I had to quickly check my archives to make sure I hadn’t posted too many kale recipes this month because it seems like we eat kale just about every other day at this time of year. Lucky for me, I have only posted one other recipe this month!
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| Before the paint incident |
Today was not necessarily the right temperature for stew but I really needed something that I could throw in one pot on the stove while I chased down the kids and tried to finish painting the kitchen. As of this moment the kitchen is halfway painted – Carolina Inn Lobby Yellow – and I definitely like it so far! For one brief moment, one wall of my kitchen and one nine month old baby were both painted this lovely shade of yellow, but after a quick to-the-tub rescue and no fingers in the eyes, painting resumed while dinner simmered on the stove.
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| My dogs will do anything for the carrot tops! |
Yesterday, I decided to thaw the stew beef from C-Saw Hill Farms that had been patiently waiting in my freezer for a few weeks. Today, at 3pm, I realized that I needed to make a plan for dinner. I scoured the veggie crisper and came up with a handful of carrots, half a red onion, and the last of the kale. Perfect ingredients for a last minute stew.
Ingredients:
1 lb. stew meat
Handful of carrots, chopped
4 handfuls of kale, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
4 cups broth (I used low sodium chicken)
6 ounces tomato paste
1 can (14 ounces) small white beans
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Directions:
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| Rinse the kale well |
I trimmed the stew meat and tossed it into my dutch oven with a little bit of preheated olive oil. I added some corn starch and Weber Chicago Steak seasoning (you could just use salt and pepper) and gently tossed the beef so it could get browned on all sides. I like to season the beef directly while it browns and then separately season the stew itself after all the flavors start to come together.
Rinse the kale very well and remove the leaves from the tough stalks if you haven’t done that already. I like to prepare my entire bunch of kale the first time I use it so that it is at the ready to toss into future recipes in short order. I store my kale leaves in a large ziploc bag and it seems to last in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Chop the onions and carrots and add them to the beef. Add in 4 cups (1 carton) of broth and the tomato paste. If you prefer a less “tomatoey” stew, just use one or two tablespoons of tomato paste – my kids prefer the broth to be more like tomato soup so I use the entire can of tomato paste. Add in the seasonings and bring to a boil. After the stew is boiling, reduce heat to medium and add in the kale and the beans. Cook on medium heat for about 30 to 45 minutes until the beef is tender. Enjoy!
