Yikes!!!

This morning I started my morning foray across the back yard to my labooooooooratory in my hot pink and sparkly polka-dotted jammies (yep, that's my uniform) with coffee cup in hand - just to pull a HASTY U-turn back into the house... for my COAT!  It's cold and windy in Central Texas!  (Reminder: anything below 60 constitutes "winter weather advisory" in this here neck-o'-the-woods.) I am a winter girl though - BRING IT ON!!!  I'm READY! I love to bust out the coats (my favorite this year is a '50's brown one with a faux fur peter pan collar and HUGE buttons!), the knee-high boots, sweaters, scarves - HATS! I'm ALL about having wind wipped pink cheeks, the smell of logs burning in the fire place and having 5 to 10 blankets to huddle under - with the mandatory spiced apple cyder to tempt me out from under them all!  Have you ever caught a snowflake on your tongue?  Not that we have snow (or are LIKELY to see snow), but here's to hopin'!

Anyway... where was I going with all of this?

OH! When it's cold and windy - I WANT STEW!  (Don't ask...it could be a red.neck thing...). Let me share with you my favorite kind! This flavorful chili beef stew is made with stew beef, chile peppers, corn, kidney beans, garlic, onions, green pepper, and chili powder.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds stew beef, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) tomatoes
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chile peppers
• 1 cup heated beef broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cans kidney beans or small red beans (28 to 32 ounces total)
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained (approximately 15 ounces)

Preparation:

In a heavy Dutch oven or kettle, brown stew beef in vegetable oil. Remove meat; set aside and drain off all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. In the same kettle in the drippings, sauté onion, green pepper and garlic. Stir in chili powder. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and green chile; stir in hot beef broth. Add salt. Return meat to the pot; lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender. In a cup, blend flour with 1/4 cup water; stir into the stew. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add beans and corn and heat thoroughly.

This beef stew serves 8. You can print this recipe here!

Since I can't cook and have been banned from the kitchen by the neighborhood association (which consists of cats, dogs, cows and various other wild life... as well as the fire department they built just for me!) I'm wonderin' - is it your dining table I can find a bowl of stew sitting out for me? I'll bring the cyder and - I promise - I'll leave my duct tape at home... HA!

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide...hee-hee
;-) Robelyn