Gingersnap Beef Stew

This recipe was originally supposed to be a slow cooker version of Gingersnap Pot Roast. I didn't have the time to make a whole pot roast (or the mouths to feed all that food!) so I pared it down into a simple beef stew.

Now, you may be as confused as I was when I read Gingersnap? In a beef stew? Trust me, its good. It's really good. This stew is perfect around this time of year when we get into all those spices in cookies and cakes and now, beef stew. The gingersnaps give it a nice light ginger flavor and adds a touch of sweetness that pairs perfectly with the beef.

This stew has lots of veggies, from carrots to onions to parsnips to sweet potatoes, and cooks in about an hour. It is perfect for any weekend at home where you just want something comforting but easy. Want to make it even more luxurious? Serve it over some fresh mashed potatoes for a nice bite of heaven!

Gingersnap Beef Stew

Recipe by Rachel Vdolek

An easy winter beef stew with gingersnap cookies.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

 1 lb  cubed beef stew meat

2 c. beef stock

5 gingersnap cookies

2 tbsp red wine

1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2" wedges

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 carrots, peeled and cubed

2 parsnips, peeled and cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Cooking Directions:          

            In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Brown stew meat in batches, if necessary. Remove from pan. Add in onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until garlic is fragrant, then add in meat, stock, wine, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Add water until veggies and meat are covered. Put cookies in a food processor and process until they are like bread crumbs. Add to stew, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes or until stew meat is tender.

Serve with crunchy bread or over mashed potatoes.

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Pineapple Cantaloupe Strawberry Smoothie (Dairy Free)

Wow, its almost Christmas. Can you believe it? I can't! This year has just flown by and I want it to slow down!

My parents had their annual Christmas party last week and I was the lucky winner of all the fruit leftovers, plus some delicious meatballs. Yay! The fruit was going south quickly and there was so much of it that I couldn't eat it all in one sitting. So what did I do? I made a smoothie!

This smoothie was so good and creamy that I drank it all, even though it really is enough for 2 servings. The trick to getting it really creamy without using any dairy is to use a frozen banana. I always end up with that one last banana that is too ripe for my taste, so I pop it in the freezer to either make banana bread or smoothies with them. I've even seen people use frozen bananas as a base for ice cream!

Give this smoothie a try for breakfast! It's sweet without any added sugar and will give you a wonderful start to your day.

Pineapple Cantaloupe Strawberry Smoothie

Makes 2 drinks

1 c. pineapple pieces

1/3 c. cantaloupe pieces

about 12 strawberries, hulled

1 frozen banana, peeled and cut in half

1 c. orange juice

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.


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Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Stuffing Sandwich and Turkey Soup

Thanksgiving leftovers are the best, but sometimes I get a little sick of eating just turkey with a little cranberry sauce. In the past few years, I've made a couple of dinners out of leftover Thanksgiving turkey and they have become my favorite way to enjoy Thanksgiving well past the 4th Thursday of November. 

The first recipe I'm going to give you isn't really a recipe, but it is so good that I've even bought pre-made stuffing, turkey and cranberry sauce from my store's deli to make this sandwich. It is that good! If you have any leftover mashed potatoes, add those in too! It will be messy but perfect!

The second recipe is for my turkey soup. I like to let the turkey bones simmer for at least an hour, if not an hour and a half (which is perfect to do during a football game!) and I usually add in some rice and frozen corn to add some extra density to the soup. I make a big batch and then freeze some to eat in the coming weeks. 

Give these recipes a try on the day after Thanksgiving. Your family will love them!

Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

Makes as many sandwiches as you have leftovers

Leftover turkey meat, sliced into strips

Leftover stuffing

Leftover mashed potatoes

Leftover cranberry sauce

Sourdough or Rye bread

Place bread slices on a cutting board. Lay turkey on one side of each sandwich. Spread a spoonful of cranberry sauce on the turkey, then top with a layer of mashers and stuffing. Top with the other slice of bread. Squish on a heated panini press if you would like, or just enjoy as is.

Turkey Soup

Makes at least 8 servings

Leftover turkey carcass

Any leftover chicken stock

Leftover turkey gravy

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground sage

1 tsp dehydrated onion

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 c. frozen corn

1/2 c. white rice

Pick any excess meat off the carcass, then place in a large stock pot, breaking into pieces if needed. Set meat aside for later. Pour in any leftover chicken stock and add enough water to cover all the bones. Add in garlic powder, sage, dehydrated onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and let cook for at least an hour, up to an hour and a half. 

Remove carcass from the stock pot and scoop out any pieces that came off, saving the broth. Bring the broth to a boil, then add in the onion, celery and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, then add the rice and up to 1 c. of leftover gravy. Cook for another 10 minutes then add the corn. Simmer for a final 5 minutes, then add turkey meat. Heat for a few minutes to warm up turkey meat, then serve hot with any leftover rolls.

Fall Fruit Salad

Fruit salads are always a hit in my family. Unfortunately, most of the time they have Jell-O involved, which I'm not a fan of. I wanted to create a salad that was tasty but still loved by the family, and I think I've done it.

This salad has apples as the base, with some persimmons and pomegranate seeds to add some color and flavor. I added walnuts for some extra crunch and tossed it all in a cranberry orange dressing. I ate bowlfuls of this salad and I just wanted to eat all of it!

I used Opal apples because they have crunch but have a great, almost watermelon-like flavor. If you prefer, any crisp apple like Fuji, Pink Lady, or my favorite Honeycrisp would work beautifully. For the persimmons, you want to be sure to get the Fuyu persimmons which are eaten when they are a bit more firm than the other varieties. Pomegranate seeds are usually sold in fall in little containers by the bagged salad or pre-cut fruit in your store so you won't have to split open and knock out all the seeds of a whole pomegranate. If you want to get the seeds from a whole pomegranate, then you will need seeds from about 1/4 of a regular pomegranate. 

This fall fruit salad would be perfect for Thanksgiving or any family meal. It's festive and tasty, perfect for your table.

Fall Fruit Salad

Serves 4

2 apples, cored and chopped

2 Fuyu persimmons, top cut off and cored then cut into cubes

1/4 c. pomegranate seeds

1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Dressing:

1/2 c. whole cranberries

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. orange juice

1/4 c. sugar

In a small saucepan combine all ingredients for dressing. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then simmer for 5 minutes or until cranberries pop. Remove from heat, let cool for 10 minutes, then strain using a mesh strainer. Using the back of a wooden spoon, squeeze all the juice out of the cranberries. Set dressing aside.

In a large bowl, combine apples, persimmons, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts. Drizzle dressing over fruit, then toss to combine. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Extra tip: the cranberries used in the dressing that are left in the strainer make a great spread for a stuffing and turkey sandwich, perfect for the day after Thanksgiving. 

Apple Sage Stuffing

Ok, so stuffing (or dressing, as my honey would call it) is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I love love love stuffing. The soft bread cubes are strangely delicious, especially with onions and garlic and sausage. 

My favorite addition to stuffing is chopped apples. They add a sweetness and extra crunch to the stuffing that I just love. I also use chicken Italian sausage instead of regular pork sausage to lighten things up a bit. If you prefer to use sage sausage (like my man does), simply reduce the amount of sage to 1/2 tsp.

Give this stuffing recipe a try for your Thanksgiving dinner. Your family will love it!

Apple Sage Stuffing

serves 6

up to 2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb ground chicken Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 stalks celery, sliced

1 Fuji or Pink Lady apple, cored and chopped

1 large bag of stuffing mix

2 tsp ground sage

1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large stock pot, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add chicken sausage and brown until no more pink remains, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, leaving some of the fat, then add onion, garlic and celery. Add a little more olive oil if needed to prevent the vegetables from browning too quickly. Cover to help cook the vegetables a little faster. Stir every few minutes until the celery and onions are soft, but not mushy.

Add apple and cook for another minute. Add sausage back in, along with the stuffing mix, minus the seasoning packet. Turn heat off and toss to mix. Add in salt, pepper and sage and toss again. Pour the chicken stock in, half a cup at a time, tossing in between additions to soak the bread cubes. Add enough stock to make the cubes soften and almost mushy. 

Pour stuffing mix into a 9x13 ceramic baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Cover with foil, and bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes to crisp up the top. Serve hot.