Julia Child's Braised Beef in Beer - Aunt Cathy Style

Preheat oven to 325.

Ingredients

3 lb. lean beef - chuck roast or rump roast

Salt and pepper

3 to 5 pieces bacon

6 cups sliced onions

6 cloves garlic- smashed

1 cup Swanson unsalted Beef Stock

2 to 3 cups pilsner or dark ale

1 Tb brown sugar

1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, 1 to 2 leafs of sage tied together

1 1/2 Tb cornstarch blended with 2 Tb wine vinegar 

Cut beef into large bite size cubes - meat will shrink during cooking - about 2x2x2

Dry meat on paper towel, 

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper

Fry bacon in heavy pan or skillet - remove bacon

Leave a layer of bacon fat in pan, retain the rest for later

Heat pan to almost smoking

Brown meat quickly in bacon fat, browning a few pieces at a time. Do not overcrowd meat. Add more bacon fat if needed.

Set browned meat to the side.

Reduce heat to medium, add onions to pan. Stir onions over medium to low heat for about ten minutes..

Move pan off heat, add smashed garlic, about a half t. of salt and a fourth t of pepper.

Layer about a third of the meat in an ovenproof casserole, top with one third onion/ garlic mixture. Repeat with 2 more layers of meat and onions.

Heat beef stock in the browning skillet scraping sides to get any meat and onions bits. 

Pour stock over meat and onion mixture.

place tied herbs in with meat.

Mix brown sugar with beer.

Add enough beer to almost cover meat. 

Place casserole on stove and heat until it comes to a simmer.

Then place in lower third of oven.

Bake for 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours. Meat should be fork tender.

Remove tied herbs. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Bring to simmer again for at least 3 to 4 minutes.

Serve with rice, or mashed potatoes.

Baked Potato Soup

2 Large baking potatoes(8 oz each)

3 T. thinly sliced green onions

1/3 c. Earth Balance Butter (soy and dairy free)

1/3 c flour

2 t. fresh dill

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

4 c. Organic Kirkland brand chicken broth

4 cooked slices of bacon

1 cup frozen peas

Bake potatoes at 425 40-60min. Let cool and scoop out each potato.

In a large saucepan cook the 3T. of green onions in the Earth Balance, stir in the flour, add seasonings and the broth. Add potato pulp and the peas (optional)

The cooked bacon is added as a garnish in the end.

Sloppy Joes

Brown 1- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (drain fat)
Saute 1 med onion diced
Add 2 stalks of celery diced

Add 3/4 c. Heinz Ketchup
2 T. sugar
2 T. Heinz yellow mustard
2 T. Heinz apple cider vinegar
Simmer and that is it.

Serve on Rosen hamburger buns. 

Grandma D's Beef Vegetable Chowder

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 t pepper
1 t salt
1 T extra light olive oil
4 organic carrots peeled and sliced into bite size pieces
3 stalks of organic celery cleaned and sliced into bit size pieces
2 large organic onions chopped
4 organic yukon gold potatoes peeled and sliced into bite size pieces
1 t salt
2 large cans (1lb 12 oz) Maestri or San Marzano whole tomatoes
1/4 cup uncooked rice
26 oz of Swanson Unsalted Cooking Stock or equal amounts of home made stock or home made tomato juice (add more if needed).

In a large soup pot brown ground beef in 1T olive oil. Drain ground beef. Add 1/4 t pepper and 1 t salt and stir. Add sliced vegetables to the pot with the ground beef and stir over medium heat for two minutes. Add juice from the two cans of tomatoes. Stir cut tomatoes into bit size pieces. Add tomatoes and stock or juice. Add rice.
Cook until vegetables are tender - about twenty minutes.