I always have great timing: just as the weather starts to get warm, I am still writing about comfort food! Here are a few recipes we tried over the past few weeks:

Lamb Stew with Sundried Tomatoes

We pulled out the slow cooker for a Company’s Coming lamb stew recipe. Intrigued by the inclusion of sundried tomatoes and honey, we thought it’d be a great way to use some of the Four Whistle Farm lamb obtained through the Good Food Box.

In addition to the tomatoes were the usual suspects (onions, carrots, potatoes, beef stock), but unfortunately, they couldn’t save the dish. The honey and tomatoes made the dish much too sweet, and worse, the time in the slow cooker stripped the latter of flavour, leaving behind unpleasant wisps of rehydrated tomatoes.

Lamb stew with sundried tomatoes

We still have another pound of lamb stew in the freezer, and funnily enough, the Good Food Box delivery actually came with a free lamb cookbook. We’ll likely turn to it the next time around.

Chicken and Leek Pot Pie

This recipe for chicken and leek pot pie looked too good to pass up. We cheated by starting with a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of cooking our own, and didn’t bother straining out the gravy, but the results were fantastic! The biscuit topping was particularly delectable, and is worth the minor effort (we’re used to slapping on a puff pastry crust, but this was so much better).

Instead of cooking for one, we quadrupled the recipe, and ended up with two 8-inch pies. And though Mack usually gets bored with eating the same dishes for lunch and dinner, but it wasn’t so with this pie – he happily cleaned out all of the leftovers!

Chicken and leek pot pie

Hearty Tomato, Sausage and Bean Stew

While in line at the grocery store, the February 2011 Canadian Living magazine cover caught my eye with a picture of a hearty tomato, sausage and bean stew. We had some Italian sausages in the freezer and the rest of the necessary ingredients in the pantry, so it was a great go-to meal.

Hearty tomato, sausage and bean stew

Flavour-wise though, the pasta e fagioli we made earlier in the year was much more memorable (likely because it included bacon instead of sausage), so I’m not sure this stew will get a regular rotation.

Though I’ve enjoyed the soups and stews of winter, I am looking forward to the transition towards some seasonal dishes of spring soon!