Recipe: Chunky Quinoa Veggie Stew

Nothing says stew like a cold winter night, and if you're watching your carbs, or avoiding gluten, quinoa can be a great alternative in your comfort-food-seeking menu. This recipe combines a number of healthy vegetables into a hearty and tasty stew packed full of flavor and nutrition. This one can easily work for vegetarians or those looking for a meatless recipe - just substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Enjoy!

Chunky Quinoa Veggie Stew
(Serves 6.)

Ingredients: 
1 finely chopped sweet onion
1 red bell pepper, cut in half-inch pieces
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp cumin
6 cups homemade chicken broth or stock
1 pound red potatoes, cut into half-inch pieces
1 cup red or white quinoa, well-rinsed
Salt and pepper, to taste
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
2 fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped coarsely
1 cup frozen (or fresh) peas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 avocado, cut into half-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Combine bell pepper, oil, onion, and pinch of salt in a Dutch oven.
2. Cover and cook on medium-low heat until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, around eight to ten minutes. 
3. Stir in paprika, coriander, cumin, and garlic. 
4. Stir in potatoes and broth, then bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer ten minutes.
5. Stir in quinoa and continue simmering for an additional eight minutes. 
6. Stir in corn and continue simmering until potatoes and quinoa are just tender, around five to seven minutes. 
7. Stir in tomatoes and peas and cook for an additional two minutes.
8. Remove from heat, then stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper as desired. 
9. Garnish bowls of stew with avocado before serving.

Venison Stew Recipe - Video

I know I just shared a great stew recipe, but the venison in my freezer inspired me to share another one that I found that looks good! I haven't actually made this one yet, but plan on trying it soon. Let me know what you think, and if you have other good venison recipes, I'd love to hear them!

Venison Stew Recipe
make note of a delicious venison crock-pot recipe that is a favorite around the Farmer household and at the "Kentucky Afield" television studio.



Other Venison Recipes:
   

Recipe: Black Beans with Brown-Sugared Ham

Here is a new recipe I came up with last week, when cleaning out my freezer to make room for the next round of meat from my CSA. This one is a hearty, healthy, and delicious recipe great for these long, cold winter nights! You could use other kinds of meat as well - venison would probably work well, or a tougher cut of beef. I cooked it in the crockpot for maximum tenderness and minimum work, but you could do it on the stove-top as well - it will still probably need a couple of hours, for the meat to fall apart as it should.

Feel free to improvise as you wish, and share your outcomes below!

But here is the way I did it:

Black Beans with Brown-Sugared Ham

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups black beans (dry), rinsed and soaked 8 hours
1 ham hock, or small ham, bone-in (organic/naturally raised)
1 large onion, diced
3 TB brown sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh (or frozen) jalepeno peppers
1/2 tsp salt
Water, to cover

Instructions:

1. Spread diced onion in bottom of 2-qt (or larger) crockpot.
2. Rub ham liberally with brown sugar on all sides, and set on top of onions. Sprinkle minced garlic over.
3. Drain black beans and rinse well. Fill beans in around ham. Sprinkle with the cumin.
4. Pour diced tomatoes over all. 
5. Gently pour in water until beans are completely covered (it is okay if ham sticks up a little above the beans).
6. Cover crockpot tightly, and cook on High for 4 hours. Lower heat to Low, and continue to cook 2 more hours. 
7. Mince jalepenos (or other small hot peppers) finely, add to crock pot with salt, and stir well. Cook 1-2 more hours, til done. Beans should be tender, and ham falling off the bone. 
8. Using a fork, shred meat, and remove the bone.
9. Serve hot, with green salad or steamed greens, and cornbread.

Recipe-Beef Heart Stew

Looking for a daring but delicious dish perfect for these cold winter nights?  This one could come in handy - especially if you have a CSA membership where you sometimes get "extras," such as beef heart!  I had one in the freezer for a while, and finally decided to pull it out and find something to do with it. Image via WikipediaHowever, after looking around online, I couldn't really find anything that sounded like what I wanted. So I came up with my own, and it was AMAZING! (Sorry I forgot to take an actual picture, so this one isn't of my stew....)

Heart is typically considered an organ meat, but in reality, it is a muscle. Well prepared beef heart tastes like an extremely fine-grained, tender steak. It takes a bit of cooking time, but is really a pretty easy and simple recipe. Once you put it on to cook, you just need to stir it, and turn the heart from time to time.

Give it a try, and let me know how you like it!

Beef Heart Stew
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours
Serves: A lot! (Or 4-6 really hungry people)

Ingredients:
1 beef heart (2-3lbs)
2 TB flour
2 TB butter
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 large onion
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups water (you can also use beef broth, but don't really need to, as this makes it's own amazingly flavorful sauce)
2 TB prepared brown (preferably whole grain) mustard
2 bay leaves
3-4 stalks celery
3-4 carrots
4 small (or 3 medium) potatoesSalt, to taste

Instructions:
1. Rinse the beef heart and trim off as much fat as you can. (Some recipes say to scrape off the outer membranes, but you can do this much easier after cooking if you like.) Coat with flour on all sides. Melt butter in large dutch oven and brown heart on all sides.
2. Add diced onion and saute for a couple of minutes.
3. Add white wine and stir well to get browned bits off the bottom of the pan (just push the heart around with the spoon to get it out of the way). Cook and stir a couple of minutes, until onions begin to soften.Then stir in mustard and bay leaves. Add broth. Stir well, sprinkle heart with black pepper, lower heat, and cover.
4. Cook covered for 2 hours, turning heart over every 1/2 hour.
5. Meanwhile, clean celery and chop into 1" pieces. Peel carrots and slice into 1" slices. Peel and dice potatoes (you can use a few more if you like - I love potatoes, and wished I had put in more than I did, as they picked up the flavor and were wonderful).
6. Add vegetables to pot, stir, and cover. Cook 1 more hour, stirring and turning heart about every 20 minutes.
7. Check heart for doneness. You should be able to slice off little pieces pretty easily, and when you bite it, it should be tender. Remove heart from pan, and let cool on cutting board for about 10 minutes. If there is any membrane or fat left on the heart, you should now be able to scrape it off easily with a sharp knife.
8. Cut heart in half lengthwise, then dice into cubes of desired size. (If it looks like too much meat, you can also slice some thinly and use later on salads, sandwiches, or in pita pockets with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream or other dressing - delicious!)
9. Return meat to pot, stir well, and add salt to taste. Serve hot, with crusty bread and a green salad.

A full-bodied red wine will go best with this rich, hearty, flavorful stew.