Melt in Your Mouth Beef & Barley Stew

Happy New Year Everyone!
We're experiencing BITTER COLD temps this week, so I was on the hunt for a warm and hearty stew.  My mother-in-law gave me this great cookbook for Christmas called "Sunday Soup" by Betty Rosbottom. This recipe originated from this cookbook.  Of course I adapted (aka Tastefully Simplified) it to meet the needs of my favorite products and what I have around the house!  I simplified a couple of the prep steps as well.

Caution:  This is what I would term a 'high-maintenance" recipe.  (Meaning it takes longer than 20 minutes prep, requires more than just cutting and dumping, and contains some ingredients you probably normally don't have around the house)  However, I assure you...the end result will leave you full and content!  It is definitely a recipe I will make again!  And all the healthy ingredients are just a bonus.  It's comfort food at it's best!

Prep:  About 30-40 minutes
Start to Finish:  3 hours

Ingredients
4 -4 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast
10 Tablespoons olive oil (approx.)
8 cups beef broth
2 teaspoons Tastefully Simple Merlot Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
1/4 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper (can substitute black pepper if you don't have this)
2-3 carrots, peeled, halved and cut into half circles (about 1/4 inch thick)
2-3 ribs celery, diced
2 parsnips, peeled, halved and cut into half circles (about 1/4 inch thick)
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz. sliced white mushrooms
1 large potato (I like Yukon Gold for the butter flavor), peeled and diced
1 cup pearl barley
1 teaspoon dried ground thyme

Directions
Cut beef into 1 inch pieces (trimming off excess fat).  Pour about 5 Tbsp olive oil into the bottom of a large stockpot and turn on medium-high heat.  When oil is hot, add enough pieces of meet to fit in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.  Brown all sides of meat then remove with a slotted spoon and place on a double layer of paper towels.  Repeat until all meat is browned.

Remove remaining oil from pot and wipe out with a paper towel.  Return meat to pot and add in beef broth, Merlot Sauce, Seasoned Salt and Garlic Pepper.  Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

While meat/broth mixture is simmering, cut up your carrots, celery, onion and parsnips.  Place 2-3 Tbsp oil in a medium size skillet.  Saute veggies in oil for about 5 minutes, until slightly softened.  Remove from skillet and set aside.

In same skillet, add sliced mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned and softened.

After meat/broth mixture has simmered for 1 1/2 hours, add the veggies (except the mushrooms), cubed potato, barley and thyme to the stockpot.  Simmer, cover and cook for an hour - stirring occasionally.  Add the sauteed mushrooms and simmer another 2-3 minutes until heated through.

Bacon Ranch Chicken Strips

The next time you're craving some crispy chicken, avoid the drive through and make these instead!  My family devoured them last night and they were SO EASY to make!  For those of you attending my next Tastefully Simple Freezer Meal Workshop - these will definitely be on the menu!

Bacon Ranch Chicken Strips
2 lbs chicken tenders (you can obviously buy chicken breasts and cut into strips - I was short on time, so bought the pre-cut packages)
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Bacon Bacon

Combine bread crumbs, cheese and Bacon Bacon in medium bowl.  Pour Ranch dressing in different medium bowl.  Dip chicken tender into ranch dressing and then dip into bread crumb mixture.  Place onto cookie sheet or baking stone.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until chicken is cooked and outside is crispy.  Enjoy!!

To order the Tastefully Simple Bacon Bacon needed for this recipe, contact me at keninger1@msn.com or order on my website:  wwww.tastefullysimple.com/web/kkeninger

Tastefully Simple Tonight Freezer Meals get thumbs up!!

I was up at Tastefully Simple Headquarters last week for a special retreat.  I decided to prepare some Freezer meals before I left to help out the hubby (and ensure cereal was not the main dish every night :).  I used our Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection which comes with a grocery list, recipes and freezer labels.  All of the meals have been DELICIOUS!

Below are the recipes included with this collection:

• Chipotle Bacon Meatloaf
• Family-Friendly Chili
• Ham, Swiss & Artichoke Frittata
• Mama Mia Italian Casserole
• Mama Mia Lasagna Cups
• Parmesan Peppercorn Mac & Cheese
• Rustic Chicken Soup
• Rustic Herb Pork Tenderloin
• Simple Turkey Dinner
• Turkey Sloppy Joes

The family ate the Ham, Swiss & Aritichoke Fritatta as well as the Parmesan Peppercorn mac-n-cheese while I was gone and passed along RAVE reviews!

We ate the Rustic Herb Pork Tenderloin for dinner last night - very moist and great flavor.  I modified the cooking instructions by placing it in a slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours.

TIPS:  
The Parmesan Peppercorn Mac & Cheese makes a TON!  I will 1/2 it next time and divide into two 8x8 servings.  I think this recipe would be fabulous with some cooked chicken added too.

I split the Family Friendly Chili in 1/2 and we used to make chili-dogs, since the temperatures are still relatively warm right now.

If you're thinking...my family is used to ground beef not ground turkey - give it a try!  Mine didn't even notice.

Wondering about cost?  I spent just under $100 to buy all the groceries and the TS Tonight Collection is $57.99.  Breaking that down it was between $10-15 per meal or $2-3 per serving!  (And I was in a rush getting groceries, so didn't shop for sales.)

MUCH healthier and CHEAPER than fast food for these 10 tasty meals!!  Contact me to order your own Tastefully Simple Tonight collection or order online from my website;  www.tastefullysimple.com/web/kkeninger

Trust me...having freezer meals prepped and ready can alleviate so much stress and minimize those impulse convenience food purchases!

Pork & Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

WOW is the first word that comes to mind when trying to explain the flavor in this recipe!  Pair the taste with the fact that this was a freezer meal I pre-made has it quickly jumping onto my 'will definitely make again' list!

I simply defrosted the meal overnight and placed it in my slow-cooker (on the warm feature), so that it's ready to go when we all need dinner at various times tonight.  If our schedule would've allowed us to all sit down together tonight, I would've warmed it up on the stove top (or microwave) instead.

NOTE:  Tastefully Simple's Honey Teriyaki Sauce is going away in a couple weeks.  As much as I adore this product, I'm certain our new Plum Teriyaki Sauce taking it's place will provide just as great a flavor - especially for this dish!

I also sauteed the ground pork, mushrooms, bell pepper and carrots all together and then added the Honey Teriyaki.  Once it cooled, I placedi tin a Ziploc freezer bag.  Worked just fine adding everything in together at once!

Pork and Mushroom Lettuce Wraps
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp. Fiesta Party Dip Mix™
1/2 cup Honey Teriyaki Sauce
2 heads of Bibb lettuce, cored, leaves separated
1 cup matchstick-size strips red bell pepper 
1 cup matchstick-size strips peeled carrot
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions
Serve it tonight: Sauté ground pork, mushrooms and Fiesta Party Dip Mix™in a large skillet until pork is no longer pink. Stir in Honey Teriyaki Sauce; heat through. Serve warm pork in lettuce wraps; top with bell pepper, carrots and cilantro. Makes 6 servings. 

Serve it later: Sauté ground pork, mushrooms and Fiesta Party Dip Mix™ in a large skillet until pork is no longer pink. Stir in Honey Teriyaki Sauce; heat through. Cool mixture; place in a resealable plastic bag. Freeze until served. Thaw and heat gently in the microwave. Serve as directed above. 

Summer Salads with Delicious Dressings!

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe to my blog site.  (Too easy to just share on Facebook.)  However, I wanted a bit more space to type out how much I LOVED this salad ...and thus you get a blog post.

I adore a good salad in the summer!  They usually end up being a hodge podge of items I have leftover in the fridge.  I've found that the key to a great salad for me is the dressing!  As a Tastefully Simple consultant for the past 11 years, I've discovered that you can make fabulous tasting dressings by combining salsa and sauces with....any guesses?  Yep - good ole' Ranch dressing.  So, next time you're wanting something out of the ordinary - grab the bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing along with your favorite Salsa or Sauce and see what you come up with!

The below salad (we had for dinner last night) was a combination of mixed greens, hard boiled egg, avacado, tomato, grilled shrimp (marinated in Tastefully Simple's Roasted Garlic Infused Oil and Garlic Pepper Seasoning) and my own dressing concoction.  Dressing:  Equal parts Ranch Dressing and Tastefully Simple Pineapple Chipotle Salsa - DELISH!!

Here are some other FABULOUS combinations:
Ranch & Tastefully Simple Corn, Black Bean Salsa:  Serve on salad with grilled chicken, black beans, corn, tomato, avacado
Ranch & Tastefully Simple Honey Apple Grill Sauce:  Serve on salad with bacon, lettuce tomato, hard boiled egg

And for dessert....our family's FAVORITE - Absolutely Almond Pound Cake!  This time I mixed up a little Lemonade Fruit Dip as a topping along with fresh berries.  Needless to say - no leftovers :)

REMINDER:  Our Garlic Pepper and Pineapple Chipotle Salsa are limited time 'returning favorite' products that are ONLY AVAILABLE until June 30th!!  Contact me to stock up :)

Hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as we do!

Artichoke & Spinach Stuffed Bread

Today is National Pasta Day, so we celebrated with a meal of Spaghetti with Mama Mia Marinara Sauce.  (Mama Mia is a dry mix from Tastefully Simple that you add to a can of crushed tomatoes.)  Since no pasta meal is complete without some good crusty bread, I decided to give this stuffed bread recipe a try.  If you're looking for a nice ooey gooey warm cheese bread - this is it!

Artichoke & Spinach Stuffed Bread
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
1 packet Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
14.5 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper to taste
1 lb. loaf French bread

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. Combine first 6 ingredients; stir to blend. Slice French bread in half horizontally; pull some bread out of both halves, leaving about a 1-inch shell. Spread cream cheese mixture inside the bottom shell; top with top shell. Wrap loaf in foil, place on baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Unwrap loaf; let stand 10 minutes. Slice and serve warm. Makes 8-10 servings.

NOTE:  I found a 7 oz can of artichoke hearts, so I used it.  Thought if I used too many the kids might notice :)  Mission accomplished - they had no idea they were there. 

Pork Loin with Sweet Pepper Glaze

Earlier this week, we took my oldest son out for a 'birthday dinner' at a local steak restaurant (with an Aussie flair).  He's officially too old to order off the kid's menu now.  How is this possible?

Anyway, he ordered a pork loin with a sweet chutney glaze.  After trying a bite of his dinner, I determined the glaze tasted IDENTICAL to our Tastefully Simple Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam.  Now, I generally use our Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce on pork loin, but decided to venture out in an attempt to replicate the 'steak restaurant' creation.  In the process, I ended up finding an incredible new way to cook pork loin!  (Thanks Google :)

I've also been working to experiment with some new ingredients, and was very pleased at how these dishes all complemented each other.  I recommend giving them a try!  Get out of that recipe rut and experiment a little :) Couscous on it's own doesn't have a ton of flavor, so it works great as a side dish with the pork.

Pork Loin with Sweet Pepper Glaze
1-2 lb pork loin
seasonings of your choice (I used Garlic Garlic and Seasoned Salt from Tastefully Simple)
Tastefully Simple Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Season pork loin and place in a roasting pan (uncovered) on the bottom 1/3 of your oven. Bake pork loin 5 1/2 minutes PER POUND.  Turn oven OFF and DO NOT open it for an hour.  Remove from oven after 1 full hour and let sit 5-10 to allow juices to re-distribute before cutting.  Use meat thermometer to make sure it has reached 150-160 degrees.  Slice into medallions and top with a few spoonfuls of Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam.

Roasted Butternut Squash
1 butternut squash (remove seeds and cut into bite sized cubes)
1 Tbsp olive oil or Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
brown sugar

Combine oil and squash and place in same roasting pan as pork loin, but make sure they aren't touching the meat to aid in cooking both properly.  Squash will be done at the same time as pork.  Sprinkle with brown sugar when you remove from oven.

Couscous with Spinach & Herb
Submitted by Jackie Prehn (IL) 

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup couscous
1 Tbsp. Tastefully Simple Spinach & Herb Dip Mix

Directions
Combine first 2 ingredients; bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Makes 6 servings.