Dishin' This Weekend

Yesterday, my sister Lori called and we chatted. This IS a big deal. We don't get to chat on the phone much - not because we don't want to - we LOVE to chat! Our schedules don't allow us to. We're in different time zones - and she works crazy-long hours, and I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise person. So, when she thinks of giving me a jingle, I'm usually asleep - and when I'm thinking of giving her a ring, she's usually at work! So - FINALLY - things worked out this weekend and we connected and had a GREAT CHAT! Yeah!!! Because we live many, many states away, we don't get together often enough. But, this summer we're having a girl's week...all of us Brockman girls - us sisters, and some nieces and my mom are all going on a week long ROAD TRIP that's covering three states...so, that's your fair warning - stay off the roads! ha ha Lori has already offered to bring the Depends, because there will be so much laughing going on, we cannot guarantee the human bladder will be able to withstand it. (Brockman girls are not known for being quiet, or shy, either - I have a feeling we will have made a slew of friends by the end of the week! This may even make a great book idea!)

Anyhow, when Lori called, I was on a manic baking/cooking frenzy. I had just received a copy of "Cooking Light." Before you get all impressed with my healthy ways, please know that while I was making a recipe from "Cooking Light", I have NO IDEA how it ended up in the pages of that magazine. I found a recipe for "Beef and Guinness Stew," named for the bottle of Guinness beer in the ingredient list. It turned out really well. I was also making these delicious sounding brownies that I found on the back of a box of brownie mix for dessert. It sounded so simple - you make brownies, let them cool, and spread them with vanilla frosting, put a layer of peanuts on them and then melt peanut butter and chocolate chips and mix with rice krispies and spread over the frosting. That sounded SO GOOD. Not so...one bite about put me into an insulin coma. It was AWFUL - really. Don't make the brownies. They were HORRID. My kids loved them, but I'm going to throw them away - I'm afraid they will turn my kids' blood into a thick sludge of corn syrup. Ugh. I cannot describe how disgusting the brownies were.

Lori asked that I give her the recipe for both the brownies and the stew. Sorry, Lori (ooo - that RHYMED!) - don't make the brownies - I couldn't do that to somebody I love! I figured that since I had to type up the recipe for the stew anyhow, I'd post it on my blog for all my bloggy buddies. THEN, I figured why not give Lori the link to my blog! :)

So, here's the recipe...from the March issue of Cooking Light magazine: (It's really not that light - 365 calories per 1 cup serving/19.4g fat/25.3g protein/18.8g carb/3.6g fiber/62 mg Chol/2.6 mg Iron/454 mg Sodium/52 mg Calcium) But, it's probably alot lighter than a nibble of one of those brownies! Yikes!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon butter, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt, divided
5 cups chopped onion (about 3 onions)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 (11.2-ounce) bottle Guinness Draught
1 tablespoon raisins
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices carrot (about 8 ounces)
1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices parsnip (about 8 ounces)
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnip (about 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons butter to pan. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt; dredge beef in flour. Add half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons butter, and beef.

2. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, raisins, caraway seeds, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 8 (1 cup) Servings

As Julia would say Bon Appetit!