Happy Valentine's Day!

It feels amazing to get back to writing and back to this blog. I apologize for my time off - it's not that I haven't been cooking, trust me, I have been! I honestly just haven't had the time to jot down my thoughts for my fellow working girls. I began running about a year ago and have been dedicating a great deal of my free time to running, exercising, and getting healthy. I encourage anyone and everyone to do the same - I feel the best I've felt in a very long time! So what better time to get back to blogging then now :)  I have been very busy in the kitchen since my time off and I have some really exciting recipes to share with you. And the best of all - they are healthy, easy recipes!

So first off - Happy Valentine's Day! And second - let's ge down to business: Cooking.

This first recipe will warm anyone's heart.  Of course, I have a few modifications...and I substituted stew meat instead of lamb.  I derived this recipe from Cooking Light, but I cut out a few things and it's just as delicious. You can see the link to the full recipe at the end of the post.

Guiness Lamb Stew

• 8 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (or dried rosemary)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless leg of lamb (or stew meat), trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper & salt
• 2 cups Guinness Stout (or other dark beer)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Side note:  There are a ton of small steps in the original recipe. I tried to reduce these instructions - see below.

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat.
3. Add onion and rosemary; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Place onion mixture in a large bowl and set aside.
5. Place flour in a ziploc bag. Place lamb in flour bag, shake.
6. Bring large pan to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add lamb mixture to pan. Brown lamb. Remove from heat.
7. Add browned lamb to onion mixture.
8. Add beer to original pot; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
9. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 5 minutes). Return onion mixture and lamb to pan. Stir in the tomato paste; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes.
10. Uncover and stir in potato and carrot and mustard.
11. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
12. Remove about a 1/2 cup broth and mix with a tablespoon of flour. Add back to pot. Continue until gravy begins to get thicker.
13. Ladle about 1 cup stew into each of 7 bowls; sprinkle evenly with parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Suggestion:  I would imagine it'd be easy to just add all the ingredients to a crock pot and simmer for the day. If any of you try it, let me know how it turns out.

I hope this meal spices things up with your valentine!

Original recipe:  click here.