20 Dinners, 1 Day: Easy Brunswick Stew

I have no idea what Brunswick Stew is and have never heard of it before.  Whatever it is, it was such an easy and tasty stew that Abe had to pack his lunch portion pretty quickly or it would've been eaten up that night.

Using bagged frozen veggies made it crazy quick to make.  Abe actually questioned what kind of stew only needed 10 minutes to cook when he called to tell me he was on his way home from golf league and I told him I had to start the stew.  I admit, I wondered too.    But it was surprisingly good!  And talk about healthy.... I don't think you can cram anymore vegetables in there if you tried.  I sectioned off 1/2 of the stew before adding the pork for myself and added the pork to Abe's portion.  So tasty!  You could easily substitute chicken or even omit the meat altogether for a hearty vegetarian meal.

Oh and don't be a ding dong like me and look for the frozen combo of ALL of the veggies.  I spent a good 5 minutes looking through the freezer section for this elusive blend.  Only later when home did I reread the ingredients and realize it asked for bags of EACH veggies.  Duh.

Easy Brunswick Stew

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Pulled Pork
1 package (10 oz) each frozen corn, baby lima beans, sliced okra and peas-and-carrots combo, thawed
2 cups Tomato Sauce
2 cup beef broth (I used vegetable broth)
salt and pepper
4 slices crusty bread

In a large dutch oven (or pot), cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, 5 minutes.  Add pork and cook 1 minute.  Add thawed vegetables, tomato sauce and broth.  Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with bread.

Beef Daube Provençal (French Beef Stew)

This was served to Abe and his gang of friends.  It was a hit.  Little did they know it was healthy.


If you don't have a dutch oven (I'm dying to buy one), you can use a covered pan that's ovensafe.  Most are to 350 degrees.  If you don't, you can transport everything to a covered casserole dish to be baked.  You can also use a slow cooker.


I got this recipe from CookingLight.com.


Beef Daube Provençal (French Beef Stew)
Serves 5


2  teaspoons  olive oil
12  garlic cloves, crushed
1  (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 1/2  teaspoons  salt, divided
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
1  cup  red wine
2  cups  chopped carrot
1 1/2  cups  chopped onion
1/2  cup  less-sodium beef broth
1  tablespoon  tomato paste
1  teaspoon  chopped fresh rosemary
1  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1  (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1  bay leaf
3  cups  cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked noodles)

Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add garlic, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf), and bring to a boil.

Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve over noodles.
Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.

Calories: 367 (31% from fat) 

Fat: 12.8g (sat 4.3g,mono 5.8g,poly 0.9g)

Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

I love Indian food.  I love the ginger, coconut milk, curry, spices.  Get me near an Indian buffet and I will eat until I'm sick.  Hey, how many places serve so much vegetarian?  Can't blame me.

I made this for Abe and me in our quest for a healthy January.  It's low in calories and fat, but ripe with flavors.  I served it over rice.

I got this from Cookinglight.com.

Vegetable and Chickpea Curry
Serves 6

1  tablespoon  olive oil
1 1/2  cups  chopped onion
1  cup  (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot
1  tablespoon  curry powder
1  teaspoon  brown sugar
1  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
2  garlic cloves, minced
1  serrano chile, seeded and minced
3  cups  cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 1/2  cups  cubed peeled baking potato
1  cup  diced green bell pepper
1  cup  (1-inch) cut green beans
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1  (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
3  cups  fresh baby spinach
1  cup  light coconut milk
6  lemon wedges

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients (through broth). Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts. Serve with lemon wedges.

Spicy Gumbo

This is the dish I make when Abe's having the guys over for football or some other sporting event. It's super flavorful and a crowd pleaser.

It makes a lot, so if it's just for dinner, I'd cut it half; although the leftovers are great the next day (and the day after...). I've also had success freezing the leftovers, but only after the shrimp was taken out.

Cajun seasoning can be found in the grocery store, but make sure you get a brand that doesn't have a lot of salt in it.

A roux is a mixture of fat and flour and it adds a lot of flavor to the dish. Make sure you spend the time browning it, making sure to constantly stir it so it won't burn. It may take longer than I listed(it also has taken less time, it all depends on the day). The color should be close to coffee with cream.

If I'm feeling lazy (and there's a good chance of that), I don't bother with the roma tomatoes and maybe will throw in an addition can of plain diced tomatoes.

Serve with rice and corn bread.

I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com and adapted it a bit.

Boudreaux's Zydeco Stomp Gumbo
Serves 10

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup skinless, boneless chicken breast halves- chopped
1/2 pound pork sausage links, thinly sliced (I use andouille).
1 cup olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 cups chicken broth
1 (12 ounce) can or bottle beer
6 stalks celery, diced
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, with liquid
2 tablespoons chopped fresh red chile peppers
1 bunch fresh parsley
1/2 cup frozen okra, thawed
1/4 cup Cajun seasonings (make sure it's salt-free)
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Stir in sausage and cook until evenly browned. Drain chicken and sausage and set aside.

2. In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, blend olive oil and flour to combine a roux. Stir constantly until browned and bubbly (about 10-15 minutes). Mix in garlic and cook about 1 minute.

3. Gradually stir chicken broth and beer into the roux mixture. Bring to a boil and mix in celery, tomatoes, sweet onion, diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, red chile peppers, parsley, okra and Cajun seasoning. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 40 minutes, stirring often.

4. Mix chicken and sausage into the broth mixture and cook an additional 20 minutes. Add shrimp for the final 10 minutes.

Baby Beef Stew Classico

This is what's on the menu for Abe tonight.  I've made it before and he loves it.   He liked it so much that he asked me to make it for family before.

It's a very classic beef stew, a real comfort food.  You can add which ever veggies you like, but the ones in the recipe are spot on.  It's simple to make and basically foolproof.

I got this from my Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger.

Baby Beef Stew Classico

Serves 2


Cooker: 1 1/2 to 3 quart
Setting: High for 4-5 hours. or Low for 7-8 hours; peas added during last 30 minutes

1 lb. lean, boneless chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
Salt and freshly ground white or black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/4 lb. baby carrots
1 small parsnip, peeled and diced
6 ounces baby red potatoes, halved or quartered
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or marjoram
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup frozen petit peas, thawed

1. Sprinkle the cubes of beef with some salt and pepper.  In a medium-size saute pan over medium heat, heat the oil until very hot.  Add the meat cubes and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes.

2. Spray the crock with nonstick cooking spray and add the onion, carrots, parsnip and potatoes.  Add the meat, broth, wine, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes and thyme; mix well.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours (or LOW for 7 to 8 hours), until the meat is fork-tender.

3. When there is about 30 minutes of cooking time left, knead the butter and flour together in a small bowl with a fork.  Add the butter-flour ball (known as a beurre manie) to the crock and stir until melted.  Add the peas to the crock.  Cover and cook another 30 minutes.  Season to taste and serve hot.