I guess I have now become a makeup artist. No, I haven’t switched jobs. My mother in law wants me to do her makeup before she goes out dancing. I like the way she looks much better when I do here makeup over when she does it. I’ve seen her makeup over many years and it has always looked garish. Blush only on the apples of the cheeks with a brow color that contrasted with everything else. Also white cream eyeshadow all the way up to her eyebrows. Not good. When I did it, I tried to make her look more presentable. She did keep asking me if I could make her deep wrinkles go away. I can fix pores, but not deep wrinkles. I did feel good about here leaving the house.

This week’s recipe is from Upstate Ramblings for Italian Mushroom Stew. It’s a stew I have not seen before, but it looked delicious. Nothing too complicated. Even though this recipe does not use an instant pot, I could see it working in one. All in all, I could see this working well for my schedule as it is today.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I replaced the tomato sauce with pumpkin puree to replace to tomato and increase the vitamin A.
• I replaced the Italian sausage with plain ground pork and seasoning to reduce the sodium.
• I lowered the amount of pork loin by half to reduce the sodium.
• I added some spinach to increase the vitamin A.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Italian Mushroom Stew

Serves 8

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound cubed pork from pork loin
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds or ½ teaspoon ground fennel
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 ribs celery chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
• 2 15oz cans pumpkin puree
• 3 large green peppers chopped
• 2 pounds mushrooms chopped (portobello, porcini, shiitake, oyster)
• 5oz baby spinach

1. Mix the ground pork and parsley through red pepper flakes.
2. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add tablespoon olive oil
3. Brown the cubed pork and ground pork sausage in the oil. Stir until no longer pink. Remove the browned meat and set aside for a few minutes.
4. In the same pot add the garlic, onion and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables just start to soften.
5. Add the water to the stock pot and stir to deglaze. Make sure no bits of meat or vegetables are stuck on the bottom of the pot.
6. Return the meat to the pan, along with the basil, oregano, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Add the two cans of pumpkin puree to the pot and stir well. Fill each empty can of pumpkin with water and add to the the pot. Bring to a boil.
7. Once the pot has reached a boil add the green peppers and stir well.
8. Bring back to a boil. Once the stew has reached a boil again add the mushrooms and stir well. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1-2 hours. Check the pot every half hour, stir, and make sure the stew is not sticking to the bottom. If it is too thick add another 1/2 cup of water. The stew should have a soupy consistency.
9. Mix in the spinach and cook until wilted. Serve.