Beef Stew

Beef Stew


1 1/2 pounds chuck pot roast
1 cup water
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can beef broth, divided
1 cup sliced (coined) carrots
2 medium  Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & 1/4” diced
1 stalk celery,  sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Bay leaf
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon tomato paste  or 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup



Step One:

Trim the fat from the chuck pot roast as best as possible. There will likely be an elastic silver colored skin on the parts of the meat. This is commonly called silver skin, it is part of the fascia of the muscle. Remove the silver skin with a sharp knife.  Once the roast is fully trimmed cut the roast into 1/2 cubes and reserve. After trimming the cubes will weight around 1 pound




Step Two:

Place the beef cubes in a slow cooker along with 1 cup of water and 1/2 can of beef broth on low for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile add the onion, carrots, potatoes, and celery to a sauce pan along with 1 cup of water and the remaining beef broth. Bring the vegetables to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 -20 minutes with the lid ajar. The purpose of this step is to prevent vegetables that are not fully cooked, breaking down the structures in the vegetables requires higher temperatures, however those temperatures would result in tough beef, therefore this preparation blast heats the vegetables so that they are not fully cooked but will be tender. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker and stir in remaining ingredients. Cook on Low for 7 hours.

Grilled Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus (approximately, 1 pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper


Asparagus, now available year round, is one of the best vegetables to eat during grilling season.  It is a cool weather plant that can take 2-3 years to get to the point that it can be harvested, so when you see that bunch at the vegetable stand or grocery store you should honor all the effort and prepare it to maximize the flavor. One of the worst ways to cook asparagus is to boil all the vitality and asparagusness out of it. If soft mushy asparagus is your goal, then canned asparagus may be right up your alley. This preparation employs the grill, but asparagus (in particular thin asparagus) is perfect sautéed, or even flash fried such as in tempera.


Step 1:

Wash and dry the asparagus.  Pour the olive oil into a large bowl.  Add the asparagus to the bowl and toss gently. Add the salt and pepper, and toss gently again and reserve.






Step 2:

Place the asparagus on the grates of a hot grill or grill pan.  It takes only a few moments to cook, therefore it must be monitored. A simple rule of thumb is to cook it for a minute and flip it/or roll it, for another minute and then retrieve. The finished product should have some char, but be tender, crisp, with some residual crunch. 

Fresh Chicken Burgers

2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup onions, diced

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

Cooking spray

Step 1:

 Cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks. Following you grinder’s directions, grind the chicken coarsely into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2:

Mix the remaining ingredients into the ground chicken, save for the cooking spray.  Form 4 equal sized patties for ½ pound burgers, 8 equal sized patties for ¼ pound burgers. It isn’t suggested to go below ¼ pounds.

Step 3: 

Spray the skillet with the cooking spray, and heat to medium high heat. Cook the burgers until their internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F, turning them over once halfway through.  The onions will help the burgers to remain moist.  As an alternative after cooking the burgers for 5-10 minutes per side lower the temperature and lid the burgers. This will allow them to cook slower and more evenly reach 180 degrees F.   Remove the burgers and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.