Friday, October 14, 2016

Yesterday I made a beef stew (and received an unexpected gift!)



I am trying to do more in the kitchen...
have been wanting to eat out less and cook more... 
so yesterday I read various cookbooks and consulted friends on 
a beef stew recipe (first one shown in this post). 


I used marjoram and thyme. 
I just added some, did not measure it out.


About 1/4 cup of flour...


Kept meat out after browning while sauteing the onions and carrots... 


Beef stock + red wine is the liquid.... garlic, onion, carrots, potatoes are the vegetables! 


I am pretty sure I cooked this too long on the stove; 
it was quite reduced and thick, not really any broth by itself left.
The meat had thickened a bit too much... 


The stew was still tasty though! 
Next time I will not do it on the stove quite so long 
(ended up being 3 hours, 2 would of been enough)...



I had baked up frozen baguette as well,
went really well with the stew!



I enjoyed having the food all ready for when 
Mr Husband came home for dinner! 


We had gotten an unexpected package earlier in the day,
it was this hand-painted from Romania icon!
It's of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in case you didn't know.
***
We've had some hard things in terms of just being 
swamped with things to do, life, you know? if not one thing,
it's another. 
So I am trying to hold on to these moments as they come,
these unexpected gifts
reminding us that 
Christ is with us
in all things,
and is full of mercy... 

8 comments:

Juliana said...

The food looks tasty! I often do that sort of stew in the crock pot. I'm not even sure if I pre-brown the meat--I might just chuck it all in! I like my stews pretty thick, though.

Sorry things are hard right now! The icon is beautiful and I'm sure as a bright spot in the day.

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

What a beautiful icon! Prayers for you and all you love, my friend.

Nancy McCarroll said...

Beautiful stew. Beautiful icon. Blessings.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Hello Elizabeth, I want to thank you for visiting and commenting recently. Yes, we do need to note and enjoy these little moments don't we. So easy to get bogged down in worrisome things, at least for me. Your beef stew looks delicious, I can just imagine how lovely the house smelled while you were cooking it. A perfect dish for cold autumn days. And what a beautiful icon. Regarding the L'Engle books, I'd be happy to send them to you if you are interested and don't already have them - just let me now.

Pom Pom said...

Your stew looks yummy.
You're enjoying being a good wife. It's a high calling.

Jennifer Hays said...

Your stew sounds very good. I've never seen a recipe for beef stew with apricot jam in it, how interesting. I am always looking for new recipes, so I will keep yours in mind!

elizabeth said...

Sara, thanks so much! What an unexpected gift! I have emailed you. :)

Thanks Jennifer - I did not add the apricot jam, did I mention that?

Pom Pom, thanks for your encouragement!

Thanks Juliana, good to see you today ...

Thanks so much Elizabeth and Nancy! God bless you!

karen said...

beautiful icon!! and I also want to cook more at home (healthy wise) and eat out less, we just got back into town after eating out four days in a row. My body gets grumpy when we do that!