And the Hours Fall

Today is my last day sans baby... and the hours fall away so quickly.

For our last dinner before baby arrives we are making the Best.Stew.Ever. It is served with Polenta, but we often switch this out with egg noodles. I must say though that the polenta really puts it over the top.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb boneless beef chuck roast

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

8 oz. pearl onions (we used whole onions and quartered them)

4 medium carrots cut into 1 inch chunks (we used baby carrots)

1 Rutabaga cut into 1 inch chunks
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (about 6 cloves)

1 14 oz. can of beef broth

1 cup water

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tsp. fresh rosemary

1. Prepare Polenta (Instructions below). Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 1- inch pieces. In a large plastic bag combine flour, thyme, basil, salt and pepper. Add meat pieces, a few at a time, shaking to coat.

Preparing the Polenta

2. Place meat in a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker. Place onions, carrot, rutabaga and garlic on top of meat. Stir in broth, water and wine.

(Rutabaga, my favorite ingredient)

Layered ingredients ready to slow cook!

3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high heat for 4 to 5 hours.

4. To reheat polenta, preheat oven to 350 F. Bake, covered, about 30 minutes or until heated through. Before serving the stew stir in parsley, tomato paste and rosemary into meat mixture. Serve in bowls with polenta.

Polenta: In large saucepan, bring 3 1/2 cups milk to a light boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup cold water and 1/2 tsp salt. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to hot milk, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is boiling; reduce heat to low. cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until thick, stirring occassionally. Pour into greased 2 quart square baking dish. Cover with foil; chill for 2 to 24 hours.

The only problem with stew is that as hearty and fulfilling as it is, there is just no way to make it look pretty in a photo. In the end it is always a sloppy bowl of yummy.

Thanks for reading today, or even stopping by. It helped take my mind off all of the pain I will lovingly be enduring tomorrow. I won't be back for a bit... I'm having a baby tomorrow!

Today's Random Trivia:
Approximately 11,000 babies are born a day in the United States. Tomorrow, mine will be one of them!