Just a few random journal pages

I haven't felt much like sketching from life so here's just a few odds and ends.

A Renewed Dedication to Art

It's been THREE weeks since I posted anything here and much longer since I posted anything concerning art. I haven't quit sketching, just posting. The new year actually had me making a resolution to sketch at least three times a week. I've kept that up now for three months. April brings a new challenge thanks to Roz at Roz Wound Up. I'm still going for at least three times per week but hoping for five as I'm trying to gear up for May's Challenge "Every Day in May".

So here's some April Fools Fun:
April is International Fake Journal Month

And in honor of this month I'm going to actually post some stuff online at least once a week.

Spicy Curry Beef Stew

I'm a little mixed up on how I'm approaching Suppa Club this month. I haven't yet made the Salmon but I've moved on to the stew. I really wanted to try the Salmon last weekend but had guests. I remembered one of them not being all that fond of Salmon so I opted for something else. I found out later that she thought that particular recipe sounded good and she would have tried it. Oh well.

The Spicy Beef Curry Stew was fun to prepare and smelled marvelous in the crock pot. I chopped everything up the evening before and pre-measured all my ingredients so that morning preparation was very quick (about 10 minutes). This recipe reminded me of a cuban stew I'd made a few years ago that also included peppers (I wonder where that recipe is), so I added red and green peppers as well as onions to the crock pot. The only other change I made was adding a few more tomatoes and skipping the beef broth.

I served this with white rice, tortillas, shredded cheese and green onions so you could either make a soft taco out of it or eat it with the rice or both. I did both. I thought that the "spicy" was a little lacking and will probably either try more jalapenos or add red pepper flakes the next time I make this. Adding the peppers was great though and it didn't need beef broth. This will be great as leftovers too.

Spicy Beef Curry Stew for the Slow Cooker

INGREDIENTS

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 onion, sliced and quartered
1 cup beef broth

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the beef on all sides. Remove from skillet, reserving juices, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno in the skillet for 2 minutes, until tender, and season with curry powder. Mix in the diced tomatoes and juice.

Place the onion in the bottom of a slow cooker, and layer with the browned beef. Scoop the skillet mixture into the slow cooker, and mix in the beef broth. Cover, and cook 6 to 8 hours on Low.

The Salmon will be made on Saturday for my husband and I. I will probably pop in some fish sticks for the kids. I didn't like salmon as a kid either so there's still hope for them. I am planning a side of sweet potato fries and a lovely salad (as soon as I find the perfect recipe).

Suppa Club's Beef Barley Soup

The Suppa Club current recipe is Mom's Italian Beef Barley Soup from allrecipes.com. The original recipe is very basic and perfect for changing up every time you make it.



INGREDIENTS

2 pounds cubed beef chuck roast
5 cups water
4 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
salt and pepper to taste



And the directions are even easier:



DIRECTIONS
In a slow cooker, combine beef, water, bouillon, onion, tomato sauce, barley, salt and pepper. Cover, and cook on Low for 5 hours.



This recipe came at a perfect time as I had just picked up a beef roast on sale and was wondering what I was going to do with it. I read Siri and Molly's posts about the soup and got a few ideas from them as well. I started with all the ingredients from the original recipe except salt. In the end, I decided my modifications were based on "let's use this stuff up". So here's what was in my pantry or fridge that needed using up:

• Pearl Barley (yes it's in the original recipe but I only had a bit left in the bag after I added the 3/4 cup so I used it up-maybe about 1 cup total)



• Italian Seasoning Blend (about 1 1/2 tablespoons left in the jar)



• marjoram (maybe 1/2 teaspoon left in the jar)



• garlic (a bunch of smaller cloves left in the middle of the head which probably equalled about 4 large cloves)



• carrots (2 large carrots)

My kids and I threw this together in the morning in about 15 minutes. It was in the crock pot all day on low (more like 8-9 hours than 5). My husband picked up a lovely loaf of 5 grain bread with a crunchy crust and soft interior that was perfect with this soup. This was a great meal and the leftovers are even better. I need to remember to put pearl barley back on my grocery list so that I can make this again someday.

And in case anyone wants to know what my kids favorite recent dish was (so very gourmet)...

A New Chicken Chili

The Suppa Club is back again and this time with White Bean Chicken Chili. I have a stand-by chicken chili recipe that I use on many occasions and love. This one is just as good and different enough that I'll add it as one of my favorites. I followed the recipe pretty closely, except that I add green pepper and omitted the cumin (not because I don't like it but because I was all out). If I make it again, I'll add the cumin but it was still delicious with out it.

Other Suppa Club participants liked it too.

Molly at Batter Splattered
Siri from The Transplanted Baker
Nicole from The Artic Garden
Ingrid from The 3 B's-Baseball, Baking and Books

It took me forever to post after making this. Sorry everyone. My computer was sick and then family. Now we are all on the mend (or at least limping along in the case of my computer).