Chuck Wagon Stew

Here is a quick and easy one that I am told is a kid pleaser. Super filling and tasty. Serve over rice or by itself.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey

1/2 onion, diced

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 lb. green beans

2 carrots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

14 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp. onion powder

14 oz can beef or chicken broth

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

While we patiently wait for spring to finally get here, I have been continuing to cook some good winter comfort food in my house. This stew was a staple in my childhood days.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cubed

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

3 bay leaves

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

dash nutmeg

4 cups hot water

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 potatoes, sliced

3 tbsp. cornstarch

1/3 c cold water

Massaman Chicken Curry

If I had to pick one dish that was my favorite in the whole world, massaman curry could be it. I say "could" because as you can tell I am absolutely obsessed with food, so picking one food is next to impossible. However, I adore Thai food, and massaman is so close to heavenly it would at least make the top 5.

Maintaining a recipe blog like this is both a blessing and a curse. You are experimenting along the way, so a plus is you're always making something new. However, you're bound to need to make adjustments along the way which interrupts the recipe writing process. That said, I realized halfway through making this that I needed either a bigger pot or to have made less food. 

So what did we learn? 

You will either need to cut this recipe in half or use a big soup pot to make it!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. oil

1 onion, chopped

2 lb boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced 

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk 

8-10 tbsp. massaman curry paste (or red curry paste)*

1 (8 oz) jar satay sauce

1 red pepper, chopped

3 oz. roasted peanuts

*The more curry paste, the spicier. If you can't find massaman paste, you can use red curry but it tends to be spicier.

Hearty Chicken Soup with Rice

This weekend was definitely quite cold, and there is no better comfort food to warm the soul than a good old-fashioned bowl of chicken soup. Typically I make Chicken Noodle soup, but I wanted to change it up this time around. This soup is super easy, healthy, and so tasty!

Ingredients: 

2 lbs chicken breast or thighs, cut into chunks

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp butter

64 oz. chicken stock

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3/4 cup uncooked rice

salt and pepper to taste

Breakfast Burritos

Some mornings I get up and I absolutely don't feel like prepping, making, and cleaning up after breakfast. This is my go-to for mornings like this, because there is virtually no prep and the clean up is super easy.  Breakfast is done in about 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

1/2 bag of Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 can black beans (I left this out)

1/8 tsp. cumin

1/8 tsp. chili powder

4 eggs

1 jar salsa

1 (4 oz) can of green chilis

1 package tortillas

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used the Mexican blend, but cheddar or something similar would work)

sour cream, Sriacha, guacamole, and/ or cilantro to garnish

Filipino Chicken Stew (Chicken Adobo)

This was a staple dish during my childhood, probably because my parents were so hardworking and this dish is easy to prepare and only requires one pot to cook it. Now when I make it, I make a big batch and eat it for leftovers over a week. The pic above was from a different time that I made it, since I forgot to take a final picture this time around... 

I have been recently told by my mother, after several Pinoys out there denied this recipe's authenticity, that this version is Batangueno style (from the great province of Batangas where my mom was raised).

Ingredients:

2 lb. chicken, traditionally thighs and drumsticks

2 tbsp. oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 cloves garlic

2 cups water

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 

6 tbsp soy sauce 

2 bay leaves 

salt & pepper to taste 

Not pictured due to my poor planning: bay leaves, salt & pepper. I also usually use fresh garlic but I didn't have any, so I used some jarred minced garlic.

Heat oil in a pot, add chicken and brown on both sides. I typically use drumsticks and thighs, but I did not have any thighs in my freezer. I do recommend using both thighs and drumsticks for a nice variety.

Add onions and garlic and cook until caramelized. 

Add water, vinegar, and soy sauce.

Add potatoes.

Season with salt and pepper and add bay leaves.

Stir and stew for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Serve over sticky rice

I eat mine in a bowl and soak up the sauce in the rice. The chicken should fall right off the bone. Yum!