Starting new...

Things have been so crazy around here for the last 6 months or so.  School and everything has been kind of stressful.  So it has been time for a change for a while.  I am trying hard to put alot of hands on projects, you know more fun versus the dreaded worksheets.  One of the things that we have always tried to do is have a year long project that teaches us new things and gives the boys goals to accomplish.  Some of our past projects have been to read 1000 books in a year, learn 10 new facts a week about different animals (not so succeful on this one), and our last projects learning about time zones.  Each month the boys picked out a new country and I painted both of their clocks to look like the flags of that country and they would set the accurate time.  Well our newest project is going to be global eating.  Twice a month the boys have to pick a meal from the country we assign them and make it.  They have to stay within a budget too!  Love always being able to add in other lessons when I can.  This month they have to pick meals from Brazil in honor of starting our new country unit about Brazil, starting in September.  The first meal they picked is......

Meat Stew

This is a dish that is very common in Brazil.  It was originally developed by slaves.  They made it from leftover meat parts that the owners did not want anymore.  The boys found the recipe in Brazilian Foods and Culture.  I have put the recipe in if you would like to try it.  I thought that it was really good, especially the broth.

Meat Stew

Ingredients

3 Strips of Bacon

2 onions

3 cloves of garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound of smoked sausage

1 pound of boneless beef (any cut)

14 ounce can of stewed tomatoes

1 cup of hot water

1 tablespoon of yellow mustard

salt and pepper

4 cups or 2  14-ounce cans of black beans

Directions

1.  Cut the bacon strips into big pieces.  Fry them in a large pot over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.  Stir often so the pieces do not stick.  Turn the heat down to medium.

2. Cut the onion in half.  Peel off the skin and outer layer.  Chop both halves into small pieces.  Peel the cloves of garlic and chop them into very small pieces.

3.  Add the onions and garlic.  Stir until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes.

4.  Cut the saugsage and beef into 1 inch pieces.  Add them to the stew.  Cook until the meat is brown on all sides.

5.  Add the stewed tomatoes (with juice). hot water, yellow mustard, and some salt and pepper. 

6.  Turn the heat down to simmer.  Cover the pot.  Cook for about 45 minutes.  Stir often.  Add more water at 1/4 cup at a time if it looks too thick.

7.  Add the black beans (with liquid).  Cover the pot.  Cook for 10 more minutes.  Serves 8.

Enjoy your Dish of Brazil.  Let me know if you try it, I would love to know what you thought of it.