Now I'm Cooking

I've never been much of a cook. I blame my mom. She's never been much of a cook either. Boxed Kraft Mac N Cheese was a staple in my childhood. Actually, I thank her. Taking away the pressure of making 3 course dinners for my family to sit down to each night is a real blessing. My focus has become the people in my family, rather than the assumed duties of an American mother.

But lately, I've been inspired. (Maybe hearing all about my sister's correspondence cooking class has given me a needed push.)

I actually care about eating healthy, and feeding my kids nutritious food, but too often, Hamburger Helper and frozen pizza got the best of me. We still eat those types of foods, but at least a few times a week I am making meals.

I require that the prep time be minimal for me to attempt it. I just don't have the patience to spend 40 minutes prepping a meal. My kids deserve that time from me after school and I love giving it to them.

Yesterday was a triumph! At noon, I spent 10 minutes putting stew meat, pre-cut by the butcher, in the crock pot, followed by a few veggies I chopped in no time (with my new Chicago Cutlery set), and a few other ingredients. So easy!!!! Six hours later we had an amazing beef stew that had no preservatives and was low in sodium.

I needed some comfort food this week. (Yes, NEEDED.) Mashed potatoes is up there on the list of favorites. So, I did take an extra 30 minutes later in the afternoon to do that. But had I opted to put the potatoes in the stew, I could have eliminated the extra time investment.

Also, earlier in the week, instead of using preservative laden Hamburger Helper, I threw together my own Chili Mac in no time. The kids loved it. (So did my hubby and I.)

If you want to enjoy in my spoils, here are my super easy recipes:

Beef Stew with Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Beef Stew

• 2 lbs. of Chuck Roast - cut into 1 inches pieces
• Carrots, Celery, Sweet Onion - you pick how to cut and how much you want
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 1 Tbsp. of Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups Low Sodium Beef Stock
• 1 tsp. Ground Pepper
• 2 tsp. Sea Salt (less if using table salt)
• Use other seasonings if desired. (Consider Bay Leaves and/or Cumin)

Put beef, flour, and seasonings in crock pot. Stir to coat meat. Add remaining ingredients. Stir. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 5 hours.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

• 3-5 lbs. of Potatoes
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese
• 16 oz. Sour Cream
• 4 Tbsp. Butter
• 1/4 cup Whole Milk (Optional)
  
• 2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. Ground White Pepper

Peel, slice, and boil potatoes in water for 1 hour. Drain. Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Blend with a hand mixer on high speed until creamy.

Serve stew over the mashed potatoes.

Easy Chili Mac

• 1 Box Cooked Elbow Macaroni (do not overcook the pasta)
• 1 Jar Ragu Traditional Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 - 1 lb. Browned Ground Beef (depending on how meaty you want it)
• 1/2 cup Shredded Cheese
• 1/4 tsp. Ground Cumin
• 1/4 tsp. Chili Powder

After meat is browned and pasta is cooked and drained, dump all ingredients into a bowl or pot and stir. Done!