Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

It has been awhile since I last posted a recipe. I just had to share this one. The beef is so tender and delicious and it fits well with our busier lifestyle in making a large batch of something on the weekend to eat during the week.

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
2 lb stew meat
2 onions, large dice
6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb mini potatoes

5 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced

2-3 slices of ham or bacon, chopped

1 spring of fresh rosemary

2-3 springs of thyme

2 bay leaves

1 pkg fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c flour

1 Tb of Chicago seasoning (other other seasoning)

2-3 t black pepper

1 t salt

2 t smoked pepper or paprika

1/4 c olive oil

1 c red wine

2 c chicken stock

1/4 c soy sauce

1 sm can of tomato paste

1 can tomato paste can of water

1/4 c seasoned flour (reserved from ingredients above)

1. Add onions, garlic, mini potatoes, carrots, ham, shiitake mushrooms, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme to the slow cooker.

2.  In a small bowl combine flour, seasoning salt, pepper, salt, and smoked pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan to medium/high. Dredge beef chunks in seasoned flour and fry in oil on each side for 2-3 minutes or until and brown crust forms. Fry the beef in batches so the pieces don't touch each other. Add beef to the slow cooker.

3. Add red wine to the fry pan and scrape up all of the browned bits. Let red wine reduce for a few minutes. Add chicken broth, soy sauce and tomato paste. Whisk in remaining seasoned flour, it should be about 1/4 c, cooking/whisking until smooth. Add to slow cooker and cook on low heat for 8 hours or until the beef is tender.

You can always add more vegetables if you have them: parsnips, cabbage or rutabaga would be nice.

Serve with some crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff

I'm usually not a fan of "open and dump recipes", but they do have a certain level of comfort on a blustery cold day that you don't want to go out and get fresh ingredients. I needed to make something with what I had to avoid going out in sub-zero temperatures. This turned out very well.

6 potatoes, scrubbed and thickly sliced (leave the skins on)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c dijon mustard
1 c sour cream
1 T dried dill
1/3 c dried shallots or french fried onions (you can buy large containers of dried shallots in an Asian grocery store very inexpensively)
Tajn Classico seasoning, about 1 tsp
salt, about 1 tsp
black pepper, about 1 tsp

Put sliced potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Tajin seasoning. Put chicken breasts on top and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Tajin seasoning. Mix the soups and mustard together in a separate bowl and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. In the last hour add dried shallots, dill, and sour cream. Cook for one more hour.

Prepare one 16 oz package of egg noodles according to package instructions. Drain and add a few pats of butter so they don't stick together.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and slice. Put sliced chicken back in the slow cooker and mix into the sauce.  Serve chicken over egg noodles with a green salad.

Note: IF there are not sub-zero temperatures, go out and get some fresh mushrooms, 2 shallots to throw in there, too.

Lamb Shanks/Chops in the Crock Pot

I just made some Majorcan Eggplant and the recipe suggested that it would be tasty with lamb. I had two lamb shanks in the freezer, so I put them in the crock pot thinking that I could go to the store and get some more to add to it, but there were no lamb shanks anywhere! Apparently they are strictly a fall item.  I added some lamb chops to the crock pot instead. My house smells so good. mmmm.

4 lamb shanks (or 2 lamb shanks and 3 lamb chops; or two lamb shanks and a 2.5 lb boneless leg roast)
2 lg onions cut into rings
10 cloves of garlic
1 lb sliced mushrooms
1-2 tsp or a couple of glugs of Worcestershire sauce
salt
Trader Joe's South African Smoked Pepper
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
4-5 smallish tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c double-strength beef broth
1/2 c red wine
1 T Herbes de Provence
1 bay leaf

Place the sliced onions on the bottom of the crock pot. Salt and pepper the lamb generously and place on top of the onions. Add the garlic, mushrooms and bay leaf. Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce.

Mix the tomatoes, beef broth, wine, herbs, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Add to the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with Majorcan Eggplant and rice.

Note: You can convert the leftovers into an easy cassoulet. I shredded the remaining meat in the sauce and put it in a casserole dish. I added some broth, white beans and sprinkled the top with bread crumbs. and baked in a 350 oven until everything was nice and bubbly. It was amazing.