Beef Stew

As Fall is here, with cooler temperatures, I am inspired to make soup, often.  I realized that I had not made Beef Stew for many years, so I decided it was time.  I checked around the interwebs and found a few recipes, then did my own version.   It was very tasty and comforting.  I served it over rice.

Ingredients

2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 32 oz Beef Broth (I recommend Pacific Brand)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tbl Worcestershire
2 tbl A1 steak sauce
2 tbl beef base
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cold water

Directions

In a large pot or dutch oven, cook beef in oil over medium heat until brown. Dissolve bouillon/beef base in 1 cup of water and pour into pot. Stir in rosemary, parsley, and pepper. Add beef broth, A1 and Worcestershire.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.

Stir potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion into the pot. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons cold water and stir into stew. Cover and simmer 1 hour more.

Serve alone or with rice.

Jalapeno Popper Mini Biscuits

My husband saw this recipe on Facebook and decided it was right up our alley, we love spicy food and this sounded interesting.  It is very labor intensive, but so worth it for the end result, they were delicious.

Ingredients

5 jalapeno peppers (try to find the largest ones you can)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 5 ounces)
Kosher salt
One 16.3-ounce tube store-bought biscuit dough

Directions

Position an oven rack 4 to 5 inches from the heating element, and preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Cut the stem end off the jalapenos, cut each in half lengthwise and remove and discard the seeds (wear food-grade gloves if your skin is sensitive).

Arrange the jalapenos skin-side up on the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the oil. Broil until the peppers are blackened and puffy, 3 to 4 minutes. When cool enough to handle, rub off the skins (running under cold water helps).

Cut 2 of the halves into large dice so you have 32 pieces (1 for the top of each biscuit); set aside.

Finely chop the rest of the peppers, and transfer to a medium bowl.

Switch the oven from broil to bake, and preheat to 400 degrees F. Remove the foil from the baking sheet, and line it with parchment.

Beat the egg well in a small bowl.

Add the cream cheese, mozzarella and half the egg to the bowl with the chopped peppers, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and mix to combine.

Separate the biscuit rounds, and cut each into quarters. Make a deep indentation in the center of each quarter, and fill with a heaping teaspoon of the pepper-cheese mixture (it will mound above the biscuit a fair amount).

Brush any exposed biscuit with the remaining beaten egg. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and golden around the top, 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish each with a piece of reserved Jalepeno.