Beef Stew with Collard Greens

So we'll just continue on with this really intense winter. As a friend of mine posted on Facebook, she had thought whew! January is done, but "Well played February, well played." We had our 11th snow cancellation today. Tomorrow we are on a 2 hour delay. The county I teach in is on a level 2 snow emergency though. That pretty much means that unless the roads get a lot better it's gonna be day 12 tomorrow. 

Big tender pieces of beef, tender carrots, and delicious collard greens!

Fortunately, I now own a pair of snow boots. I ordered those at Christmas. And then I got some birthday money and ordered a pair of snow pants. And today the Princess and I frolicked in the snow after she woke from her nap and I finished snow blowing our enormous driveway. (Our driveway isn't enormous like long, it's enormous like a parking lot.) We had a BLAST!

Here's the interesting thing about parenting. At the same time as I'm experiencing pure joy, I could also be experiencing some pure frustrations. Today, the Princess was as cute as could be. See? Isn't she darling peeking out from behind the tree? Who can resist her? 

She told me to stay where I was because she was peeking!

And yet. She is full of bodily fluids and they all happen to come out on me. On snow days like today when I don't manage to get up before her and her nap time lasts only as long as the snow blowing, I don't get to shower and I get the vague feeling I smell like poo. Or throw up.

This morning, after a difficult start, the Princess sat in her high chair in the kitchen coloring pictures for Grandma Peggy while I whipped together this stew for the crock pot. I should probably say I started with a tasty looking stew that I found on Pinterest by Betty Crocker. But it's been very snowy. And I did not have any beef bullion granules. (really who does?) And I wanted to serve it over rice because my mother-in-law says that rice helps to stop up a baby with a digestive system on overdrive. So I left out the potatoes. And my mom always put celery in her chili and putting celery in stew made me think of her so I doubled it. And then I got a little fancy with the deglazing the pan with red wine. (But that might have been because at that particular point in the morning I was wondering how stay at home mother's don't crack open the wine before lunch. The length of time I deglazed was about equal to checking the Princess for a fever, picking up the crayons that were thrown on the floor, wiping applesauce off the floor, the counter, and the Princess, and then giving in and parking the Princess in front of Daniel Tiger. But that doesn't sound all nice and recipe like. So until it is reduced by half.) And then I had some collard greens in the fridge and I thought that they wouldn't turn to gross mush when sitting in a crock pot forever and they might be a tasty addition. And yeah I don't have any quick cooking tapioca. I bought some about 5 years ago for a mushroom pork chop crock pot meal and I haven't cooked it in forever and I haven't used the tapioca since. So I threw it away. Last week. So I smooshed up some butter and flour to thicken the sauce instead. I will tell you that it turned out great. The Princess loved it. The Brain liked it. It might be the leftovers that won't last long. I just wish it photographed better.

Beef Stew with Collard Greens
an original Shazamer recipe

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine (a cheap, but drinkable variety)
2 stalks celery cut into chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 cups V8 (or other non-name brand vegetable juice)
2 big handfuls of chopped up collard greens
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour

Pat the beef stew meat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium high heat.  Working in 2 batches brown the meat on all sides. Put the meat in the slow cooker. Pour the half cup of red wine into the fry pan and scrape up the crusty bits in the pan. Simmer for a while until the red wine is reduced by about half. Pour it into the slow cooker. Add the celery, onion, Worcestershire, V8, and collard greens to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Smoosh together the butter and flour, then stir into the slow cooker until it dissolves. Continue to cook for another half hour then eat. Serve over rice.

Grape Jelly Meatballs

Well, I'm going to try this again. I really am going to put more of an effort into staying up and current on the blog. I've at least started taking photos of what I've actually cooked. If, say, I've actually cooked. So yes, more of an effort coming your way.

So how was your week? My week was interesting. And it flew by. Last weekend I was up in Michigan doing a four mile race walk with my mom. I came in third in my age group and she came in fourth in hers. Mom and I have done a couple of these type of races. I'm not supposed to run and Mom hates to exercise. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were going along pretty good until about 20 yards from the finish when a 90 year old man started to pick up speed and gain on us. I put in a final burst of speed and Mom wanted the guy to feel good about himself. I crossed the line seconds before him and then waited for Mom to cross seconds later.

The race drama was then followed by a nasty bought of bubonic plague, or the cold that just won't die. Fevers were abounding in the Shazam household. But I'm tired of being sick so I didn't call the doctor. Instead I substitute taught some very dull English classes and attended my university classes at night. I make a really bad English teacher. I just don't know how to make a class interesting when the lesson plan is read pages 160-176. hmmmm.

I also discovered that I'm turning into a fast food junkie. I have a funny feeling that maybe stopping at Taco Bell twice in one week might be contributing to not feeling so well (but those silly beef meximelts are so yummy.) Just a thought. I've decided Wendy's needs a rest because they keep screwing up my order. Who eats a baked potato with nothing at all on it? I did. After I asked the girl to make sure there was a fork in the bag and she didn't check to see if there was any butter or sour cream or anything in there too.

The Brain had a poker night since the last time I blogged. Centuries ago. And poker night always means fun food. This time I sent him over with a crock pot full of Grape Jelly Meatballs. They sound weird, I know. But really they are super delicious. The recipe is from a cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas several years back that she had hand written some of her good old recipes. She has written this recipe comes from Cooking Light, but I really really doubt it. And it's not on their website. She's been making these meatballs forever and they're a family favorite. They're now a poker night favorite too!

Grape Jelly Meatballs

from my mom ala "Cooking Light"

2 pounds ground beef

1 cup breadcrumbs

2/3 cup skim milk

1/2 cup minced fresh onion

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

cooking spray

1 cup ketchup

1 cup grape jelly

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl; shape mixture into 54 (1-inch) meatballs. Place half of the meatballs on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining meatballs.

Combine ketchup and jelly in a large nonstick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook until well blended- stirring frequently. Once sauce is smooth pour the sauce into a crock pot. Add the meatballs and keep warm in the slow cooker.

My mom uses her fondue pot to keep the meatballs warm.

Mushroom Sauce Pork Chops

I'm stuck in classes most nights and starting in January (or maybe December) I'll have a long term substitute teaching position to replace a pregnant math teacher. The Brain also works long hours for some clients who would test the patience of a saint. Thus our happy little family has become fairly dependent on the slow cooker. It didn't start out so well. In the beginning the slow cooker produced some of the very worst dinners yet. But, now that I've got the lovely Chester Pig in the freezer and found some delicious slow cooker cookbooks, I think I'm getting the hang of it!

This is the Brain's all time favorite slow cooker meal. He's also a really big fan of the Party Beans, but these Mushroom Sauce Pork Chops are his favorite. I think. I know he really really really likes them. I like that some time in the morning I just have to sear the chops and then throw them and a whole bunch of really inexpensive pantry items into the slow cooker and when I get home tired and hungry from school this delicious pork is all ready for me. And this pork is so tender usually just the bones are left in the slow cooker.

Mushroom Sauce Pork Chops

from Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes

4 pork chops

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 medium onion thinly sliced

2 Tbsp quick cooking tapioca

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup sherry

1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp garlic powder

egg noodles

Trim fat from chops and brown on both sides in a skillet in hot oil. Drain off fat. In 5 quart slow cooker place onion and then chops. If you have a mortar and pestle grind tapioca to a powder, otherwise place tapioca in a plastic baggie and whack away at it with a meat tenderizer. In a bowl, combine tapioca, soup, sherry, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour over chops.

Cover and cook on low for 8 or 9 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

Braised Chicken Drumsticks

I don't believe I've mentioned recently how much I love this cookbook. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for 2 has a tremendous amount of really good slow cooker recipes just the right size for me and the Brain. That and we haven't had anything turn out bad yet. That's kind of an understatement. Everything we've made has been really really good. And there's not a can of cream of mushroom soup in sight. Actually the cookbook is very lactose intollerant friendly. A definite plus on our noses.

Today's recipe of Braised Chicken Drumsticks with Garbanzo Beans and Dried Fruit is yet another example of the excellent food in this cookbook. I followed Courtney's lead and went over to Spark Recipes and figured out the nutritional value. This super delicious and easy crock pot dish is very high in both Vitamin C and fiber. The sodium and fat content were a little high so I cut out 1 tablspoon of oil and used low sodium chicken broth. I was also surprised to find out that there were only 4g sugar. I think that makes it a good dish for diabetics, however Atkins type people might want to be aware of the 44g carbohydrates. I need those carbs though to power myself around the block again. I'm getting speedier and now I don't hurt until the last 3 houses. Whoo look at me go now.

Ooops. I got sidetracked there. Anyway, check out Sparks Recipes. It's a pretty interesting site and you can totally find out the nutrition content easily for your recipes.

Braised Chicken Drumstics with Garbanzo Beans and Dried Fruit

from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Slow Cooker Recipes for 2

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

4 dried apricot halves, each cut into quarters

2 Tbsp golden raisins

1 cup chicken broth, low sodium

1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cumin

pinch of mace

pinch of ground ginger

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 chicken drumsticks

a few strips of orange zest

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Spray the inside of the crock with nonstick cooking spray. Place the onion, pepper, cilantro, apricots, and raisins in the slow cooker. Add 3/4 cup of the broth, the vinegar, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, mace, ginger, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat and add the chicken legs. Cook until the chicken is browned , about 5 minutes; add to the crock, laying the pieces side by side.Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours (or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours), until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken legs from the crock with a slotted spoon to a plate; cover with foil and keep warm.Increase the heat to HIGH. Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth, the orange zest, and the cornstarch in a small bowl; stir into the vegetables and broth in the crock. Return the chicken to the crock, cover, and continue to cook for 15 minutes, until sauce is thickened. Serve hot. Serves 2.

Per Serving: 358.1 Calories, 10.7g Fat, (1.7g Saturated Fat), 57.0mg Cholesterol, 956.0mg Sodium, 680.1mg Potassium, 44.5 total Carbohydrate, 6.6g Fiber, 4.0g Sugar, 22.5g Protein.

Lamb Chops in Beer

Finally I have cooked something delicious in the slow cooker! Yippee!

You see, I may or may not have sneaked into the Borders last time I was in the next county. It's the only Borders in a 50 mile radius. And I had a coupon. A 25% off coupon. Borders Rewards is a wonderful thing. So while I cannot confirm (because I may spend more than I possible should there) that I was in the Borders, I can tell you that I have this cookbook I really like so far. It's called Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two. And whoa, there's some nice looking recipes in there.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I have a small food hoarding problem. We're also buying a quarter of a cow in the next couple weeks. So getting some of the food out of the freezer would probably be a good idea. We could buy a deep freeze, but chances are we would probably fill that if we had it. Anyhow, I was poking around in the freezer and came across 4 little lamb chops. Not the Frenched fancy kind, but the more choppy kind.

So here I was with 4 little meaty pieces of lamb and a slow cooker book that didn't belong to my momma. OK, my momma never used a slow cooker and my only childhood memories of a slow cooker were for grandma's baked beans on a buffet and my Hungarian aunt's oh so delicious cabbage rolls. So I pulled out my little 2 quart crock pot. Which I'm guessing may have been a wedding present, because it still had the plastic thing on the plug. I know we got a mammoth one as a wedding present, but I can't use that with a slow cooker book for 2 people. We don't eat THAT much. Well, we could probably try, but that would be gluttony. Interestingly enough gluttony in food isn't considered one of the seven deadly sins anymore.

OK I'm off topic again. Sorry. I had my book, my little slow cooker, my lamb chops and a cold Michelob Light. And I had the perfect recipe. Lamb Chops in Beer. I popped the vegetables and chops in the slow cooker poured a beer on top and off we went to church and then to Walmart. Church in the middle of the early afternoon because after the double whammy of 14 to 18 inches of snow and daylight savings weekend, we simply didn't wake up early enough to dig ourselves out for morning mass.

After we cleaned Walmart out of a sizable chunk of groceries, we came home to a delicious smelling house and some of the best lamb chops I've ever had. And I'm entering this into a fun food blog event called Weekend Cookbook Challenge (WCC) which this month is being hosted by the oh so lovely Lisa at La Mia Cucina. The theme is Crock Pots, Dutch Ovens and Pressure Cookers.

Lamb Chops in Beer

from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two

1 medium sized onion, sliced

2 medium sized carrots, sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/8 tsp dried thyme

4 lamb chops

2 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

cooking spray

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 Michelob Light

1. Combine the onion carrots, potatoes, garlic, parsley, and thyme in the crock. Sprinkle the chops with the flour and season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, heat the chops over medium high heat. Sear both sides, about 2 minutes total. Place them in the crock, laying them side by side. Add the tomato and pour the beer over the top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.

Just Like Grandma Used to Make

It's Monday night again. And again the dilemma of what to make for dinner that would be ready between getting off work and Spin class. Again the idea of the crock pot comes to mind. Somewhat bolstered by last Monday's attempt, I decided to give it another shot.

According to The Joy of Cooking, a general rule of thumb is "estimate 2 hours on low or 1 hour on high in a slow cooker for every 30 minutes of cooking time in the original recipe." SO, not finding any really interesting recipes that didn't contain a can of cream of mushroom soup (the stuff is fairly unnatural) or a lot of sour cream, I tried to think of recipes that have long cooking times. I tried to think of foods that were cooked to death.

As an aside, the Brain has requested a reprieve from soup. So although I love soup and I'm fairly sure that chili would work in the slow cooker, I won't be making soup until January.

The number one food cooked to death in my mind is Pot Roast.

Now my mother cooked Pot Roast to death, but she sort of mummified it. Don't get me wrong, my mother can make all sorts of yummy and delicious things. She makes a Rice Bavarian that us kids fight over. Her fruitcake is eaten straight from the freezer. For birthdays, when we could choose what we wanted for dinner, 5 times a year she would roll out ravioli from scratch. My brother #3's birthday is 2 days before mine so she wouldn't make ravioli twice in two days. In the '70s she would throw elaborate dinner parties, serving Fondue, Chinese Food, and Chicken Cordon Blue. But my mother cannot cook Pot Roast. She sort of fried it for a couple hours and then used the electric carving knife to cut it into chunks. The potatoes and carrots were delicious and caramelized, but us kids nicknamed the Pot Roast "Hockey Puck Pot Roast".

It wasn't until after I'd moved out and after my dad's mom died that I realized that the delicious meat chunks floating in gravy that Grandma cooked were also Pot Roast. My Grandma was a terrific woman. She spoke with a New England accent so that when we'd be at her cottage on Lake Huron she's say things like, "the lake is cahm today." Grandma had infinite patience with me, she kept a vat of Noxzema to cover my sunburns, she brilliantly answered every question I ever had, and she really wasn't the best cook. [She could definitely bake chocolate chip cookies, but I'll save that story for another day.] She overcooked most of her vegetables and sometimes mixed them with mashed potatoes. She stuffed her turkey with ground beef. But, somehow, cooking the living daylights out of Pot Roast really worked. So I followed her example.

This morning I put the Pot Roast in the crock pot, set the timer for 8 hours, and hoped. It fell apart. There was too much gravy. It was EXACTLY like Grandma's! Well, Grandma used a packet and a half of French Onion Soup mix, but that's just a little too icky for me. I'm not a huge fan of processed food. So I shredded the meat and made half the cooking liquid into gravy, mixed it together and went off to spin. I got home and made some mashed potatoes as the Brain walked in and for once, the slow cooker worked it's magic for us.

Now I just need to think of another food that's cooked to death for next week...

Pot Roast

original recipe by Me (inspired by Grandma, Elizabeth Flint Uicker)

1 tsp olive oil

1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 large onion sliced

1 cup red wine

4 garlic cloves minced

4 cups beef broth*

1 bay leaf

2 tsp flour

1 cup water

Drizzle olive oil in large skillet. Sprinkle chuck roast with salt and pepper and sear on all sides. Place chuck roast in crock pot. Place sliced onions and minced garlic on top of roast. Pour in wine and broth. Add bay leaf. Cook on low for 8 hours. Pull roast apart. Pour cooking liquids into saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce by half. Mix water and flour in small bowl and add to cooking juices to make gravy. Add roast to gravy and serve over mashed potatoes.

* Next time I would definitely reduce this to 2 cups.

Maybe

This morning in an attempt, yet again, to have a nice filling home cooked meal between coming home from work and going to that Monday night spin class, I pulled out the crock pot. The Brain's first response on his way to the shower was, "Oh are we having pizza tonight?" I told him maybe.

This latest attempt at crock-potting involved a Boston butt. (Isn't that the greatest name for a cut of pork?) Anyhow, this is another Cooking Light recipe and I checked out the reviews before making it. A lot of people liked it, and the ones that didn't thought it was bland. So I doubled up on the garlic, added some ground black pepper, some beef broth, and a 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. When I finally got home I was eager to find out if I was having Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans, or if we were indeed ordering pizza. The result?

It was OK.

It smelled good. I was excited to see the pork literally falling apart in the pan. The beans were soft and almost creamy. But it tasted kind of beige. Well the garlic and the salt came through, but it needs a kick. I'm not sure exactly what kind of kick it needs though. As I'll be eating plenty of leftovers of it, I may try adding a swirl of balsamic vinegar. I know vinegar always helps a navy bean soup. Or I might try sprinkling in some cayenne pepper for a little heat. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll get great overnight in the fridge.

Crock pot 2 Me 0.

Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 (1 pound) bag dried navy beans

1 Tbsp minced fresh sage

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground fennel

16 cloves garlic, minced

21/2 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)

4 cups water

1 cup beef broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

a couple shakes of black pepper

Sort and wash navy beans and place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; Cover and let stand overnight.

Drain the beans and place in the crock pot. Place the Boston butt on top of the beans. Rub the herbs and seasonings and garlic into the pork. Pour on the water and broth. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.