Potato Leek Stew

This isn't a traditional stew but this is another thing I made on the fly that was super delicious and wanted to share! Potato leek soup was one of my favorite foods growing up and I got inspired to replicate it last night. I made it all in one skillet (with a lid!) and it came together fairly quickly (I think it took me about an hour but that was because I was making it up as I went. I bet you could do it much faster with recipe in hand).

**No pictures yet because....well, honestly this time was because I ate it too fast haha. But also because we only have paper bowls still and they are very un-photogenic.


Potato Leek Stew
This creamy potato leek stew is decadent, filling, and a great one pot meal! This recipe serves between 2 and 3 people.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 small sweet potatoes or 1 large one, diced into 1/4 inch cubes (small chunks cook faster)
- 1 large leek, sliced finely (I cut off the roots and the green stem, cut it in half, slice each half four times longways, and then dice. Make sure your knife is really sharp!)
- 1/4 cup chopped carrots (the multicolor ones add a fun pop of color to the dish!)
- 1/2 - 1 cup shredded chicken (I used some leftover rotisserie chicken that was in the fridge)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp pepper (or to taste)
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (or to taste)
Optional additions:
- Ravioli (I used cheese ravioli. It was yummy!), use an additional cup of chicken broth if you do this
- Chiffonaded spinach (I didn't try this but I was DEFINITELY tempted!)
- Corn (changes the flavor a little but still good!)
(Please leave more optional additions in the comments! What other veggies would you add?!)

Directions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add sweet potatoes and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are nearly soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add leeks and carrots, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Uncover the pan and keep cooking until the sweet potatoes are soft and the leeks are slightly browned.
- Add the chicken broth and seasoning, tasting to make sure you like the flavor. Add the raviolis and additional chicken broth, if you want them.
- Add the cream and chicken. Cook until the chicken is heated and the raviolis are cooked through (check the back of your ravioli box. The pasta will be soft and the raviolis will be a bit floppy).


Super easy! The only reason it takes so long is waiting for the veggies to cook through, which is why I recommend cutting them very small so they will cook faster.

What other veggies would you add to this? I made it on the fly and loved it but I see potential to incorporate more veggies here.

Indian Inspired Mince Skillet

Over the years, I've gone from a horrific cook to occasionally making some really great stuff. I grew up cooking with my mom who was an Amazing chef but it took me quite a few years to figure it out on my own. My specialty is cooking things on the fly when I'm really hungry. I'll make a small portion of something like fried rice, just enough for me and my five year old (the three year old has too many tastebuds and only eats peanut butter and honey for lunch x.x) and it will be Amazing. My husband will try a bite and it'll be one of the best things I've ever made but there's not enough for him and I'll never be able to replicate it, poor guy.

This recipe, if you can call it that, was one such incident. I haven't been feeling well so I tried to make something super healthy BUT I just moved and have no kitchen supplies, spices, nothing, and I don't want to spend a ton of money outfitting a kitchen when my own will be here soon enough. Since I was also feeling sick, I wanted it to be easy. And I was craving curry spices (they are very healthful! and delicious). So I came up with this dish which is a little carb heavy (had to make up for the lack of rice, imo) and on the sweeter side but its delicious and has tons of veggies (a whole rainbow of veggies!). Such a win with my crash kit kitchen that I had to share it.

Oh, for the record, mince is a nicer way to say ground meat. Minced meat. Sounds yummier, plus its a useful search term when looking for real Indian recipes ("Indian mince meat recipes" is the search term I used).

Per usual, there are no pictures because I'm still learning. Also, these aren't affiliate links.

Equipment:

- Can opener

- Large skillet with lid or large pot with lid

- Cooking spoon

- Chef's knife

- Cutting board

Optional: 

- Garlic chopper (this is a reallllly cool and handy kitchen thingy. I used it for both the ginger and garlic because the last thing you should be doing when you're dizzy is chopping itty bitty things near your fingers. Its a keeper, though for sure. Now my five year old can chop the garlic like he's been wanting, as long as he doesn't load or open it.)

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground chicken (I've also used beed but chicken tasted better. If you use beef, it has to be 93/7 or less fat content) (I think you could make this dish without meat and it would still be delicious and satisfying, btw!)
- olive oil (about 1.5 tablespoons)

- 1/2 large yellow onion

- 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes (orange would be best but white sweet potatoes are good too)
- Carrots (the multicolor ones look super pretty)
- 1 jalapeño (I've tried with it and without and it tastes way better with it!)

- 1 can of garbanzo beans (lentils would also work), rinsed

- 3 cloves garlic

- 1/2 inch fresh ginger

- 1 cup of spinach, cut chiffonade style (way easier than it sounds. here's a tutorial. basically, make sure your knife is sharp, gather all the greens together, and slice), use more or less to your taste

- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chiffonade

- Better than Bouillon chicken flavor
- 1/4 cup water

- 1/4 cup coconut milk, full cream

- salt

- ground black pepper

- Frontier Co-op Turmeric Twist Daily Blend OR turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamon (my grocery store was out of cardamon which I find integral so I gave this blend a try and was pleasantly surprised)
Optional:
- Frozen peas (maybe edamame? I meant to put them in but ran out of pan space, tbh)
- Cauliflower (riced or sliced)


Directions:
- Dice onions, saute in olive oil on medium low heat until translucent (onions can cook quickly and I like to start chopping the next thing while they cook so I do low and slow heat so I don't burn them while I chop the other veggies. You can do medium heat, if you do better mise en place than I do)
- Dice sweet potatoes into small chunks (about 1/2 inch or less), add to onions
- Dice carrots, add to pan (if you're using cauliflower, add it now)
- Mince jalapeño and add to pan.
- Mince ginger and garlic, add to pan. Cover the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, aka however long it takes you to find the meat and open the package)
- Add the ground meat to the pan, using your spoon to chop it into bite size pieces and mix with the veggies, cook until meat is browned
- Add 1.5 tablespoons turmeric spice blend or to taste, salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper), mix thoroughly
- add coconut cream, water, and 1/2 tablespoon chicken bouillon, mix well and cover. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender
- Add the chiffonade spinach and cilantro
- Add the peas now, if you are adding them. Keep the pan on the heat until they are hot and then serve and enjoy!