A PW Kinda Day...(Corn Chowder & Beef Drip)

With all that white stuff falling, it seemed like a comfort food kinda day. What better than some corn chowder and french dips? These are two of my favorite Pioneer Woman recipes but I changed up the beef a little bit...

First up, Corn Chowder with Chilis.

Recipe taken from ThePioneerWoman.com

• 2 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces (or Smaller)

  2 Tablespoons Butter

  1-½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced

  5 ears Corn, Shucked (about 4 Cups)

  2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Finely Diced

  1 whole 4-ounce Can Diced Green Chilies

  32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Broth

  1-½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream

  ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt (more To Taste)

  3 Tablespoons Corn Meal OR Masa

  ¼ cups Water

  Preparation Instructions

  (Carefully) slice the corn kernels off the cob. Set aside.

  Add bacon pieces to a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.

  Pour in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

  Combine cornmeal (or masa) with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.

Next up, PW's Beef Drip. I changed this one up a little bit. This is the second time I've made it so I took some notes the first time and my changes are listed below!

Here is her original recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 whole 2.5 To 4 Pound Chuck Roast

• ¼ cups Butter

• 1 whole Large Onion, Sliced Thick

• 3 cloves Garlic, Peeled

• ½ cups Soy Sauce

• 1 cup Sherry (cooking Sherry Is Fine)

• ½ teaspoons Salt

• 4 cups Water

• Toasted, Buttered Deli Rolls

• OPTIONAL: Rosemary, Thyme, Other Spices

Preparation Instructions

Heat butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions for a couple of minutes, or until starting to get brown.

Set chuck roast on top of the onions. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover pot and simmer (very low heat) on the stove for 6 hours, or until beef is fork-tender and falling apart. **If meat is not yet tender, return to oven for 30 minute intervals till it’s tender!** Shred meat with two forks until all large chunks are gone. Serve immediately or continue to simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

*Mixture can be refrigerated overnight. Remove hardened fat from top of pan before reheating.

Serve on top of toasted, buttered deli rolls. Top with cheese and place under the broiler if desired.

I made several changes this time.

First, I coated my 4lb chuck in salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Second, I used 2 whole onions and 6 cloves of garlic.

Third I changed up the liquid amounts - because my roast was so big and I let it cook a full 6-7 hours, it needed more liquid. I used 6-7 cups of water, 1 C soy sauce and 2 C sherry.

Here's what it looks like after 7 hours:

Another change - I pulled my meat out to shred it. I did this so that I could sort out the fat.
Toasted rolls with melted provolone:
Shredded beef in jus:
The final product!