Sweet Love and Ginger

Weeknight Meals

30 Minute Beef Stew

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This winter has been cold, like my face burns in the morning when I go to start my car, and my car doesn’t want to start because it’s so cold kind of cold. For this reason I am convinced that I have perfected all of my favorite soups this year. What is better in bitter cold negative temperatures than soup?
30 Minute Beef Stew

Stew might be the only acceptable answer to that question. I’ve gotten pretty good on the stew front as well if I do say so myself.

This recipe is a perfect example. It’s a basic beef stew, nothing fancy going on over here, except it can be done in 30 minutes. Yes I know slow simmering beef stew is the classic way to make it. I know we miss the wafting stew smell in the air after hours and hours of slow simmering, but truth be told I just don’t have all that time.
I have a job! I’m a dog mom! I have family that wants to see me and things to do. That’s just how it is. I don’t have all the time in the world to be standing by the stove, even though it’s probably the warmest spot to be right now, I just can’t do it. Thus this delicious compromise was born. It has all the wonderful flavor of the slow simmered version without all that time.

 

30 Minute Beef Stew

Random note: I also like to add frozen green beans at the end sometimes, because a meal is not complete without some green in it, and again I don’t always have the time to make a salad.

30 Minute Beef Stew
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lbs top sirloin steaks cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 yellow onion, peeled & diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 1 cup baby carrots, halved
  • 2-3 large white potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 3 cups of beef broth
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
Instructions
  1. In a large thick bottomed skillet heat the oil over medium high heat.
  2. Toss the meat in flour, salt and pepper and then add to the oil. Stir and cook for about a minute while the meat browns.
  3. Add the onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the onions begin to brown.
  4. Add the garlic, celery, carrots. Cook for another 2 minutes before adding the potato, broth, thyme, and bay leaf.
  5. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  6. Remove the bay leaf, and adjust seasonings. Serves warm.

 

How to Reduce the Temptation of Take Out

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How to Reduce the Temptation of Take Out

 

Eating out, picking up take out or having pizza delivered is incredibly convenient and accessible, but it cost money, and can hurt your waistline. I’ve mentioned this a bunch, but Chuck and I are trying to save money right now so we are doing our best to avoid spending extra money on food. The obvious way to do this is to cook at home. I’ve already talked about how I meal plan to help save money, but I’m human and a meal plan doesn’t ensure I won’t want that super greasy takeout pizza on Friday after a long work week. Here is what I’m doing to avoid the pesky temptation troll.

 

  1. Try to come up with recipes similar to my favorite takeout food. Some great examples are 15 Minute Lo Mein, Wonton Soup, Homemade Pizza, Linguine with Clam Sauce, and One Pan Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.
  2. Keep a list of easy and quickrecipes on hand with all the ingredients. 15 and 20 minute meals are totally more appealing than a 40 minute, multi-dish recipe (hello clean up after?).
  3. Meal plan. I already discussed this above, see here for more info.
  4. Keep ready prepared meals accessible – Precooked chicken breasts, frozen homemade soups, ravioli, frozen meatballs, frozen taco meat and other things that I can prepare in 10 minutes or less is ideal.
  5. Use the crockpot. If I start the crock pot before work I pretty much then have to eat whatever it is when I get home or it goes to waste. Also coming home to a wonderful smelling house does wonders to change your cravings. Check out my list of 100 Slow Cooker Recipesfor Winter.
  6. Keep salad stuff in the house. – Those frozen chicken breasts heat up in the microwave and go great on a big salad. The same goes for taco meat (or beans), leftover roast veggies, leftover steak, and a ton of other stuff. Also it doesn’t last long so if I know its going to go bad soon then I am more likely to eat it instead of ordering out.
  7. Set a dining out budget for the month. Once you hit that limit don’t go out until the beginning of the next month. If it’s the social aspects that you are missing try hosting a potluck, or inviting friends over instead of going out.

Do you have anything that you do to help curb the take out monster? I’ll take all the tips I can get!

How We Meal Plan

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How We Meal Plan
I have been planning meals for as long as I have even kind of lived on my own. I hate not knowing what to cook when I get home from work; especially this time of year when it’s cold and dark, and incredibly hard to stay motivated to eat healthy. It also helps us save money and since we are officially on the house hunt that is a big deal.

There are a few basic steps to how I meal plan:

  • Check the fridge, freezer and pantry – what do we already have in the house?What needs to be eaten right away? etc.
  • Check the sales – I keep track of the basic prices of things like meat, produce and bread. If there is nothing good I might try to use up our freezer & pantry stock. I make a habit of buying things when they are “super-sale” and storing them for times when there are no sales or I have a special craving. Those items are typically whole chickens, turkey, and lamb. We haven’t been buying beef lately because we have a large back stock of venison.
  • Plan the meals – what do we want to eat (based on 1 & 2) for breakfast lunch and dinner this week?
  • Check the recipes – I need to know all of the ingredients necessary to make each meal. It also helps to know how in depth the recipe is. If there is  a lot involved I know not to plan it on a day that’s going to be tough at work. Being kind to yourself is incredibly important.
  • Compile the ingredient list – I usually skip this step now, but if you are new to meal planning write down every single item with the quantity of what you need for all of your meals.
  • Compile the Grocery List – Now I compare the ingredients that are on the ingredient list to what we have on hand. I cross those off and am left with just the groceries that we need for that week.
Here is a sample meal plan from last week:
Breakfasts
Egg Sandwiches & Fruit smoothies
Lunches
Leftovers, yogurt, cheese sticks, hummus & carrots, hummus sandwiches,
tuna
Snacks
veggie chips, toasted chickpeas, cheese sticks, hummus &
carrots, Banana Muffins, mixed nuts
Dinners
TH – Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup
F – Homemade Pizza
Sat – Fridge Clean out (Finish all leftovers)
Sun – Roast Chicken

 

6 Ingredient Creamy Sausage Gnocchi

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This winter man, it’s killing me. Typically I love winter,
snowy days mean big cups of steaming tea, by the fire, good books, crafts, and
ice fishing, but so far this year there really isn’t any snow. It’s just plain
cold. The year hasn’t started off so great; there were a number of very sad occurrences,
issues with broken cars amongst the normal life stress. I’m excited for January
to be nearing its end, February is going to be a new month and bring some much
needed changes.
For now I’m brightening my spirits with some good comfort
food. Next week we will get back on that healthy eating band wagon that work
out band wagon too, because man running errands every single night after work
is killing my ability to work out big time. I will get back into it, I have to,
I have a wedding to be in shape for!
Anyway enough of my griping and on to the recipe!
 This one is a good
one. A super simple recipe that does not skip on flavor and is super
comforting. It also comes together in less than 30 minutes, which makes it
great for a week night meal.
I mean really could you ask for anything more?



Creamy Sausage Gnocchi (Serves 4)

1 lb gnocchi
½ lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh grated Parmesan, for garnish

Cook the gnocchi according to package instructions. In a
large skillet crumble the sausage and cook until it begins to brown and crisp.
Drain the pan, leaving about a tablespoon of fat in. Add the fennel and cook
until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer and
cook for 5 or so minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Serve the
sauce over warm gnocchi and a garnish of parmesan. 
How is your year starting off?

Eat Drink & Be Mary

Spring Vegetable Couscous

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Spring Vegetable Couscous
Spring has sprung! Grocery stores and farmers markets are filling with wonderful, luscious, and vibrant colors. Rainbow Swiss chard, purple asparagus, green peas are just the beginning. My favorite part of spring, after the fresh post rain smell is the amazing vegetables that finally start their rotation on our plates. I could seriously eat a salad of some kind for every meal right now and never get bored.
In fact this salad I did eat for several days in a row. It’s super filling and wonderfully satisfying. I swear it’s like I can feel the sun shine in every bite that I take.
Spring Vegetable Couscous
I started out cooking the couscous in vegetable broth, just to impart it with a bit more flavor, an added the veggies at the very end of the cooking process to save on dirty dishes. I mean I was going to steam them anyway to why not do it all in one pot? Besides I wanted them still pretty crisp, so just a few minutes in a hot pan was all that was needed. Finish off the flavor with a handful of fresh chopped herbs, maybe a tiny bit of fresh cracked pepper and you have yourself a wonderfully flavorful salad type thing. I did also top it with some fresh alfalfa sprouts for a bit more protein, and a cooler contrast to the warm salad.
Spring Vegetable Couscous
It’s really enough to feed a group of 4 without anything else, but
if you wanted to stretch it I’d grill up some meat or veggies and then you
could feed more like 6 or 8.
Spring Vegetable Couscous
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups dry couscous
  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 lb asparagus
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen green peas
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • ½ cup alfalfa sprouts (optional)
Instructions
  1. Cook couscous according to package instructions with the broth substituted for water. 5 minutes before cooking is complete, add asparagus and
  2. peas.
  3. Once finished toss with herbs, and adjust seasoning.
  4. Serve warm or cold with sprouts on top.