EAT THIS! Winter Beef Stew with Cheddar Biscuit Topping

Oh joy! Another big storm on it’s way!!!  This type of weather calls for something
hearty and EASY and big enough to make a big vat of it to keep on hand for
everyone to pick at over the weekend! I being of Scottish and French descent
immediately thought beef stew and biscuits. It is seasonal ,warming, and for
the most part extremely easy. But what we are going to do this week is make a
few changes to elevate the dish.  First
off instead of making plain old biscuits we are actually going to make a
cheddar biscuit topping that will be baked on top of the stew! It looks better
and frankly tastes better!  Then we will
be adding some gorgeous winter root vegetables as well as red wine to add some
depth and complexity to the dish
Because of all the great responses to my recipes I have
really been trying to come up with dishes that for the most part are fairly
easy to prepare as well as inexpensive. Everyone knows it is extremely easy to
make an inexpensive meal. The trick is making a meal that doesn’t look or taste
inexpensive. You can go into any good restaurant and I can promise you that
they will have some version of a Chicken pot or 
Shepard ‘s pie or a Stew or Casserole on their menu.  But the reason you’re willing to pay 20+
bucks for it is because they have elevated the dish buy using different
ingredients or preparing the sauce a special way that makes it a whole lot
different than what Nana used to make but still stays true to what makes those
dishes near and dear to our hearts.This is dish is the PERFECT weekend meal. You make a big
casserole per say and just let everyone serve themselves all weekend. It is a
“one pot” dish which is even better! I can literally eat this stew for
breakfast lunch and dinner! Also, it calls for lean meat and it’s loaded with
heart healthy vegetables and red wine .Once again comes in at just under 400
calories per serving!! Stay warm!!

     1 lb braising steaks cut into chunks 

       2 tbsp flour

         1cup carrots sliced

2 large parsnips chopped

        1 cup fresh green beans

½ cup celery

1 bay leaf

1 tsp of Each :Garlic salt/ Onion Powder/ Pepper

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine

15oz Beef Broth

FOR THE TOPPING

1 cup  plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ cup shredded sharp cheddar

2 tsp olive oil

2/3 cup milk

Heat the oven to 300*. In a large fry
pan brown the beef. Remove the beef (set aside)add the onions celery and 1 tbsp
water. Till onions are soft add all the veggies to the pan and the tomato paste
, stock and wine and bring to boil. Put all of your meat and veggies and sauce
into a dutch oven or large casserole dish. Bake in the oven for about 1 ½ hours.

In a separate bowl mix the flour
and baking powder and add half the cheese. Mix olive oil and milk, then stir
into the flour to make a soft, sticky dough. Add more milk, if necessary. Spoon
the dough over the meat and vegetables, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and
bake for about 15 mins until golden, risen and cooked through. ENJOY!!