I found a deal on some beef stew meat at the Teeter so I decided to throw it in the crockpot. I don’t know if I’ve done this yet, but I’ve got to wax philosophical about the crock pot. Basically, y’all, if the crock pot is appropriate for cooking what you’re trying to cook (and sometimes if it isn’t), the crock pot is the proverbial shit. It’s the ultimate lazy or busy person’s cooking tool. You can turn something on low and cook it for the entire time you’re at work and it’ll be ready for dinner. For something like beef stew (or any number of other things), the recipe with the crock pot goes something like “dump things in crockpot, turn to low, leave for 8 hours”. Not to mention, it’s a handy holding device for leftovers that will keep your food in the fridge for days.
Here’s what I put in the crock pot on Saturday
- beef stew meat (pick your favorite)
- a red onion, chopped (not too small)
- russet potato, chopped (ditto)
- handful of chopped carrots
- salt/pepper
- red pepper flakes
- 2 bouillon cubes – seriously, go buy some of these and keep them in your house
- 2 cups boiling water
Here’s what it looked like
I cooked it for about 8 hours. I was really pleased with how it turned out. The broth that was left over was amazing and had very complex flavors. I might tone down the red pepper flakes if you’re not a spicy person, but I liked it. I was pretty generous with the salt and pepper and I think that was appropriate. I think if I was going to do this again, I might consider some vegetables that would provide color, maybe some peas or something. But other than that, I was really pleased, and of course, had plenty of leftovers.
The finished product is below.
Recent Comments