Now here's a recipe that went through many, many revisions before I feel like I finally got it right.
INGREDIENTS
- approx. 1.5 kg of pork. I usually get a roast of some kind and cut it into cubes since they don't exactly sell stewing pork the way they do beef. It doesn't need to be a lean cut of meat, feel free to toss those fatty bits into the pot, too, it's good for the flavour and I have found that those tend to be the most tender bits anyway.
- 1 onion, diced (food processor, yadda yadda)
- 3 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled or scrubbed and chopped
- approx. 900 mL of vegetable juice such as V8
- 2 cups of unsweetened apple juice
- salt and pepper to taste, probably about 1 tsp each
- 2 tbsp each of rosemary and paprika
- 1 tsp each of oregano and thyme
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1/2 of a large head of cabbage, chopped up (you can definitely add more, but I usually find by the time it comes to add the cabbage, half a head is all that will fit in the pot)
- 4 or 5 tart, firm apples (e.g., Granny Smith), cored and chopped. Can also be peeled if you prefer.
INSTRUCTIONS
1) In a large slow cooker, combine the apple and V8 juices, flour, bouillon, and spices, and whisk it all up to make sure everything's mixed.
2) Add all other ingredients except the apples, and cook in slow cooker on low for approx. 8 hours, or on high for 4-5.
3) When there's only an hour or so left on the timer, add in the apples and continue cooking. This will make sure the apples don't go completely to mush. If you don't have the time to fiddle with the pot like that, though, then you can just add them in at the beginning with everything else.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Beef-Mushroom Stew
Something you need to know about me is that I love mushrooms. I really, really love mushrooms. Hence, my version of beef mushroom stew stuffs in as many mushrooms as will fit in the pot, to the point where sometimes I've had trouble getting the lid on. Just, y'know, bear that in mind when it comes to planning your own shopping list for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 tetrapack (~4 cups) no-sodium-added beef broth
- 1 tsp beef bouillon powder
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- at least 1 tbsp each of thyme, rosemary, and sage
- 3/4 cups dry pearl barley
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 lb stewing beef
- 5 medium potatoes, chopped
- a lot of mushrooms. Probably about 6 cups? At least?
- 1 large red onion, cut into large pieces or pulverized in a food processor
- 2 cups chopped carrots
INSTRUCTIONS
1) In a large slow cooker, whisk together all of the ingredients listed above from the mushroom soup to the black pepper. Make sure your sauce is uniformly mixed and that the condensed soup sludge is all broken up.
2) Add everything else. Now, the way I usually do this is to add in everything but the mushrooms, and then just pile mushrooms onto the top of the pot until I figure it's at capacity. Hence the "at least" part of the 6 cup measurement above. Your mileage may vary when it comes to proportions of the various veggies, depending on just how large your pot is and how much you love one over the other. You want to make your stew carrot-heavy? Go right ahead. It just means that you'll probably have to take out a potato or two, to make room.
3) Cook on low heat 8 hours or so.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 tetrapack (~4 cups) no-sodium-added beef broth
- 1 tsp beef bouillon powder
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- at least 1 tbsp each of thyme, rosemary, and sage
- 3/4 cups dry pearl barley
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 lb stewing beef
- 5 medium potatoes, chopped
- a lot of mushrooms. Probably about 6 cups? At least?
- 1 large red onion, cut into large pieces or pulverized in a food processor
- 2 cups chopped carrots
INSTRUCTIONS
1) In a large slow cooker, whisk together all of the ingredients listed above from the mushroom soup to the black pepper. Make sure your sauce is uniformly mixed and that the condensed soup sludge is all broken up.
2) Add everything else. Now, the way I usually do this is to add in everything but the mushrooms, and then just pile mushrooms onto the top of the pot until I figure it's at capacity. Hence the "at least" part of the 6 cup measurement above. Your mileage may vary when it comes to proportions of the various veggies, depending on just how large your pot is and how much you love one over the other. You want to make your stew carrot-heavy? Go right ahead. It just means that you'll probably have to take out a potato or two, to make room.
3) Cook on low heat 8 hours or so.
Crock-pot Butter Chicken
It's autumn! Which means it's time for slow cooker meals. Without further ado, here's one of my favourites. It was originally found somewhere on the internet via a link I've long since lost, and is one of those rare dishes that didn't need much tweaking to make it perfect for my tastes.
If anyone was curious, I've also tried this using stewing beef instead of chicken (because I discovered that I had stewing beef in the freezer and not chicken when the time came to cook), and it turned out tasty as well.
INGREDIENTS
- 8-12 chicken thighs, chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped (as always, the food processor is your friend)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic (see above comment)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 30 green cardamom pods, strung on thread or tied into cheesecloth
- 4 tsp curry powder
- 2 tbsp mild curry paste
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 tsp tandoori masala
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 cans of coconut milk (as I said on a previous recipe, I always try to look for cans that list only coconut and water as ingredients, such as Aroy-D brand. But I know those can be hard to find so feel free to use whatever you've got.)
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 2 x 5.5oz cans tomato paste
- vegetables (I prefer green beans (two good large handfuls) and cauliflower (one whole head), but you can use whatever appeals to you. You can also make this completely without veggies, if you prefer, as is more traditional with butter chicken, but I'm of the opinion that vegetables are good for me and all of that sauce might as well get slathered over something.)
- rice
INSTRUCTIONS
1) In a large slow cooker, combine all of the spices, coconut milk, yogurt, and tomato paste. I usually whisk those together first to make sure the sauce is uniformly mixed.
2) In a large fry pan, cook the chicken, garlic, and onion in the oils until the chicken is browned and the onion is tender.
3) Move chicken to the slow cooker full of sauce. Don't bother draining off the oil/butter, that's where all of the deliciousness is.
4) Cook on high heat for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. If you're short on time and need to just set the pot and go, add in the veggies right at the beginning and forget about them. If you've got the time, though, I usually add mine in when there's only an hour or two left to cook, so they don't get too mushy.
5) Remove the cardamom pods, if you can find them.
6) Serve over rice.
If anyone was curious, I've also tried this using stewing beef instead of chicken (because I discovered that I had stewing beef in the freezer and not chicken when the time came to cook), and it turned out tasty as well.
INGREDIENTS
- 8-12 chicken thighs, chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped (as always, the food processor is your friend)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic (see above comment)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 30 green cardamom pods, strung on thread or tied into cheesecloth
- 4 tsp curry powder
- 2 tbsp mild curry paste
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 tsp tandoori masala
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 cans of coconut milk (as I said on a previous recipe, I always try to look for cans that list only coconut and water as ingredients, such as Aroy-D brand. But I know those can be hard to find so feel free to use whatever you've got.)
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 2 x 5.5oz cans tomato paste
- vegetables (I prefer green beans (two good large handfuls) and cauliflower (one whole head), but you can use whatever appeals to you. You can also make this completely without veggies, if you prefer, as is more traditional with butter chicken, but I'm of the opinion that vegetables are good for me and all of that sauce might as well get slathered over something.)
- rice
INSTRUCTIONS
1) In a large slow cooker, combine all of the spices, coconut milk, yogurt, and tomato paste. I usually whisk those together first to make sure the sauce is uniformly mixed.
2) In a large fry pan, cook the chicken, garlic, and onion in the oils until the chicken is browned and the onion is tender.
3) Move chicken to the slow cooker full of sauce. Don't bother draining off the oil/butter, that's where all of the deliciousness is.
4) Cook on high heat for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. If you're short on time and need to just set the pot and go, add in the veggies right at the beginning and forget about them. If you've got the time, though, I usually add mine in when there's only an hour or two left to cook, so they don't get too mushy.
5) Remove the cardamom pods, if you can find them.
6) Serve over rice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)