by jphilo | Nov 15, 2017 | Recipes
Life around here is getting into a making-it-through-fall-with-1-broken-foot-and-a-pregnant-woman groove. Basically, that means we’re always on the hunt for recipes that are tasty, nutritious, easy, and economical. Now that we’ve become one of “those families” with a variety of food allergies–dairy for Jolene, Anne, and Kailen, soy (for sure) and gluten (perhaps) for Tad–the recipes also need to be adaptable to those restrictions.
Today’s recipe for beef ragu was found in a free magazines distributed by Hy-Vee, a regional grocery store chain. Made in a slow cooker, it meets the “easy” requirement. The main ingredients listed were nutritious, inexpensive ones like tomatoes and carrots. I substituted an inexpensive chuck roast for the flank steak to make it even more economical. Four of the five of us thought it was mighty tasty. The Man of Steel warmed up to the flavors once he, as our token adult dairy eater, sprinkled it with parmeseon cheese. The only modification made was preparing gluten-free noodles for Tad.
The only fail of the night was when the cook forgot to take a picture before she started eating. But I managed to prepare the entire meal and set the table with no help (other than asking someone else to drain the noodles) despite a broken foot, so I’m feeling good. We all agreed this recipe is a keeper that can be doubled or tripled to make freezer meals. So it’ll hit our table again, and I’ll snap a picture then. In the meantime, here’s the recipe:
Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu
1 1/2 pounds chuck steak
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced Italian-style tomatoes with onion and garlic
1/4 cup water
2 medium carrots, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons tomato paste
12 oz. wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
Cut chuck roast into chunks and place in slow cooker. Add tomatoes, water, garlic, carrots, bay leaves, and Italian seasoning. Stir well. Cover and set cooker on low for 5-6 hours. Discard bay leaves and stir in tomato paste. Serve over cooked noodles and enjoy!
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by jphilo | Feb 10, 2016 | Recipes
During our last visit to see the grandkids, the cook served the most delicious pulled pork. The Man of Steel raved over it so much I had to asked for the recipe and was directed to the 100 Days of Real Food website. That’s where I learned that the recipe for crock pot pulled pork was low in sugar and had no preservatives. Plus it was easy, and has been mentioned before, had already received the coveted Hiram Seal of Approval.
This makes a large batch. We ate some, saved some for left overs, and froze the rest for another meal in a couple weeks.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
- 3 to 3 ½ pounds pork shoulder, cut in half
- In a bowl, mix the dry spices together with a fork.
- Add the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir until smooth.
- Place the onion in the bottom of the crock pot Top it with the 2 pieces of pork and then pour the spice mixture over every side of the meat.
- Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 6 hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork.
- Remove the meat from the crock pot and place in a pan to cool. Once it has cooled, shred the meat and return it to the liquid in the crock pot.
- Serve warm on buns. For a side dish try fresh spinach salad.
by jphilo | Apr 8, 2015 | Recipes
For the past several months, I’ve been creating and freezing meals for my son and daughter-in-law and for my daughter and son-n-law, all parents of the 2 most adorable babies born in 2015. I have lost count of how many meals I’ve cooked, frozen, packed in coolers, and hauled to Wisconsin on the weekends we’ve visited.
The freezer meal binge ended well with this recipe for slow cooker corned beef and cabbage. It originally appeared at the Family Fresh Meal site. I made a double batch so we could eat some for supper and have enough left over for a freezer meal for each family. One batch went into the slow cooker (and the batches are big) to cook all day. The other was cooked in my big cast iron dutch oven in a 250 degree oven. It was done about 2 hours sooner than was the slow cooker. The adjusted times for adding vegetables for the oven version are in parentheses.
The meal was delicious and received the coveted Hiram seal of approval. I hope the frozen meals (3 gallon bags full) are just as good.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
5-6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, cut into wedges
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
8 ounce beer (I split a 12 ounce bottle between the 2 batches and had plenty of broth)
3 pounds corned beef brisket
1 pound carrots (about 4) peeled and cut into strips
1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
1 pound head of green cabbage, cut into wedges
Place onion wedges and garlic at the bottom of slow cooker. These will act as a stand for meat, so it doesn’t touch the bottom and dry out. Place beef on top of onions and garlic.
Next, mix together water, beer, sugar and vinegar. Pour over beef and then sprinkle seasoning packet that came with the corned beef over meat.
Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours. (For dutch oven method, cook in 250 degree oven for 6 hours.)
After 4 hours of cooking, add in potatoes and carrots. (Add potatoes and carrots after 3 hours for dutch oven method.) Cover and continue cooking.
When 1 hour remains (40 minutes for dutch oven), add quartered cabbage and cook the remainder of the time. Serve hot with broth on the side for dipping and drizzling. Yum!
For freezer meals, allow the meat and vegetables to cool, place in zippered freezer bags and place in freezer, like this:
Cover and continue cooking
by jphilo | Feb 25, 2015 | Recipes
Today’s recipe falls into the this-looks-like-a-good-freezer-meal-to-take-to-my-daughter-when-her-baby-is-born category. And since that baby is due in early April, February is none to soon to test some new dishes before investing in double batches and freezer bags.
This recipe comes from the Eat at Home website, and it was unbelievably easy to put together. And because once it’s served, diners can add their own toppings, I could make mine non-dairy (as in the photo above) while the Man of Steel piled his high with cheese and sour cream.
I will do a few things differently before preparing it again. First, the chicken breast seemed a bit dry, so I’ll try hindquarters next time. Second, I’ll cook it on low rather than high as the meat was fall apart done long before the suggested cooking time. Third, I’ll spread my tortillas with refried beans to add another layer of flavor.
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
1 pound boneless, skinnless chicken breasts or 2 pounds skinless chicken hindquarters
3 peppers, sliced (green, yellow, orange, or red)
1 large onion, sliced
1 package taco seasoning
Place sliced vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot. Put meat on top and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Remove meat from pot and cool. Shred with a fork and place back in crock pot. Stir everything well.
Serve hot on tortillas. Top with your favorite toppings: salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, onions, olives. Spread refried bean on the tortilla first, if you like.
by jphilo | Mar 26, 2014 | Recipes
This recipe has been a family favorite since the first year Hiram and I were married. We found it in the cookbook that came with the crock pot we received as a wedding present in 1977. This pork roast recipe receive the coveted Hiram seal of approval long before the award was invented. It’s easy, delicious, and wows people at dinner parties. Without further ado, here’s one of my all time favorite recipes.
Oriental Pork Roast with Gravy
2 – 3 pound pork roast 1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup soy sauce 1 clove garlic, minced
Place pork roast in crock pot. Pour soy sauce over roast. Sprinkle roast with minced garlic. Arrange sliced onion on top. Turn crock pot on low setting and cook for 8 – 10 hours. Twenty minutes before serving, lift roast onto a serving platter. Slice meat and cover it to keep it warm.
To make gravy, pour drippings into a measuring cup. Skim off fat. Add water to drippings until you have 1 ¾ cups of liquid. Put liquid in a saucepan. Blend together 1/3 cup flour and ½ cup water. Slowly add flour mixture to liquid in the saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until liquid comes to a rolling boil. Turn down heat and let it boil gently for a few minutes. Pour into a gravy boat and serve with the meat.
