Boxcar Children Stew

From: Divine Hostess

If you read my personal blog you know that our family just finished reading the first book in The Boxcar Children series. We really enjoyed it, and then I found this recipe for the stew that the children make. I knew I had to try this out! My kids begged me to make it and then didn't even try it! (Actually I do think my 3-year old ate the carrots). But my husband ate it and told me he would rather I make this recipe than any other stew beef recipe I've made. Wow! Okay... definitely a keeper! (Him AND the recipe!)

Ingredients:

• 4 stalks of celery minced
• 3 carrots roughly chopped
• 1.5 cups of potatoes in 1 inch cubes
• 2 to 3 vegetarian or chicken bouillon cubes (Veggie or chicken broth as substitute)
• Black Pepper
• Cumin
• 21 seasoning salute
• 2 TBSP chopped Parsley fresh or freeze dried
• 1/4 minced white onion
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup lentils (Can also be made with chicken breast pieces or steak. If meat is used, it will need to be added after step 1 and allowed to cook  a little while longer)

Place large dutch oven over medium high heat and brown 1 Tbsp garlic and minced onions in 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil for about 2 minutes.

Add bouillon cubes to water once it is boiling. Use 5 to 6 cups of water and appropriate cubes, or about 40oz of broth. Add celery, carrots and potatoes and stir. Add 1 tsp of all seasonings except parsley. Add 2 tbsp of parsley.

Lower heat to simmer. Since lentils only take about 20 minutes to cook add these about halfway through the process. Leave at a slow simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are nice and tender. Top with a few sprigs of parsley or minced chives and serve with french baguette.

I did change a few things in the recipe based on what I had available:

I browned the garlic and onion in oil. For liquid, I added two cups of water, two cups of beef broth (I used bouillon cubes to make it) and then I poured some vegetable broth in. I didn't have any celery, so I just added the carrots, potatoes, and some venison tenderloin that I chopped up. I added a small amount of salt and pepper and garlic powder. I added the parsley as well. Then I just cooked until the meat was done. I think it took about 45 minutes to an hour.

Simple and very tasty!!


 

Venison Stew

From: Taste of Home


Ingredients:
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 lbs venison stew meat
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cups water
7 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 lb carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup cold water

Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Brown meat. Add onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper and water. Simmer, covered, 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until meat is tender. Add potatoes and carrots. Continues to cook until vegetables are tender, about 30-45 minutes. Mix flour and cold water; stir into stew. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add browning sauce if desired. Remove bay leaf.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Stephen dislikes onions, so I substituted onion powder instead of actual onions. Yes, the recipe actually says 1 tablespoon of salt. I used red potatoes and didn't peel them.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Okay, seriously, new favorite stew recipe! I have made stew beef before, and pot roast, and more pot roast, and I've always felt like there was something missing from these recipes. This was a big hit with all four members of the family and boy, did it go great with my new crescent roll recipe! Sorry for the bad picture, it doesn't do it justice - I promise!

Beef Stew

From: Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew meat
1 medium onion, diced
1 package (8 oz) baby carrots
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 1/2 oz) beef broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
12 new potatoes, cut into fourths
2 cups sliced mushrooms

Heat oven to 325. Mix all ingredients except potatoes and mushrooms in a 4-quart Dutch oven. Cover and bake 2 hours, stirring once. Stir in potatoes and mushrooms. Cover and bake 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until tender.



What I did differently from the recipe:
Pretty much everything. I omitted onions and mushrooms for Stephen. I used venison instead of beef. I used canned carrots instead of fresh. I used beef bouillon cubes instead of beef broth. I omitted the tomato sauce. I increased flour to 1/2 cup. I used a crockpot instead and cooked for 8 hours.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Not our favorite. In my opinion, the tomato taste was too bold. And I really like tomatoes. Other than that, it was easy, but I would have preferred to taste more of a beefy flavor.

Printable version:

Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew meat
1 medium onion, diced
1 package (8 oz) baby carrots
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 1/2 oz) beef broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
12 new potatoes, cut into fourths
2 cups sliced mushrooms

Heat oven to 325. Mix all ingredients except potatoes and mushrooms in a 4-quart Dutch oven. Cover and bake 2 hours, stirring once. Stir in potatoes and mushrooms. Cover and bake 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until tender.