Sometimes, you just need a big bowl of comfort food. That's what I got on Tuesday. Nonni's Chow Mein. This dish is something that my mom used to make once in a while when I was younger, and I always loved it. And somehow, in the move of my Aunt and Grandmother (temporarily) into my mother's house, we ended up with about 2 heads of celery in the fridge. So that means.....Chow Mein!!
This is seriously a very easy dish to make. In true Nonni form, there are no exact measurements for anything - it's all dependent on what you like. But I tried to write everything down, and I can't wait to share it with you!
Nonni's Chow Mein
Ingredients
- Sliced Onion (about 2-3, depending on the size)
- Largely chopped celery (as much as you want, we probably used about a whole head)
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
- 1 can bean sprouts, drained
- 1 can mixed Chinese vegetables (or just a can of water chestnuts), drained
- Black Pepper
- Cornstarch
- Soy Sauce
The Method to Nonni's Madness
- Put the ground hamburger into a pan with a little bit of oil and break it up. You don't want the mean to get overly browned - just so it's not pink anymore.
- Add in the onion, and mix together and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes
- Add in the chopped celery, and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the celery is softened.
- Add in the bean sprouts and vegetables, and black pepper. Don't add in the sprouts until close to the end, because they really only need to heat up.
- Mix together a little bit of water, a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch, and the soy sauce and add this into the pot. This helps everything thicken up a bit.
- Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Taste it, and add salt if needed.
Serve the Chow Mein with either white rice, or the Chinese Crunch Noodles.
And ENJOY!!
Beef Stew is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. The last time I made it in the crock pot, it came alright, but it wasn't anything great. According to my husband, everything I cut (the meat and potatoes, specifically) was too big. So this time, I made sure to cut everything at a smaller size, so that it would actually be possible to get the beef, potato and vegetable all on the spoon at the same time.
The result: Delicious.
I really can't take much credit for the recipe. I actually can't take any credit at all. It goes to McCormick Seasoning, if we're being perfectly honest. I bought a packet of Slow Cooker Beef Stew Seasoning, and essentially followed the directions on the pack.
The Recipe:
- 2 lbs beef, cubed (I actually bought "stewing beef" at the market - it was delicious. They had it already cubed up, but I cut the pieces even smaller)
- 5 cups chopped vegetables (carrot, celery, onion, potato) (I think that I actually had about 6 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups water, mixed with the seasoning (I used 2 cups water)
The directions say about 4 hours on high, 8 hours on low. I cooked it for about 2 hours on high and 4 hours on low for a total of 6 hours.
For about 6 servings, I calculated about 10 points plus. For 4 servings, 16 points plus.
It also reheated really well. I added a bit of water, put it on the stove and it was delicious!
If you've never cooked a Pot Roast in a crock pot before, then your name is probably Camille. Seriously. It's one of the easiest meals I've ever made, and all it took was 5 minutes of prep. I had originally planned on making a Pot Roast in a dutch oven (the child in me always laughs when I hear/say dutch oven). This plan was based on a recipe in my Weight Watcher cook book. However, I ended up setting the crock pot and using a recipe from a Crock Pot book instead. Such an easy alternative. It avoided the need for me to tend the stove...And when I got home this afternoon from doing laundry at my dad's, my house smelled delicious.
Today's recipe:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 3-4 lb bottom round (I actually had bought a 2-lb round, so this is what I used)
1 15-oz can beef broth (I bought fat free, low sodium)
1 Tbsp Salt (or however much you want)
1 Tbsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
Potatoes (I used fingerling potatoes and cut them in half)
Baby Carrots (I used baby carrots)
Onion (I used 3 small/medium onions and sliced them about 1/2")
Technically I was supposed to brown the roast in olive oil in the crock pot, and then take it out, put half the seasonings on it, put the onions in, and cook those a bit, and then add the roast back in with the veggies and broth.
Yea, that didn't happen. I started trying to brown the roast, but I saw that was going to take forever, so I took it out, dumped all the veggies into the crock pot, put in the seasonings, the stock, mixed it all together and then nestled the meat in everything.
6 hours on high later, pure deliciousness. The one thing I found super amusing is how much the roast shrunk through the cooking process. It looks so small! But the flavor - OUTSTANDING!
Day one, and so far I'd say it's pretty easy acting like an adult.... :o)
