Recession Meals

This time of year is perfect for slow cooker meals.  (Remember, Crock Pot is a brand of slow cooker--although most people use it as the generic term.)  Comfort food like stews and slow-cooked meats are great on cool nights.  We're all very busy with the holidays, so having an easy meal to be ready at dinnertime is terrific. 

And in these tough economic times, slow cookers work wonders on cheaper cuts of meat like chuck roasts, pork shoulder and even chicken.  And they use a tiny amount of electricity.

But really, slow cooker meals can be delicious and incredibly comforting.  Pulled pork, beef stew, soups--what's not to like?

Now, slow cooker meals--GOOD slow cooker meals--are not always as easy as dumping stuff in the cooker and turning it on.  To get real good taste, vegetables and meats sometimes need to be browned or sauteed.  You might have to do a little work right before serving, too.  But it's worth it. 

Here's an article from the Salt Lake Tribune that has some recipes included. 

And here's a great recipe I made the other day from Slow Cooker Revolution by America's Test Kitchen.  I only had about half the meat that's called for, so I halved the recipe and it worked great.  Try it!  You'll like it!

BEEF BURGUNDY (serves 8)

INGREDIENTS
1 (5 lb) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2" chunks
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 oz bacon (about 4 slices), minced
3 onions, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1/4 c tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
1/3 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c Pinot Noir
1 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1/3 c soy sauce
2 bay leaves
2 c frozen pearl onions
1/2 c water
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp sugar
1 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large

1. Dry beef with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Place half of the beef in slow cooker.  Heat oil in 12" skillet over medium-heat until just smoking.  Brown remaining beef well on all sides, 7-10 min; transfer to slow cooker.
2. Cook bacon in skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 min.  Stir in onions, carrot, tomato paste, garlic and thyme and cook until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 min.  Stir in flour and cook for 1 min.  Slowly whisk in 1 1/4 cup wine, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps; transfer to slow cooker.
3. Stir broth, soy sauce and bay leaves into slow cooker.  Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9-11 hours on low or 5-7 hours on high.
4. About 20 min before serving, bring frozen pearl onion, water, butter and sugar to a boil in 12" skillet.  reduce to simmer, cover and cook until onions are fully thawed and tender, 5-8 min.  Uncover, bring to a boil and cook until all liquid evaporates, 3-4 min.  Stir in mushrooms and cook until browned and glazed, 8-12 min; transfer to slow cooker.
5. Add remaining 1 1/4 cup wine to skillet and simmer until it has reduced by half, 6-8 min; transfer to slow cooker.  Let stew settle for 5 min, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon.  Discard bay leaves.  (Adjust consistency with additional hot broth as needed.)  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.

Slow Cooker Turkey?



Photo courtesty of Cook's Country.

The latest issue of Cook's Country magazine has a recipe for a turkey breast--with gravy--made in a slow cooker.  Now really, can that be any good?

Well, we just so happened to have a turkey breast in the freezer and I thought trying out the recipe was a good way to get our taste buds ready for Thanksgiving.

As I would expect from Cook's Country, the recipe was very good.  OK, if you're looking for a real roasted turkey flavor, you're not going to get it here.  But if you're cooking for just a small number of people and you want a more hands-off way of cooking turkey, this is the way to go.  It's flavorful, extremely moist and the gravy is really tasty.  It's definitely worth a try--if not for Thanksgiving, at least another time.

SLOW-COOKER TURKEY BREAST AND GRAVY
Serves 8-10

If you don't have quite 3 Tbsp of drippings in Step 1, supplement with additional butter.

INGREDIENTS
1 (6-7 lb) bone-in turkey breast, trimmed
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped coarse
1 carrot, chopped coarse
1 celery rib, chopped coarse
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
7 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 sprigs fresh thyme plus 1 tsp minced
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

1. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.  Remove skin and cut into 4 equal pieces.  Cook skin in 12" skillet over medium heat until browned, 8-10 min.  (I found that I needed a little longer.)  Transfer skin to slow cooker.  Pour off all but 3 Tbsp fat from skillet.  Add butter, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until veggies are browned, 8-10 min.  Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, about 2 min.  Slowly whisk in broth and wine and bring to to a boil.  Transfer gravy, thyme sprigs and bay leaves to slow cooker.
2. Season turkey with salt and pepper and place meat side up in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low until breast registers 160 degrees, 5-6 hours.
3. Transfer turkey to carving board, tent loosely with foil and let rest for 15-20 min.  Strain gravy into a serving bowl; discard solids.  Stir minced thyme into gravy and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Carve turkey and serve.

What a Crock!

Even though the forecast is for warmer temps in the coming week, these cold winter days are perfect for food prepared in a slow cooker (or Crock Pot--to use a brand name that's become the accepted name for this appliance).

Crock Pot meals are great because you get comfort food with little preparation.  Many slow cooker recipes are the "dump and go" variety--just throw some stuff in the crock, turn it on and wait a few hours.  To get the best results, however, there's usually a little bit more hands-on preparation needed. 

And don't worry if you don't have a slow cooker recipe.  Most traditional recipes that are cooked stovetop or in the oven can be fairly easily converted to the Crock Pot.

Check out my latest post on Bucks County Taste to find out what to look for when buying a Crock Pot, how to convert a traditional recipe to make in a slow cooker and get two great recipes to try out.