[Summary: Thomas Joseph makes good on the first donation to his Donor's Choose campaign.]

So Jade came through with a nice donation to my Donor's Choose campaign. Therefore, it's time I make good on my promise/bribe to provide two recipes (one a family recipe, the other a comfort food) for my readership. I said I'd post my Italian Wedding Soup recipe, but it's one that isn't in my cookbook yet. I'll be getting the recipe from my mom this weekend, so I may post it as a bonus recipe later this week. However, I do have a good soup recipe to post. Since Jade is a big fan of soups, I'll post my mom's stew recipe as my comfort food too. Most of these recipes are fairly simple and rustic, and don't take too much time to prep (at least I don't consider them too). If you have questions about any of the recipes, feel free to ask.

TJ's Mom's Stew (Comfort Food)

Ingredients:

2 pounds of meat (beef or pork, but venison works best), cubed

1 large onion, diced and sauteed

Several carrots, peeled and diced

Several potatos, peeled and cubed

15 ounces of tomato sauce

1/4 cup of water

can of peas (12 ounce can, or a bag of frozen peas)

Teaspoon of Gravy Master

Olive oil (discretionary amounts)

Gravy Master - Liquid Gold

Brown meat and drain fat. Take a large pot and put in a small amount of olive oil. Dice onion and place into bottom of large pot with olive oil, sautee. Once onion is cooked to a golden brown color, add the browned meat, diced carrots, peeled and cubed potatos, tomato sauce and water. Add the Gravy Master to brown the sauce. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat until carrots and potatos soften (~2 to 3 hours). Add peas, cook for 15 more minutes, serve, and enjoy!

Note: The sauce will be thick and will bubble while you cook. If its covered you may not need to add any more water, but you may want to keep an eye on it. Also, stir occasionally to prevent anything from scorching on the bottom.

Tomorrow, I'll post the next recipe!