Inspiration comes from all sorts of places… Having my little brother in the kitchen the other night reminded me that I have a slow cooker from the wedding that I haven’t gotten to break out yet:) I decided to pull it out for Brett tonight since I had some time to start on it earlier then I usually do. I taste tested it and I have to say… It was awesome! 🙂 Brett gobbled it in about 5 minutes so I figured I should post it. It’s such an easy thing to throw together. I’m surprised I haven’t used my slow cooker more often, and this dish has also given me a little sense of comfort in knowing I can have a great meal ready for Brett and not have to worry about rushing home if there’s a class I want to go to one day…
Ingredients:
• Beef: rump roast, tenderloin etc… There are so many cuts that would work. The key is finding cuts with marbling throughout
• 1 lg brown potato or 4-6 small red potatoes cubed
• 1/2 yellow onion sliced
• 3 celery sticks cut approximately 1cm
• 3 carrots cut approximately 1cm thick
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tbs fresh basil paste or a small handful of cut basil
• 1 cube chicken or beef bouillon
• 1/2 cup red or white wine (white will be a sweeter taste)
• 1/2 cup of beef or veggie broth
Dry seasonings:
• 1tsp coarse salt & pepper
• 1/2 tsp curry
• garlic & herb seasonings (Mrs. Dash is ok)
My dad left a stack of thick steaks at my house so I cubed 2 of them and applied the dry seasonings.
Once you have the meat seasoned, turn the slow cooker on… (med/high if you need in ready in 2 hrs, low if you’re leaving it for the day)
*To lock the flavors in the meat and prevent it from being chewy, sear the meat in a skillet with EVOO and some minced garlic. Take the meat straight from the skillet to the slow cooker and dump the drippings on top.
Then just dump everything else in. I’d start with the potatoes and onion since they take the longest. Finish with the rest of the garlic, wine and broth. Remember that the meat and other food will sweat as it cooks so it may not seem like a lot of liquid but don’t worry:)
Put the cover on and leave it! If you’re home and want to mix the food here and there then by all means do it! The great part about this though is that you don’t have to. I left mine on high for 2 hours and when I got back the kitchen smelled amazing:) I scooped it in a dish for Brett and Voila!
Get that slow cooker out ladies! And gents… Enjoy! Mrs.B