Featured Friday – Steph’s Bite by Bite

It’s that lovely little day of the week called Friday again my friends! That makes me happy. Featured Friday makes me happy. The blog I’m featuring today makes me VERY happy. I’d like you to all meet Stephanie from Steph’s Bite by Bite! (I know too cute huh!) Stephanie blogs about her adventures in the kitchen, her workouts (god bless this woman, she loves to run!!), and her days of becoming a first time Momma!!! Yup she is expecting a baby boy come the end of March!!! So happy for her, nothing makes me happier than getting to congratulate a new Momma. I don’t even remember how I came across her little bloggie, but one of my favorite parts about it (besides the yummy recipes of course!) was all the pregnancy related posts she has. It just struck close to home for me because I had just recently discovered we were expecting baby #2, we are exactly three months apart! So check out her Pregnancy Related articles on Baby Conner here. Her article on revealing the sex of her baby also gave me the idea of doing something special for our loved ones when finding out what Baby F. is next month! We did something similar with my family when we found out we were expecting a baby girl the first time around, sooooooooooo anyone reading this should expect a nice surprise at my Pampered Chef/Housewarming party next month!! 🙂

You’ll quickly learn that Steph’s favorite thing to eat is peanut butter and chocolate. Sometimes together. Sometimes separate. She’s also a crazed coffee maniac, lover of ice cream, and salad beast consumer. Love the combo’s, so my kind of gal! 🙂 Besides those lovely combo’s Stephanie is also passionate about health and fitness but also in desperate need of a piece of cake…every day.” Everything in moderation.” is her thought, and I love it. I love that she is health concious but also loves to indulge when the mood strikes!! She also loves pushing herself to the limits, realizing that she’s stronger than she thinks, creating treats in the kitchen that bring people together, and exploring life. How can you not fall in love with this girl after reading that bio!!

One more thing before I name a few of my favorite recipes from Miss Stephanie! If you are expecting, or will be expecting again at some point, you have to check out her post on maternity wear, she’s got some pretty neat stuff  I must say. I agree with her thought process, it always makes us woman feel “prettier”, more “alive”, more “womanly” when we dress up, being pregnant doesn’t mean we still can’t feel those things. I felt exactly that way the first time around, this time around, not so much only because I’m a SAHM now and yoga pants is just the way to go, but I still like my cute maternity wear that I get to wear when I go out OUT!!

OK onto the good stuff…………FOOD. I really wanted to bake something from Steph’s list because she has such awesome treats on her blog. I wanted to break out the new Kitchen Aid Mixer and bake away, however it just didn’t happen this week between still getting my house decorated, other blog responsibilities, a teething toddler,  and YET another sinus infection for this Momma, it was close to  impossible. However here is my list of things I will be trying from her VERY soon!!!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls

Banana French Toast in a Mug

Blueberry Coffee Cake in a Mug

Pretzel Tots

So what did I decide to make???? A nice, warm, comforting dish on a perfect night that we all needed it. It’s like 5 below here!

Beef Pot Pie 
Servings:  4 pot pies

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 pounds of stewing beef, that’s cut in to chunks

1 large onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 cup frozen peas

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon paprika

2 bay leaves

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons milk

salt & pepper to taste

1 roll ready-made puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat, add in the beef, cooking until brown (about 8-10 minutes). Remove beef from pot to a small bowl and set aside. I’m on of those people that stay organized while cooking, I usually get everything ready before I even start!

In the same pot, cook the onion, carrots, and celery for 10 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Add in the mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, then add in the onion powder, dried herbs, paprika and bay leaves. Pour in the stock and add the browned beef back into the pot. Stir to combine everything and reduce the heat. Cover the pot and allow the stew to simmer on low for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Mix cornstarch and milk in a small bowl. Check to make sure that beef is fork tender. When it is, turn the heat up to medium-high and stir in your frozen peas. Then add in the cornstarch mixture. While the filling cooks on a high simmer continue to stir it until it thickens. This can take about 10 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the beef filling between 4 oven-proof dishes. Roll out the puff pastry slightly and cut into squares that will fit over the tops of the dishes. To secure dough to dishes, pinch the pastry against the rim of each dish. Cut 2 slits into each pie to allow the steam to escape and brush the pastry with the beaten egg.  Bake the pies for 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through, puffy, and golden brown.

The only thing I changed up was I added another 2 cups of beef broth because we like more broth, every time I make soup or anything I always double the recipe! Can I just say OMG about this dish……..OMG OMG OMG……..it was awesome, I was loading the dishwasher that night and I actually said out loud to myself “OMG that was sooooo good!!”

 

Lets thank Steph for Co-Hosting with me today and wish her lots and lots of luck with her new little bambino. From one Momma to another Momma……..”Your life is forever blessed.” Now go visit Steph’s Bite by Bite and show her some bloggie love!! Tell her this Momma sent you!