The north wind doth blow and brrrr ... it’s cold outside. Time to stir up a kettle of beef stew or vegetable soup! Add some cornbread muffins, along with a batch of snickerdoodles for desert and, voila, you’ve got everyone heading for the table. My children loved baking cookies and each child had a “speciality.” This month’s featured cookie recipe was my oldest son, Stan’s, claim-to-fame. He became quite adept with Snickerdoodles and the smell of cinnamon wafting through the house made our mouths water.

Beef Stew

1 lb sirloin or round steak
3 to 4 c water
salt & pepper
3 potatoes, peeled
oil & flour
3 carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled
2 Tbs onion soup mix

Cut steak into bite-sized pieces. Generously salt and pepper. Roll in flour and place in hot oil in bottom of dutch oven or deep heavy skillet — coated with a non-stick spray. When all pieces are browned, pour off oil. Cube potatoes, carrots, and onion, and add to mixture. Add soup mix and enough water to cover it all. Cover and cook at simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Keep enough water in pot so that all veggies and meat pieces stay covered.

Crockpot Method: Omit oil and flour. Cut steak, carrots, potatoes, and onion into small cubes. Place in crockpot and add water and soup mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low all day.

Note: It is great to start this in the morning and when you get home from work, it’s ready!

Vegetable Beef Soup
This is a great way to use the leftover beef stew—or make it fresh.

Prepare Beef Stew (shown above) and when it has cooked until tender, add the following:
1/2 cup macaroni
1 can stewed diced tomatoes
1 small package of frozen mixed vegetables
(peas, corn, green beans, etc.)

Add macaroni, tomatoes, and frozen vegetables to beef stew. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 10 minutes or until macaroni is done (about an hour if using crockpot).

Snickerdoodles

Preheat oven to 400°. Blend shortening, sugar, and eggs. Mix dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture — batter will be slightly stiff. Roll spoonfuls into small balls. Combine 1/4 c sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and roll each ball in mixture to coat. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from oven and place cookies on paper towels to cool.

Comments? Questions?
Let me know what you think of our recipes.
Or if you have suggestions or questions, write me!
Mae Cox c/o The LINK or coxmae@aol.com