Beef, Mushroom and Carrot Stew

I found this recipe on www.CookingLight.com, which is one of the ones I use regularly when searching for something new to try. I did not need to do much adapting to it, save I used grapeseed oil instead of olive oil, I used less flour, and I used a really lean roast and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil oil, divided
1 pound small cremini mushrooms
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds bite-sized pieces of really lean beef
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups cubed peeled white or red potato
1 cup (1-inch) sliced carrots
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground red, black, green and white peppercorn mix

Preparation
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.

Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.

Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes to 1 hour or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

8 servings

Adapted	Unadapted
Calories 215	Calories 303
Total Fat 5.5	Total Fat 9.8
Sat Fat   1.4 g	Sat Fat   3.2 g
Poly Fat 1.4 g	Poly Fat 0.6 g
Mono Fat 1.6 g	Mono Fat 4.7 g
Cholesterol 50 mg	Cholesterol 71 mg
Sodium 303 mg	Sodium 494 mg
Total Carbs 16 g	Total Carbs 26.8 g
Fiber 2.5 g	Fiber 2.3 g
Sugar 1.7 g	Sugars ? g
Protein 26 g	Protien 26 g

Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Also known as chicken cacciatore, this rustic stew cooks in a rich tomato mushroom sauce. We had this for dinner tonight! Everyone loved it... well except for my teenager who hates everything... It's very healthy, fast and tasty too! I really couldn't do much adapting to it to make it any more healthy then it is other then switching to grapeseed oil. Serve over rice or with a thick slice of crusty bread if you don't mind the added calories and carbs.

Ingredients:
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 1/2 pounds
* Coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
* 1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed or diced tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large (5-quart) saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook chicken, turning when it easily releases from the pan, until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add mushrooms; cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until tomatoes have broken down, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan; cover, and cook until chicken is opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn chicken to coat with sauce, and serve.

Autumn Chicken and Rice

Everyone in the house loves this one. This is something I've been cooking for some time. It's a nice warm Fall/Winter dish that is quick and easy. I don't remember where I go the recipe. I believe it was from Martha Stewart's 'Everyday Foods' magazine. The only adaptation I made to it was cleaning the skin and fat off the chicken and using the most nutritional Long Grain Brown Rice I could find.

What You'll Need:

3-4 Pounds Chicken; cooked and pulled apart
1 1/2 Pounds Carrots; peeled and halved lengthwise
1 Pound Parsnips; peeled and halved lengthwise
3 Stalks Celery; thinly sliced
2 Large Onions; chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 Garlic Cloves; smashed
3 Cups Long Grain Brown Rice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

What to Do:
In a extra large soup pot, combine chicken, carrots; parsnips, celery, onions, bay leaves, garlic, rice, salt and pepper. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Simmer partly covered for approximately 30, occasionally stirring to be careful not to scorch in pan or cook all the liquid out.

Serves: 16

Calories    123.6
Total Fat    2.2 g
        Saturated Fat     0.5 g
        Polyunsaturated Fat    0.6 g
        Monounsaturated Fat    0.7 g
Cholesterol    35.8 mg
Sodium    56.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate    15.9 g
Dietary Fiber    2.4 g
Sugars    2.2 g
Protein    10.1 g

BUDGET COOKING NOTE: I usually buy the 10 pounds pack of Thighs and Legs for $4.99 and cook them all at once with a whole onion, celery stalks, carrots, salt and peppercorns. I pull the meat out and make about 3-4 meals out of them. This is one of the meals. I also use the chicken to make Chic and Dumplings and Hunter's Chicken.