Story and Stew

Carrie, this one's for you :) The rest of you, feel free to enjoy it as well...

In the summer of 2010, Matt and I were asked independently of one another by our Singles minister to become lay leadership for a new Sunday school class they were starting for singles in their 30s. Three others were approached individually as well so that together we could begin with a solid base for growing the class. The commitment required us to leave our current class, change our Sunday school (and thus our church service) hour, and invest in outreach/inreach/administration/leadership for the class. That's when we met Chris and Dawn Rockholt, the couple who would teach the class.

As a side note, Chris and Matt hit it off during those first weeks of preparation (He was Matt's best man at our wedding) and Dawn and I hit it off (She was one of my bridesmaids). So, now, back to my little story...

Within a couple of weeks of the launch of our new class, a friend from our former class and friend group (Troy Richey), was greeting people before a new Thursday night class. While waiting in the hallway for the doors to open, Troy got my attention to welcome a girl who looked a little lost. That's when I approached and met Wendy. We quickly hit it off and as we were talking Matt joined us. That night was the beginning of Matt and I establishing a new friend group with our new class. It all started with Wendy.

Wendy had just returned from serving on the mission field in Kenya, so she was feeling a little lost when Troy introduced us. That didn't last long. :) By that winter, we were getting together at Wendy's house with our new friends to hang out like we used to with our former group (the group where we met).

One of those nights, Wendy made us Santa Fe Stew. It's a recipe she got from a family member (an aunt), I believe. It was so well liked by the group that Matt and another guy quickly asked for a copy of the recipe. A bachelor's dream dish. Since I wanted a copy too, and she'd already agreed to get the men a copy, I asked for it as well. It's a good thing, because I'm probably the only one who still has it!  

Since that night, I've made this each winter and recently made it when my parents were in town for a visit. My parents, Matt and I managed to wipe it out in two days. Needless to say, it was a hit.

Santa Fe Stew

Brown 1 lb. ground beef and 1 large onion; Drain. 

Add: 
     1 package Ranch dressing (dry)
     1 package taco seasoning mix

Add: 
     1 can Kidney beans
     1 can Rotel tomatoes
     1 can tomatoes, diced
     1 can whole kernel corn
     1 can pinto beans
     1 can ranch style beans

Cook in crock pot or simmer on burner. 

Serve over tortilla chips (w/ cheese), cornbread or rice. 

Freezes great.

That right there is the recipe exactly as it was written. Here are a few suggestions: 

After draining the grease from the skillet, I added the dry seasonings and about a half cup of water into the ground beef and onion mixture and let it cook a little bit (bubbling 3 minutes) before dumping it all in the crock pot. That step attaches the seasoning to the meat instead of it being lost in the liquid of the stew. It seems to enrich the overall flavor.

Also, when adding all of the canned foods, don't drain any of them except the kidney beans. Rince and drain the kidney beans because the material it's packed in won't taste good in the stew. All of the liquid from the other cans adds the right amount of liquid to simmer in the crock pot on low for 8 hours. There won't be much liquid left when it's done. This definitely has a thick consistency. If you want more liquid, you can add a little water.

We've typically treated this recipe like a chili recipe, topping the stew with cheese, sour cream and a few original Fritos. We've put it over tortilla chips and added cheese on top too. That stretches the recipe farther. It's good with cornbread as well. We haven't tried it over rice and I haven't ever made enough to freeze. If you want to try freezing it, you can double the batch and it will all fit in your crock pot.

The recipe yields about 6 portions when eaten like chili, but we are big eaters. Normal people would probably get 8 servings out of a single batch. :) If you serve it over tortilla chips, cornbread or rice, it'll go farther than that.

One more thing, the only place that I know for sure has Ranch style beans is Walmart. I looked for them everywhere in our area the first winter we were here and couldn't find them. As we speak, I have 6-7 cans left in the pantry from a trip to Memphis last year where I bought 10-12 cans from Walmart, stowed them in the checked bag and hauled them back home on our flight. That's how important that particular kind of beans is to the flavor of the recipe.

This recipe is SO easy to make and SO good, I hope you'll try it. Maybe it will become a Fall/Winter favorite in your house too.