My First Blog...

So I love to cook... I mean I realllly love it. It makes me happy to feed the people I love and it always puts me in a good mood. My friends always tell me I have a knack for finding the best recipes on the internet and I am always up for trying something new - so here we go! 

So it is Thanksgiving - and this is my holiday to host! I like to keep things very traditional but I ALWAYS try at least one new recipe. This year - I am trying two new desserts: a Snicker-doodle Apple Cobbler I found on Pinterest (LOVE Pinterest) and an Apple Snickers Bar Salad. I will be altering them both to fit my tastes and posting pics later :) 

With Thanksgiving knocking on my door, I wanted an easy dinner tonight and my husband has been begging me to make Beef Stew (which I typically am not a fan of). So I took a basic recipe and made it more... me. Here is what I came up with! Thanks for reading along with me - I am excited to share my food journey with you! 

Not Your Momma's Beef Stew 

Ingredients: 
2 Lbs. Stew Beef (cubed) 
2 T. Canola Oil 
1 Medium Onion 
2 Garlic Cloves (peeled) 
2 Cups Beef Broth 
1 Cup Red Wine 
1 T. Worcestershire Sauce 
 1 T. Sugar 
1 t. Paprika 
1/2 t. Thyme 
1/2 t. Rosemary 
1/4 t. Sea Salt 
1/4 t. Pepper 
1/4 t. Allspice 
 2 Bay Leaves 
3 Large Russet Potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes) 
4 Large Carrots (peeled and chopped) 
2 Celery Ribs (chopped) 
2 T. Wondra Flour 

Directions: 
Heat up a large Dutch Oven over Medium High Heat and add oil. Once the oil starts to smoke a little add the meat and brown on all sides. Take out the browned beef with a slotted spoon. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, sea salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, allspice, thyme, and rosemary. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.Add your potatoes, carrots, and celery and bring back up to a boil. Once boiling bring back down to a simmer for another hour or so. Remove 2 cups of the liquid and add the 2 Wondra Flour - whisk and add back into the stew for another 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and Voila! Beef Stew even I love :) Let's be honest here - if you put red wine in something... I will like it. Here is a picture of my finished product - the hubby loved it too!

Not Your Momma's Beef Stew