Two-For-One Comfort Food Meals
Published 2:15 pm Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Whether March comes in like a lamb or a lion one thing is for sure – the blustery days of March confirm what the groundhog knew a month ago. We are in for at least a few more weeks of winter.
Now's the time for comfort food!
Today's recipes offer some quick but comforting ways to face the windy days of March. The Pot Roast and Seafood Stew recipes are “two for one” choices, divided to make a second meal. The recipes are : Pot Roast with Red Wine Sauce, Pot Roast Chili (made with part of previous recipe), Mediterranean Seafood Stew, Paella, (made with part of previous recipe.
4-1/2 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, tied, salt/pepper, 1 tsp. oil, 1 lb. carrots, 1 lb. frozen pearl onions, 3 garlic cloves, pressed, 1/2 tsp. thyme, 1 c. dry red wine, 28-oz. diced tomatoes drained, flat leaf parsley for garnish, 1 bay leaf
With paper towels, pat roast dry; season with 1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper. In 12-inch skillet heat oil place beef roast and cook 10 to 13 minutes turning to brown all sides. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker. While beef browns, peel carrots and cut into 2-inch chunks. Add to slow cooker with beef. To same skillet, add onions, garlic and thyme. Cook 2 minutes or until golden, stirring often. Add wine; cook 3 minutes, stirring and scraping up browned bits. Transfer to slow cooker along with tomatoes and bay leaf; cover and cook on low for 10 hours. Transfer beef to cutting board; discard strings. Cut off one third of beef and put in container along with one third of vegetables. Transfer remaining vegetables to serving platter. Put cooking liquid from slow cooker in 8-cup measuring cup; discard fat. Save one third of liquid and refrigerate along with one third beef and vegetables to make Pot Roast Chili (refrigerate up to 3 days). Slice remaining beef across grain and arrange on serving platter with vegetables. Pour some of the cooking liquid over all. Garnish with parsley. Serves 6.
Chop reserved beef and vegetables (from Pot Roast with Red Wine Sauce recipe). Heat 1 tsp. oil in 5-qt. saucepot. Add 2 garlic cloves, pressed, 1 tsp. cumin, and 1 T. chili powder. Coo 2 minutes, stirring. Stir in 2 cans black beans (15-oz.) drained and rinsed, chopped beef and vegetables, reserved cooking liquid (from Pot Roast recipe) and 1/4 tsp. salt. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream and lime wedges. Serves 6.
2 lg. leeks, white parts only, 2 lg. fennel, trimmed and chopped, 2-1/4 lb. tomatoes, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 4 sprigs fresh thyme, 8 sprigs fresh parsley, 1 lb. mussels, scrubbed, 1 lb. shrimp, shelled, deveined, 12 oz. cod fillets, cubed, 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, 4 crusty dinner rolls
Cut root ends from leeks. Cut each leak lengthwise in half, then into 1/4-in. slices. Place in large bowl of cold water; swish leeks to remove grit. Repeat, changing water several times; drain. Transfer leeks to 6-qt. slow cooker along with fennel, tomatoes, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper. With kitchen twine, tie thyme and parley stems together and bury in vegetable mixture. Cover with lid and cook on High 3 hours. Stir in mussels and shrimp and lay fish on top. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer or until mussels open and shrimp and fish turn opaque. Divide mussels among serving dishes. Discard herb bundle. Transfer 3 cups stew to container and refrigerate for Paella. Divide remaining stew into four bowls. Drizzle oil over stew and chop reserved parsley to sprinkle over stew. Serve with rolls.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 T. olive oil in 5-Qt. Dutch oven or other oven safe heavy pot. Add 4 oz. dry cured Spanish chorizo, cut into half moons. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until browned, stirring. Add 1-1/2 c. Arborio rice, cook 2 minutes or until toasted, stirring. Stir in reserved seafood stew, 1 can (14-oz) low sodium chicken broth, and 1/4 c. fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped. Heat to boiling and cook 5 minutes. Transfer to oven; bake 15 minutes. Cover, bake 5 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges. Serves 4.
