Asheville Brew Stew

Sometimes we need a little help here at the Common Housefly Test Kitchen coming up with dinner ideas. The day gets away from us a bit, and we don’t the time or energy to go deep into the recipe bin for something to eat. You know what I’m talking about. We want something good - and homemade - but we don’t want to work too hard for it.

This is where we have come to rely on spice packets from Karen’s Spice Kitchen. Karen is a local food maven who supplies us with an awesome selection of dinner ideas that come packaged in a handy spice packet format. She has a great selection of curries, and a new original recipe called Asheville Brew Stew. These are an awesome way to get to dinner without much fuss. Each packet has the shopping list printed on the back, a packet of fresh spices on the inside, and a simple guide to preparing a healthy and filling meal.

We made the Asheville Brew Stew last week. It is a hearty stew, made with Dark Beer and her special blend of spices. We made this with lamb stew meat, but you could use chicken or beef, or a plant-based protein like tempeh, or just a bunch of vegetables. It is going to be good which ever way you go. One of her stews plus a pot of rice and you have a dinner you will thoroughly enjoy.

All of her spice packet recipes have a similar prep routine:

• Chop up some veggies

• Saute some onion and garlic

• Add the spice packet

• Add the meat (optional) and liquid

• Simmer for a bit

• Add the veggies

• Simmer a bit more

• DONE.

I can’t tell you how often we use Karen’s Spice Packets (we have tried them all). The Asheville Brew Stew we had last week was outstanding. The lamb was tender, the dark beer was a great stew base, and the spice mix was quite flavorful.

I know I usually send out recipes for from-scratch dishes - but I encourage you to give Karen’s Spice Packets a try. Every pantry could use a few of these.