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.
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.
As fall drew to an end, I decided to do a post on my favourite slow-cooker recipes, to get everyone into the mood for some comforting winter food. And here we are, almost the end of January... better late than never, right?
Cooking for me this winter has really only meant using my slow cooker, for the most part. Time is a precious entity these days and I love how you can whip together a healthy and delicious meal in under 30 minutes when using your slow cooker. I also love coming home to a delicious smelling house. And, not having to race to get everything ready last minute, as the kids scream from hunger!
These recipes are my favourite slow-cooker recipes, in no particular order. I also have a slow-cooker tag on the left side of my blog, if you want to check out others.
I apologize for the quality of some of these photos. This was way before I knew anything the manual settings of my camera or even knew what the word white balance meant ;) I promise you, however, that these recipes are delicious, even if the photos of some of them are not the most appetizing.
Mexican-style chicken with cilantro and lemon
Easy chicken tacos made with shredded chicken
Comforting shredded beef
Polynesian chicken
Chickpeas in curried coconut broth
Red lentil and carrot soup with coconut
Lamb keema
Thai chicken thighs
Easy cabbage roll casserole
Creole black beans
South American black bean soup
What are your favourite slow cooker recipes?
Christmas has caught me a bit off guard this year. I'm usually well into the house decorating and cooking baking by early December. But somehow, it is already mid-December and I have yet to do a single holiday-related task. That is, if you don't count hanging our Christmas wreath on the front door. I had to at least pretend to the world outside that I'd made some effort to make things special for Christmas this year.
This couldn't possibly be any further from the truth.
Things have been more than a bit nutty in our household lately. This isn't the first time I've mentioned this. Juggling a million and one weekly appointments for my kids, constantly preparing foods for our relatively new "intolerance diet" and my fairly recent return to work have left me feeling drained on more days than I would like to admit. Add to this that the kids keep getting sick, which then gets me sick... and you get one very messy household and one pretty tired momma.
The idea of having to set up a tree, drag out decorations and having to test run gluten-, soy- and dairy-free cookies seemed more like a chore to me this year than the fun it usually is. And with the propsect that said tree might remain in my living room until June 2013, I decided to go where no woman has gone before.
I decided to not take out anything for Christmas this year.
Yikes!
Does that make me the Grinch?
Hmmm....
Well, I'm just as happy about Christmas this year as I am any other year... decorations or no decorations.
I wish I had the time and energy to get things all done up the way I would most years. But there will be many more years of that to come, when my kids will actually be old enough to appreciate all of the whoop-dee-da. I've decided that, at this point in my life, they would probably prefer a rested, sane mommy to a burnt out mommy who yells at them non-stop to stop touching the decorations on the tree because she's so fried she can barely remember her own name.
This year, I chose self-preservation over making a big deal just to say that you made a big deal.
And God, it feels GREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
Besides, we're spending Christmas at my parents' place, so the kids can get all the joy of the Christmas season over there. (And pull all the decorations off of my mom's tree!)
So, staying with the theme of my "no Christmas Christmas", I am posting some cookies that I made last year (how's that for cheating???). I made these last Christmas, but didn't actually get around to posting them before Christmas was over. So they shifted indefinitely into my ever growing "to post" file, never to be looked at again until today.
Now, because these are from last Christmas, they are neither gluten, soy, nor dairy-free. And hence, likely much more delicious than if they were something I had made this year.
See... aren't y'all benefiting from my procrastination right now??
These sugar cookies are fantastic. I am typically not a huge fan of sugar cookies, as I don't have the patience to cut them all out and all that jazz. But these are well worth the effort. If you are pressed for time - and let's face it, who isn't pressed for time in December?? - you can make these in advance and freeze them and then decorate them before serving (leaving time for the icing to harden).
This recipe was recommended to me by my best friend Heidi, and comes from theKitchn. The best part about it is that the large batch will make about a bizillion cookies, so you will never run out, no matter how many guests you have knocking on your door over the holidays.
Small Batch (about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size)
1 C unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
1 C granulated sugar
1 egg
2 oz. cream cheese (1/4 of a standard cream cheese package)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. lemon zest
3 C flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat until golden. Add the cream cheese and again beat until well incorporated. Add the flavourings and lemon zest.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl then add, bit by bit, to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated.
3. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.
4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Divide the dough into smaller balls and roll out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies.
5. Bake cookies for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness.
6. Let cool before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.
Huge Batch (between 8 and 12 dozen cookies, depending on size)
3 C unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
3 C granulated sugar
3 eggs
6 oz. cream cheese (3/4 of a standard cream cheese package)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. lemon zest
9 C flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until golden. Add the cream cheese and again beat until well incorporated. Add the flavourings and lemon zest.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a
separate bowl then add, bit by bit, to the butter/sugar mixture until
fully incorporated.
3. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour - preferably overnight.
4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Divide
the dough into smaller balls and roll out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness.
Cut out cookies.
5. Bake cookies for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness.
6. Let cool before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.
Icing
I used a recipe for powdered sugar icing from from the Better Homes and Gardens 2011 Christmas Cookies magazine, but only made half the recipe.
In a large bowl, stir together 8 C of powdered sugar, 1/4 C milk and 2 tsp. vanilla. Stir in additional milk, 1 tsp. at a time, to make an icing of piping consistency.
Decorations
1 C red candy coating disks
1 C green candy coating disks
small decorative candies (optional)
Tip: Candy coating disks are the little circles of coloured chocolate that can be found in the cake-decorating departments of hobby and crafts stores (I bought them at Bulk Barn).
In separate microwave-safe bowls, microwave red and green candy coating disks on 100% power (high) for 1 1/2 minutes or until disks melt, stirring every 30 seconds. Spoon melted coating into separate heavy resealable plastic bags; snip a small hole in one corner of each bag. Pipe plaids, zigzags, dots, or other desired designs onto cookies. Let cookies stand at least 30 minutes for coating to set.
If desired, add small decorative candies for accents.
Difficulty level: moderate
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