Recipe: Meat and Vegetable Stew

Here's the recipe for the chicken and vegetable stew that I mentioned back in January (chicken 'cause it's cheap!).

Meat and Vegetable Stew (serves a lot - this batch lasted me 3 days)

Ingredients: small variations in amounts are acceptable - this isn't rocket science!
- 1.25 lbs potatoes or other starchy vegetable (I've used winter squash before)
- 1.5 lbs vegetables (I used 8 oz carrots and 16 oz canned string beans in this photo, but I've also used bags of mixed frozen veggies)
- 1.25 lbs chicken or other meat (Be cheap - chicken thighs and drumsticks are great in stew)
- Salt to taste (I never use any for myself, but my wife likes salt in her food)

Tools:
- 1 slow cooker that can hold everything. If this recipe doesn't fit yours, reduce the amounts until it does!

Preparation:
1 - Wash the potatoes or any fresh veggies.
2 - Chop up all the vegetables until they're all in bite-sized chunks or smaller. Set aside.
3 - Wash your meat and set it aside.

Cooking:
1 - Put your heavy starched veggies in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2 - Put your meat in the middle.
3 - Put the rest of your veggies on top. Add salt and other seasonings now if you want any!
4 - Fill the pot with water.
5 - Set the slow cooker on "Low" and wait 8 hours.

6 - Turn off the slow cooker, ladle out the food, and serve!

Change In Plans

Has it been almost 3 months? Ouch.

I've been thinking on what to do with this blog. In January, it became obvious that eating "healthy and cheap" was actually very easy - buy the cheapest groceries in each category, measure everything out, cook it, and eat.

The problem is that it isn't very fun.

Surprisingly, it's not the food itself that is depressing - it actually tastes pretty good. The annoying thing of it all is having to precisely measure and record how much you're putting in to everything, especially when the recipe itself is flexible (like for stews and soups). I was spending more time measuring and recording everything than I was actually preparing the food.

Another problem was the repetition. When you buy the cheapest groceries all the time, you end up working with the same ingredients every day, and you end up just making the same dishes over and over...

...oh, that's why my mom always served the same Chinese dishes every week! (blogger has a Duh! moment)

Anyway, making the same stuff over and over does not make for an interesting blogging experience, both for the writer and the readers.

So I've been thinking on how to change things up. I'm going to start by relaxing the restrictions on food amounts and quantities - as long as I get the MINIMUMS, I'm not going to worry too much about the maximums. I'm also not going to worry about exact weights and quantities anymore either.

Also, instead of posting entire meals, I'm going to focus on individual dishes and recipes. I also plan on doing the "Theme Weeks" that I had mentioned in the sidebar.

Feedback will be GREATLY appreciated!