Another Round of New Cookbook Magic

"Rustic Italian beef stew," from the Pampered Chef cookbook I gave my hubby for Christmas. Yum. This version has sun-dried tomatoes to give it extra tang. [Not a paid mention for Pampered Chef - they have no knowledge of me, or this post, but I wish they sponsored it]

Crockpot Beef Stew with Kale

This is what I did with the kale that arrived in my organic box this week. I stirred it into the beef stew the last few minutes it was cooking. Really, the kale turned out not to have as much flavor as I thought it would. For the stew: I browned flour-dredged chunks of beef and seasoned the meat. I put one medium onion, baby carrots and six cloves of garlic in the crockpot, added the beef, poured a can of diced tomatoes on top, added two cups of chicken broth and about a cup of red wine. I seasoned with oregano, pepper, and a bit of basil. About an hour before serving, I added the baby baker potatoes. Total simmer time was about nine hours.