Autumn Beef Stew

The weather is getting cooler in DC and this Autumn Beef Stew is perfect for a lazy weekend or a hectic weeknight.  This is a slow cooker recipe so you can put this together in the morning and have dinner when you get home from work.  You can even get it all together the night before, put it in the fridge and just start the slow cooker the next morning.  If you are short on time, you can skip the browning of the beef and that would be fine.   I love the flavors of this Autumn Beef Stew, the wine gives it great depth.  If you aren't into the red wine, just add more stock instead.  I also cut the vegetables into larger pieces so they don't get too mushy.  This is a great freezer friendly dish too.  Enjoy!

Autumn Beef Stew

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound beef, cubed

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 potato, diced

2 cups red wine

14 ounces beef stock

3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Directions

In a bowl, combine flour, garlic, paprika, salt and black pepper.  Add beef and toss to lightly coat with seasoned flour.

Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat and add oil.  Add beef and cook until lightly browned on each side.  Remove beef from pan.

Add wine and beef stock to deglaze pan.  Stir in minced garlic, thyme and bay leaves.

Place carrots, onion and potato in bottom of slow cooker.  Add in beef.   

Next, pour in wine and beef stock mixture.

Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours.

Optional:  Add in frozen peas 30 minutes before ready to serve.

Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Beef Stew

I made this Slow Cooker Gluten Free Beef Stew for Shabbat dinner recently.  This beef stew had such amazing flavors.  You can really taste the wine, so be sure to use one you would drink or serve to guests.  I served the stew over rice to make the entire meal gluten-free.  I mostly followed the Gluten-Free Goddess Beef Stew recipe.  I googled gluten-free recipes and found the Gluten-Free Goddess and I'm a new fan!  My friend is gluten-free and I realized it wasn't that hard to serve a gluten-free meal.  I was up for a challenge but this Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Beef Stew is comforting goodness.  My apartment smelled wonderful while it was cooking too.  The beef was tender and the potatoes, carrots and celery were soft which made it really nice.  Also, any leftovers can be frozen too.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Beef Stew

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 to 2 pounds stew beef (cubed beef)

salt

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup pearl onions (I used frozen.)

2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 cup dry red wine (I used a malbec.)

4 cups beef broth

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I used a pomegranate flavor.)

1 to 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Salt beef cubes on all sides.  Allow salted beef to rest while you prep the vegetables.

Heat a dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil.  Brown beef cubes on all sides.  Add beef to slow cooker.

Sauté garlic, pearl onions, potatoes, carrots and celery for a few minutes in the same dutch oven.  Add vegetables to slow cooker.

Pour the wine and broth into the dutch oven to deglaze the pan.  

Stir wine and broth into the slow cooker with the beef and vegetables.  Add the balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, bay leaf and ground pepper.  Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on high 4 to 5 hours or low 8 to 10 hours.

Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving!

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

I don't think this slow cooker shredded chicken can get any easier.  I've seen it on a few other food blogs and I wanted to try it out.  The cooked chicken is easy to shred with just two forks.  The chicken only takes about 3 hours to cook but I left it on for almost 4 hours and it was fine.  I would suggest not going over 4 hours if cooking on high.  This shredded chicken is plain so its great to add into other dishes.  The chicken is perfect if you want to make enchiladas, wraps, salads or soups.  

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 large pieces)

chicken stock or water

Directions

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Add in enough chicken stock or water to cover chicken breasts.

Cook on high for up to 4 hours.  

Shred chicken with 2 forks.

Slow Cooker Berry Bread Pudding

I took a chance during Hurricane Sandy to make a slow cooker meal on Monday!  Luckily I never lost power and I was able to make this slow cooker berry bread pudding.  I really liked this bread pudding but it was a little bit watery when I made it.  Next time I will probably use a little less milk and see how it turns out.   This is such a simple recipe and perfect when you don't want to bake something.  I have eaten this berry bread pudding for dessert and even breakfast already.  It's delicious!  Happy Halloween everyone! 

Slow Cooker Berry Bread Pudding

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 package of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (I used King’s brand, 12 count.)

2 ½ - 3 cups vanilla soy milk (You may use regular milk.)

4 eggs

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ - 3 cups berries (I used diced strawberries and blueberries.)

Directions

Tear sweet rolls into bite size cubes; I tore each sweet roll into 4 pieces.

Spray slow cooker with non stick cooking spray.  Place half the cube rolls into the bottom of the slow cooker.   Top with half the berries.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, soymilk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.

Pour half the mixture over the bread cubes and berries.  Press bread down to ensure the mixture is being absorbed by the bread.

Layer with remaining bread cubes and berries.  Pour remaining mixture on top.  Press bread down gently.  (Optional – sprinkle some additional sugar on top.)

Cover and cook on low for 3-4  hours.  Turn on high for the last 30 minutes and leave the lid cracked up to let the steam escape.

It will be done when a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.   

Slow Cooker Pork Loin with Beer

Fall has arrived in DC, and I am loving this cooler weather.   I had some Sam Adam's Oktoberfest beer and I thought why not use it with a slow cooker pork loin.  This was another easy dish to make, but pretty much putting anything in a slow cooker makes it easy right?  I served this pork loin over pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous).  Just spoon some sauce over the couscous and top with veggies and slices of pork loin.  This pork would also be great served over rice or mashed potatoes.  Leftovers would make awesome sandwiches too.  Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Pork Loin with Beer

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 to 2 pounds marinated pork loin (I used Smithfield Garlic & Herb.)

16 ounce bottle beer (I used Sam Adam’s Oktoberfest.)

1 onion, sliced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine beer, sliced onions and mushrooms in slow cooker.   Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Place pork loin on top of vegetables.

Cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

Note:  To thicken sauce, remove pork and vegetables, and whisk in a couple tablespoons of cornstarch or flour directly in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for about 10 to 15 minutes.  Add in a tablespoon of butter for a richer sauce.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stoup

My friend Ashley shared a slow cooker recipe with me a couple weeks ago.  I decided to try it since I needed something simple to make after my travels.  Of course I had to tweak it since I didn't have all the ingredients and just made do with what I had.  I think next time I'll follow the recipe and try to get all the ingredients because it sounds delicious.  What I ended up making turned out to be a chicken stoup, a mix of a soup and stew.  I served it over plain white rice and topped with cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.  I added in a side salad to balance the meal.  You could eat it as is.  I would also be happy serving this over egg noodles too.  Scroll to the bottom for Ashley's original recipe, thanks Ash!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Stoup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can chicken gravy

2 ½ cups chicken broth

½ cup corn, frozen

½ cup peas and carrots, frozen

1 potato, diced

½ cup milk

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

 

 

Directions

Place all ingredients into a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. 

 

Before serving, remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Place shredded chicken back into slow cooker.

 

Serve over white rice and top with shredded cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.

 

Enjoy!

Here is Ashley's original recipe that she sent to me:

Two chopped chicken breasts (we put them in whole and shredded them at
the end and dumped it back in)
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup
2.5 cups of chicken broth
1.5 cup of corn
2 jalapeno peppers sliced
1 green bell pepper sliced
1.5cups of potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic
1 onion chopped
1 tsp cumin

Top with crispy asian noodles and cheddar cheese.