Well folks....my baby boy Rowan turned two today. How in the world is growing up so fast? I honestly feel like he was just born. It is mind-blowing how fast time goes with kids. Today we started Rowan's birthday with scramble eggs and a little duplo play. Rowan got a set from the Easter Bunny and his brother set it up before he got up so they would have a chance to play. Late morning we met friends for swimming and burgers. I had class in the afternoon and then headed to the store to get my little guy a batch of cupcakes and we headed to Happy Joe's for a pizza party for Rowan. Rowan loves Duplos and received a fun train and a batman set! He also received an Elmo hoodie, a fingerling play set (he loves them), play food, and a set of two baby dolls. Rowan loves babies and opened them immediately and gave them kisses. He also go a baby carrier (like an Ergo) designed for dolls so he can carry them around my sweet boy.
On to the food. This recipe isn't so pretty, but it tastes amazing. We really like beef stew and this recipe provided a yummy twist on one of out favorite meals. The recipe calls for fire roasted tomatoes, ginger, and curry powder. The combo is delicious and I loved the unique twist on a traditional recipe. We opted to serve ours over rice, but potatoes or all on its own would be just as delicious. Ron and I felt the meal was even better as leftovers as the spices really got the soak into the meat and veggies. I am excited to make this one again! I am sure that you can make this is a slow cooker, but the oven baked version was delicious and very easy!
So we are getting 5-8 inches of snow tonight..... I am so over this..... this better be ground work for a lush warm summer.....not that I am any threats to make if it is not.... but it better be.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lb stew meat
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl curry powder
2 Tbl brown sugar
2 Tbl chopped garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1 quart beef broth
1 can (14.5 ounces) fire roasted diced tomatoes (plain works too)
2 cups frozen pearl onions
3 large peeled carrots cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbl fish sauce
2 pounds golden potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Add beef and toss to coat evenly.
Place your dutch oven (or other heavy bottomed oven safe dish) over medium high heat and add in about a tablespoon of the oil. Add the beef and brown on the first side, about 3 minutes, then flip the pieces to brown to other side. You may need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your dutch oven.
Add the curry powder, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger over the beef and stir to coat. Cook, stirring a couple of times, until the curry is fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes with their juices and the beef broth and raise the heat to high. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the onions, carrots, celery, soy sauce, and, fish sauce. Cover the pot, and place on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Bake, covered, for 2 hours, stirring at the one hour mark. Stir in the potatoes, re-cover the pot, and bake for another 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the beef and vegetables are all tender.
Serve alone or over rice.