We've worshipped, visited, feasted and given and received gifts. Now our focus turns toward the New Year and resolving to make changes which will better ourselves, our family and community. I pray that this includes keeping Jesus and the spirit of this giving season in your life, even as we put away our decorations.
In my family, we've already put away our decorations (usually not done until New Year's Day) and have the house back into some sort of 'order'. We had a lovely family Christmas - starting with a couple wonderful worship services on Christmas Eve.
I live in Texas and for us it was a rare White Christmas! The snow started mid-day after several hours of much needed rain. It was so beautiful to watch but wasn't without incident. This is our daughter's car.
We did venture out the day after Christmas and I was able to get a few photos of God's wintery gift. That evening, the moon was so big and bright, and the night was the coldest so far this year. We made a standard comfort meal for dinner. It's so easy that I thought you might like the recipe.
Put a generous pound of lean stew beef in a baggie with a scant 1/4 cup of flour, and a bit of salt/pepper. Use a slotted spoon to allow excess flour to fall back into the baggie as you place the floured beef into your pot which has a couple tablespoons of hot vegetable oil. Turn the heat to medium low. Once the beef is browned, add a (187 ml) bottle of merlot. 
Scrape all the good bits of browned beef and when it starts to thicken add: a bag of petit carrots, 4-5 stalks chopped celery, a medium chopped onion, 4 medium cubed potatoes, a can of green beans (with juice), a can of crushed tomatos, a Knorr beef Homestyle Stock Concentrate tub, a couple tablespoons dried thyme, a large dried bay leaf (don't forget to remove before serving), and salt/pepper to taste. Add 2-4 cups of water, to gain the consistency you like. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally. Just before you are ready to eat, make up your favorite corn bread. The merlot consistently enhances the flavor, making this a favorite easy, comfort meal. 
I hope there isn't too much damage to Missy's car. The photos are great. The stew recipe sounds yummy. Have you ever used the crock pot when making this recipe?
ReplyDeleteI have used the crockpot but you don't get the thickening from the flour and oil used for browning which makes a rue. Also, the merlot deglazes those flavorful bits after browning. The only way to get this with a crockpot is to use a pan stovetop to brown and thicken then load everything in the crockpot for the bulk of the cooking. Also, use less added water with a crockpot.
ReplyDeleteJill., why do they tell you to take out the bay leaf before serving, I never understood that.
ReplyDeleteJill, that looks so yummy. Why do they tell you to take the bay leaf out before serving, I never understood that.
ReplyDelete