Tag: #Stew

Posted in Book Reviews

One-Pot Mediterranean Diet

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

101 Simple Meals for Your Skillet, Baking Sheet, Dutch Oven, and More 

The famed Mediterranean diet—simplified into one pot simmering with flavor

Consistently ranked as one of the best and most doctor-recommended diets in the world, the Mediterranean diet is known for its amazing benefits like weight loss and reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease. One-Pot Mediterranean Diet delivers tons of recipes exploding with fresh flavors with the ease and convenience of the one-pot method.

Explore a diversity of foods from a Mediterranean Breakfast Board to Spicy Grilled Veggie Pita using seasonally fresh ingredients and spices. Avoid obstacles including cleanup and hard-to-find ingredients and stay on track as you discover this all-inclusive way of cooking designed to fit into our everyday lives.

Inside this one-Pot Mediterranean cookbook you’ll discover:

  • More than a cookbook—Learn about the Mediterranean diet, lifestyle, and nutrition before diving into the recipes.
  • Family dinners—While containing things like soups, salads, and sides, the book features predominantly main dishes.
  • Substitute teacher—Clearly written, easy-to-follow recipes allow readers to easily substitute ingredients as needed.

One pot keeps the smart, healthy spirit of the Mediterranean diet alive while cutting the time you’ll spend in the kitchen.

Posted in #Recipes

45 Easy Ground Beef Recipes to Make on Repeat

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

From simple skillet dinners to hearty soups and casseroles, these ground beef recipes are perfect for busy nights or anytime you need a satisfying meal.

Whenever I find myself aimlessly wandering the store, unsure what’s for dinner, I inevitably grab a package of ground beef to get things started. Beyond meatballs, burgers and meat loaf (though I never tire of those options), there are countless easy ground beef recipes that I know I can toss together for a hearty meal my whole family will enjoy.

This collection is packed with all our best quick ground beef dinners and family-friendly recipes to save the day when you need inspiration.

There are twists on classic recipes for weeknight-friendly versions of lasagna, stuffed peppers or Stroganoff, and cozy soup recipes that make a great lunch the next day. Try easy meal ideas inspired by tacos, cheeseburgers, and mac and cheese for a mashup of bold flavors and comfort food. Even if you have only a bit of meat, the recipes using 1 pound of ground beef will satisfy. Whether you need a 30-minute pasta recipe or you want to try something new, these ground beef dinners are sure to become favorites.

Taste of Home

Posted in #Recipes

42 Make-Ahead Freezer Meals for Busy Nights

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

These convenient make-ahead freezer meals are for anyone with a busy schedule. We know it can be challenging to find time to make delicious home-cooked meals when time is tight. Luckily, with a little planning and creativity, you can enjoy flavorful make-ahead freezer meals like aromatic lasagnas, melt-in-your-mouth pot roasts and slow-cooked stews.

Simplify meal prep with our delectable recipes for casseroles, pies and soups. They freeze well and can be reheated in the oven or microwave, ensuring you’ll always have access to easy weeknight dinners. Whether you’re planning for a busy week, stocking the freezer to prepare for your baby’s arrival or streamlining meal prep, these freezer-friendly recipes make for quick homemade meals.

Taste of Home

Posted in #Recipes

Hamburger Stew

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Hamburger stew is a recipe that thrifty families have been making for years. The stew serves as an ingenious solution when looking for an inexpensive, delicious and nourishing meal—and with 16 servings, there will be enough left over to use as a make-ahead freezer meal down the road.

There’s another reason this hamburger stew recipe is a favorite: It’s incredibly easy to customize. Use different vegetables, add spices, make it with pasta instead of rice, or throw in a packet of onion soup mix for extra flavor. Everyone has a way they like to make this recipe their own, and they tend to pass their versions on to family and friends. That’s why some readers have renamed this “suggestion stew!”

Hamburger Stew Ingredients

  • Ground beef: Browning the meat is the first step to making hamburger stew. If possible, choose lean ground beef.
  • Onion: Fresh yellow onions work nicely in hamburger stew. Frozen, chopped onions also work to save a little time.
  • Stewed tomatoes: You can use store-bought, canned stewed tomatoes, or your own preserved garden tomatoes if you have them. Store-bought stewed tomatoes have added spices, vegetable extracts and sugar—so if you don’t want these extra ingredients, use canned whole tomatoes and break them up with a wooden spoon.
  • Vegetables: We chose carrots, celery and potatoes, but you can add a medley of vegetables to the pot. Slice or dice everything to the same size, so that the veggie bits will cook through at the same rate.
  • Long grain rice: Jasmine and basmati are some of the long-grain types of rice you can use to make hamburger stew. Brown rice can also be used; just increase the covered simmering time to 45 minutes. Skip minute or instant rice, since these will get too mushy as the stew cooks.

Taste of Home

Posted in #Recipes

Mechado (Filipino Beef Stew)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Mechado is one of those Filipino dishes that always tastes like home to me. It’s a slow-cooked beef stew with potatoes and carrots simmered in a tomato-based sauce. My mom used to make this for us when I was growing up, and it’s still one of my favorite meals. Whenever the pot was simmering on the stove, I knew dinner was going to be something comforting and delicious.

A lot of Filipino stews share similarities, but each has its own character. Afritada uses chicken and usually has a lighter tomato base, while kaldereta is known for its richer flavor and sometimes includes liver spread. Menudo is usually made with pork, along with smaller diced vegetables. Mechado sits somewhere in between — still tomato-forward, but with tender beef chuck that makes it especially satisfying. It’s cozy, hearty, and one of the most comforting meals you can make.

Why You’ll Love It

  • The best comfort food. With tender beef, rich sauce, and hearty vegetables, it’s a classic Filipino stew that the whole family will love.
  • Make it two ways. You can cook it low and slow on the stovetop, or in the oven. It’s perfect for making ahead, too!

Tips from Our Recipe Tester

This recipe tastes like my childhood. The beef was tender and the veggies were well-cooked. My daughter couldn’t get enough of the sauce. It was rich with depth and very flavorful. I appreciated that there were two cooking options, which gives flexibility to the cook. —Kristina, September 2025

Savory beef stew with chunks of potatoes, red peppers, and rice in a white bowl.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Brett Regot

Key Ingredients in Mechado 

  • Boneless beef chuck roast: Trim the excess fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
  • Aromatics: Yellow onion and garlic build the foundation of flavor.
  • Vegetables: Use a combination of Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots, and red bell pepper for the stew.
  • Tomato sauce: This creates the rich, tangy base that mechado is known for.
  • Soy sauce: Adds umami and savory flavor.
  • Bay leaves: When simmered in the sauce, they add their signature aroma that ties the whole dish together.

The Kitchn

Posted in #Recipes

Beef Stew with Biscuits

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Meat loaf, breaded pork chops and chicken pot pie were just a few of the go-to dinners in my mother’s recipe rotation. But of the many timeless family recipes she cooked, her beef stew with biscuits was always my favorite. The tender pieces of stew meat and a medley of carrots, onions, potatoes and green beans were smothered in a rich homemade gravy and covered in buttery, fluffy biscuits. It’s one meal I still request as an adult when I visit home.

My mother’s stew recipe is just like this one, cooked low and slow on the stovetop in a Dutch oven and then finished in the oven to bake the biscuits. If you’re looking for a shortcut, though, this easy stew recipe can also be prepared in a slow cooker or even in a pressure cooker, ensuring the comforts of home are always within reach.

Ingredients for Beef Stew with Biscuits

  • Beef stew meat: Beef sold as stew meat typically comes from a tougher cut, often the chuck or round, and benefits from braising or stewing to make it tender. Buy it precut, or cut the beef into chunks yourself.
  • Flour: Flouring the beef before giving it an initial sear helps give the meat pieces a nice, brown crust, which enhances the flavor and thickens the stew. In fact, it’s one of our top stew tips.
  • Canola oil: This neutral-flavored oil is perfect for browning the beef.
  • Bouillon cubes: To make the stew base, dissolve a few bouillon cubes in boiling water. Use your favorite boxed or homemade beef stock if you don’t have bouillon cubes.
  • Seasonings: The stew is seasoned with salt, pepper and a trio of fresh parsley, thyme and rosemary, which brings color and aromatic flavor.
  • Vegetables: A blend of homestyle vegetables—starchy potatoes, sweet carrots, crisp green beans and zippy onions—bulks up this beefy biscuit stew.
  • Cornstarch: Cornstarch mixed with water is best when it comes to thickening sauces, homemade gravy, stews and more.
  • Biscuit dough: This stew is topped with classic drop biscuits made from flour, baking powder, salt, canola oil, milk and melted butter.

Taste of Home