Easy-Peasy Semi-Homemade Beef Stew Recipe

We have been getting snowstorm after snowstorm here in New England over the past few weeks and my poor hubby has had more than his fill of snow - even for a New Englander.  Getting chilled right through to his bones has him craving hot, hearty dishes like beef stew. Unfortunately, 4 feet plus of snow has made getting to the grocery store nearly impossible. Especially as we live on a steep hill that hasn't been plowed very well - yet (she added hopefully).

So, I went through my freezer and pantry to see if I could find a way to make beef stew for him, and I could!  Luckily, I had a few packages of stew beef in the freezer.  I had some baby carrots in the fridge, some canned sliced potatoes (I always try and keep canned sliced, diced and whole potatoes in my pantry. They come in very handy!) and a few jars of savory beef gravy (purchased the last time my local market had a big sale).  Now, I know how to make stew without jarred gravy. Indeed, I know how to make gravy from scratch very well. But, there are sometimes when the jar comes in handy, like with meatloaf or chicken fried steak (sorry, can't stand that white, cream, pepper stuff some people call gravy. To me gravy should taste like meat, not flour. yuck!). But I wanted a quick and easy way to make some stew and this fit the bill.

All done in the crockpot - prepped in less than 5 minutes!

Anyway - I took out the meat the night before and let it thaw. (I had about 3 pounds of meat).Then I put everything in my trusty crockpot.  First, I cut any large pieces of meat in half. Then I tossed them in the pot with a little salt and pepper.  Then I added a couple of handfuls of carrots (just what looked like enough for the 4 of us). Then I added 3 cans of sliced potatoes and 4 jars of gravy.  I added 1/4 tsp of ground rosemary, gave it all a stir and set it on high for 4 hours.  During the last 20 minutes I threw in a little frozen corn.

That was it. Could it be any easier? Prep time was less than 5 minutes!  You could make this before work and leave it on low all day and have a nice, hot meal when you come home.

Now, I know - where are the green veggies? Well, my fussy family doesn't all like the same veggies, so we usually heat them up separately in the microwave and everybody adds what they want to their stew individually. Naturally, you can add whatever you want to this. Green beans, peas, pearl onions, mushrooms - whatever your family likes.

We had the stew with hot, buttery crescent rolls - something else I always try to keep on hand :) It was SO good. Even my super picky daughter ate a whole bowl and she usually hates beef and any kind of gravy. My husband went back for seconds - no shock there.

Have leftovers that don't quite make enough to fill everybody up? Get a ready made pie crust and turn the leftovers into a pot pie! Add some more veggies, potatoes - even some egg noodles. Serve with a side salad and you have another hearty, satisfying meal.

Enjoy!

Triple Crock Meat Appetizers Triple Threat

I have 2 fabulous triple crock pots. My husband hates them. They weigh a ton and he has to carry them up from the basement when I need them.  But I love them. They are fabulous for entertaining.  My crocks are like the 2nd one shown below, the long one (but mine are red).  I gave my older sister the round one below for Christmas because I thought it would be good for her and her partner when they take the nieces and nephews for sleepovers. Easy to put up different dishes at once.  Wish I could justify buying one of the round ones. It takes up so much less room. Great price - just $29 too. (click pic to buy one for yourself!)

Anyway... I've got 3 very simple recipes you can do for your Super Bowl Party. Nice, meaty recipes, because after all, the guys want meat - right? And you could get all 3 of these done and in the crock in under half an hour. 

Farberware 3-crock Round 1.5qt. Oval Slowcooker, Stainless Steel

 

 

 

 

FarberWare 3-Crock 2.5Qt. Triple Slow Cooker

 

 

These are basic recipes and you probably already have your own version of some of them, if not all of them.  But now and then I find someone who has never heard of kielbasa and brown sugar. Seems impossible! That delicious candied meat treat is unknown to some, but it's true.  The best part about these appetizers, you pretty much dump them and leave 'em. So here we go with a triple threat of meaty appetizers for your triple crock! (Of course, you don't have to have a triple crock. And these can easily be made on the stove top as well)

 

Note: I use ground mustard a lot in recipes. Make sure it's powdered and not the seeds.

 

 

Kielbasa and Brown Sugar

 

2 links kielbasa, Polish sausage, sliced

1 box brown sugar, light or dark (I prefer dark)

2 tbsp. ground mustard powder

1 tsp. black pepper

 

Slice up the kielbasa and put in the crockpot. Place all the ingredients on top. Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or on high for 2 - 4. Stir occasionally.

 

I prefer the kielbasa sliced thin, but it's a matter of preference.  You can use turkey kielbasa, it's great. Less greasy.  There are endless variations out there of this recipe. I find the bit of mustard and pepper help to cut the sweetness just a hair.

 

 

Drunken Wieners

 

3 packages little smokies or any kind of cocktail frank

2 cups ketchup

1/2 cup beer, of your choice

 

Put cocktail franks in the crockpot. Place all the ingredients on top. Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or on high for 2 - 4. Stir occasionally.

 

Again, this recipe lends itself to easy variation.  Adding a specialty beer will add a little extra flavor. 

 

"Baked" Ham in Brown Sugar

 

4 ham steaks

1/2 box brown sugar (light or dark)

3/4 cup honey

1 large can sliced pineapple rings

3 tbsp. ground dry mustard

approx. 12 maraschino cherries

3 tbsp. juice from maraschino cherries

 

Dice up the ham into bit size pieces. Put into the crockpot.  Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl.  Pour over the ham.  Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or on high for 2 - 4. Stir occasionally.

This is also the same glaze I use if I was making an actual baked ham. Perfect!

 

 

See - simple. But oooohhhhhhh so yummy!

 

Enjoy!

 



Turkey Stuffing Meatballs in Cranberry Sauce Appetizers

Here's another appetizer I made for my Christmas Eve party. It was a huge hit! My dad went back for thirds!  Even the picky kids liked it (it lead to the Thanksgiving Dinner Meatloaf recipe)

Fortunately, I do have measurements for this one. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics :(  Sorry. Didn't know I was going to start a blog lol!

This will be a great recipe for Super Bowl Sunday.  You can leave them in a crock pot or chaffing dish and let your guests help themselves to these yummy little meatballs. They are a wonderful change from the tired old Italian meatballs and, IMO, much tastier than the Swedish variety.

This recipe uses packaged cornbread stuffing. This is a great ingredient you will think of lots of uses for.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
1/2  cup chicken stock
1 egg   
1 cup cornbread stuffing mix   
1/4 cup finely chopped celery   
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 tsp ground rosemary
1/2 tsp onion powder 
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb. ground turkey  

Sauce
1 (16-oz.) can jellied cranberry sauce   
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Sauté celery in pan until soft.

In large bowl, combine turkey, salt, pepper and egg.

In a separate bowl, stir in stuffing mix, stock, cooked celery and remaining seasonings; blend well. Add turkey mix; mix well. Shape into 4 (1-inch) balls. Place in ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Bake at 375°F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until meatballs are browned and no longer pink in center.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan combine all sauce ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add meatballs to sauce; stir gently to coat. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Serve in chafing dish or slow cooker.

This should make approx. 48 mini meatballs.

Enjoy!

CrockPot Posole Recipe

I bought a tin of Crockpot recipes from an online store. It was on clearance and I figured, why not?  Even though we are picky eaters and I know we aren't going to like a lot of what's in there, I expected I could get some good ideas just the same. (We're not big fans of cream of whatever soup).

Well, naturally, it's full of stuff my family won't eat. We don't do anything spicier than your basic spaghetti sauce. lol! But I figured I'd share some of the recipes with you even if I haven't tried them myself because they seem simple, and if you like that sort of thing, pretty good.

I'm going to start off with Posole.  Posole, or more accurately, Pozole, means "hominy".  It's a pre-Columbian stew/soup from Mexico.  Hominy is dried corn kernels (maize as opposed to the sweet corn we are used to eating as a side dish) that has been treated with lime or lye.  This process makes it shed its hull and swell up. When it's ground up, it's used to make hominy grits.  But we're not using that kind for this recipe. We want them whole.  Goya, a popular ethnic food brand, makes canned hominy, so if your local supermarket carries that brand of products, there is a good chance they will carry canned hominy.  If not, try Walmart.

This recipe could not be more simple.

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless pork shoulder or loin, cubed
3 cans (14 oz ea) white hominy, drained
1 cup chili sauce

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in your crockpot. Cover. Cook on Low for 10 hours or High for 5 hours.

That's it. That's all there is.  Easy, huh?  Actually, if I could think of something to substitute for the chili sauce, I might try it.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Crock*Pot. The Original Slow Cooker Recipe Card Collection © 2011

6 Easy Recipes for Packaged Pork Loin

You see them all the time in your supermarket sales flyers - packaged pork loin.

But what do you do with them? Do you roast them in the oven like a pork roast? Sure, you can put it in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. If you're lucky, you can even get ones that have already been marinated in garlic or teriyaki or some other flavor. If not, just add your own seasonings. You could even grill it.  If needs be, you can even cook it on your stove top, as long as you cook it to 160 degrees internal temperature.  A great convenience food and better than hitting the drive through!


But my favorite thing to do with them - the crock pot! Yup! That's right. The crock pot. Put those babies in a crock pot with just a few ingredients and you have a great meal. And the really great thing - if your local store has a great sale, buy a few of them and put the pork loins and the ingredients into a ziplock freezer bag and freeze them! Then when you want a fast and easy dinner, you just dump it all in the crock pot.

Here are 6 recipes that are super simple and delicious. I cook them all on high for 4 - 6 hours.

*See Notes at the end

1. Basic pork with gravy. Doesn't get any simpler than this. Just put the pork loin in the crock pot, pour in some pork gravy. 1 extra large jar or 2 regular jars.  When it's cooked it will be more like a thick broth than a gravy, but it will be tasty! And your pork will be flavorful and tender. Make life super simple - add a bag of frozen veggies and some canned potatoes and your whole meal will be ready for you.

2. Cran-Apple Pork. Awesome and the kids love it! Put in your pork. Add one 8 oz can of cranberry sauce and 1 cup of apple sauce. (I use the snack cups of apple sauce I always have for the kids and just dump 1 in there).  That's it. Yummy!  Depending on the likes or dislikes of your family, you can use the chunky kind of cranberry sauce and you can dice apples up in this as well.

3. Figgy Piggy. Now, I don't normally like figs. Don't even like Fig Newtons.  But this is good stuff.  Put the pork in the crock pot, add one large jar fig preserves about 14 oz (or 2 jars if you can only find small ones).  Add 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard.  If you have it, add 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar. I don't always have the balsamic in the house and it's not a deal breaker. I like it better with it, but it's still good without it. I know it can be pricey, so don't go out and buy some just for this. If you don't have it, the preserves and mustard are good alone.

4. Garlic and Rosemary Pork. Super tasty! You put all the dry ingredients (listed below) into a bowl and mix them. Then you rub your pork loin with a little olive oil.  Rub the seasoning mix onto your pork and pop it into the crock pot!  Seasonings: 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 3/4 tsp ground rosemary, 3/4 tsp ground thyme.  If your pork loin doesn't have much fat on it and it seems like it is a bit dry while it's cooking, you can add a splash of chicken or beef stock, but you really shouldn't need to.

5. Honey Mustard Pork Loin. Easy peasy! 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup Dijon mustard poured over the pork in your crock pot.  You want to add a little pizazz? Dice up 2 apples and add to it.

6. Maple and Brown Sugar Pork. Not for dieters! 1/4 cup plain old pancake syrup. 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark). 3 tsp ground mustard powder. 1 tbsp. balsamic or apple cider vinegar.  Mix all of these ingredients and place in crock pot. Put in the pork and turn the pork to coat. (if you want to use real maple syrup, only use 2 tbsp.)


*Notes - those recipes that have liquid/sauce, if you desire, you can remove the pork from the crockpot when cooked and cover with foil to keep warm. Transfer the liquid to a sauce pan on your stove top and use corn starch to thicken

Make your meal time even easier by adding vegetables along with the pork and other ingredients as long as you don't mind them having the same flavor as what the pork is cooked in.

You can make life even easier by buying crockpot liners to cook in and clean up will be a breeze!

And again, you can put all of these recipes into freezer bags and freeze them for when you need them.

Enjoy!