Sweet and Sour Beef Stew

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup sliced onion
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot cooked noodles
Poppy seed (optional)

Brown meat in hot oil. Add next 8 ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat until meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Combine cornstarch and cold water; add to beef mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Serve over noodles sprinkled with poppy seed. Garnish with car rot curls and parsley, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Pueblo Pumpkin Stew

8 Mexican chiles
1 large onion, sliced
1 tablespoon peeled, minced gingerroot
2 jalape?o chiles
4 large tomatoes
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5 cups cubed pumpkin or acorn squash
1 cup cooked pinto beans
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt

Broil Mexican chiles on foil-lined baking sheet until skin is black, turning so sides are evenly charred. Put chiles in paper bag, close and let cool. Hold under cool running water while you slip of the skins. Cut chiles open and remove seeds, stems and ribs, chop and set aside.

Saut? onions, ginger, chiles and jalape?os for 4 minutes until softened. Add tomatoes, cumin, garam masala and turmeric and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add 2 cups water and the pumpkin/squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in pinto beans and parmesan; heat through. Add salt to taste if desired.

Pine Bark Stew

8 ounces bacon, diced and cooked until lightly browned
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced
3 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
3 medium onions, cut in wedges
2 quarts water
3 pounds skinned catfish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a stew pot or Dutch oven, combine the first 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Add fish, tomato sauce, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes more.

Serves 8 to 10.

Mexicali Beef Stew in a Pumpkin Shell

Source: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

2 1/2 pounds beef for stew, 1- to 1 1/4-inch pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 (13.75 ounce) cans ready-to-serve beef broth
1 cup mild or medium picante sauce
2 medium zucchini, 1/4-inch slices
4 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
2 small tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
1 (2 1/4 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add beef, onions and garlic (1/2 at a time) and brown beef evenly. Pour off drippings. Add broth and picante sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile prepare Pumpkin Shell Tureen. Add zucchini to Dutch oven; continue cooking, covered, 10 minutes or until beef is tender.

Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in tomatoes and olives. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Ladle into Pumpkin Shell Tureen.

Yields 8 servings.

Pumpkin Shell Tureen
Cut top off 5- to 6-pound pumpkin; scrape out fibers and seeds. Approximately 10 minutes before serving, pour boiling water into pumpkin; cover and let stand. Drain before serving.

Argentinean Stew in a Pumpkin Shell

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion; chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons oil
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup dried apricots
3 white potatoes, peeled and diced
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups beef broth
1 medium pumpkin
Butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

Trim any excess fat from beef and cook with onion and garlic in oil until meat is browned.

Add tomatoes, green pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, sugar, apricots, white potatoes, sweet potatoes and broth. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Meanwhile, cut top off pumpkin and discard. Scoop out seeds and stringy membrane. Brush inside of pumpkin with butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Stir sherry and corn into stew and spoon into pumpkin shell. Place shell in shallow pan and bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour, or until pumpkin meat is tender. Place pumpkin in large bowl and ladle out stew, scooping out some of pumpkin with each stew serving.

Beef Barley Stew

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 quart water
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
5 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
3/4 cup medium pearl barley

In a skillet, brown beef and onion in oil; drain. Transfer to a 5-quart crockpot. Add water, tomato sauce, carrots, celery, salt, oregano, paprika and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Add beans, corn and barley; cover and cook on low 2 hours longer or until barley, beef and vegetables are tender.

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Wisconsin Chicken Booyah (Belgian Beef, Pork, Chicken Stew)

This dish is famous in the Fox River Valley region ? Green Bay, Wisconsin. Booyah and beer go great together. Booyah King, Bob Baye, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has been making Booyah since about 1946 in 100-gallon cookers.

1 roasting or stewing chicken
    (about 4 pounds)
1 pound beef stew meat, with bones
1 pound pork stew meat, with bones
1/2 cup minced parsley
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage
4 cups quartered potatoes
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup carrots, cut up
1 cup green beans, cut up
1 cup fresh peas
1 cup skinned, seeded, chopped tomatoes
2 lemons

Put chicken in a deep kettle with the beef and pork. Cover with boiling water. Bring slowly to a simmer, remove scum from the top, and add herbs and seasonings. Simmer very gently, covered, about 1 hour.

Remove chicken and, when cooled, take meat form the bones and cut into pieces. Let beef and pork continue to cook until tender, 45 minutes to an hour more.

Remove and let cool enough to remove meat from bones. Add vegetables to the broth and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

Grate lemon rind and set aside; remove white pith and seeds from the lemons, chop the pulp, and add to the broth. Taste for seasoning. While vegetables are still crisp, return the meat pieces to the broth to heat through. Serve in large soup bowls and sprinkle with the lemon rind.

Serves 12 to 16.