Decemberish II

it's STILL snowing.

 this is a main road, lol. having been all over God's white green earth today, i decided to make one more trip to the store so that tomorrow, i wouldn't have to go out at all.

i was a little distracted, because E was on her way to work (!!!!!!!!!!!!), and i was waiting for her to text me that she made it there safely, so my shopping was a bit...um...unfocused. when i got home, i decided to play Chopped!

Ingredients I Had to Use:

beef stew meat
cubed butternut squash
canned French onion soup
one tube of crescent roll dough (that one was already in the fridge)

hmmmm.

i browned the beef with some chopped onion and garlic powder, threw in the squash, added a can of soup and a can of beef broth, and let the squash sweat for a few minutes. then i added two soup cans of water, a whole lot of garam masala (i will work that sh*t into everything i can), some extra cinnamon, cumin, and ginger, a couple dashes of cayenne and, after tasting, a few spoonfuls of brown sugar. it simmered for a while, and then i broke the crescent roll dough into itty-bitty pieces and threw them in.

Result: the best freaking Spiced Beef and Squash Stew with Dumplings you've ever had EVER. and i'm not even eating it tonight! oh, no. it's going to mellow in the fridge overnight - tomorrow afternoon, all we have to do is heat it and eat it. cool, huh? i think i'll make biscuits, too...

bonus pic: i found this coffee mug at Starbucks today, and loved it so much that i bought two - one for my brother in law, J, and one (using tip money) for myself:

i didn't know we were so well known for our beer (it IS good), but it captured the city perfectly! tomorrow morning's coffee is going to be extra-enjoyable. :o)