Simple Beef Stew

Autumn time has to be my favorite season for food. I love using freshly harvested vegetables, and this has got to be one of my family's all time favorites: beef stew.

Let's get cooking!

First, fill a large pot 1/2 way with water. Salt the water, put the lid on the pot, and turn the temperature to high.
Then, cut about 8 cups of hard veggies into bite size chunks. These are peeled carrots, small red potatoes, and small russet potatoes from our garden.

Once the water is boiling, add the hard veggies to it; replace the lid.
In a separate pot, place 1 pound ground beef. I seasoned it today with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Brown the gound beef, drain off the fat, and add to the veggies in the large pot.

Next, cut up about 1 cup onion. This is a red onion, again from the garden. Red onions have a really great flavor and add just enough color to make this dish really pretty. Whatever kind of onion you have on hand should be just fine.This is a good time to add the onions, too.

Now I add 4 cups broccoli flourettes,

and 2 cups whole mushrooms. (My family doesn't particularly care for mushrooms, but they add a nice flavor to the stew. By keeping them whole, they are easily removed.)

Here comes the trick... remove about 1 cup of water from the pot. One tablespoon at a time, mix in corn starch to the removed water until a paste is formed. Using a whisk, slowly add the paste to the soup to thicken it up.

When it comes to seasoning the stew, I cheat. For some reason my stew is always too salty or bland if I make up my own seasoning, so I use a whole box (2 small packages) onion soup mix. Yeah, I do.

Now let the concoction simmer for about 20-30 minutes while you paint your nails, chat with your friend, or (in my case) make some biscuits to go with the stew. Every so often, stir the stew.

When you're about 5 minutes away from serving, add 1/2 bag frozen corn and let it all simmer together.

Serve with a smile knowing you've just made a scrumptious meal for your family.

Bran Muffins

It's no secret: I love food. I love autumn, too, for the food. Okay, I love other things about the season, too... but the food is awesome. One of my favorite food moments concerning autumn is that my kids actually want to eat something other than cold cereal for breakfast. Enter Bran Muffins! This recipe is easy and convenient. Just bake up as many muffins as you like and store the remaining batter in your fridge. Done and done.

Let's get cooking!

To a large bowl add one whole box of All Bran Cereal. It should be 6 cups.
Pour over the top of the cereal 2 cups boiling water. The water will soften up the cereal.

After a few minutes, pour 1 quart buttermilk over the cereal. Stir until it's all mushy and gross looking.

Cream together in a separate bowl 5 eggs, 1 cup shortening and 2 cups sugar.

Add to the cereal mixture.

Sift (or just toss into...) the cereal mixture 5 cups flour,

5 teaspoons baking soda,

and 1 tablespoon salt.

Stir until well blended.

Bake as much as you'd like in prepared muffin tins for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Store whatever batter you don't use in fridge for up to 30 days.

By the way... it's also delcious to add nuts, raisins, or dates to the batter prior to baking! My family's favorite it to serve these with apricot jam.