Week 8- Guinness Beef Stew

This week was an interesting week for all kinds of reasons. It started off with SNOW on Tuesday- which in Central Texas is a rare sight. Grandparents also came to visit- which happened to be on Tuesday as well. I had decided to make a slow cooker beef stew for that night- nice and cozy on a snowy night, and low-maintenance enough that I could focus on getting the rest of the house in order for the visit. I did want to find a recipe that would be a little different though, and came across a pretty good one by Sandra Lee. (Like I said before- I LOVE Food Network!) I did play with this one quite a bit, but definitely needed the initial inspiration.

Recipe- Guinness Beef Stew, Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes by Sandra Lee
Modifications- Used fresh carrots and onions. Browned stew meat in flour before adding to pot. Instead of gravy mix, stirred 2 Tbsp flour into 1 cup beef stock and added with Guinness. Added 1-2 Tbsp brown sugar to cut the bitter flavor of the beer (a tip borrowed from a recipe by Julia Child), Worcestershire sauce, and celery salt. Also added frozen peas and corn in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Reactions- Dad, Grandpa, and Grandmama really liked it. Bryan and Claudia didn't really like it- I think it was a little too sour/bitter for them.
Notes- I might try something like this with guests again, but since the kids didn't eat it, it probably wouldn't be very nice of me to make it just for us.

Week 7- Chicken Almost-Piccata

I'm a little behind on the blog, but I'm still keeping up with the resolution. Last week, I decided to give Giada another try- this time with a recipe for Chicken Piccata. It was a really easy recipe and everything was going nicely until I realized that I didn't actually have any lemon juice. (Capers yes, but no lemon juice. Sigh.) Instead of lemon juice, I substituted some white wine- which actually turned out pretty well. Score one for resourcefulness!

Recipe- Chicken Piccata by Giada DeLaurentis (Everyday Italian, available on Food Network website)
Modifications- Left out butter. No lemon juice, so used white wine instead.
Reactions- Dad and Bryan really liked it (although they pushed away the capers and parsley.) Claudia didn't want to try it. Not even off my plate.
Notes- I think Claudia was just in a bad mood, so I will probably try this one again- with actual lemon juice next time!

Week 6- Chocolate Chip Bars

Bryan's birthday was this week, and I had to make something for him to bring for his class. (Okay, I guess I didn't HAVE to, but I wanted him to have a chance to celebrate with his preschool friends.) Since we were having cupcakes at home that evening, rather than fill him up with cupcakes at school as well, I decided to try a new cookie recipe. I do feel like I am cheating a little with this week's recipe, being a cookie and all. However, I did receive this cookbook for Christmas, and there's nothing wrong with a little dessert every now and then...

Recipe- Chocolate Chip Bars from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book
Modifications- None
Reactions- Kids liked them a lot. Dad, being Dad, declined to try, even though I assured him there wasn't anything soymilk-related in them.
Notes- While the kids did like them, I thought they were a little crumbly- not quite as moist as I would prefer this kind of cookie. Next time, I will probably reduce the amount of flour a little, and maybe add some vanilla extract for some extra flavor. That said, it was a very easy recipe, and I will definitely make them again.

Week 5- Strawberry Breakfast Bread

Every now and then, in the middle of winter, you need a little taste of summer. At my grocery store early this week, I actually found fresh strawberries- and they were GOOD. However, by the end of the week, I still had almost a whole container left (I had bought 2), and I was wondering how much longer I had before they would start to look fuzzy. Not wanting them to go to waste, I flipped through my Food Allergy News Cookbook and found something that looked suitable.

Recipe- Peach Breakfast Bread from The Food Allergy News Cookbook
Modifications- Substituted strawberries (tossed in a little sugar) for the canned peaches
Reactions- Yum. The kids and I loved it. Dad, being a bit suspicious of strawberries, declined to try.
Notes- I often have trouble getting the timing right on quick bread loaves. I ended up baking it about 15 minutes longer than the recipe called for, and covering it with foil to prevent the top from getting too brown. Also in general, it is very important to make sure the egg substitute (in this case, oil, water, and baking powder mixed together) is blended really well with the rest of the mix- otherwise, the bread doesn't rise consistently.