Paula Deen without butter?

So this week I spent about an hour going through different cookbooks to plan out what to make. I then had to go back and cut things out because Brad has work dinners this week and I can't really eat as much as I planned.

My Grandma gave me a Paula Deen cookbook last year that I haven't opened. It was actually a book my mom gave her, which she never opened, so she regifted it to me! Ha! I was worried about the butter usage in her recipes, but the one I used didn't have any butter. Yes that's right, Paula Dean without butter! It was delish!

Image from Amazon.com - the best place to buy books!

This is the book I have: Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics

Old-Time Beef Stew p. 58

2 lbs stew beef
2 tbsp oil
2 cups water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove peeled garlic
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
Dash allspice
3 large carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, quartered
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tbs cornstarch

Directions (according to me):
Brown the meat in a big pot with the oil (imagine that Paula is saying oil in her accent...hee hee). Add the ingredients up until the carrots. Cook at simmer for 1.5 hours, and check it because apparently my water evaporated super quick. It was weird. I cut up the veggies during that time and added them with ANOTHER 2 cups of water and cooked for a half an hour until tender. Paula says to then remove 2 cups of water, which after 30 mins I had no water...so I put 2 cups of water in a measuring cup and microwaved it until boiling (about 2 mins). To that add a 1/4 cup water mixed with the cornstarch and then added that to the dry stew. Thanks Paula...no idea why it was so dry. I let that cook for about 5-10 mins until it looked like stew and then served it with crusty bread and a side salad. It was super yummy, just apparently needed 4 extra cups of water. Good thing I had extra water...

Here is the photo (pay no attention to my messy counter...and apparently a screwdriver):

I also used the book Put a Lid on It to make crock pot coffee cake. Now when I decided to do this I had grand visions of a lovely cake that I could make overnight, waking up in a dreamland where warm coffee cake is waiting for me. LIES! It was horrible. I'm actually not even going to give you the recipe because it was awful. The thing about this blue berry coffee cake is that a crock pot is not even heat. It heats from the bottom and sides, so basically you have a burnt bottom and sides and a soggy top. Weirdness. Do not attempt this at home. Plus, it says to cook for 3-4 hours. That can't be done overnight! Why would you ever wish to make a baked good in something like a crock pot when it could be done in 20 mins in the oven? Whatever...I'm sticking to meats in that baby! I'll do a round two with that book later. I can't count the gross cake-thing. It was just gross.