EASIEST CROCK POT STEW

5 Qt. Crock Pot for Easiest Crock Pot Stew

Here's the easiest crock pot stew you will ever make and it's great for any night of the week. Did you see this on Twinformation on YouTube? Let us know in the comments if you did. 
This crock pot recipe makes A LOT of food so you'll be able to freeze it, pull it out, defrost it and eat it whenever you don't have time to make something.

You can make this stew with things you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED (TOOLS):
CROCK POT - 3 OR 5 QT. VOLUME
CUTTING BOARD, KNIVES, OR FOOD PROCESSOR

Packages of lentils & brown rice will cost about $1 a pop

INGREDIENTS:
(all of these are really up to your discretion - what you like, what you have lying around, you get the idea)
4 carrots (peeled & diced)
4 celery stalks (diced)
1 onion (chopped finely)
4 garlic cloves (chopped finely)
1 red bell pepper (seeded & diced)
1 cup uncooked lentils (rinsed & sorted)
1/2 cup brown uncooked brown rice
Water
Vegetable or chicken boullion
Spices to taste (sage, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper are all nice choices with this stew)

For the "meat" of the meal:
1 pkg tofu (drained & pressed and cut into cubes)
OR
1 lb chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
OR
1 lb ground beef

METHOD:
Put all veggie, meat, starch & legume ingredients into crock pot. Fill nearly to top with cool water and put in a few teaspoons or cubes of boullion. Add other spices to taste.

Turn crock pot on high and let stew cook for at least 6 hours. Mix crock pot contents thoroughly following cooking. You can add spices such as salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or anything else you may like to taste at this point.... or, you can allow stew to cool and package it into single-serving, freezable containers. Freeze the containers and the contents and thaw when you need a quick go-to meal.

Single Serving Container of Crock Pot Stew Ready to Freeze

You can spice the stew up to your desire after thawing and heating. Blend the stew for a creamy consistency or keep it as is to enjoy all the ingredients and the wonderful flavors.

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Fast Udon Soup

You get home from work, take care of bills, play with the kids (if you have them), say hi to the dog or cat and before you know it, it's 7pm. Oh no! What to do for dinner?

Udon noodle soup is very tasty and, yes, it's healthy. This recipe adds diced tofu. You don't have to put tofu in it. Chicken or beef works, too. This recipe literally only takes about 10 minutes from start to eat. This soup provides a hearty meal and warms you up on a cold day.

Tofu Udon Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces udon noodles
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth 14 ounces firm tofu, diced
• Salt 
• 4 handfuls baby spinach leaves 
• 5 scallions, thinly sliced 
• 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil, plus more for serving

Cook udon noodles in salted boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. (You can find udon in the Asian section of most grocery stores.)
Bring vegetable or chicken broth to a boil. Add tofu and udon. Bring broth back to a boil. Stir in spinach and cook just until heated through. Add scallions and sesame oil.
Add a few pinches of salt and/or drops of sesame oil to taste.

This recipe is courtesy of Whole Foods. Serves 4.

Super Easy (and Cheap) Fish Stew

When searching the fridge and pantry for something with a little protein I could put with the leftovers of the Garden Risotto (see previous post), I decided to experiment. My fish stew turned out awesome!
It's quick (under 30 mins), flavorful and very inexpensive to make.

Here's what I did. Recreate it and you and your family will be happy.

• 1 onion - chopped small
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 1/2 head green cabbage - chopped
• 1 zucchini - chopped small
• 3 roma tomatoes - chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine - seperated into 1/4 cups
• 1/2 lb. white fish (up to you which kind - can be frozen but make sure to thaw it before adding to pan)

Start with a large frying pan with high edges. Heat about a teaspoon of olive oil. Add in whatever vegetables you have lying around. I used a chopped onion, a few cloved of chopped garlic, chopped cabbage, a few chopped roma tomatoes and some zucchini. Sautee all the vegetables under slightly tender. Then put in about 1/4 cup dry white wine and 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Simmer this for about 5 to 7 minutes. Add in about 1/2 lb. of whatever white fish (I used frozen white fish you can get at the grocery store for about $7 for 10 lbs. Just make sure it's thawed before adding it to the pan.)
Cook on med-high heat for about 5 minutes. The fish will fall apart in the pan as you stir it. Add salt and pepper to taste. Another great flavor addition is Old Bay seasoning. I used about 1 Tbsp. You can also add about 1 tsp. corn starch completely dissolved in an additional 1/4 cup of white wine, then added to the fish mixture to thicken the sauce. Continue stirring until you reach the desired thickness.

Served this with Garden Risotto on the side. Yum!