Tag Archives: Crock Pot Buddies

Mean Lean Beef Stew

Posted in Crock Pot Thursdays, Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

Picture this:  Racing home to pick the kids up from the bus stop, to immediately turn around and drive one child to ballet and the other to soccer.  Repeat in reverse order and return home.  Almost 6pm, kids are beginning to work on their homework and Hubby is about to walk through the door.  What’s for dinner is on everyone’s hungry mind?

Unless I was Iron Chef-ing (the practice of cooking up meals all on one day for the week ahead) the previous Sunday, it’s either a quick pasta with butter or sandwiches on a defrosted hamburger roll from last summer.   All the while, my crock pot sits in the cabinet.

But folks, the weather is getting cold and the hours between work and after school activities and homework and dinner are short.   Whip out the crock pots, because The Harried Mom and are back – for a limited time and as our schedule permits – for some wholesome, delicious crock pot meals.

For my triumphant return to the Thursday Crock Pot Buddies, I decided to cook A Mean Lean Beef Stew.  Hearty, rich and full of nutritious goodness, this is the meal that keeps on giving.  This meal has comfort oozing with every bite and best of all – feeds a family of four at least twice.

Lean Mean Beef Stew

CrockPot2.13BeefStewIngredients:

2 pounds of beef cubes (filet mignon is the most tender)

4 potatoes cut in cubes (skin left on b/c I am too lazy it that is where all the vitamins are)

1 bag of small carrots rinsed

1 large white onion chopped

1 pint of large cherry tomatoes

8 ounces of water

8 ounces of beef broth

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

Directions:

Take the meat and place in a large bowl.  Add a dash of salt and pepper and set aside.

Add the remaining ingredients and the meat together in the crock pot.  Take a large spoon and mix everything together.

Add another dash of salt and pepper.

Set the timer to 6 hours and forget about it until then.

The meal is best served with a loaf of warm french bread and some butter.  Suggested sides can include either rice or pasta but the meal itself is just fine without it.  So now hop on over to The Harried Mom and check out what she is cooking.  If you have a blog, link up with us and share your post here.  If you don’t have a blog, post your comments here or on Facebook and remember……

There is Always Time for a Home Cooked Meal!

 

There is Always Time for a Home Cooked Meal – Juicy Pulled Pork

Posted in Crock Pot Thursdays, Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

If it’s Thursday, you know it is time for Crock Pot Buddies! 

This is now week five for me and my cooking-partner-in-crime Debra over at The Harried Mom.  Have you tried any recipes yet?  Let us know!

Trying to recover from last week’s debacle of a meal, I decided to try a recipe that was not only easy, but that would redeem my cooking abilities.  On the recommendation of my PTO President and Mom extraordinaire, I set out to make a Juicy Pulled Pork.

Sunday afternoon, without the gaggle of children to distract me, I set off to the “civilized” supermarket.  What is the civilized supermarket?  In a nutshell, it’s not the chaos that is known as ShopRite.  While ShopRite prices are unbeatable, the staff friendly and their selection fresh, in my neck of the woods, its Super Bowl Sunday and Thanksgiving craziness every day.  So I save my pennies and treat myself to shopping at McCaffrey’s -the civilized way.

Making my way through the aisles with a warm roasted cup of gourmet coffee, I arrived at the butcher section and found at least a dozen varieties of pork to choose from.  Then the panic set in.  Which piece of pork would work best?  No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, then appeared the McCaffrey’s butcher (who for the sake of this post – let’s say resembled a handsome Tom Cruise,  “pre” couch jumping) to help me select the perfect cut.  Soon I was checking out my groceries and heading home excited to cook my Juicy Pulled Pork.

Sunday became Monday and soon Monday became Tuesday and I had yet to plug in the Crock Pot.  Perhaps it was the fear of another failure or just down right hectic schedules, but it wasn’t until 2pm Tuesday afternoon that I pulled together the nerve to cook.

In my honest opinion, the pulled pork came out delicious.  It was moist and tangy and flavorful.  With a side of smashed potatoes (because the skin is healthy a.k.a., “I don’t peel potatoes”) and crisp green beans, the pork was complimented with not only flavor, but color.

Now, if you ask my hubby (who I am sure you will find commenting below) there was an “overpowering taste of vinegar”.  I neglected to add brown sugar to the recipe in fear of a repeat of last week, but hubby insisted as he ate his portion, that brown sugar would have made the recipe perfect.

Dinner was served and eaten and without a piece of pork left over – much to the disappointment of last week’s canine recipients of burnt rubber chicken.

In my book, Juicy Pulled Pork is a winner!    Buon Appettito!

Juicy Pulled Pork

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Serves: 4 Adults and 2 half-lings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of pork (Butcher Cruise suggested the loin cut)

1 cup of vinegar

3 cups of vegetable soup

1/2 cup of ketchup

1 package of McCormick pulled pork seasoning

1/4 cup of brown sugar (if you so wish)

Directions:

Place pork in the crock pot.

Combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the pork.

Around the 3rd hour of cooking, pull the pork apart with a fork and leave until the 4th hour of cooking.

Serve warm and enjoy!


Now it’s your turn!  Visit The Harried Mom who is cooking up Pork Ribs in Tomato Sauce and share your recipe.

If you do not have a blog, simply share your recipe with us in the comment section below!

There is Always Time for a Home Cooked Meal – Potato Soup

Posted in Crock Pot Thursdays, Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

Week two for me and my Crock Pot Buddy, The Harried Mom, and we are enjoying this project more than we ever thought!  This week, we both tried the same Baked Potato Soup recipe.  Using her Cadillac Crock Pot and I with my Yugo, we embarked on a vegetarian recipe that turned out……

well….I will let you find out how things turned out.

Back during my college days, I held various jobs to help pay my tuition.  One of my favorite jobs was waitressing at Houlihan’s in Weehawken, NJ –  primarily because it was the summer, I had the stamina to stay up really late and they made the best Baked Potato Soup.  Everything about this soup was perfect.  The taste.  The texture. The cheese.  Back then, I was fit as a fiddle (what does that really mean anyway?) and I could eat almost anything I wanted.   Almost 15 years later, everything has changed.  I am now a permanent waitress to two steady customers who live in my home that tip with sticky kisses instead of cash, I really don’t function well past 11pm and the mere sight of baked potato soup adds one inch to my waistline.

So when I came across a recipe for “healthy” baked potato soup, I had to try it for the Crock Pot project.  Coming off the triumphant heels of the Beef Chili recipe, I felt invincible.

AND….the triumph was short-lived.

First came the realization that I had to peel the potatoes.  I would like to tell you that I keep the skin on all my potato recipes because I am aware of the nutritional value the skin contains, but that would be a blatant lie.  In my rush to get most dinners prepped and cooked, I scrub the potatoes clean and make either smashed potatoes or a family favorite, potatoes al’ forno.

“Honey,”  I called.  “Could you lend me hand?”

“With what?” answers my cautious hubby.

“Um..can you peel the potatoes?”

“Use the peeler.  It’s easier,” my husband responds.

Well, turns out we DON’T EVEN OWN a peeler.  I recall having one at some point, but at that moment, we could not find any!

Once I finished peeling the potatoes, I proceeded with putting together the remaining portions of the recipe.  One stick of butter (wow…that is not healthy, but it’s not as if I am eating the entire stick myself, right?)  1 quart of chicken broth (darn it!  I meant for this to be a vegetarian dish), 1/2 cup of half and half or heavy cream and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (well, there goes healthy).

“Honey,” I called.  “Remember the bacon you bought this morning? Please go ahead and cook it!”

This recipe was no longer healthy or vegetarian.

Four hours later, my kitchen smelled sinfully good.  I swear I would gain an ounce each time I removed the crock pot lid to check on my masterpiece.  As we prepared for dinner (which included another couple and their two children), I was nervous.  If this recipe was a debacle, I would have to feed my guests cheerios and a side salad.

While the taste was not quite Houlihan’s Baked Potato Soup, it was pretty darn good.  In fact, everyone helped themselves to second servings and I had just two small leftover containers remaining –  one which my guests gladly took home with them.

Baked Potato Soup

6 Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled and cut into chunks

1 white onion chopped(I used yellow onion and I found the smell too strong)

3 gloves of garlic minced

1 quart of chicken broth (or you can use 1 quart of veggie broth)

1 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 1/2 cup of heavy cream (I used half and half but the heavy cream would lend to better consistency)

1 cup of cheddar shredded cheese

Place the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, salt and pepper in the crock pot and set to high 4 hours.  At the 4th hour, mash the contents in the crock pot.  Once blended, add the heavy cream and the shredded cheese into the crock pot and let it cook for another 30 minutes.  Serve with additional shredded cheese or bacon bits!

Buon Appetito!

So now it’s your turn!  Visit The Harried Mom (I think she is still peeling potatoes) and then link with us at Thursday Crock Pot Buddies.  Share with us your recipe!