January is my birthday month so I am sharing, what has historically been, a very popular birthday meal in my family. It's perfectly delicious on a cold Winter day.
We all have favorite meals that remind us of home. The meal you crave on frigid days like today (when you wake up and it's 12 degrees outside). Who wants to go outside in that kind of weather?!? Not me. I want to eat!
For me, that meal (or should I say, "one of those meals") is 5 hour stew and Mary Ellen's Rolls. This meal is a combination of two of my favorite comfort foods.
5 hour stew is a meal that was first introduced by one of my Aunts. I remember having it for the first time and my Mom quickly requesting the recipe. Ever since then my Mom has made 5 hour stew occassionaly and it became a common request for Birthday Dinner. When we were teenagers she learned to make two pans at a time as my brothers and I could eat our way through one pan before she could even join us at the table. Um, yes. It really is that good!
The dinner roll recipe I am including also has fond memories for me. Mary Ellen's Rolls is what they are called in my personal, hand-written, recipe collection. I am sure this is a common recipe that can be found in basic cookbooks and plastered all over Pinterest. Doesn't matter. In my mind Mary Ellen's will always be the best.
In my personal recipe collection I like to title recipes with the name of the person who first shared it with me. That way I never forget who I got them from. Plus, it is fun to be reminded of that person and the occasions on which I had the recipe whenever I make it.
Mary Ellen is my friend Jenny's mom. Jenny and I have been friends since high school. We were college roommates and shared an apartment several years later when we both lived in Texas. Whenever Jenny would go home for holidays her mom would send her back with a plate for me. It would be filled with whatever they had for dinner and usually came with rolls and cookies. The first time she brought me a plate it was Easter Sunday. I was presented with a glorious, plastic plate filled with Chicken Cordon Bleu, all the sides, and two rolls skillfully secured underneath pastel plastic wrap.
It was perfection! The entire meal tasted great but the rolls were really something special. I still look for those rolls when I go to her mom's house. I have made them many times and often get a request to bring them to holiday meals.
You can all surely remember the comfort of a microwave-warmed, recently-home-cooked meal eaten post-holiday in your college dorm room. (No offense to HyVee Chinese Kitchen, Burrito King, or Pyramid Pizza - all of which were delish on the right occasion!)
So, there you have it. Here is a satisfying, winter meal waiting to happen. The stew is easy to make and I am certain you can make it perfectly on your first try. The rolls require a little more skill and patience but are not difficult as far as baking bread is concerned.
Both recipes are flexible. You can add herbs or other flavorings if you are feeling creative.
They both make great food gifts for friends who are under the weather, have had a new baby, etc. This is a great meal to serve if you are having people over for dinner.
The rolls are a great contribution to any holiday dinner. They also work well for kid friendly, pigs-in-a-blanket. If you split the dough into four sections the smaller size roll is excellent for making kolaches. (Been there. Made those. Collected my coworkers tears as proof!)
Note: the prep picture of the stew has shredded carrots because that is what I had on hand that day. The larger carrot cuts in the final product picture is the traditional way. But, in this life, sometimes I have to work with what I've got.
Now, Let's Eat!
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