Beef Stew From Allrecipes.com

So for dinner tonight I made a quick and easy beef stew in the crock pot. Majority of the meals that I make are made in our crock pot. Its quick. Its easy. Its good. When you dont have much time for slaving away in the kitchen the crock pot is the way to go. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com I altered it a bit though. I didnt have celery on hand so thats one thing thats missing. I only had about 1 lb of stew meat instead of two like it called for. It still is super good though. Usually when it comes to potatoes I do one potato per person. So I used four I figured even though the baby isnt eating with us since Im nursing she still counts haha :p It turned out so good! I made some buttermilk biscuits to go with it and by made I mean I bought some store ones you pop open and in the oven hahaha! Here are the pictures and ingredients at the bottom

Ingredients:

1-2 Lbs Stew beef

Half of a large onion

1 Small bag of baby carrots

2 Cloves of garlic

1 Potato per person

Salt 

Pepper

paprika

Worcestershire sauce

1 Bay leaf  although I used shredded and just shook it in till it felt like enough

either enough beef stock to cover all the food or beef bouillon mixed with hot water 

I basically just tossed in the meat still frozen, cut up all the veggies then added them, I then did the beef stock, then the seasonings, let it cook on high for about 3 hrs then turned it down to low for about 2-3 hrs. Half way through I added a little bit more of each of the seasonings. I dont have measurements because I rarely go by them unless im baking. I just add it till it feels right. So you want to start out with a little and you can always add more. Just dont start out with a lot because its hard to fix that. You can always add more though. as Alton Brown would say " Now thats Gooooood Eats!"  

The Best Chili You'll Ever Eat

When I gave birth to my son a friend dropped off chili that I've ever had! It has since become a constant recipe in my arsenal. I literally make this almost once a week. Its quick. Its filling. Its filled with so much goodness! My husband made it last night and I didnt think to start taking pictures till half way through so... a few steps are missing photo wise. The recipe is listed below the pictures

Recipe for the best chili ever

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 can of corn

1 large can of diced tomatoes 

about 4 stalks of celery

1 large green pepper

1 packet of chili seasoning

2 large can of kidney beans

1 small can of black beans

you can use fresh chopped up garlic if you like a little extra, the seasoning packet will already have that flavor but we sometimes add extra

a little bit of butter (like a tablespoon amount)

salt and pepper

sour cream (optional)

ok so first I cut up all the veggies, I prefer bite size pieces as opposed to tiny diced pieces. Cut according to your preference though. Put the onions, celery, and green pepper in a skillet on med heat with the butter and sauté that till they are softened, my husband doesnt do this step for long he prefers them a little harder.

 in one big pot I put the diced tomatoes, I drain the can of corn add that, drain all the beans and add those, I also add the season packet to this pot. Include the veggies you just sautéed.

Clean out your skillet then brown your ground beef. Drain and add that to the pot. 

Let this cook stirring occasionally with a lid on it, simmer it on med low heat for about 30 min. Or you can do this test to see if its done to your preference, taste 5 dif beans and if they are done then the rest should be done. 

The nice thing about this is you can adjust how many jars of each thing you add based off of how many people you are feeding. Smaller jars for less ppl, larger for more. We usually have enough for lunch for the next two days as well as enough for me, my husband, and our 2 year old son, my husband and I eat huge portions though so...

I usually add shredded cheddar cheese to the top as you see in the pics above.