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Hey everyone!

Today I had to improvise, the dish I was originally  going to make didn’t happened. I forgot to buy a few main ingredients so I had to improvise and make something else. I took a quick look into the fridge to get a better idea of what I had to work with. After a little back and forth  I decided to make what  I like to call Hetty’s Winter Stew. It’s relatively simple to make, and it turned out better than expected, and tastier that I first predicted.

Ingredients for Hetty’s winter stew:

1 pound of ground beef

1 onion

1 or 2 sticks of celery ( depending on size.)

1 green bell pepper

4 small carrots

2 pounds of potatoes

2 14 oz of crushed canned tomatoes

2 1/2 TBS of tomato paste

Salt

Pepper

Chili flakes

Tuscan spice blend

1.2 TBS of powdered beef broth

All-around spice blend

Butter

Olive oil

How to make Hetty’s Winter Stew;

1. Start by washing the celery, carrots, bell pepper and potatoes. Then cut the potatoes in quarters and slice them up, peel the carrots and do the same. Put the sliced potatoes and the sliced carrots into a pot with salted water and let it boil for about 20-25 minutes.  Peel and chop up the onion, bell pepper and the celery. Put it into a pot with some olive oil and let it simmer. Int he meanwhile cook the ground beef in some butter and olive oil. Season with Pepper, Chili flakes, Tuscan spice blend, and all around spice blend.  When the ground beef have a golden brown color add them into the vegetables and mix it all well together.
2. Add the canned tomatoes and the tomato past and let it cook for about 5 minutes. When the potatoes and carrots are done add them into the pot as well. pour inn 1/2 cup or 1 cup of water.( depending on how thick you want the stew to be.)  add one teaspoon of powdered beef broth, some all around spice blend, some Tuscan spice blend and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Remember to taste the dish every now and then to see if you need to add more spices. Be careful not to use too mush as well, buy using a little amount at a time you have more control over the balance of the dish. It’s better to season too little than too much, but try your best to season just the right amount. sevrve the dish up with some bread on the side.

This dish actually turned out a whole lot better than I first expected, I had no expectations what so ever, I crossed my fingers, followed my instincts and it turned out pretty great considering the circumstances.

 

I hope everyone are having a great Monday and I hope to see you back here tomorrow for a new post and a new recipe!

• Hetty