Erin McDowell/Insider An Insider reporter tried — and loved — Martha Stewart’s easy recipe for beef stew. I’m a huge fan of slow cooking, and I’ve tried many of Martha Stewart’s recipes . With soup season approaching, I decided to try recipes from Martha Stewart’s Slow Cooker and from […]
Click here to view original web page at www.insider.com
- I'm a huge fan of slow cooking, and I've tried many of Martha Stewart's recipes.
- With soup season approaching, I decided to try recipes from Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker and from her website.
- The recipes were easy to make and perfect for cold fall days, though one required overnight prep.
I've tried quite a few of Martha Stewart's slow-cooker recipes in the past but never any of her soups or stews.
Soups and stews are among some of the easiest recipes to make in a slow cooker. They're also great for meal-prepping, as they can easily be frozen and eaten throughout the week.
I decided to try some of Martha Stewart's slow-cooker soups and stews to see how they would turn out. I discovered that though each recipe was very different, they were all great recipes for the colder months.
The first recipe I made was the chef's white-bean soup, which required a little extra preparation.
When I originally read the recipe, I saw that the dried beans needed to be rinsed. However, I didn't read on enough to learn that I would actually need to soak the beans overnight and boil them in order to get them ready for the slow cooker.
I much prefer slow-cooker recipes where I can simply toss in the ingredients and start cooking. Roughly nine hours later, I could finally start actually making the soup.
This is the only vegetarian soup recipe I tried. It includes tasty ingredients like butternut squash, leeks, and spinach.
In addition to the beans, butternut squash, leeks, and spinach, you'll also need garlic, sage, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and seasonings.
The first step is to add the beans, olive oil, leeks, garlic, pepper flakes, squash, sage, and the rind of the Parmesan cheese into the slow cooker and top with eight cups of water.
After cooking the soup for six hours on low, I removed the sage and the rind from the slow cooker.
I realized after cooking it that I had added the spinach too early. However, I definitely didn't think it affected the result. The spinach still had a bite to it and melded perfectly with the soup.
The wonderful thing about easy recipes is that while some mistakes do affect the final dish, you'll likely still end up with something delicious.
The butternut squash was tender while the beans added a lot of flavor and texture. I also thought the meal was really family-friendly. While it does have a lot of flavor, it wasn't overly spicy or sophisticated in the sense that it would turn off picky eaters or kids.
The best part about the soup was being able to package up my leftovers to stick in the fridge for lunch the next day.
The soup warmed up easily on the stove and was just as good the next day.
If you want to try it for yourself, you can find the recipe in "Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker" and online here.
The next dish I made was, in my opinion, the epitome of a cozy, fall-ready dinner.
To make Martha Stewart's hearty beef stew, which can be made either on the stove or in a slow cooker, you'll only need a few basic ingredients.
The recipe calls for beef chuck cut into 1-inch pieces, all-purpose flour to toss the beef in, baby potatoes, two cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles, frozen peas and carrots, and seasonings.
The first step to making the stew is to toss your beef into the slow cooker and add the flour. For added convenience, many grocery stores sell beef chuck already trimmed and cut into cubes for stews. This was what I went with, and it turned out great.
Except for halving the potatoes and thawing the frozen peas and carrots, all you really have to do is add everything to the slow cooker and leave it alone. The stew cooks for five hours on high, so be sure to set a timer if your slow cooker shuts off at the six-hour mark like mine does.
By the time dinner rolled around, I had a heavenly smelling kitchen and a pot of hearty stew waiting for me.
Not only was this dish relatively inexpensive to make — I only spent about $20 on all of the ingredients I didn't already have in my pantry — but it was the perfect fall meal.
The meat was super tender, while the potatoes made the dish more filling. I ended up saving the leftovers for another day.
I also enjoyed the slight kick and taste of the tomatoes and green chili. The stewing liquid itself had a ton of meaty, savory flavor, and it was a perfect consistency.
Not only was this dish easy and inexpensive to make, but it's also something I could replicate without even looking at the recipe for more than a couple of seconds.
All in all, I would definitely make this easy stew again.
You can find the recipe in "Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker" and online here.
Martha Stewart's recipe for beef and tomato stew required a little more prep than the previous beef stew. I started off by chopping up some carrots, a whole yellow onion, and celery.
The recipe also calls for 2 pounds of cubed stew meat, which is slightly more than the last recipe, and crushed garlic.
The recipe also used crushed tomatoes and chicken broth.
I cooked the onions, carrots, and celery in a large skillet with olive oil for about 10 minutes, until they were slightly softened.
While the vegetables were cooking, I added everything else to theslow cooker to get a head start.
I added in my tomatoes, garlic, meat, and the required seasonings and set my slow cooker on high.
This recipe takes six hours to finish cooking, so it requires a little preparation to get the timing just right in time for dinner.
I could already tell this was going to be a hearty, delicious meal.
After the vegetables were done, I mixed everything together in the slow cooker.
The beef stew was piping hot and filled my entire kitchen with the delicious aroma of onions, beef, and tomatoes.
The extra beef, smashed garlic, and vegetables added a ton of flavor to the stew. I much preferred the fresh, hand-cut carrots and celery to the previous recipe's frozen carrots and peas.
Stewart recommends serving it either on its own or with brown rice, parsley, and a bit of nonfat Greek yogurt.
I really enjoyed the stew both ways, but the spoonful of Greek yogurt added a nice element of tanginess and creaminess to the stew.
I decided to freeze one and keep the other in the fridge for lunch over the next two days. I was impressed that in one day, I could make meals potentially for the rest of the week.
You can find the recipe here.
In fact, all of the recipes made a lot of food. Plus, they were delicious, easy to make, and hearty enough for a fall day.
