This beef stew is thick with a deliciously flavored broth and lots of meat and veggies. If you plan ahead, it can be cooked in the crockpot after the meat and veggies are browned in pan. If you need to avoid gluten, wheat or soy, substitute a flour that is safe for you and make sure to use Better Than Bouillon organic beef base.
Put flour, salt & pepper in large Ziploc bag. Heat oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Place meat in bag with the flour mixture and shake until well coated.
Shake off meat pieces and add them to the oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned.
Add onion to the remaining flour in the bag. Add onion, carrot and celery to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, to slightly cook the vegetables, about 5 minutes. Add parsley, thyme, water and Better than Bouillon organic beef base.
Cover and cook over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
Add diced potatoes, carrots and onions. Cook for another 45 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
This is our favorite recipe for chili. If I don’t have any chorizo, I just use 2 lb. of ground beef and increase the paprika and cumin to 2 T. each. Some of you might think it odd to add the cocoa powder or chocolate chips. However, this adds a richer taste and color to the finished product.
Rinse black beans. Put in pot and cover well with water. Bring to a boil. When the water boils, turn the pot off and let set for 1 hour. Drain beans, cover with fresh water and continue cooking until tender. Add to chili when the beans are tender.
Chili
While beans are soaking, brown beef and chorizo with onions, sweet pepper, garlic, and oil in a Dutch oven.
Add remaining ingredients (except black beans) and simmer for a couple of hours. Add water as needed for the consistency that you desire. Add black beans when they have finished cooking. This is even better if made the day before and reheated.
Recipe Notes
If I don’t have any chorizo, I just use 2 lb. of ground beef and increase the paprika and cumin to 2 T. each.
I am in love with this recipe for cavatelli. Â It is a denser noodle than I normally enjoy, but it is relatively small shapes that are much neater for children to eat than the long strands of spaghetti. Â It goes extremely well with a hearty marinara sauce with meat. Â It is also fun to make. Â I made this the first time with our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter and she loved helping with it! Â She also loved how they tasted!
The cavatelli can be made up ahead of time and frozen, before boiling, in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Â No need to thaw before cooking.
Combine all ingredients in a mixer bowl. (I used a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but probably any heavy duty mixer will do.) Mix until ingredients come together to form a ball. It may be necessary to add a little more water, but start with this and check it after it starts to come together. You don't want it too sticky, but you don't want it too dry either. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave on counter for about 30-60 minutes for the gluten to relax.
Divide dough into 4 portions and keep all unworked portions covered with plastic except what you are working with.
Flour your work surface and roll the first portion of dough into a long rope. Keep working on it until it is about 1/2" thick. Use a pastry scraper or knife, cut into somewhat equal lengths of about 1/3-1/2".
Flour your work surface. You can use a sushi rolling mat, a gnocchi board or just onto a cutting board or other work surface. I prefer the sushi rolling mat. I got mine on Amazon for $5. I can place a few pieces on the mat at a time.
Then using a pastry scraper or the back of a knife or even your thumb, press down on the pieces of dough and pull back. The dough will make a roll back on itself to make a cute tube shape.
Continue working the rest of the dough until all of it has been shaped into cavatelli.
You can go either direction on the sushi mat or the gnocchi board to get the pattern you desire. I like going the long way on the sushi mat.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil and add sea salt liberally. I also added some olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
Boil the cavatelli for a few minutes, then remove from water.
This is excellent served with a hearty marinara sauce with meat and cheese.
I was looking through various pasta recipes today, and they were all basically the same:  flour, eggs, salt, some with or without oil or water…  But a comment on one of the recipes really struck me.  It was saying that they prefer this recipe over the one that they were reviewing because it was so much easier to handle.  I decided I needed to give it a try, so I made a batch of noodles as a side dish.  I think these were the best noodles I have ever tasted in my life!  And the dough was indeed very easy to work with.  I am definitely going to make this recipe again!!!
Combine all ingredients in bowl of stand mixer until a ball of dough is formed. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 30-60 minutes.
Process with Kitchen Aid pasta attachments.
Cook in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.
Start with boneless chicken pieces and make a rich, scrumptious, thickened broth to go with it. Â Then make some homemade noodles (or buy some fresh or frozen noodles) and cook them right in the broth. Â Fantastic!!
For making your own homemade noodles for this recipe, use 3 eggs, 1 T. water, 2 3/4 cups light spelt flour (or all-purpose if no wheat allergy)
Heat large (13") cast iron skillet over high heat. Add oil and chicken. Season chicken with pepper. Cook quickly, stirring often, until done. Remove from pan and place in crock pot.
Melt butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic, and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add flour and blend evenly.
Quickly whisk in cream, water, and chicken base until smooth. Add to crock pot and turn onto low until ready to continue.
Before adding noodles, turn crock pot to high heat. We positioned the Kitchen Aid in such a position so the noodles go directly into the crock pot.
Add noodles and stir to separate. Cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Recipe Notes
I reduced the amount of flour for thickening because I was using homemade noodles.  For making your own homemade noodles for this recipe, use 3 eggs, 1 T. water, and 2 3/4 cups flour.  If you are not using fresh homemade noodles, you may need more thickener.
Although spelt is an ancient form of wheat, most people with wheat allergies can eat it with no problem. Â However, it still contains gluten, so avoid spelt if you have a reason to avoid gluten.
Better than Bouillon organic beef and chicken bases are my favorite to use in broths because they are gluten free and soy free.
These are called Italian Meatballs, but they can be made into just about any kind of meatball you want by changing or leaving out the Parmesan cheese.  You can make Swedish Meatballs  https://www.cherylsrecipes.net/recipe/swedish-meatballs/, BBQ Meatballs, Sweet & Sour Meatballs, etc.  You can even cut small cubes of mozzarella cheese (or any other kind of cheese) and wrap the meatball mixture around it before baking.  You will want to make a larger meatball for making them this way, though.  Meatballs always make a good dish for a potluck or a party!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients for meatballs with mixer and shape into balls. (I like to make smaller meatballs using a small cookie scoop.) Bake for 15 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt flour with no problem. Â Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients for meatballs with mixer and shape into balls. (I like to make smaller meatballs using a small cookie scoop.) Bake 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the soup. In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook, covered, just until tender. Add mushrooms and lemon juice. Cook just until mushrooms are tender.
Stir in flour until blended.
Add water, soup base, and pepper. Cook, stirring, frequently, until thickened. Stir in cream.
Add meatballs and warm thoroughly.
Serve with rice or pasta.
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt flour with no problem. Â Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
This is coarsely mashed, seasoned red skinned potatoes topped with sirloin tips, onions, mushrooms, and served with BBQ sauce. Â We first had this from a food vendor at the Big Ticket Festival in Gaylord, MI. Â We absolutely loved them! Â My husband and I had them every day of the 3 day festival. Â When we got home, I tried to recreate it. Â This is what I came up with.
Sirloin Tips with Red Skinned Potatoes, Onions, Mushrooms
Put prepared potatoes in a pot of water along with the garlic. Bring to a boil and cook until tender.
In a large heavy skillet, heat some oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until tender.
Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, heat some oil. Add steak strips and cook, stirring frequently, until done.
When onions are nearly done, add the mushrooms and cook with onions. Add cooked steak to this pan too, and continue cooking until everything is done as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper or your choice of seasonings.
Drain potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and add butter. Lightly mash. Clean the meat skillet and add some oil to that skillet again. Put the potatoes into the skillet and cook until lightly browned. (I only have one large cast iron skillet, so I have to cook the potatoes in 2 batches in my medium sized skillet.)
To serve, place a layer of the potatoes in a bowl.
This is a recipe that serves two as a main course, so I can make it for my husband and myself with leftover ingredients.
Being that I have a soy allergy, soy sauce is off limits for me. However, I have discovered a couple of choices in the grocery stores that I can now have as a replacement: No Soy soy-free sauce and Coconut Aminos. There is also a link below to a homemade soy sauce substitute.
As always, you can change the vegetables and /or meats that go into this dish.
This is the recipe I use for a soy sauce substitute: https://www.cherylsrecipes.net/recipe/soy-sauce-substitute/
Crepes are so versatile! Â They can be used for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or a snack! Â This is a very good basic recipe that is based on the recipe from www.chef-in-training.com. Â I liked it better than the other recipes I tried, so I am sharing it here.
We had a Create Your Own Crepe bar for Mother’s Day. Â My favorite was this crepe with a cheesecake filling, some sliced strawberries and some mini chocolate chips. Â There are so many possibilities! Â Other options we offered were puddings (chocolate, French vanilla, banana), Whipped topping, Chocolate Sauce (it hardened and we couldn’t get it out of the bottle easily!), Blackberry Jam, cinnamon mixed with powdered sugar, and powdered sugar by itself. Â It turned out great! Â We also made some chocolate crepes, but I preferred these to the chocolate ones!
The batter can be made up a day or two ahead of time, and/or the crepes can be made up ahead of time and put back on the griddle for just a few seconds per side to reheat.
4tsp.sugarif making dessert crepes, omit for savory crepes
Servings: crepes
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour and eggs. Slowly add milk and water stirring until smooth. Add salt and butter (and sugar if making dessert crepes) and continue whisking until smooth. (You can also just dump everything in a blender and blend until smooth.) Refrigerate in a covered container for at least 30 minutes.
Heat oiled pan to medium high temperature. Pour about 3-4 T. of batter into pan and tilt the pan to swirl in a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook crepe for about 1-2 minutes until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, and turn. Serve hot and fill or top however you desire.
