Beef Stew--My Family is SO Happy!

People who are very close to me know that I have not eaten or cooked beef in about 8 years due to personal reasons. My family was never really happy about this decision because they love beef and I really am the only one who cooks in my household.

After much reflection, for Valentine's Day, I made a steak for my family. I bought all organic, no animal by products or antibiotics beef. After all this time of not eating or cooking beef, it was nice to have this quick meal back in my menu. Let's face it, a steak takes no time to cook and the side dishes, (baked potatoes in the microwave then finished in the toaster oven and stir fried asparagus) cook up really fast.

I also bought a package of stew beef from the same producer. Today I am in the process of cooking up a batch of Beef Stew and it really is coming out great!

Beef Stew

1 pound cubed beef
1 large onion, chopped
8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 celery stock, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of crushed or minced garlic
3/4 cup red wine
1 box of stock (I used chicken)
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
flour to dust raw beef
Olive oil
1 box frozen butternut squash
Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste.

Heat pan and add oil. Dust beef with flour and brown meat in pan. Once first side is seared, stir and add onion, mushrooms, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute for about 4-5 minutes. Add wine to deglaze pan. Add bay leaves, stock and some water. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Add butternut squash and potatoes. Simmer for about 30 more minutes. If you want the stew a little thicker, mix about 2 tbs flour with about 1/2 cup of cold water. Mix until there are no lumps and add it to the stew to thicken. Don't forget to take out the bay leaves to serve.

I hope you enjoy this. So far, mine tastes great!

Shrimp Mozambique

Last night we celebrated my daughter's birthday with our family. Each birthday, I have the family over for a meal. Most often, I make a turkey, ham or some type of pasta. This year my sister-in-law recommended I try something with shrimp. So, here again is a shrimp recipe.

I have always loved Shrimp Mozambique in local restaurants but have never tried it at home. I figured I would try it out on my family. I looked at many recipes and also asked for suggestions from my local fish market. I came up with a great recipe that my family really enjoyed. I served it with rice and Portuguese rolls. I hope you enjoy it.

Shrimp Mozambique

4 pounds cleaned and deveined shrimp (I used frozen)
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbs dried parsley
2 packets of Goya Sazon seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
pepper
1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup butter
3 tbs olive oil
1 bottle beer

In large skillet, melt butter and add olive oil. Add onion and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add spices and saute for 1 minute. Add beer and simmer a few minutes. Add shrimp and mix to coat. Cover and simmer until shrimp is pink (about 5 minutes). Mix shrimp while cooking to make sure the sauce coats shrimp. Serve over rice and use bread for dipping into the garlic sauce.

This recipe fed 12 people. I hope you enjoy this. My family loved it!