Recipes: Stay - a - Bed Stew and Our Favorite Jambalaya

As requested Readers.  Her are two of my favorite cold weather recipes:

Recipe:  Stay - a - Bed Stew (adapter from Peg Bracken, the "I Hate to Cook" cookbook).  With love and gratitude to Peg Bigley.

The name of this dish suggests what you can do while this easy one pot recipe long cooks.  And, oh, the aromas in the house!

Ingredients

Two pounds of stew meat, cubed, fat trimmed, but not entirely removed

One cup of cut up carrots (wash the carrots well and do NOT peel the carrots - all of the nutrients and most of the flavor are in that skin)

Two medium onions, chopped

One teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste - at least a 1/2 teaspoon

One can of condensed Tomato Soup, mixed with 1/2 can of water - I have moved away from condensed soups, but sometimes you just have to go with the original!

Two - Three large potatoes, quartered

One tablespoon each of fresh Thyme and Parsely - chopped - OR use 1 Teaspoon of dried herbs

Technique

Mix all of the ingredients - except the parsley - into a 2 1/2 quart casserole

Put the casserole into a 275 degree oven

Cook for five hours

Remove.  Skim fat if any is floating on the top.

Top with the parsley and serve

NOTE:  Make it "Beef Bourgourgne" - add 1/2 can of red wine instead of water!  Impress folks.

Recipe:  Crawfish and Sausage Jambalaya (adapted from Emeril Lagesse, "Every Day's a Party" cookbook)

This is delicious and easy.  Feel free to substitute medium to large fresh shrimp - peeled and cleaned - for the crawfish. However, most good seafood vendors now carry frozen crawfish tales.  Look for Gulf Coast on the crawfish label.  Just defrost - they are delicious! As you will see, this recipe uses the New Orleans cuisine staple:  The "holy trinity" - onion, green peppers and celery!

Ingredients

Two tablespoons of Vegetable or Canola oil

Two cups of chopped yellow onions

One cup of chopped green bell peppers

One half cup of chopped celery

One teaspoon of sale

One half teaspoon of cayenne

One pound of smoked sausage (your choice; kielbasi is used a great deal and, I think, is perfect). Cut the sausages in half, lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices

Four Bay Leaves

Two cups of peeled, seeded and chopped canned tomatoes

One tablespoon of chopped garlic

One pound of crawfish tails or shrimp

Two cups of of long-grain rice

Five cups of low salt chicken stock

One half cup of green onions/scallions - green parts only

Technique

Heat the oil over medium heat in a Dutch Oven 

Add the onion, bell peppers, and celery and season with the salt and the cayenne

Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are wilted - about 5 minutes

Add the chopped sausage and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes

Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, garlic and if you are using crawfish, add them now

Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes

Add the rice and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes

Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil

Reduce the heat to medium - low, cover, and cook for 15 - 20 minutes

If you are using shrimp, add them now and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes more, until the rice is tender and the shrimp  are cooked

Remove the bay leaves, stir in the chopped green onions, and serve hot.

Enjoy both of these delicious, basically one - pot, cold weather comfort dishes.