The One Where Wil Gets a Boot and I Cook Things

Yay beer!

Long time, no blog! Things are going well around here - Wil has a job interview tomorrow so wish him luck! Other than that, spring came to visit, remembered it left its socks at home, and brought winter back to babysit. It looks like spring is coming back for good this week, and I can't wait for the warmth again. In the meantime I've been cooking up some cold-weather foods!

Before I give you some recipes, I did mention a boot in the title...it's a beer boot! We ate dinner with a friend at Essen Haus, a German restaurant downtown, and Wil made sure to get the full beerxperience.

On to the food! The first is my stroganoff recipe, which I love and have made a lot this winter. It's a crock-pot recipe, but you could probably make it in a big pot or Dutch oven on the stove. I think this recipe is the perfect thing for when you want creamy, beefy, mushroomy sauce over noodles, but not have to lie to yourself (too much, anyway) about the calorie count!

Not the greatest picture, but trust me - it's delicious.

Crock Pot Stroganoff
Ingredients
-- 1.5 lb. stew meat (cubed)
-- 1 lb. baby mushrooms (sliced)
-- 1 10-oz can cream of mushroom soup (try to get the "Healthy Request" kind)
-- 1 small onion (diced)
-- 3/4 c. beef broth (low sodium is best)
-- 2 T Worcestershire
-- 2 T minced garlic
-- 1 t salt
-- 1 t black pepper
-- 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
-- 1 package egg noodles

Directions
1. Dredge meat in flour and some spices of your choice; brown quickly
2. Add meat, onions, mushrooms, soup, broth, Worcestershire, garlic, salt, and pepper to slow cooker; stir well
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours (if you cook it low and slow, the mushrooms basically melt into the sauce...mmm)
4. When cook time is done, stir Greek yogurt into slow cooker and cook egg noodles
5. Serve sauce over noodles and enjoy!

Finally, this wouldn't be a post without some sort of soup, right? So here's my latest soup, inspired by Pinterest.

Tuscan Bean Soup
Ingredients

I added green peppers and didn't use
zucchini/squash - make your own substitutions!

-- 2 14-oz cans cannellini beans
-- 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (keep liquid)
-- 2 medium carrots (chopped)
-- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
-- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
-- 1 zucchini (chopped)
-- 1 summer squash (chopped)
-- 1 yellow onion (chopped)
-- 3 c. kale (chopped)
-- 1 quart chicken (or vegetable) broth (low sodium!)
-- 1/4 t thyme
-- 1/2 t rosemary
-- 1 t white wine vinegar
-- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat a bit of olive oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat; saute onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, summer squash, and garlic about 5 minutes

Enjoy some delicious soup :)

2. Add spices and cook 1 minute more

3. Stir in broth, means, tomatoes; bring to a boil

4. Add chopped kale, cover, and simmer 15 minutes

5. If you have an immersion blender, immerse and blend - but not all the way, leave some texture in there. If you don't have an immersion blender, scoop some soup into a normal blender, blend, and add back into soup

6. Simmer 30 minutes more (or however long you think necessary)

7. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and some crusty bread!