Thursday, December 29, 2011

Beef Stew-pendous

Prep Time: 15 miutes
Cook Time: 3-4 hours
Serving Size: 8-12
4 lbs. Beef Stew Meat, cut up into med/small chunks
1/2 cup Worcestershire
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 tablespoons Morton Season-All 
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 packs McCormick Beef Stew Seasoning
Roux : (1 cup each flour and Canola cooking oil)
2 large Onions, diced
½ cup Shallots, chopped (green onions/scallions) 
¼ cup Celery, chopped 
1 each Red, Yellow, and Orange sweet peppers, chopped
10 oz. can Hunt’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 large can sliced Mushrooms 
1 can (14 oz.) Beef stock/broth 
4 medium Turnips (peeled and cubed), may substitute with potatoes  
½ cup chopped Carrots
1 quart Water
Coat meat in Worcestershire, Italian dressing, and Season-All, then brown in a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat.
Pre-mix both packs of McCormick with 1 cup boiling water, then pour over meat and bring heat down to low to continue cooking, while making Roux in separate vessel.
Mix oil and flour in an 8 qt. Dutch oven using Roux spoon or small wooden paddle.
On med/low fire, brown Roux to a dark chocolate color. 
Blend in onions, shallots and celery to Roux and sauté 15 minutes.
Add meat from skillet into main cooking vessel. Add in mushrooms and broth along with about ½ the remaining water. Add in tomatoes, turnips, carrots and peppers; then cover and simmer on very low heat 2 hrs. 
Stir up every 15 min. adding a couple of ounces of water at a time as needed. (Stew should be thick enough so stirring spoon can stand on it’s own, but thin enough so it doesn’t stick/scorch to bottom of pot. Actual consistency is to preference.) 
Serve over cooked rice, noodles or cut-up French bread.
Side with Potato Salad and halved boiled eggs. 


Submitted By: Anthony Guidry, EMT-Paramedic
Louisiana, USA
Contest: Nationwide EMT

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Mirliton Douce Pie


Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Serving Size: 8
1¼ cup Mirliton (Chayote Squash) aka Alligator/Vegetable Pear – boiled, mashed and undrained
¾ cup crushed Pineapple
1 cup Pioneer Biscuit & Baking Mix
1 cup Sugar
1 stick of Margarine (4 oz. or ¼ lb.) – melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor.  Pour into 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 1 hour. 
Cool before serving
Note: 3-4 mirlitons will yield 1½ - 2 cups.
Tip: Boil mirlitons until tender enough to break with fork.
Alternate: You may use 2 full cups mirliton, omitting the pineapple, and substitute sugar with Splenda for a less sweet (douce) option.
Submitted By: Tony Guidry EMT-Paramedic
Louisiana, USA
Contest: Nationwide EMT