Cranberry Beef Stew

Many moons ago way back before the teen was even a blip, I attempted to make the classic version of beef bourguignon. Maybe it was the inexperience, maybe it was the cut of meat, maybe it misguided view of wine. Whatever the reason I don't remember enjoying the meal. With time and learnings I have come to appreciate cooking with ingredients outside my comfort such as wines. Not being a consumer of any alcohol it is hard to know what is good wine and what is bad wine. Thankfully today there is the internet to help in learnings.

Ever in my quest to cook cranberries in dinner, Cranberry Beef Bourguignon was cooked yesterday and served to tonight.

Modifications Made:

Holy moly, this recipe stated it served six but called for two and half pounds of meat. Therefore, this recipe was halved for all ingredients except the meat which only totaled .97 pounds.

Cognac was omitted as the wine was enough alcohol flavoring for my taste. Carrots were increased to four large sticks and mushrooms were increased to 16 oz to offset the decrease in meats.

Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You
Have no reasonings for not liking the bourguignon other than it is just an overly fussy meal. Flavor was full, meat was tender, and carrots and cranberries offered a nice color. For all of the effort, this table would rather have had pot roast with cranberries added.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

So Sad Cake Brownies

Oh my word how does a space as small a pantry becomes so disorganized? And in such a short time, nonetheless? While reorganizing the four 2x4 pantry shelves yesterday a golden back of the box recipe was discovered. Milk Brownies. Replacing yogurt for milk or applesauce for oil, these are commonplace alternatives. Milk for water in a box brownie, this had to be tried. Stat. Modifications Made: Per the box, 1/3 cup milk replaced 1/3 water. Half cup of chopped walnuts were added along with two tablespoons of Hershey chocolate syrup. Because why not. Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You The milk was fine, the extra chocolate was fine. Walnuts could have been doubled. The problem was the brownies themselves. I accidently made cake brownies with two eggs instead of fudge brownies with just one brownie. So sad. These were given to the neighbor who prefers cake brownies. If the neighbor liked fudge brownies (they are the best kind) these would have gone to the chickens. They have no

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cover and reduc

Eating Waffles

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