Beef

Cooking Without Photos – Beef Pot Pie

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Ahhhhhhh Lake Hamilton! one of our fave places to get away❤️. This week I chose a recipe out of the cookbook, “Hungry Like A Wolf” compiled by Lake Hamilton Bands. Lake Hamilton School District consolidated several smaller schools, one of them being the Bear community.

Bear, AR was once a boom town thanks to wild rumors of gold, silver and other precious metals being found in the Ouachita Mountains surrounding Bear. Folks flooded the area in the late 1800’s. As quickly as it grew and once the truth was found out, population declined just as fast.

At one time Bear produced two newspapers, had 35 mining companies, 5 hotels, 2 saw mills, a post office and of course their own school. Not everyone believed the hype about gold and silver being in the area. The State Legislature revived the Geological Survey of Arkansas and Theodore Comstock was sent to examine the mines surrounding Bear.

In 1888, it was reported that the survey disputed that there was anything of value in the hills surrounding Bear. Once this survey report was made known, mining company stock was made worthless and the town ultimately fell apart.

Sad day, Fam.

On to the recipe!!!

Y’all, when I saw this recipe, I just stared in amazement. How in the world have I never thought of this before? Using beef stew for BEEF POT PIE?! What?!

Couple things:

  1. You’re gonna need salt.
  2. I used jumbo biscuits but I can see how smaller biscuits would be good too.
  3. You could also use pie crust.
  4. Was it the best thing I ever ate? No. But for a quick dinner fix, we will for sure do it again.
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Cooking Without Photos – Texas Beef Skillet

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We travel west to Woodward, Oklahoma. Woodward is the county seat of Woodward County which was originally named N County back in the day.

In September of 1893, thousands of folks came by horse, mule, wagon, bicycle and by foot to claim land lots. It was during this time that Oklahoma was being built from the ground up…literally.

With not many trees around, pioneers made their first homes out of prairie sod. Lumber soon began arriving via the railroad and proper houses were built on the ever changing prairie.

Soon, the town of Woodward grew and businesses of all kinds opened and flourished.

While reading this cookbook, I couldn’t help but laugh at all of the “Texas” recipes. It’s probably because of the close proximity to Texas, but it made me think of all of my cousins that wear Texas Longhorn gear. It’s the best😍😍. This one goes out to all you Okies in orange and white!

This week I chose to make Texas Beef Skillet from the cookbook, “Country Cookbook: Church Of The Nazarene, Woodward Oklahoma”. Couple things:

  1. It didn’t say what kind of tomatoes to use so I chose Fire Roasted. Also, they’re jipping us an ounce these days.
  2. I added more chilies because of the above fact. What was I going to do with like half a can of chilies anyway?
  3. I assumed by “American cheese shredded” that it meant something like Velveeta. I don’t really care for Velveeta much. I’ll use regular shredded cheddar next time. I don’t see how it would hurt.
  4. You’re gonna need more spices than what it says. I do believe this is just to get you started on your journey. I’d also add pepper.
  5. I also didn’t crush up the corn chips. I think it’s prettier with whole chips. I even think you could use those Scoop chips. I plan on doing that next time.
  6. I served this with chips and dip because why not. And I also topped it with avocado and sour cream.

7. This would also be an easy meal to prepare while camping! ❤️

Delightful! You should for sure try it out on your bunch!

Cooking Without Photos – Beef And Dumpling Bake

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This week we trek to the Arkansas of the north, Wisconsin!! That’s right! Home of the Packers! The Badger State!

The Mineral Point area was once mined for limestone and other minerals. When prospectors arrived to the area, they didn’t bother building houses. They dug out the bluffs and made shelters out of them…like badger holes. Hence, The Badger State.

Several Native American Tribes originally established the area, one of them being the Ho-Chunk tribe. Fun Fact: The summer of my 16th year, I spent in Mazomaine, WI (which is a hop, skip and a jump from Mineral Point) I can still remember the jingle from the Ho-Chunk Casino commercials😆

Anywho, once the California Gold Rush Started in 1848, Mineral Point fell into a depression. In the late 1880s, zinc was discovered and Mineral Point soon became home of the largest zinc oxide company in the United States.

By the turn of the century, dairy and cattle production increased. With cattle grazing on native blue grass, they earned their own brand at the Chicago Stockyards. Cattle and dairy production is still a huge part of Wisconsin’s industry today. Cheese stores, y’all. They have cheese stores!

This week’s book is, “Cook Book: First United Methodist Church Mineral Point, WI”. The recipe I chose was, Beef And Dumpling Bake. Y’all, this is a heavy dish. Like I’m picturing a room of lumberjacks or dairy farmers having this after a long day. Tasty nonetheless!

This one is done in two steps. When I took it out the second time, I was like…ain’t no way those dumplings are done. They were🤷🏻‍♀️ Couple of things: I used fresh mushrooms because we like them better. Because of this, I used a whole cup. Also, I used a smaller bell pepper so I put more rings on top. Made sense🤔 Enjoy!!