Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I made this recipe a few days after my slow cooker boeuf bourguignon.  One morning, I found myself with some stewing beef in the fridge that was about to go bad, nothing for dinner, and two whiny kids who had just woken up and were hungry.  And what did I decide to do????  Whip together this recipe on my way out the door.  

Did I mention that this was a work day?  

So this recipe earned its tagged credit as a quick supper, because I actually managed to whip this up while the kids sipped their smoothies, while also finishing some last minute preparation for my clients.  That's right folks.  Just call me super crazy (and I write that with Superman-like intonation).

In reading the recipe, I thought it would be somewhat bland.  It actually turned out to be pretty yummy.  And given that it literally takes only minutes to throw together, I think this might turn into one of our go-to meals when I'm short on time.  The only downside to this recipe is that it's not freezer-friendly, as potatoes tend to not do well in the freezer.  And also, that my kids won't eat it.  But we still managed to finish it in a few days.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
 
1/4 all-purpose flour (I used a gf flour mix)
salt and black pepper
2 lbs. stewing beef
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and sliced (I chose baby carrots to speed up prep)
4 to 6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 C beef stock (for gf, choose a gf brand)
1 small can (221 mL) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf

1.  In a bowl, season flour to taste with salt and pepper.  Pat meat dry and coat on all sides with seasoned flour.

 
2.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add meat and cook, turning with a wooden spoon, for 7 to 10 minutes or until    brown on all sides.  Transfer meat to slow cooker.

 
3.  Add onions to slow cooker, along with carrots, potatoes, stock, tomato sauce, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. 

 
4.  Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours or on High for 6 to 8 hours, until vegetables are tender.

 
Serves 6 to 8. 

Difficulty level: easy       

Note: this dish can be completely assembled up to 12 hours in advance of cooking.

Adapted from Canada's Best Slow Cooker Recipes.   
 

Slow Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon

Cooking these days is coming down to either popping a roast or something of the sort into the oven (often unseasoned) and whipping up some quick potatoes/rice and veggies to match, or throwing often repetitive recipes into the slow cooker.  That is, when it isn't pulling hot dogs out of the freezer. Bleck.  

I've been getting a little sick of our standard slow cooker fare, so as our freezer stock started getting a bit low, I poked around for a few new recipes that I hoped the kids might, at least, eat in part.  It turns out that that didn't happen, but Jérôme and I both enjoyed this boeuf bourguignon.  In fact, boeuf bourguignon is one of Jérôme's favourite French dishes and he gave this recipe the thumbs up.

I usually keep half opened bottles of wine in the basement, to use in recipes such as this.  Now, I can hear you all gasping.  How is it possible that we ever have a bottle left unfinished?  Especially with a French husband???  

Well, it goes a little something like this.  Back in the days before we had children, we often ended up with half empty bottles that we then stored in the basement for cooking.  Now that we have little monkeys screaming all of the time, what happens is more that we open the bottle and drink so much that we feel guilty and then redeem ourselves by using the last cup in a recipe like this one here.  And by we, I just might mean me ;) 

Slow Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon

120g chunk of bacon or salt pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 lbs. stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used pancetta that I had bought at Costco)
1 lb. mushrooms, whole or halved
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 C all-purpose flour (I used a gluten-free flour blend)
1/2 C condensed beef broth (undiluted)
2 C dry red wine
1 bay leaf
zest of 1 orange
chopped parsley      

1.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add bacon or salt pork and cook until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.  Drain off all but 2 tbsp. fat in pan.

 

 

 2.  Add beef to pan, in batches, and brown.  Transfer to slow cooker, using a slotted spoon.

 

3.  Add mushrooms to pan and cook until tops are lightly browned.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  

4.  Add carrots and onions to pan.  Cover and cook until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to medium.  Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  

  
5.  Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add beef broth and wine and cook, stirring, until thickened.  Stir in bacon or salt pork, bay leaf and orange zest.

 

 

6.  Add mixture to slow cooker stoneware.  Stir to thoroughly combine ingredients.  Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until beef is very tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Just before serving, garnish liberally with parsley.

Serves 8.

Difficulty level: moderate  

Taken from 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce (with Veggies!) for Picky Eaters

When I started writing this post a couple of months back, I was super excited to have finally found a recipe that the entire family would eat.  Other than my red lentil and carrot soup with coconut, which I was getting so incredibly sick of, despite how delicious it is.

 

 Though I like pasta, I could easily live without it.  So I can't say that I was thrilled at the idea of eating spaghetti so frequently.   But the fact that my kids would eat it made me want to make this every single day, just to simplify my life.  I had finally found a meal that would keep everyone happy and hence, quiet, at meal time.  

look how much he ate compared to the
earlier photo - nothing short of a miracle!!!

Not only did this meal keep my kids happy, but it also got some veggies into them.  What could be better?  This is a one-dish meal, since it has carbs, protein and vegetables all mixed together.  Could life get any better?????  

Logan thought this was so good he had to
lick the leftovers off of his hands ;)

 
This recipe is an adaptation from my mom's fantastic spaghetti sauce.  I modified it a bit to sneak in a few extra veggies and to change the texture to be more picky eater friendly.

The recipe is not overly complicated, but there are a few steps involved and it then needs to simmer for a good hour.  So this is certainly not something you are going to whip up once the kids get home from school.  BUT, it makes quite a big batch and freezes wonderfully.  I divide this into family-sized portions and load my freezer with it.  This is our go-to meal on nights when I've forgotten to take something out, as it tastes just as good defrosted as fresh, defrosts quickly in the microwave and, of course, the pasta only takes minutes to make.

Now, there is certainly no guarantee that all picky eaters will eat this.  In fact, I'm sure that a lot of resistant eaters out there will not.  My kids have only very recently started mixing textures in their foods.  And I suspect that had we taken a different approach to our children's feeding issues, they still might not be trying foods such as these.  However, once your child is beginning to accept foods that mix different textures together, this recipe is a good one to try.

I should also address the idea of hiding vegetables in recipes.  You want to be careful about doing this with very picky and resistant eaters.  I do it now because my kids are too young to realize there is anything hidden.  However, if your child is old enough to notice little green specks here and there, you're probably best to not hide foods.  If your child finds food hidden in a dish where they are not expecting it, you are teaching them that they cannot trust what you tell them about what they are eating.  This will only make a resistant eater even more cautious to put something new into his/her mouth.   

One last thing before I share the recipe - I actually prefer the original version, as I like the chunks in the sauce.  However, I'll tolerate this thinner version as long as it keeps my kids eating!  If you have no picky eaters at home, I'd recommend you check out the original recipe here.

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 bay leaf
2 10 oz. cans mushroom stems and pieces, including liquid
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 C finely chopped onion
2 carrots, grated
2 zucchini, grated
1 28 oz. can tomatoes, pureed
1 28 oz. can Bravo spaghetti sauce
2 5 1/2 oz. cans tomato paste
2 7 1/2 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
1 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese  

1.  Using a food processor, chop the onion very finely and grate the zucchini and carrots. 

my sous chef

2.  In a large pot (the largest one you have), cook the onion, ground beef and bay leaf until the beef for a few minutes.  While cooking the ground beef, regularly break it down with a fork, so that it is broken into as small of pieces as possible.  Add the grated zucchini and carrot and cook until softened and beef is cooked.  Drain any excess fat.

 
3.  Purée the mushrooms (including juice) and juice in a blender until very fine.  Also (separately if your blender is too small) blend the canned tomatoes.   

 

4.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer steadily, uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently.   

To keep this both gluten- and dairy-free, I omit the parmesan and serve it over quinoa pasta.  For a soy-free version, replace the Bravo spaghetti sauce with your favourite spaghetti sauce.

Difficulty level: moderate

Yield: 13 cups

Mom's Lasagna

Back almost a year ago when I wrote this post on my childhood faves, I was surprised to realize that I had yet to blog my mom's fantastic recipe for lasagna.  Her lasagna is absolutely fantastic.  Yes, I love all of her other delicious recipes that I included in my childhood faves.  But her lasagna is really something special.  One of the best I've ever had.  

But I could be biased.  

After all, it is my mom's recipe. 

However... 

This is a little complicated, but... my sister's boyfriend's sister (you still following me?) said that this is the best lasagna she's ever tried.  I wish I could tell you she is Italian, but she's Ukrainian.  But it's gotta still count for something, no?

All that to say that I think you should make this if you like lasagna. 

I still really love my roasted vegetarian lasagna too.  But sometimes, you just need a traditional beef lasagna.

I made this back when we were gluten, but not dairy free yet (I know!!!!  My blogging delay is a bit ridiculous these days!).  I now make a dairy-free version, using this butternut cashew "cheese" sauce from Oh She Glows instead of the cottage cheese mixture and Daiya instead of the cheese.  I can't say that it's as delicious as my mom's version, but I consider it to be not too bad, given that it's both gluten and dairy-free.
 
This recipe freezes well and is great to pull out as a quick defrosted meal, accompanied by a salad, such as this to-die-for ceasar salad or this wonderful cranberry avocado salad.
 
8-10 lasagna noodles
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. basil or rosemary
2 6oz. cans of tomato paste
1 1/2 C hot water
2 eggs, beaten
1 pint cottage cheese (small container)
1/2 lb. grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1.  Heat oil in a skillet.  Cook garlic and onion until soft.  Add beef and seasoning and cook until crumbly.  Add tomato paste and water and cook 10-15 minutes on low. 

2.  In a separate bowl, blend beaten eggs with cottage cheese.   

 

 3.  Cook noodles according to package directions.

4.  In a large dish, spoon a thin layer of meat sauce, 1/2 of the noodles, all of the cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 of the grated mozzarella.  Repeat with remaining sauce, noodles and mozzarella.  Sprinkle with parmesan.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for approximately one hour.

 

Difficulty level:  moderate 

For a gluten-free version, use rice noodles.