I think it was over at Publix that I was looking in their meat section, where I have in the past bought many packages of “Round Bone Lamb Chops.” I haven’t had a hankering for those chops in a while, and I think I may still have at least one package in my freezer. But, I saw a package of lamb that was cut to be used in lamb stew. I bought it and once home went looking for recipes. There was a Moroccan version which looked delicious with various spices, like Cumin and Paprika, but I decided to go with the English or Irish version: carrots, onion, & potatoes.

I have a small black crockpot that I haven’t used in quite a while, so I got it out, and brushed it off and started by roasting the lamb in my wok under Broil in my oven. It browned, and I probably should have left it longer for more char, but no. I put the browned lamb in the bottom of the crockpot, and added some chopped onion. Later I would add the carrots, and much later after 3 hours cooking time, on Hi, I added the potatoes and a couple small tomatoes, diced. I used S&P and garlic powder, dry Thyme and at the end I added some Cumin and Fenugreek.

The result was “okay” but not quite what I had hoped. I did finish eating the meat, and a few carrots.

There wasn’t a lot of meat on the stew bones, and I don’t think I will try lamb stew again, or at least not anytime soon. The result was sort of like making a lentil soup and it not being “anything to write home about.” Lentil soup, done well, perhaps with spicy Andouille, some carrots, onions & a few small tomatoes, and the right spices (???) can be very satisfying.

---

I just added a couple of onion tops to my frozen flavorings for my next “homemade broth.” The package is getting pretty full, and I easily have enough for making a good supply of broth. Probably more onion and celery, than carrots. I forgot that when I get a head of celery, I can cut both the tops off and the root end off. The root end supplying a lot of flavor for broth.

I may buy a rotisserie chicken from Harris Teeter next week, and then about four or five days after that will make my next batch of homemade stock (God willing). I love the way how all of these things can begin to work together. Using the chicken carcass, gets the last little bit of flavor from the unused bones & some of the skin and remaining meat (after 4 or 5 meals from the one chicken).

But, because I eat Greek yogurt almost every day, I get a nice sized plastic container, with a snap lid, that I can use for storing the stock, and then freeze it. I think I might be able to get two containers, one on top of the other, in my freezer. But, I’ve also used an empty Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice container for my chicken stock, and that container fit perfectly in my refrigerator door.

I prefer Dukes Mayo, to Hellmans, for flavor, but also, the Dukes yellow plastic lids fit regular Ball/Mason jars perfectly, Hellmans does not. And the large plastic mayo bottle works well for storing dry beans with a tight fitting lid to keep out “mealy” bugs.

And as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I also keep my Hillshire Farms Deli Meat containers (clear plastic bowls with red see-through tight fitting lids, that are both microwave & top rack dishwasher safe) and reuse them for things like leftovers, and for storing my uncooked bacon. A pound of bacon fits perfectly in one of these, but I also have some black bean, and regular hummus in one.

*I realized that the company had intentionally made these containers to be reused, and if I got a good price on the deli meat in the store, it was worth the reusable container. If the deli meat (Pastrami, Honey Ham, Black Forest Ham) is under $5, you’re getting a reusable container for maybe two dollars. The Hillshire advertising on the top of the lid is printed on a cardboard sheet, which is attached to the lid with a little rubber glue. It comes off easily.

One note, is that I am not eating much of this deli meat any more, so I’m not getting a bunch of these reusable containers, but I still think I have about five of them… and their red plastic tops go with the color scheme of my Rubbermaid “Easy-Find Lids” storage containers. *Oh, I enjoy making “Pastrami Reubens” at home, but not very often because of the calories & salt, and what the bread does to my blood sugar, but for a splurge, I still do it. So, at some point, hopefully, another storage container from the Deli Pastrami.

---