I’m telling you friends, if you want to experience the ultimate in comfort food, ask a Dutch grandma or mom to make you dinner. They definitely know their way around some amazing, stick to your ribs meals that make you feel like you’re being wrapped in a warm hug.

Hachee, or Stewed Beef, is one of those recipes Dutch mamas and grandmas (or omas!) have been perfecting for hundreds of years. Literally. It has its roots in the middle ages as a way to use up leftover cuts of beef, and is traditionally served with Rode Kool Met Appeltjes (red cabbage with apples) and mashed potatoes. It’s also super yummy over French Fries!

This recipe is another one that comes straight from the kitchen of Maria (aka Mama Maria, aka my wonderful Dutch Mother-in-Law). The flavor of this beef is so layered and complex, yet it is totally easy to make. It just takes a little time! Let’s get to it, shall we?

Tips for Making Hachee

-You can really use any cut of beef that stands up to a long cooking time with this recipe. I tend to either use chuck roast or stew meat.

-If you can’t find marjoram, oregano is a fine substitute.

-Though I suggest using apple cider vinegar in this (especially if you are making cabbage to go along with it), you can totally use white vinegar if you want. Or red wine vinegar. Or white wine vinegar. Whatever you have on hand that floats your boat!

-I like sticking the whole cloves in a chunk of onion so that they are easier to find and fish out at the end.

-You can either leave the meat in chunks or give it a good stir to sort of shred it at the end. We prefer more broken apart or shredded, but that’s personal preference.

Looking for More Great Dutch Recipes? Try one of These!

–Rode Kool met Appeltjes (Red Cabbage with Apples)
–Erwtensoep (Snert, or Split Pea Soup)
–Hutspot (Mashed Potatoes with Carrots and Onion)
–Pannenkoeken (Dutch Pancakes)
–Saucijenbroodjes (Dutch “Sausage” Rolls)
–Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans

How to Make Hachee, or Dutch Stewed Beef

Cut your meat into small chunks, about 1 inch or so. Add the butter and olive oil to a large pan with a heavy bottom, such as a Dutch Oven, and heat over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in the butter/oil mixture, working in batches so the pan stays hot and everything browns evenly. Add the onions and sauté until they are slightly golden brown, then deglaze with the vinegar, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all of the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan.

Next, add in the water, bouillon cube, and the spices. Cover and let cook for about two hours, until the meat is tender. Remove the bay leaves and cloves. If you prefer the meat to be left in bigger pieces, remove it to a plate. If you prefer it more shredded, leave it in the pan.

Make a slurry with a little flour and water, and add it to the pan to thicken. Tastes for seasoning (salt, pepper, vinegar). If you removed the beef, add it back in. Serve with Rode Kool and mashed potatoes, or over fries.

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Hachee – Dutch Stewed Beef

A classic Dutch dish that has been around for centuries, Hachee (or stewed beef) is full of mouth watering flavor and soul warming comfort!

Course Main

Cuisine Dutch

Keyword comfort food, Dutch Cuisine, Dutch Food, Slow Cooked Food, Stew Meat, Stewed Beef

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 People

Author Meagan – The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Beef, such as stew meat or chuck roast
• 1/2 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Medium Onions, sliced or diced
• 1 Bouillon Cube, Vegetable or Beef
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 3 Whole Cloves
• 2 tsp Dried Marjoram
• 2-3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 4 Cups Water, approximately
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Cut beef in to 1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a deep, heavy bottomed pan (such as a Dutch Oven), heat the butter and oil, and brown the meat on all sides. Work in batches if necessary.
• Once all of the meat is browned, return it all to the pan and add in the onion and sauté until the onion is golden brown.
• Add the vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up any brown bits. Add enough water to cover the meat. Add in the bouillon cube and the rest of the herbs and spices.
• Cover and simmer on low/medium for around to hours, until the meat is very tender.
• Once the meat is cooked, stir in the flour and cook a little longer (15 minutes or so) to thicken. Check for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or vinegar as needed. Remove the cloves and bay leaves.
• Serve with Rode Kool (braised red cabbage with apples) and mashed potatoes, or over rice or french fries.

The post Hachee – Dutch Stewed Beef appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

When the temperatures start to turn colder, my brain shifts to craving all the comfort food all the time. Or, you know, all the carbs all the time. Same thing.

Cheeseburger Macaroni definitely fits that “comfort food” bill.  Growing up on a dairy farm with a mom that worked alongside my dad meant that when it came to dinner most nights fast, filling, and budget friendly were a requirement. This was a meal that we could get in from “choring” (doing evening feeding, milking, and clean-up) and mom could have dinner on the table in less than twenty minutes. Bonus points for being incredibly easy…it was the first meal that all three of us kids learned how to make. And it will probably be the first meal I teach my kids to make.

This recipe uses basic ingredients that I always have in my pantry and freezer. Hamburger, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (don’t substitute here, it just won’t taste the same), cream of mushroom soup, and a little milk combine to make a delicious, kid friendly, stick to your ribs type of meal that’s sure to become one of your family’s favorites.

How to Make Super Easy Cheeseburger Macaroni:

Grab a pound of hamburger, put it in a skillet, and brown it, seasoning with some Lowry’s Seasoned Salt and Lowry’s Garlic Salt. In a separate large sauce pan, prepare the macaroni and cheese according to the package directions. Once the hamburger is browned and the macaroni and cheese has been prepared, add the hamburger to the macaroni. Pour in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Add the milk little but little until you get the consistency you want. I like mine to be nice and creamy, so I usually end up almost a full soup can of milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a slice of bread and butter (perfect for sopping up the sauce that’s left on the plate!).

This post is sponsored by The Glass Barn, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Super Easy Cheeseburger Macaroni

Calling all comfort food lovers! This Super Easy Cheeseburger Macaroni is a budget friendly way to get dinner on the table fast that the whole family will love!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword comfort food, easy dinner, ground beef, Hamburger

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
• 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 4 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Cup Milk (approximate) + 1/4 Cup for the Macaroni and Cheese
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• Lowry's Garlic Salt and Seasoned Salt to Taste

Instructions

• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, seasoning with garlic salt and seasoned salt.
• In a large saucepan, prepare the macaroni and cheese according to the package directions.
• Once the beef is browned, combine with the macaroni and cheese in the saucepan. Add the cream of mushroom soup. Add the milk little by little until the desired consistency is reached.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a side of bread and butter.

The post Super Easy Cheeseburger Macaroni appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

There are plenty of challenges that come with being married to someone that originally hails from a different country. The crazy thing is that it’s often the little things that you don’t even think about day-to-day that can trip you up. And that’s not even considering the language barrier that can sometimes occur, even with someone that is completely fluent. Oy vey.

One thing that isn’t challenging about loving someone from The Netherlands, though, is loving Dutch food. It’s not a cuisine that you hear talked about unless you know someone who is Dutch. Sometimes it even gets mixed up with German fare (such as in the case of Pennsylvania Dutch, which is actually German). But my goodness do the Dutch know how to eat! A lot of Dutch food falls into the comfort food, or meat and potatoes, category. Hutspot definitely fits that bill…it’s one of those deliciously filling meals that is best enjoyed on a cold winter’s day. But who am I kidding? I could eat the stuff all year long!

There’s an entire class of dishes in Dutch cuisine known as stamppot (literally translated to “mash pot”). Stamppot is essentially mashed potatoes combined with a little onion and some sort of pureed vegetable or the other. There’s boerenkool stamppot, which is made with kale, zuurkool stamppot, made with sauerkraut, one made with a bitter lettuce such as endive or romaine, and even a very regional version called “blote billetjes in het grass” (bare buttocks in the grass!) which is made with a variety of beans. Really you can take just about any leafy green or root vegetable and make a stamppot out of it. Then there’s my personal favorite, Hutspot, which is carrots and potatoes. YUM.

Stamppot is generally served with either sausages (the type depends on the type of stamppot), Dutch meatballs, or hachee (a slow cooked kind of roast beef stew..kind of), along with the juice/braising liquid from that meat. Some folks serve them with bacon (in our house, boerenkool is always served with bacon and mayonnaise), gherkins, and/or pickled pearl onions. We always do hutspot with brats (specifically beer brats) and some sort of green vegetable (try these Dutch Style Green Beans!).

Hutspot is really very easy to make once you get the hang of it. I use this method to figure amounts: I do one potato per person I’m serving, plus one. So if I’m cooking for 4 people, I use 5 good sized potatoes, and one carrot per potato. Start by cooking some chopped carrots and a little onion in some chicken broth. You want the the carrots chopped small enough that they’ll puree or mash easily.

While that’s going, start your mashed potatoes using whatever method you prefer to make them by. I start my cubed potatoes in cold water with some salt, pepper, and butter. Pro-tip: once you have the potatoes covered with the water, rim the pan with butter just above the water line. It’ll keep your pot from boiling over. Trust me..it works like a charm! I bring them to a boil and let them cook until they are completely tender when poked with a knife. Then I drain them, reserving some of the cooking liquid. I add just a bit of the cooking liquid back into the pot (not much…a few tablespoons?) and give them a smoosh with my electric mixer turned off. Then I turn it on and add a little warmed milk/half and half mixture at a time until I have a smooth, creamy consistency. Then I add about a tablespoon of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once your carrots are tender, drain them and give them a smoosh (the technical term, of course) until mashed to your desired consistency. I like a few small chunks. You could even do this in the food processor if you want them completely smooth, but let’s face it I’m WAY to lazy to do that many dishes. I just use my handy dandy old fashioned hand masher.

Dump the carrot puree in with the mashed potatoes and give them a enough of a mix to make sure everything is combined. Check for seasoning.

To serve: put a nice pile of hutspot on your plate, then with the spoon create a little well in the middle of the pile. Take some of the cooking liquid from the sausages and put it in that well, then serve with a side of sausages and whatever else you want on the plate. Oh, and if you want to go really Dutch, you should probably have some applesauce on the table, too. Enjoy!

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Hutspot - Dutch Mashed Potatoes with Carrots

Creamy mashed potatoes combine with naturally sweet carrot puree in this classic Dutch dish!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Dutch

Keyword Carrots, Hutspot, Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 5 finely chopped carrots
• 5 medium potatoes
• 3 tbsp diced onions
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp butter divided
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a small sauce pan, combine the carrots, onion, and enough chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender. Drain.
• Prepare the mashed potatoes. Place chopped, peeled potatoes and cover with cold water. Add salt, pepper, and about a tablespoon of butter. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes.
• Combine the milk and half-and-half in a coffee mug and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, until just warmed through.
• When the potatoes are tender, drain but reserve a little of the cooking liquid. Add about 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquid back into the potatoes, and mash by hand at first. Once the biggest chunks are broken down, turn on the the electric mixer and add the milk/half-and-half mixture until the desired consistency is reached. Note: you will not use all of the milk mixture.
• Add a tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper to taste to the potatoes. Mix well.
• Mash the cooked carrots by hand until mostly smooth. Add the carrots into the potatoes and mix well, adding more of the milk liquid if needed. Taste to check for seasoning.

The post Hutspot – Dutch Mashed Potatoes with Carrots appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.