Venison Irish Stew

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds venison stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 teaspoons of salt (more to taste)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups beef stock or broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup of Guinness extra stout
• 1 cup of hearty red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
• 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
• 2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots (3 to 4 carrots, can substitute some of the carrot with parsnips)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 Sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt over the venison pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large (6 to 8 quart), thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Pat dry the venison with paper towels and working in batches, add the venison(do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over and brown on another side.

2 Add garlic to the pot with the venison and sauté 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the beef stock, water, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to the lowest setting, then cover and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3 While the pot of meat and stock is simmering, melt the butter in another pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Sauté the onions and carrots until the onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step 2 has simmered for one hour.

4 Add the onions, carrots, and the potatoes to the beef stew. Add black pepper and two teaspoons of salt. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off any excess fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Adapted from a recipe I found on www.simplyrecipes.com 

Read more: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_beef_stew/#ixzz3Sb8Nn1AG

Smothered Pork Chops

4 pork chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
1 vidalia or sweet onion, thinly sliced...
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups water

Start off by giving your pork chops a good rinsing in cold water. Next pat your pork chops dry with paper towels and set aside.
In a small bowl form your seasoning mixture by combining and mixing together seasoned salt, garlic powder, black pepper and paprika.
Rub about 3/4 teaspoon of seasoning on each pork chop. Next thoroughly coat each piece of meat with flour and set aside. Save all leftover seasoning for later use in onion gravy.
Heat vegetable oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot enough add pork chops and brown on each side for about three minutes. Once your meat is browned remove it from the skillet and allow to cool on a plate covered with paper towels.
Now it's time to form the onion gravy. Without removing any dripping add sliced onions to the skillet and cook until browned. Add remaining flour to the skillet and a very small amount of water if necessary. Stir the onions and flour together until golden brown, paying careful attention not to burn the gravy.
Add two cups water to the onion gravy and stir. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Return pork chops to skillet, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 1 hour. The meat is done when it's tender.

I had been searching for this very recipe for a long time and finally found this recipe on Facebook that was shared by Hillbilly Cast Iron Cooking. 

Easy Sesame Chicken

Chicken
1 large egg
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 pinch each salt & pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for frying)
Sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1½ Tbsp brown sugar
1½ Tbsp rice vinegar
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp cornstarch
For Serving
4 cups cooked jasmine rice 2 whole green onions

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then cut them into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken in the egg and cornstarch mixture.
2. Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (it should look wavy on the surface), add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring only occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through (about 7-10 minutes). Drain off the excess oil, if desired.
3. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, minced garlic, cornstarch, and sesame seeds. (You can grate the ginger with a small-holed cheese grater).
4. Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, pour the sauce over top. Toss the chicken to coat in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as soon as it hits the hot skillet. Once the chicken is coated and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat.
5. Serve the chicken over a bed of rice and sprinkle the sliced green onions over top.

Found this recipe on http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/easy-sesame-chicken/

Beef Stew

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 lb. stew meat, visible fat removed

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 1/2 cups homemade beef stock or canned unsalted chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

4 medium red potatoes (about 1 lb.) cut in 1-inch chunks

2 large carrots, sliced 1/4-inch thick

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 1/2 Tablespoons flour

1/4 cup stock

 

Instructions:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the meat on one side for 5 minutes without turning over. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
2. Turn meat, add 1 tsp. oil & brown another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Do not crowd the meat. Brown in two batches if necessary.
3. With all the meat browned and in the pan, reduce heat to medium. Add onion & garlic. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes until onion is browned.
4. Add stock, salt, thyme & bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover & simmer for 2 hrs.
5. After 2 hours, stir in potatoes, carrots & celery and bring to a boil. Cover & simmer 10-15 minutes until vegetables are done.
6. Combine remaining flour & stock, whisking until there are no lumps. Stir into stew and cook 5 more min. until thickened. Remove bay leaf.

 

This is by far my favorite beef stew recipe. I found this recipe on Jennycancook.com

 

 

 

Hearty Hash Brown Potato Soup

2 lbs frozen hash browns (can substitute diced/cubed potatoes)
4 cups water
1 large onion chopped
3/4 cup sliced celery
1/2 teaspoon  celery seed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 chicken bouillon cubes

In a large kettle, bring the above to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender (add time if using diced or cubed potatoes).   Mash potatoes in the kettle with the liquid and then add the following

4 cans (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 quart milk
2 cups cooked cubed ham
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes (I left this out)
1.5 teaspoons garlic salt

Simmer for 10 minutes or until heated through

Bacon for garnish.

Fajita Seasoning

1 TBSP Chili Powder

1 1/2 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Dried Oregano

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Onion Powder

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Instructions

Whisk together all of the spices and store in an airtight container. 

This recipe was found on www.chocolatemoosey.com

Queso Blanco Dip

2lb Block Velveeta Queso Blanco Cheese cut into 1" blocks
2 Cans Rotel Original (Undrained)
1 Link (6oz) El Popular Chorizo Sausage

"Brown" Chorizo sausage and drain all fat. In Fondue pot add Rotel and Velveeta and melt cheese over medium heat. Once melted add Chorizo and stir everything together.

*This is an adaption of the Famous Rotel Cheese Dip on the side of the Rotel can.