper, garlic powder
- 1 can chicken stock or beef stock (optional and I was out of it this time)
If you are making beef stew then brown your meat and onions along with a tab of butter – if you are making chicken then just saute the onions until slightly softened in a large stock pot. Add your tomato sauce, stock, green beans, corn, sliced or shredded chicken, and carrots. I then add enough water so that my stock pot is about 3/4 full. I also add some seasonings at this point. (you can always add more later). I put our carrots in early as my family really likes them well done. I let this simmer on low for several hours. About 1 and 1/2 hours before I am going to serve I add the potatoes. Just check it every once in a while to make sure that you don’t need to add some water. You can also substitute different vegetables to your own liking. When Chance and I were first married neither of us liked any veggies in our stew. We made big pots of stew that only had meat and potatoes in it! LOL I am pretty sure my mom was horrified by that – thankfully we have learned to like a few veggies!
