Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy BBQ Pot Roast

Another yummy recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

*Serves 8-10

4-7 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed of large areas of fat

1-2 tablespoons saute spice (equal parts garlic powder, salt and black pepper)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 can root beer (if you use a brand other than A&W, please don't tell my husband)

1 can red chile enchilada sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce (I like the Tapatio brand)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup of water or milk

Pat the roast(s) dry with a paper towel; then rub the saute spice all over the roast. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or pot until it is shimmering. Brown the roast on all sides in the hot oil, for about 1 minute on each side. The oil should be hot enough to get the roast nicely browned without burning it.

Transfer the roast to a 4-8 quart slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the root beer, enchilada sauce, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and pour over the roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6 hours.

Remove the roast, reserving juices in the slow cooker. Tent the roast with foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water/milk, stirring well until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the juices in the slow cooker. Cook, uncovered, on high for 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve sauce over roast with mashed potatoes or any other sides that float your boat.

* Emily's note: I shredded and reheated the leftovers in the gravy the next day, and made sandwiches with provolone cheese. Even better than the first day! And more is in the freezer for a sandwich another day.

Boeuf Bourguignon Soup

This recipe comes from a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living. It is delicious, and pretty easy as soup recipes go. I've never been a big fan of making soup-- too much chopping, too much planning ahead and simmering. But maybe making more soup can be part of me growing as a person! I made it even easier by using pre- cut stew meat instead of short ribs.

4 bone-in short ribs (2 inches thick, 2 lbs total) * I used about 2.5 lbs of beef stew meat.

coarse salt and pepper

2 tsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. EVOO

8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered

3 carrots, 2 finely chopped and 1 cut into 3/4- in. cubes

3 shallots, minced

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

2 strips bacon, thinly sliced crosswise * as per my MO, I used 3 slices

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

2 thyme sprigs

1 dried bay leaf

1 C. dry red wine, such as Burgundy * I used [yellow tail] pinot noir

8 C. homemade or store- bought low- sodium beef stock * I love how they specified homemade or store- bought-- aren't those the only two kinds?

2 C. water

1. Season ribs (or stew meat) with 1/2 tsp. salt and some pepper. Coat with cornstarch. heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium- high heat. Lightly brown ribs on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add mushrooms to pot. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add cubed carrot to same bowl. Set aside.

3. Add shallots, celery, bacon, and chopped carrots to pot. Cook until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste.

4. Return ribs with plate juices to pot. Add thyme and bay leaf. Raise heat to high. Add wine. Cook, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add stock and water. bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until beef is tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

5. (Remove ribs. Separate meat from bones; discard. Cut meat into bite- size pieces; return to pot.) * You can skip previous step if you use stew meat. Add reserved mushroom- carrot mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook until cubed carrots are tender. Season with salt.

I cooked whole wheat egg noodles (about 6 oz probably) and added them right before serving, just to give the soup a bit more substance.

Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before using. Skim fat from top and reheat.

This was really SOOOO good. You can see how using the stew meat simplifies this recipe immensely. I am picky about my stew meat though, because it is so often tough and yucky. I have had great luck with the stew meat at Right by Nature (they'll cut it for you if they don't have any in the case). This time, I used meat from Giant Eagle because I was there. I used a mixture of Nature's basket natural beef stew meat and their angus beef stew meat. I was very pleased with how it turned out-- tendered up quite nicely-- no gristle to speak of.

I am also posting the recipe for Horseradish chive bread, which in insanely good and goes insanely well with this soup!

Taco Salad Dippers

This recipe is FANTASTIC, and easy, and it makes A LOT of food-- so it's great if you have to feed a crowd. Or you can freeze the leftovers. I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe by way of my great friend, Chrissie!

*Serves 6-8

2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups water
1 cup rice (white or brown)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

In a large pot, brown the ground beef or turkey with the onion and garlic and cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Drain any accumulated grease. Add the water, rice, seasonings, tomato sauce, tomato paste and beans. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmeruncovered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, watching to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot (if you are using brown rice, it may need to simmer for up to 60-70 minutes). The mixture will seem very watery at first, but after simmering, it will thicken to perfection as the rice absorbs water and all the ingredients meld together.

Serve warm with tortilla chips for dipping and other taco garnishes.

Cottage Pie

Tried another new recipe for dinner tonight. It was very good... meat, potatoes, vegetables, all in there... but I felt like it could have used a little more flavor. So I may try a few more spices next time I make it. I didn't have the fresh thyme that the recipe called for, so I just used some dried-- that might have been part of what was missing.

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

1 large yellow onion, diced medium

2 large carrots, cut into 3/4 in. pieces

coarse salt and black pepper

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 lb. ground beef or lamb (I used ground beef, magazine also suggests using left over turkey from Thanksgiving)

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 C. dark (porter) beer

2 Tbsp. all- purpose flour

3/4 C. frozen peas (I added more than this).

1 large russet potato, very thinly sliced

** I also added some sliced leeks because I had them. I thought it was too watery after it was done baking, and might leave out the extra cup of water next time.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp butter over medium- high. Add onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in tomato paste. Add meat and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through, 3 minutes. Add thyme and beer and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly reduced, 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Add 1 C. water and cook until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in peas and season with salt and pepper.

2. Transfer mixture to a 2- quart baking dish. Top with potatoes, overlapping slices. Season potatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Bake until potatoes are browned around the edges and tender when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Slow-cooker Carne Guisada

This was delicious! The boys ate it, too, and it wasn't very spicy. I made homemade flour tortillas and served it with cheese and sour cream. Think I'll eat the leftovers over rice, though.

2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast or bottom round, cut into 1-inch pieces

salt and pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, diced medium

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced medium

1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced small

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp. chili powder

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

6 Tbsp. all- purpose flour

1 3/4 C. low- sodium chicken broth

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp. oil over high. In two batches, cook beef until browned on all sides. Transfer to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.

2. In same skillet, cook 2 tsp oil, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic over medium, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until vegetables are tender, 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, and flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly pour broth into skillet, stirring until liquid is smooth. Simmer 2 minutes, then transfer mixture to slow cooker, along with tomatoes and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high6 hours.

Recipe from Everyday Food, Nov. 2010