Beef Stew

There's nothing particularly fancy about beef stew.  It's not all the rage.  It's not gourmet.  I'm pretty sure it's what peasants used to eat.  But it is simple, hearty, and it makes a chilly day feel a little warmer.  So every winter beef stew is on my list of of winter foods to make.

Recently I was looking through some Cook's Illustrated recipes and I came across one entitled "Best Beef Stew."  The writer of the article was raving about how deep the flavors were and how beefy this stew was.  I was intrigued.  Usually when I make beef stew I start with pre-packaged beef stew meat, turn to a handy-dandy packet of beef stew seasonings, and follow their directions.  It is always good, but not knock-your-socks-off delicious.  Could beef stew made from scratch be that much better?  There's only one way to find out!

Brownie Covered Peanut Butter Patties

 

Because I actually enjoy baking cookies, I am not one to buy buy cookies.  But about a month ago, my husband and I were spending a lazy Sunday afternoon at home when the doorbell rang.  It was two little girls selling Girl Scout cookies.  How can I turn away Girl Scouts?  So I bought some Peanut Butter Patties. 

The girls returned last week with our cookies.  I ate a few as they were, but I wanted to somehow make something special with them.  I was thinking that I had a recipe stashed somewhere for brownie covered Oreos and I thought that would be a good way to use my Peanut Butter Patties.  I did a little searching and found what I was looking for on Picky Palate's website.  With that I set out to make my own peanut buttery version.

Makeover Monday: Secret Ingredient Baked Mac & Cheese

Raise your hand if you like mac & cheese.  Keep your hand raised if you would like it more if it had less fat and fewer calories, but still tasted great.  I'm imagining everyone reading this still has their hands raised.  If your hand is in the air, keep on reading.  And you can put your hand down now.

This is a casserole-like mac & cheese.  It consists of cooked elbow noodles in a homemade cheese sauce, with a secret ingredient that gives it creaminess without fat, and is topped with buttery Ritz crackers.  To be totally honest, I didn't think this recipe was amazing.  While I think most foods are better made from scratch, when it comes to mac & cheese, I've got the blue box blues.  I love Kraft macaroni and cheese!  

But I made this baked mac & cheese for my husband and a friend of his and they absolutely loved it.  I think the only thing that prevented them from polishing off the whole pan in one sitting was fear of their intestines exploding.  I didn't say anything about my secret ingredient.  I just sat, watched, and grinned as they gobbled it up.  Some things are better left unsaid.

Health Tips: Smart Snacking

Today I want to talk about something that can make or break any diet plan: snacks.  I am an avid snacker.  You don't want to be near me if I haven't eaten in more than 3 hours!  Snacking has become a normal part of our culture, and it can be helpful in trying to lose weight.  Eating small meals with a snack between keeps blood sugar from dropping, and appetites from soaring.  Unfortunately, it is often times a diet buster.  We are constantly bombarded by junk food that is marketed as snacks.  Chips, cookies, candy bars, crackers, pop, etc.  In my nutrition counseling, I have seen first hand how these poor snack choices can add up to a lot of calories and pounds.  

Fortunately, snacking can be a part of a healthy diet.  But instead of using snacks to derail your diet, think of snacks as an opportunity to fit in foods you currently don’t get enough of.  Think about your typical diet and how much you eat from the different food groups.  Are there foods you eat too much of?  Are there foods you don’t eat enough of?  The typical American diet is heavy on carbs and meat and low in fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy.  If you’re not sure how you are doing, the website http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ is a great place to find out!

Now that you have an idea of which foods you need to increase or decrease in your diet, here are some healthy snack ideas from the different food groups:

Tuna and Brown Rice Casserole with White Wine Sauce (and a Cream Soup bounus recipe!)

A few weeks ago I shared my tuna ring with Swiss cheese sauce and discussed my quest to make tuna a little more sophisticated than my old go-to, Tuna Helper.  Now that Lent is here and I need some meatless meals, it's time to bust out the tuna.  My journey continues today as the classic combo of tuna and rice gets a delicious taste makeover with a scrumptious white wine sauce.

And this post comes with a bonus recipe!  I found this original recipe in an old cookbook, and it called for using cream of chicken soup, but I made my own.  I'd like to say that I made this from scratch because I am just that fancy.  But here's what really happened: I had my heart set on making this and then realized I didn't have cream of chicken soup.  So, I frantically searched the web for a substitute.  I found a great recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup on My Family Eats' website.  Bingo!  Then I realized that to make the soup, you need chicken broth.  Which I also didn't have.  So I substituted soy sauce and water for the broth to make just regular "cream soup."  But you can use this basic recipe to make either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  This recipe is great if you don't also find yourself without cream soup, but it is also a good recipe if you are trying to make more food from scratch to reduce your processed food intake.