Cold Weather Comfort

The weather here in Indiana is nothing short of COLD today! One of my favorite comfort foods is soup. Dave is not big fan of soup, but, after almost 10 years of my cooking, I think I'm slowly winning him over! Since he isn't going to be home for supper this evening, I think I'll plan on us having a soup and sandwich dinner . . . I can almost taste it now! I've revamped the traditional grilled cheese sandwich (for me); the kids prefer the traditional way. We will also be having some Beef Stew that I cooked in the crock pot. Hope this warms your soul!



Grilled Cheese w/ Tomato and Basil

serves 2

4 Slices of bread (white, sourdough, or Italian is best)
olive oil or butter
2-3 types of cheese, sliced or shredded (provolone, Parmesan, mozzarella, Colby, cheddar, or Swiss)
4 pieces of thinly sliced tomato, or you may use canned, diced tomatoes (well drained)
Dried basil

Brush each piece of bread w/ oil or butter, and sprinkle w/ dried basil. On two of the pieces of bread, place 1 type of cheese, top w/ 2 tomato slices, sprinkle w/ additional dried basil, and then the remaining cheese(s). Place top piece of bread on, and then place buttered side down onto a skillet on med/high heat. Don't let the sandwich brown too quickly, as the cheese needs to be melted and really gooey! When the first side is browned, turn the sandwich over and let the other side brown for a couple of minutes. Serve warm, of course!





Slow Cooked Beef Stew

serves 8-10
1 (2 -3#) beef roast, trimmed into bite size pieces
Flour, salt, pepper
Oil for browning
8 beef bullion cubes
7 cups water
8 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
3 cups sliced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh celery leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt & pepper to taste


Combine flour, salt, & pepper. Place beef pieces into flour mixture and toss to coat. Prepare pan for browning the beef by heating 3-4 Tbs of oil at a time over med/high heat. Brown prepared beef in several batches, adding additional oil in between batches, as needed. As beef pieces are browned, place them in the crock pot.

Once all the beef is browned and in the crock pot, add the carrots, celery, onion, celery leaves, bullion cubes, and water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (high 4 hours); add potatoes,turn up the heat to high, and cook an additional 1-2 hours. I love to just let this cook all day, so the meat is very tender, and then add my potatoes a few hours before I serve it.

If the broth is too thin for your liking, you may thicken it w/ a cornstarch & cold water mixture, or once your stew is boiling, remove some of the broth and place it in a bowl w/ about 3 Tbs of flour. Stir this mixture until smooth, adding additional broth, as needed. Slowly add the flour/broth mixture to the stew, stirring constantly to mix the two together, until the stew is at your desired thickness.

I love to serve this w/ fresh French bread or grilled cheese sandwiches; but it's hearty enough for a meal, just by itself.