My Homemade Beef Stew

So my friend, Jenna requested a good beef stew recipe. I am a self-claimed really good cook (I like my cooking, and the family I work for seems to as well, and my husband....and whomever else I usually decide to feed)

So here it is, it is loosely based on a Paula Deen beef stew recipe.

Ingredients (and you can add more veggies or less if you want):

1 Medium yellow onion, cut into wedges

3 Carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 russet potatoes, peeled, chopped, and boiled 8-10 minutes (depending on if you're using your slow cooker)

1 steak, chopped and seared (I just put the pan on medium high with olive oil, and brown each side for 30 seconds, as well as salt and pepper it. I let the slow cooker cook it he rest of the way)

2 Bay leaves

5-7 beef bullion cubes (I would say at least 2 for every cup of water, I like a beefy stew)

2-3 cups of water (I boil the bullion cubes in it)

1/3 C of butter

2-3 TB flour

Worchestershire sauce

Directions:

Chop all of the vegetables (DUH!), and boil the potatoes and cook the meat if you haven't already. Boil the water with the bullion cubes and set aside (make sure bullion cubes dissolve).

In a large pot melt the butter and then add flour to make a rue. You can use more flour to make a thicker stew, the flour should dissolve into a paste in the butter, it's okay to add more if it's not thickening. After it is thickened, add the broth you made with the bullion and water, stir with a wire wisk until combined, boil for at least 1 minute so your broth can thicken. In a separate pan combine the meet and the vegetables, I like to season it before I mix it with the broth because I feel like if I don't my seasoning will end up at the bottom of the pot. Put your pan on low and just let it sizzle for a couple of minutes, adding worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and minced garlic for flavor, after about 5 minutes add vegetables to the broth, stir well with a wooden spoon and add the bay leaves. You can transfer it to a crock pot and let simmer for about an hour, or you can boil it for about 20 minutes so the vegetables are tender. This is all dependent on your taste, and time, it's quicker than it sounds, so if you want to have a quick meal ready for later, just put it all in the crock pot, the veggies should be soft and the meat tender. If you want crisper veggies, less time (whoa, common sense is great, right?!). Enjoy, and let me know how it turns out for you.

Shredded Chicken that tastes like Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

My husband and I use this a lot in our cooking. We like to use it when we make a mock Cafe Rio salad, burritos, etc. It's also good in enchiladas, just a great standard. It's got a really strong sweet flavor, so it's not really kid-friendly.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1/4 cup honey
just under 1/4 cup lime juice
1 TB chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 Gallon-sized plastic bag

1. Mix honey, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic salt (I usually mix them in my liquid measuring cup).
2. Put shredded chicken in plastic bag.
3. Add marinade to plastic bag with the chicken.
4. Put in fridge and let marinade for at least half an hour (1 day is better).
5. When you're ready to eat it (if you're having it in a salad or burrito...anything you don't bake, don't do this for enchiladas), put it on a greased skillet and heat it up, you can even make it crispy if you want.
6. Decide how you want it and ENJOY!

Yummy Mexican Shepherd's Pie

This is super easy, and my husband and I will usually eat the whole thing because it's so yummy!
Ingredients:
2 Cups mashed potatoes (you can either use instant or homemade, I usually do homemade, using about 4 potatoes)
1/2 lb ground beef
1 can corn
1 Cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
1. Brown the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper, then drain.
2. Mix the salsa, sour cream, corn, and ground beef.
3. Pour the mixture into an 8X8 glass pan (if you want more, double it and you can put it in a 9X13 pan).
4. Pour mashed potatoes on top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Let cool and enjoy!

Yummy Creole Chicken and Rice

2-4 chicken breasts (depending on the size and how many people you're feeding)
1 Can Cream of Chicken soup
1 Cup sour cream
Creole seasoning (I do it to taste, it's spicy, so it could be a lot or not a ton)
2 Cups homemade rice, buttered

You can do this in layers, or as a casserole, it depends on how you like it. You can adjust the recipe for more people who are eating it.

As a casserole:
1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F
2. Pre-make all ingredients
3. Mix the chicken into the sauce
4. Layer the bottom of an 8X13 pan with rice
5. Pour sauce on top
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until bubbling.

Layered:
1. Pre-make all ingredients
2. Put rice on the bottom of plate
3. Put sauce over the rice and enjoy.

Chicken:
1. Boil chicken breasts (or bake, or however you like to cook it, it's all subjective) until cooked through.
2. Either chop or shred chicken (if you have a KitchenAid mixer, you can shred it in the mixer using your paddle function). Sprinkle creole seasoning on it so it's sprinkled red. You might want to taste it, you can use the seasoning as salt, but it's a little spicy (knock on wood, it's Creole!).

Sauce:
1. Mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream in a saucepan, DO NOT BOIL, heat thoroughly and season with creole to taste.
2. Add chicken to sauce

Rice:
1. Also season with creole to taste (pattern, yes:?)