There are just some meals from childhood that you remember, and this is one of them.  Most Wednesday nights we would eat at my grandma's house.  Wednesday nights were busy nights with us kids having CCD Classes and my parents often not getting home from work until close to 6:00.  So, her making us dinner so we could just eat and head off to church, was her way of helping out my parents.

My grandma also lived across the street to the school my brother, sister, and I plus most of our cousins went to.  So, her house was a hub of activity most of the time.  But I always loved walking in from school on Wednesdays and getting a whiff of whatever it was she was cooking.

One of my favorite meals was a beef stew with biscuits on top.  (My dad - not so much 😂).  So, reliving my childhood, I made this recipe to resemble the one like my grandma used to make (because of course there was no actual recipe written down for the one she made.).  When I made it for my girls the first time, Nola called it "Cloud Soup" because she thought the biscuits looked like clouds floating on top of the stew... and the name stuck.  So, I hope you enjoy a nice bowl of Cloud Soup for your Week #4 of the Recipe Challenge. 

And since my mom participates in the Recipe Challenge every week - Sorry you have to eat this meal this week Dad! 

 

About the Cut

Stew Meat

Cloud Soup

 

Stew ingredients:

• 1 lb cubed potatoes
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 cups diced carrots
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-2 lbs Wells Farms stew meat
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Biscuit Mix:

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• 1 Tbsp thyme
• 1/3 -1/2 cup milk

 

Directions:

1. In a bowl add the flour, salt, pepper, celery salt, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme to a bowl.  Add the stew meat to the flour mixture and mix to coat.
2. Add 3 Tbsp of olive oil to a pan and turn to medium heat.  Add the stew meat and cook until browned on each side.
3. While the meat is browning, cut the carrots, onion, and potatoes and add to the slow cooker with the peas.
4. Once the meat is browned, remove it from the pan to the slow cooker.
5. Add half of the beef stock to the slow cooker and the other half to the pan that the meat was cooked in.  Heat the stock to a boil and scrap all the brown bits off the pan.  Add this stock to the slow cooker.
6. Set the slow cooker on low and cook 6-8 hours until the meat is fall apart tender.

 

Before serving:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together the biscuit ingredients, except the milk, cutting in the cold butter.  
3. Slowly mix together, gradually mixing in the milk until the mixture comes together.
4. Drop the biscuit dough by small spoonfuls on top of the stew.
5. Place the slow cooker insert into the oven, uncovered for 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through

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