Wanted to let you know how the Sunday pot pie turned out fine! To an extent, I used Dafy's chicken & dumplings recipe with half roast beef, half chicken. Then I put in one good beef hotdog, diced . . . it almost turned out like my Brunswick stew, 'cept with peas instead of green beans. Everything was cooked except the frozen peas before they went together. The gravy was prepared separately and there is where I went wrong. Not preparing it separately but NOT making enuf! One & one-half cups of broth-based gravy is not sufficient for a 9-inch pie! I should have read Bonnie's recipe more carefully and noted how it used that quantity of broth AND a cup of half-n-half or milk! I know, I wasn't following Bonnies recipe but it was a pie (Dafy's wasn't) and I sure wasn't going with Lady & Sons' quart of cream + butter! A better gravy would have had that half-n-half. I just used beef broth and corn starch with Mrs. Dash as it was. I put in a small can of niblet corn just to make it truly my own success (or failure ;o) and baked it at 350 for 45 minutes. A bit dry, of course, but the combination works. You see, I'm a chip off the old block with the combinations - but unlike Dad, I'm a simple seasoner, it's the meat especially where I like combo's and then, it seems to me, I can use only a little but there's some complexity. digitS'

Renee, I think Rachel Ray is too "cute" for my taste and I can't watch her for long, but Ashley and Amanda both like her, maybe it's the age thing? Anyway, I could listen to her more comfortably if she'd stop with the little abbreviations and nick names and cook something. And how in the world is "sammie" shorter than sandwich, they both have two syllables, geez... Now, please note that I said the girls like to watch her show. They've never cooked a single one of her recipes, they both say she has too many ingredients to ever make anything in half an hour. As for Soup v Stew, here's what "LaRousse Gastronomique, The world's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia" has to say. Yup, I have it right here, the boss bought it for me for Christmas! Soup: A liquid savory food served at the beginning of a meal or as a light meal in itself. There are many soups which make a heavy meal, including Italian minestrone and chunky seafood chowder. Originally in France the soupe was the piece of bread on which was poured the contents of the cooking pot (potage). Soupe and Potage are now often synonymous.... Stew: The term stewing means long slow cooking in liquid. This may be done on the stovetop or in the oven. In either case the heat should be low enough to prevent the liquid from doing more than barely simmering. Ingredients are covered with liquid and a generous portion of flavouring ingredients, such as root vegetables. Stews should be always be rich, an intensity resulting from the mingling of flavors, extraction of juices and breaking down of connective tissue and gelatinous substances. The extended cooking time usually results in significant evaporation... In other words, I don't know. (grin) Annie

You can find lots of variations on this red kidney bean curry online at Indian cooking sites, etc. This is the only recipe I can vouch for. Mixing up just the right balance for a curry I'm finding is very difficult. Also, for some reason I am just much more in love with the flavors of the Mediterranean. Here's another recipe I make in the crockpot. It is a soup, but pretty thick. Black Bean Soup with Red Paprika Sauce 1 lb. dried black beans, soaked overnight and drained. 8 cups water or broth (I always use mild veggie broth) 2 chopped med. onions 2 ribs celery 2 cups chopped tomatoes 2 TBLSP paprika 2 tsp. ground cumin 2 bay leaves 1/2 cup cilantro 1 cup corn Simmer beans and veggies until beans are soft. Then add tomatoes and spices and cook a couple hours more. Add the red paprika "sofrito" after the soup is done, just before serving. Do not add peppers to the dish while it's slow cooking, because peppers get bitter made in a slow cooker. I basically throw in everything except the tomato into the crockpot, add the tomatoes towards the end, and then when it's finished I stir in the Red Paprika Sauce. Yummo! Part of the charm of this soup comes from having good paprika on hand. If you miss a smokey taste in your black bean soup you can throw in some chorizo or ham or something. Being vegetarian, I sometimes add a tiny dash of fake bacon bits. Or fake sausage. But this soup I like plain. Red Paprika Sauce 2 TBLSP olive oil 1 large red pepper, diced 3 scallions, minced 2 tsp. paprika, or less, to taste 2 tsp. salt 2 TBLSP lime juice Sautee the peppers and onions in the olive oil and add the paprika, salt and lime juice at the end. Stir into the black bean soup. That's what gives this soup its yumminess, the addition of this fresh herb sofrito at the end. Here's another one that is easy and hearty, but I don't make it because it takes me so long to eat it up. Bean Cornbread Crockpot Casserole from vegetarian.about.com Serves 6 1 med. onion, chopped 1 med. green pepper, chopped (add at the end to the crockpot) 2 cloves garlic or 1/4 tsp. minced garlic powder 1 16 oz. can of kidney beans 1 16 oz. can of pinto beans (I'm not a pinto bean fan so I probably would use black beans) 1 16 oz. can chopped tomatoes 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard 1/8 tsp. hot sauce or chopped jalepeno to taste Cornbread topping to be added at the last 1.5 hours of cooking. 1 cup yellow cornmeal 1 cup all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 TBLSP sugar 1 1/2 cups milk 2 eggs 3 TBLSP veg. oil 1 can cream style corn (8 oz. can) Lightly grease crockpot. Add bean chili ingredients except peppers. Cook 8 hours on low. Add peppers and cornbread topping for the last 1.5 hours. Cook on high for the last 1.5 hours. (Directons sound kind of confusing but I think this is one of those "throw it in the crockpot and go to work and have dinner ready when you get home" recipes. So basically cook the bean chili all day on low in the crockpot, and when you get home make the cornbread topping and add the peppers. I'd sautee the peppers.) But I don't cook at all on the weekdays, so I made this on the weekend and adjusted the times accordingly. I cook the chili for 5-6 hours on low, then add the cornbread crust and the sauteed peppers, finish it off, and have it for Sunday dinner. And Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday. Which is why I don't make this often!

Not much of a recipe.... Veal cutlets, dredged in flour( salted) and browned in butter. Remove the veal to keep warm, addmore butter and some sliced onion, cook until soft and add a sliced Roma tomato or 2 and a clove or 2 of crushed garlic and simmer 5 minutes or so, add back the veal, mix sweet paprika with wine....about 1/2 tsp paprika for ever serving of veal and about 1/2 cup of sweet white wine ( tokay...Rhine wine)...and simmer until the liquid is almost gone....and add sour cream....about 1/4 cup per cutlet...stir to blend with sauces and and turn the veal so all is coated....serve, I think it's traditional to make it kind of a stew with cubed meat....but I like to do cutlets, as I think it's nicer to serve. Linda C