Soups/Stews

Nigel's Tomato Soup
My son loves this.

4 cans tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
some frozed chopped onion and celery
2 cups beef stock
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash

Put the chopped onion and celery into a big pot and sautee with some olive oil or butter until soft.  Add the can of tomato paste and stir constantly, caramelizing the paste a bit.  Add the tomatoes and the beef stock and al it all simmer on lowish heat  for about an hour.  Put the whole shebang into a blender and blend until smoth.  Warm the cream and run it into the soup in the blender as it's going.  Put it all back into the pot and season it with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash.  Enjoy!

Sunday Stew

3 pounds stew meat
3 pounds of potatoes (I like Butter Golds)
1 pound baby carrots
1 16 oz package of frozen chopped onions and celery (or chop 'em yourself)
1 can tomatoes
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
3 packages brown gravy mix (cheating I know, so sue me)

Get out the dutch oven and sautee those chopped onions and celery in some butter or olive oil (or both) until softened.  Add the tomatoes to the onions and celery and cook and stir until reduced slightly.  Turn off the heat under the dutch oven.  Get out another pan and start browning the stew meat, a batch at a time, adding each browned batch to the dutch oven until it's all in there.  Add the wine to the dutch oven and simmer over medium high heat until reduced by half.  Add the stock, bring to a boil and put into a 400 degree oven for 90 minutes.  Get it out and stir it about, see how the meat is softening.  Peel the potatoes and chunk 'em up.  Once the meat has softened to the point where it mashes fairly easily with a spoon, add the potatoes and carrots.  If the liquid in the pot is too low, add some water or more stock.  Put it all back into the oven for 45 more minutes, then check to make sure the potatoes are fork tender.  Mix up the gravy mix--3 packages in 2 cups of water--and add it to the pot.  Back into the oven for another 20 minutes.  Get it out again and stir it and make sure it looks all stewlike.  Serve it up and remind the kids that they alwasy claim they hate stew until they they taste it.  Enjoy!

Potato-less Beef Stew

1 - 2 pounds stewing beef
1 can beer
1 large box chicken stock (I love Kitchen Basics)
4 chopped roma tomatoes
4 stalks chopped celery
4 chopped, unpeeled carrots
frozen peas and corn (about a cup all together)
1 envelope stew seasoning
flour, salt and pepper for dredging
olive oil

I soak the stew meat in beer for at least 4 or 5 hours. Overnight is ideal.
Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a very large, deep skillet. Drain beer off meat and dredge in flour, salt and pepper. Brown in hot skillet.

When meat is browned, add remaining ingredients (except frozen veggies. They go in about 20 minutes before stew is done) and let simmer for at least 2 hours.

The thing that makes this stew great is the tomato and chicken stock. It gives the stew a very rich flavor. Oh, and the skillet makes it cook more evenly. I use the deep skillets as opposed to stock pots whenever possible for this reason.