Bethany’s Vegetable Beef Stew

Vegetable Beef Stew

This recipe is very off-hand. You can add, subtract whatever you may or may not like. If you want it thinner, leave the lid on when it cooks. If you want more of a hearty stew, leave the lid off and let it cook down. You can always add more crushed tomatoes if it gets too thick.

Ingredients:

2-3 pound roast cut in cubes and trimmed of fat
1 bag frozen corn kernels
1 bag frozen cut green beans
1 bag frozen green peas
5 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
4 stalks of celery cleaned and sliced
1/2 head of cabbage chopped
1 bag frozen chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 chopped cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
1-2 Boxes of beef bone broth
2 peeled and cubed potatoes
2-4 cans chopped tomatoes (don't drain!)
1 can tomato paste
1-2 cups red wine
Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Salt & pepper the beef cubes then brown them in the bottom of your (big) pot with about 2 tsp olive oil.

Add everything but the potatoes, canned tomatoes, the tomato paste, the broth, wine, & Worcestershire.

Stir all your veggies around for a few minutes. Add cans of chopped tomatoes with juice until you have an appropriate amount compared to all the vegetables. Add 1 box of beef broth. Add one cup of wine. If you still need more liquid, use a combination of beef broth, crushed tomatoes, and wine. Shake a liberal amount of Worcestershire sauce. The broth should cover the contents plus a little. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes then bring to a simmer. Let it simmer for as long as you can. Simmer at least 2-3 hours. You'll know you're done simmering when the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. Taste it throughout the simmering process and season accordingly with salt and pepper. When you think it's done simmering, add the potatoes and let them cook until tender (half-hour or so). If you made it too thin, let it cook uncovered until it's the thickness you want. If it's too thick, add broth/wine/tomato juice or even water.  Mine made about 5 quarts of soup- which I froze in quart containers for winter.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

*Stolen from Kristin L.'s facebook page. Dunno who she stole it from :-)*

Salad Ingredients

• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/3 cup raisins, craisins, or dried cherries
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Mayo
• 2 TBS Sugar
• 2 TBS Lemon Juice

Toppings 

• 8 slices bacon fried crisp & crumbled
• Sunflower seeds

Mix salad ingredients in large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and then stir into the salad. Top with bacon & seeds when served.

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie (+ lower sodium option)

For Lower Sodium: Sub the shredded cheddar for shredded Swiss cheese. Instead of salting the tomatoes and draining in  colander, layer them between paper towels for ten minutes. Don’t add any additional salt to the dish. 

Ingredients (I double it and make 2)

• 3 medium sized fresh tomatoes
• 6 large fresh basil leaves (if you don't have fresh, use 2 teaspoons dried)
• 3 TBS Prepared Basil Pesto
• 1 +1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used half mild & half sharp)
• ½ to ¾ cup mayo
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (I used white balsamic)
• 1 teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pie crust, baked but not browned

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Bake pie crusts for 10 minutes while continuing to prep. Remove after 10 minutes. If the edges got brown, cover with aluminum foil before baking them the second time.
3. Cut tomatoes into  medium thickness slices.
4. Salt each side and place in collendar. Allow to drain for ten minutes (can skip this step if you like).
5. Arrange ½ of tomato slices in baked pie crust. Sprinkle with salt & pepper ½ of basil, ½ of vinegar, and ½ of cheese.
6. Repeat but drizzle pesto over tomatoes before adding the final layer of cheese 
7. Spread mayo over top of pie. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. If not wanting to brown, run the broiler for a minute or so but keep an eye on it.

Modified from recipe found here :  https://www.southernplate.com/tomato-pie/

Cowboy Caviar (Salsa type dip)

Cowboy Caviar

We used to have a friend that made this every time we'd go down to the beach and it was awesome! I could eat the whole bowl with a spoon! We were always served tortilla style dippers with it. Best if chilled overnight. Beautiful in a glass bowl!

Chop everything pretty fine. You want to be able to get a little of everything on your chip!

1

can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed 

1

can (14.5 oz) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1

can (7 oz) white shoepeg corn (or extra sweet yellow), drained and rinsed

4

Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced small

3

ripe but firm avocados, diced small

4

green onions, sliced thin and/or half of a purple onion, diced)

1/2

cup wish bone zesty Italian dressing

1/2

bunch cilantro, chopped finely

Juice of 1-2 limes +  Salt and Pepper to Taste                                            

Mari’s Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Wrap bundles of  3-4 fresh asparagus with 1 piece of bacon. Place in a baking pan. (We use toaster over baking pan )

Make sauce

Sauce:

1/4 Cup light brown sugar

2 tbs butter

2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Cook sauce ingredients until boiling on med high. Stir so it doesn’t burn. Pour over asparagus.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min then broil for 3-5 min

Mari's Favorite Cajun Fried Corn

Not a bit healthy! Beware! Barely counts as a vegetable!

Ingredients

32 oz Frozen Corn
1 lb chopped bacon
1 yellow onion chopped
2 bell peppers chopped (different colors if you want)
Salt & Pepper OR Cajun Seasoning

Cook

1. Fry on med-high heat in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven. Should be browned and fat rendered but soft. Add in peppers and onion. Saute about 10 minutes until veggies are cooked.
2. Reduce heat to low and add corn. Cook about 15 min until corn is cooked through
3. Season to taste with s&p or cajun seasoning

DO NOT AT ANY STAGE DRAIN THE BACON GREASE! RESIST THE URGE!

Red Beans and Rice -pressure cooker or standard

I

I threw this together in 45 minutes for Mardi Gras and it was a big hit!

2 lb red beans (soaked overnight)

2 lb smoked sausage

2 bay leaves

2 tbs Tony's seasoning

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dried parsley

Half tsp cumin

1 clove chopped garlic 

2 chopped onions 

2 chopped celery

Pressure cooker: combine all ingredients in the cooker. Cover with water just above the beans. Seal and set for 30 minutes.  When it's done, use a masher for a few strokes in the pot. Stir in the smushed beans to thicken up the pot. Serve with rice . If no pressure cooker, use a large pot and boil for about an hour. Then let it simmer for several hours.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Feasts!

Our family has always valued our time together at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The lunch-time meal (which we always call "dinner" for some reason) is a HUGE part of our celebration. Every year, little things or new traditions are added to our holiday celebrations; but,the meal VERY RARELY changes. It was a really big deal when we added the squash casserole about 10 years ago! One of the main reasons I started this little recipe collection was so that this particular meal created and orchestrated every year by my mother, Linda Fayard, can continue on forever!

The women of our family gather the day before the meal to prepare and refrigerate it all. This is not a sexist thing :) I am all about some girl power but this has just become a wonderful family tradition for us girls to get together and prepare the family meal and spend time together. The boys are welcome to join but so far none of them have showed up! We do make them cut the turkey and do all this dishes so it works itself out!

Most of the recipes for the sides and deserts are all individually here in this blog - just click on the name and it will open the recipe.  Have fun and enjoy!

The Menu

Oven Roasted Whole Turkey
Gravy (Turkey drippings mixed with jar gravy)
Cornbread Dressing & Cranberry Sauce
Squash Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Watergate Salad
Seven Layer Salad
Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
Bake & Serve Rolls (With squeeze butter on top)
Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies
Millionaire Pie
Pumpkin Pie (Thanksgiving only)
Cherry Cheesecake (no bake box mix with canned cherry on top)

Squash Casserole

VERY RICH!

2 Cups cooked squash (we slice it and boil it with skins on)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small jar pimento
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter or margarine (melted)
1 cup ritz cracker crumbs

Mix butter and cracker crumbs . Place half the mixture in the bottom of your casserole pan. We usually use a square one for this dish. Mix all other ingredients and pour on top of the crust. Top with the remaining ritz cracker mix. Bake at 375f for 1 hour.

Broccoli and Rice Casserole

1 C cooked rice
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped onion
1 small jar cheese whiz
1 pkg frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Salt and pepper
1 can sliced water chestnuts

Cook broccoli, onion and celery in small amount of water for 10 minutes. Drain and add other ingredients. Place in casserole pan and add chestnuts. Bake 30 minutes at 350F.

Green Bean Casserole

2 cans green beans - reserve liquid
1 cup green bean liquid
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 C shredded cheddar
1/4 C bacon bits
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 can French fried onion rings

Put drained beans in a long casserole dish. In a small sauce pan heat c.o.m. Soup, bean liquid and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Mix in drained mushrooms, bacon bits and
water chestnuts. Cover with cheese sauce and top with onion rings. Heat at 350 for 5-10 min.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Filling:
3 C cooked mashed sweet Potatoes
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs beaten
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 stick butter melted
1/2 C milk
1 1/2 taps vanilla
Topping:
1/2 C brown sugar
1/3 C flour
1/3 stick melted butter
1 C chopped pecans

Mix filling ingredients in a 1-1.5 Q dish. Mix topping ingredients together and spread over filling. Bake at 350F for 35 min. Serves 8

Scallopped Potatoes

Great side dish and very cheesy!!

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes


3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 dash cayenne pepper

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated cheese, to sprinkle on top

paprika

Directions:

1In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour.
2Let sit for a minute.
3Add all of cold milk, stirring with a whisk.
4Season with salt and cayenne.
5Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk.
6Reduce heat and stir in cheese.
7Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish.
8Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes.
9Repeat with second layer of potatoes and cheese sauce.
10Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
11Top with some paprika for color.
12Bake uncovered for about 1 hour at 350°F.

Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

1. Line a cookie sheet or broiler pan with fresh asparagus (not canned!)

2. Sprinkle with olive oil and s&p

3. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes

4. Wrap together 2-3 asparagus with a piece of prosciutto around the middle

5. Serve room temp or cold

Green Gumbo! Gumbo Verde' ! Gumbo Z'Herbes

GREEN GUMBO

What to do with a giant bundle of greens? Make green gumbo of course! Greens are great just boiled up with some s&p and a ham hock but why not spend a few extra minutes and make them fabulosa! You can use either one type of greens or a variety of mustard, turnip, kale, etc. The recipe calls for a pound. I used turnip greens and it was great. You can either food process the greens or just chop them. I prefer the more rustic chopped greens, but processed would look nice :) My dad says it's great over rice but I just like them plain.

4 ounces thick cut bacon chopped up
12 ounces andouille sausage sliced 1/4″ thick
3 tablespoons flour
8 cloves garlic finely minced
1 large onion minced
2-3 jalapeno chilis seeds removed and minced (add less if you want it mild)
1 pound greens
8 ounces clam juice
2 cups vegetable stock
6 ounces okra trimmed and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Add the bacon and andouille to a large pot and fry over medium heat, until most of the fat has rendered out and the sausage is browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage and bacon to a plate. You should have about 1/4 cup of fat in the pot, if you have more, remove some, if you have less, add butter.
Add the flour to the fat and fry, stirring frequently to make the roux. Keep frying until it reaches a golden brown color. Add the garlic and onions and fry until the onions are browned, soft and fragrant. Add the okra. Stir it all up until the okra is mushy and cooked down a bit.
Chop the greens or process them. Add the jalapenos, greens, clam juice, and vegetable stock to the pot. Return the bacon and sausage, then add the celery seed, oregano, paprika and pepper.
Lightly salt the gumbo. It should be a little less salty than you think it should be since some of the water will evaporate as it cooks. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 40 minutes, or until the greens are tender and the green gumbo is thick and flavorful.
Serve the green gumbo over hot rice with hot sauce.