crock pot recipes

Slow Cooked Beef Tips

November 2, 2012 By sharib Leave a Comment

My kids know how extremely lucky we are.

Three days later, we’re still incredulous as we watch footage of the mass devastation from Hurricane Sandy in towns not far from here.

Just a few block south we have many friends and neighbors still without power, evacuated from buildings, suffering major loss from the floods.

While most of the stores are beginning to resume their natural course of business, many are still functioning on skeleton hours with shoe string staff. Even though we know we were spared, nothing seems normal.

Throughout the days, my kids have been watching the news coverage from Hurricane Sandy. I’m sure they can’t comprehend most of what they’re watching. I can’t. Everyone is off-kilter.

We’ve eaten every meal together inside our apartment for the past 4 days. When there’s limited access to markets and fresh food, it’s hard not to default to dry carbs like pasta and pizza and rice. So, I’ve had the slow cooker working overtime, trying to diversify our meals while adding in some protein here and there. From Slow Cooked Coconut Curry Chicken to Baked Apples to Slow Cooked Beef Tips, we’ve had some nice variety.

There’s something very comforting about those simple, fresh flavorful smells wafting from the crock. And, the finished dishes are hearty and delicious, bursting with bold flavors, begging to be eaten.

It’s an understatement to say mealtime has become especially sacred these past few days. Not only because we actually have POWER and CAN COOK, but because it’s our time to sit down together, express our concerns and hopes for our friends and family, all while enjoying some nourishing food.

This recipe for Slow Cooked Beef Tips, like all the slow cooker recipes, is hassle-free, requiring no culinary skill at all.

Just let the crock do all the work. (if you don’t have a crock pot, you can purchase one at the My Judy the Foodie store, where a percentage of the proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Research Association of America).

Slow Cooked Beef Tips

(adapted from slowandsimple.com)

Ingredients:

1/2 c Flour
1 ts Salt
1/8 ts Pepper
4 lb Beef or sirloin tips
1/2 c Chopped green onions
1/2 lb Mushrooms, sliced
1 can beef broth, (10 1/2 oz.)
1 ts Worcestershire sauce
2 ts Tomato paste or ketchup
1/4 c Dry red wine
4 tablespoons of flour
1lb yolk-free egg noodles

Instructions

Combine 1/2 cup flour with the salt and pepper and toss with beef cubes to coat thoroughly.
Place in crock-pot. Add green onions and drained mushrooms.
Combine with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste or ketchup.
Pour over beef and vegetables; stir well. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 10 hours.
One hour before serving, turn to HIGH setting. Make a smooth paste of red wine and 3 tablespoons flour; stir into crock-pot, mixing well.
Pour beef mixture over top noodles and serve immediately.

Filed Under: Main Dishes Tagged With: crock pot recipes, Hurrican Sandy, slow cooked beef tips recipe, slow cooker. cooking, slow cooking Leave a Comment

Slow Cooking: (Baked) Apples

November 14, 2011 By sharib 5 Comments

I loved the week of slow cookery so much that I’m continuing my love affair with my crock pot this week too. Over the weekend, when reaching in the fridge for some homemade apple butter, I realized that we had finally depleted our handsome supply from our harvest trip back in October. However, I was still eager to try a new apple-based recipe and Mom’s Baked Apples came to mind.

Actually, my ears were really perked when I read a recent blog post a few weeks earlier called “Baked Apple Methodone” over at Foodtrainers, I specifically remember Mom making baked apples often during those cool fall days. However, she baked them in a beaten up cake pan in our oven, not in the porcelain pot of an electric slow cooker. And, she piled on heaping spoonfulls of brown sugar and gracious pats of butter which are non-existent in the Foodtrainers recipe (most likely because Mom’s version is NOT something a nutritionist should ever endorse).

In fact, after having eaten 1 1/2 baked apples at one sitting, I’m now convinced Mom’s recipe should be renamed. “Baked Apples: I’ve Died and I’ve Gone to Heaven.”

Sugar and spice mixture to send you to heaven

Again, only a few simple ingredients are required to transform your regular every day baking apples into a soft, sweetened fruit sensations. And, chances are, you don’t even need to make a trip to the store. I bet you have all of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge.

Naked, skinned apples ready for dress up

To prepare the for the slow cook, my kids enjoyed an afternoon full of: coring, peeling, and then packing the apples with brown sugar and dried fruits. It really did feel like a rainy day art project.

While the apples were slow cooking, we became intoxicated from the cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar smells wafting from the kitchen. Only four hours later and our once naked, skinned apples evolved into a beautiful sculptures of plump, juicy, bold fruits.

Taste that soft sweetness

The kids were totally amazed that their knives could simply slide right through the soft center of the apple as if they were cutting a piece of moist birthday cake. Each slice literally melted in their mouths. Very little chewing was required. You can just slurp the sticky sweetness.

My son was proud to note the vast similarities between the baked apples and the beloved apple butter he’s been spreading on everything from bagels to pancakes these past few weeks. Of course they both taste amazing. How can you go wrong when combining apples and sugar and cinnamon and butter?

The baked apples tasted just as good for dessert at dinner as they did for breakfast the next day. Either hot from the cooker or cool from the fridge, the sweet flavor and hearty portions received two thumbs up from both kids AND hubby. Unfortunately, my slow cooker could only hold 4 Rome apples at once so we finished our batch in less than 18 hours.

Without a doubt, this dish will be gracing our table all winter long!

Doesn’t this look like heaven?

Baked Apples (adapted in part from the Cuisinart Cookbook)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup yellow raisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds lightly toasted
4 medium-large baking apples (I used Rome but Braeburn, Granny Smith or Gala will work)
1 tablespoon unslated butter
1/3 cup apple cider

Instructions:

Mix brown sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup sugar mix for topping. Add raisins and almonds and combine to make filling.
Core apples 3/4 of the way down.
Peel top 1/3 of the apples. Stuff some filling in each cavity.
Place apples in Slow Cooker. Sprinkle remaining sugar and spice mix over tops.
Dot each with 1/2 teaspoon pat of butter and pour juice around the edges.
Turn slow cooker on, set time to 4 hours on low.
When ready, serve apples with any loose nuts and fruits and drizzle top with pan juices.
Enjoy!

Have any yummy slow cooker recipes for apples? Share them!

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: baked apple crock pot, baked apple recipes, Baked Apples, crock pot recipes, slow cooker recipes 5 Comments

Slow Cooking: Macaroni with Four Cheeses

November 9, 2011 By sharib 3 Comments

Not too long ago I would aimlessly wander down the grocery aisles grabbing for any packaged meal to alleviate my dinner stresses. The all-to-familiar box of Kraft Mac and Cheese always found a comfortable place in my shopping cart and on my dinner table in college. Fast forward twenty years and that same box still has a reserved spot in my pantry. It gets worse. I started using Kraft Easy Mac – the microwaveable alternative to the stove top Mac. Yes, even with two young kids I was still willing to sacrifice taste and nutrition (HELLO SODIUM) to decrease my meal prep time. For years my kids happily ate the fluorescent orange cheesy noodles. Finally, out of guilt, I decided to go organic and I purchased Annie’s Mac and Cheese -that tasted like dirty socks (and I still got to pay lots extra for it).

Bottom line, nothing made directly from a box really tastes that good.

Because of my recent cooking experiments, I’m now opting more often to take the homemade route. It’s a lot healthier and noticeably tastier, although admittedly, more of a time suck. And, you can’t argue against knowing each and every ingredient in a recipe. So, when I was cleaning out my pantry, or should I say, my way station of boxed meals and canned spaghetti and meatballs, I decided I’d try homemade mac and cheese in my new slow cooker! After all, this is my week of slow cookery. I couldn’t think of a better experiment. And, benefiting all day long from the smells of fresh baking cheese isn’t too bad either.

Fresh Gruyere, Fresh Mozzarella, Fresh Parmesan, Fresh Cheddar – beats the boxed version

Crock Pot mac and cheese is a fun Sunday morning activity with the kids. And, guess what? By the time it’s finished cooking, you’ve got a hearty meal for dinner that everyone will love. Have you met any kid that doesn’t love mac-and-cheese? Lucky for me, I had most of the ingredients on hand, except for evaporated milk. I thought perhaps I could substitute evaporated milk with condensed milk. After all, how different could they be? They both come in cans. Isn’t that good enough? I now know that evaporated milk is milk which has had about sixty percent of the water removed via evaporation. It doesn’t have any sugar added like its cousin, condensed milk. Again, always learning something when you’re cooking from scratch.

My slow cooker has yet to disappoint. What I poured into the ceramic pot in the morning looked like a Kindergartner’s art experiment gone wrong—just a bumpy pile of noodley mush. What I scooped out of the cooker, after a nice and slow 5-hour cook, was a perfectly fluffy casserole-type mixture with melted cheeses and tomatoes and macaroni, oh my!

Needless to say, we gobbled up every last bit.

Just 10 minutes of prep work and a couple hours of cooking (remember, without any supervision) and we celebrated the best vat of mac and cheese (with tomatoes) ever, hands down, for all of us.

We’re never going back to the box.

Macaroni with Four Cheeses (adapted from the Cuisnart Slow Cooker Book)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups fat free evaporated milk, non reconstituted
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 ounces reduced fat sharp Cheddar, shredded
4 ounces Gruyere (not processed), shredded
8 ounces of diced tomatoes drained (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 ounces part-skin mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 ounce freshly grated Parmesan, about 2 tablespoons

Instructions:

Parboil elbow macaroni about 5 minutes, until very al dente but cooked through. Rinse under cool water in a colander, drain thoroughly and set aside in large bowl.
Melt butter in a saucepan; stir in flour. Cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
Add milk; stir until it boils.
Stir in Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt and pepper. Turn off heat; stir in Cheddar and Gruyere until blended.
Add to pasta and stir to combine.
Lightly coat the interior of the ceramic pot of the Slow Cooker with cooking spray.
Add half the macaroni mixture. Spread the drained tomatoes in a layer; top with the mozzarella, then the remaining macaroni.
Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan; sprinkly over top.
Cover and turn unit on.
Set time to 5 hours on Low.
Enjoy!