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Pork and Root Vegetable Stew
Pork and Root Vegetable Stew
It’s stew season! I created this recipe in the craving of a stew with root vegetables such as rutabagas, turnips, sweet potatoes, amongst others. You can make this stew with whatever protein you’re craving; whether it be pork, beef, chicken, or turkey. Make sure to use whatever bones of the protein that you’re desiring for the stock.
Equipment
- 2 stock pots
Ingredients
Pork Stock
- 5 lbs pork bones neck, rib, and shoulder bones
- 1 gallon water
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3 bay leaves
Pork and Root Vegetable Stew
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 1/2 medium white onion finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 sweet potato peeled and diced
- 1 rutabaga peeled and diced
- 1 turnip peeled and diced
- 3 parsnips diced
- 3 carrots diced
- 3 medium yellow potatoes diced
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Add all of the pork stock ingredients in a pot of boiling water. Simmer over low heat for 2 hours.
- Strain the stock in a colander. Set aside.
- In another pot, brown the pork shoulder over medium high heat for 10 minutes.
- Add in the onion and garlic. Brown for 5 minutes.
- Poor in the pork stock. Simmer for 1 hour over medium low heat.
- Stir in all of the vegetables. Continue simmering over medium low heat for another hour.
- Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley.
- Make a slurry out of cold water and cornstarch. Whisk in to the stew until the gravy thickens. Turn off the heat.
The Best Italian Sausage Meat Sauce
The Best Italian Sausage Meat Sauce
I love me a good meat sauce; whether it’s ground beef or in this case, Italian sausage. Once you try this sauce, there will be no reason to buy jarred pasta sauce again. This meat sauce is obviously great over any pasta of your liking; mine being linguine; but is also a great base for lasagna and even pizza.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb pork Italian sausage
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 head garlic minced
- 8 oz crimini mushrooms sliced; optional
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 2 lbs roma tomatoes diced
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano chopped
- 1/2 cup Italian basil chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper optional
- 1 lb linguine prepared according to box directions
- parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Brown your Italian sausage in olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat for 8 minutes. Remove the Italian sausage from the pan.
- Add in the onions, garlic, and optional mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, and optional crushed red pepper. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the Italian sausage.
- Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.
Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut Squash Soup
Every time I make this soup(which isn’t very often), I ask myself why I’m not making this all the time. Butternut squash soup is one of my favorites and is extremely easy to make. My version uses bacon, homemade croutons, and blue cheese crumbles as a topping. If you want this soup to be vegan, omit the bacon and blue cheese; using olive oil to sauté the vegetables in. If you want this soup to be gluten free, omit the croutons. Ultimately, it’s a win-win with how tasty this soup turns out.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon diced; fat reserved
- 1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 3 medium russet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 3 large carrots sliced
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled and minced
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground white pepper
- 2 tsp thyme
- blue cheese crumbles
Garlic Croutons
- 4 slices white bread cubed
- olive oil
- garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, brown the bacon until crispy. Scoop out and set aside. Keep the grease.
- Add in all of the veggies and brown for 10 minutes in the bacon fat.
- Pour in the stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes until the veggies are soft.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
Garlic Croutons
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet. Drizzle over olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping half way through. Let cool.
Top with bacon, garlic croutons, and blue cheese crumbles.
