Barley Beef (or Mushroom) Stew

If you're a vegetarian (or if you just love mushrooms) substitute 12oz shitake or crimini mushrooms for the beef and exchange vegetable broth for the chicken broth. See below for equally awesome alternative version with sausage, leeks, and kale!

Barley Beef Stew
Time: 30-40 minutes
Servings: 6

12-16oz lean stew beef (cubes)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1-2 tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon rosemary
14oz diced tomatoes in juice
15-19oz cannelini (white kidney) beans
1 and 1/4 cup pearl barley (approximate)
6 cups of chicken broth
5-9oz of spinach
salt (depending on how much you like it)
pepper
cornstarch

Toss beef in cornstarch with a few shakes of salt and pepper (optional). Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large pot (4-5 quarts; non-stick optional, but less messy). Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add second tablespoon of oil and beef. Brown beef on all sides. Add rosemary, stir 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, 4 cups broth, and barley. Bring to boil, then set to low, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, until barely is just tender. Add two more cups of broth. Add beans and stir. Add spinach a bunch at a time and stir into stew before adding the next bunch. The stew will look pretty full, but as the spinach wilts there will be room for more. Cook for another 5 minutes to meld flavors. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!




Exciting alternate version with leeks, italian sausage, and kale (no beans). Saute the leeks with the garlic and make sure the leeks are tender before adding the sausage. Kale will take longer than spinach to cook all the way through.

Chicken Parm

This is an easy recipe, although it is not necessarily a quick one depending on how many pieces you want to make. It is, however, definitely delicious. Secrets? You must have a good sauce and well-seasoned breadcrumbs. That's it really. Oh, and it helps to have thin pieces of chicken. In the first part of the recipe you basically make delicious chicken cutlets, so stop there if you're not in the mood for Italian. I usually serve chicken parm with mashed potatoes rather than pasta because the leftover sauce and cheese are awesome when mixed into the potatoes.

Chicken Parm
Serves 4 (well, just keep adding chicken if you want more!)
Time: ~30 minutes prep, 15 in the oven

- 4 chicken breasts (thinner is better; sometimes marked as "for milanesa" at HEB
- 1 egg per 4 chicken breasts
- 1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs. I always use Progresso.
- olive oil (NOT extra virgin - we are frying)
- 16oz (about) tomato sauce. I love Classico Four Cheese. Not sweet, and not overly cheesey.
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (more if you like!)

Beat egg in a wide, shallow bowl. Pour out 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs on a plate. Rinse chicken and trim fat if you like. Add olive oil to a skillet or frying pan so that bottom is completely covered with about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil (the bigger the pan, the more chicken you can cook at once!). Heat olive oil over medium heat. Dip chicken into egg and make sure that it is completely coated. Dredge chicken in breadcrumbs to cover all surfaces. Repeat with the other pieces of chicken, adding more breadcrumbs for dredging as the breadcrumbs get used up. Add chicken to hot olive oil and fry, turning over once. You should flip the cutlets after the first side is nice crispy, but not burnt. When cooked through, chicken should no longer be pink inside and the breadcrumb coating should be a nice orangy-brown on both sides. Place chicken cutlets on papertowl-lined plate to drain. Viola! Delicious chicken cutlets.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While waiting, coat bottom of a baking dish (glass works best) with about 1/2 inch of tomato sauce. Arrange chicken cutlets in dish, on top of sauce. Cover chicken with the rest of the tomato sauce. 16oz will definitely be enough to top 4 pieces, but use more sauce if you've made more chicken. Sprinkle cheese evenly on the pieces of chicken (again, if you've made more than 4 pieces, you'll need more than 1 cup). The amount of cheese is really at your discretion, but the idea is that the cheese should melt and form a continuous, delicious layer. Place dish in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and has started to bubble/brown.


This batch was made with slices of fresh mozzarella