Everyday Life

Alright, before I even start in on What's For Supper, I'll just tell you guys that if fried pork chops did not make you want to share with me what you were having for supper, and tell me how to make it, then nothin' will! For crying out loud, share what's on your stove! I want you all to share what you really have...the meals that you can tell about without having to go look up the recipe. Now, if you want to do that, that's fine by me; recipes are good too, but don't feel like it's got to be some gourmet concoction. Occasionally, I just need a few new ideas for things to cook. Don't we all need refreshing?

All that said, let's get to chattin'. Ok, so last night we had something that honestly doesn't have a name except "can I have more of that, Mom?". It's soul food. Comfort food. Food to put meat on your bones. I guess we'll call it stew meat with gravy. It is a staple around here - we usually have it once a week or so. Here's what I do. I buy a pound or so package (for my family of 4) of beef stew meat which is usually cut up into very large chunks. I cut those up into much smaller bite size pieces, season them heavily with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then dust them in flour. Looks like this:

I heat a small amount of oil, enough to coat the botton of my pan, (whatever I've got....veggie, canola) until it's pretty hot and then set my meat in to brown. Whatever flour is left on the cutting board goes in too. I also get another handful of flour and sprinkle on top....that's where your gravy is gonna come in.


I cook the meat, turning over a couple times, until it's browned on both sides, but it shouldn't be cooked through. So, its impt that your oil be nice and hot before starting. Your flour will just cook down. It'll look like this:

At this point, I add several cups of water, enough to clearly cover the meat, cover with lid, and simmer for awhile. Awhile like an hour or so. Now, you'll need to stir it occasionally and make sure it doesn't burn. It will continue to thicken and thicken and your meat will get oh so tender. Once there is a thick gravy, I usally add a SMALL AMOUNT of Kitchen Bouquet. If you are not familiar with that product, it looks like this. I don't know if it's common or not, it's just something I picked up from my mother, grandmother, and aunt and I use it too. It adds a little browning to your gravy. USE IT SPARINGLY!

Now, I didn't take a picture of it at this stage...it might have been helpful...but you cannot really mess this one up. It's just gonna look like stew meat in savory gravy.

Now, 9 times out of 10, we eat this over steamed white rice but occasionally, we eat it over egg noodles.
So here's What's For Supper:

Don't forget to add a green veggie and salad to round it out.

That's what's cookin'. Please share what's cookin' at your house!