So, is it October or November? I can’t really tell based on this weather, and can someone please explain why cold weather was so much more pleasant when you’re a child? I mean, I really don’t remember fearing winter when I was a kid like I do now. In fact, I couldn’t wait for the first few specks of snow to fly and those “no school” days were the best. My oldest says winter is her favorite. Apparently snow even tops swimming in her opinion. Who’s kid is this anyways and why are we even speaking of snow? Lets just move on from this conversation and pretend that s-word never got brought up.
Speaking of my oldest, it has been kind of a crazy week. Okay I’ll be honest, every week is a little crazy. I keep telling myself one of these days I will catch onto having three kids but it just hasn’t hit yet. Luckily, the babe is a pretty laid back girl, which is remarkable after having two “spirited” children. In the midst of a very crazy moment, I overheard my daughter talking to my phone. Apparently she turns to good ol’ Siri when she needs something. Oh, so full of wisdom Siri is. –>SOMEONE HELP US<– So yes, she was speaking to Siri and her conversation went like this.
A. “Oh hey Siri, can you help me find my baby? My mom is busy right now so I thought you could help.”
Me. “Av, who are you talking to?”
A. “Siri, she is helping me find something.”
Me. Say nothing, just sit there stunned in disbelief.
Yep, things have hit an all time low around here when my daughter starts asking Siri to help her. Where does she learn this anyways? Certainly not from me as I’m pretty sure I couldn’t figure out how to get to Siri unless by chance, or apparently asking my 3 year old. I’m blaming this one all on her dad. I guess we can say she took matters into her own hands and developed quite a genius plan to find her baby if you ask me. Only if her baby had a GPS tracker.
So plans for this week? Organiz….I don’t even know if I can get myself to speak it. O r g a n i z a t i o n. Yes, I am going to figure this all out. In the meantime, I will leave you with the one thing that takes my mind off everything else, cooking. And there is nothing more comforting on a cold fall day than a pot of hearty beef stew. Chunky, hearty, delicious beef stew. You can’t go wrong. –>SLURP<–
- 2 lbs boneless beef chuck, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1' cubes
- 8-10 small white potatoes, cut in half
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2-4 Tbsp arrorwroot powder (depending on desired thickness)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3-4 cups beef or chicken broth
- 1 bay leaves
- Heat a large dutch over or pot over medium heat.
- Season beef chunks with salt & pepper.
- Add 1 Tbsp butter and sear chunks of beef on all sides, remove and set aside.
- Turn heat down to low-medium heat and add remaining butter.
- Add onion and cook for 5-6 minutes or until tender.
- Add garlic, and thyme, cook and additional 1 minute.
- Add red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan, 3 cups of broth, dijon mustard and honey and arrow root powder.
- Stir to mix.
- Add cut potatoes, carrots and beef. Simmer over low-medium heat until vegetables are fork tender.
- Add additional 1 cup broth as needed depending on how thick or thin you would like your stew.
- Serve served with fresh thyme as a garnish.