Guinness Beef Stew

I absolutely love stew in the winter.  Growing up in England I have fond memories of big pots of beef or lamb stew simmering away for hours and nothing says winter food to me more than a bowl of hot stew, suet dumplings are a must but unfortunately for me this time I was all out of the vegetable suet I need to make my dumplings, but the stew was still delicious.

This is a little different than the traditional stew that I make, with the addition of the Guinness, I guess it made it more of an Irish stew, but that's close enough to home for me!

2 lbs boneless stew beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 parsnips
3 carrots
3 potatoes
2 celery stalks
1 bottle Guinness
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
2 sprigs fresh time
1 bay leaf
2 cups beef broth
salt and pepper
flour for coating

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large pan.  Coat the beef chunks in the flour and brown in the oil.  Add the browned beef to the bottom of a slow cooker.  Top with the chopped onion, the peeled and chopped vegetables season with salt and pepper.

Pour the beef broth and Guinness into the slow cooker, stir in the tomato paste, worcester sauce and add in the bay leaf and thyme.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

Time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal.  This month I was assigned the blog Tasty Cheapskate, a really interesting blog with lots of yummy recipes.

I had seen a simple crock pot chicken curry floating around pinterest and some other blogs I read and had put that recipe on my list to try,  so when I saw almost the same curry recipe on my assigned blog I knew that this had to be my chosen recipe.  I changed the recipe just a little by adding carrots as that is what I had seen in other recipes, but this turned out to be an easy and delicious meal.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
15 oz tomato sauce
2 tbsp curry powder (I used Penzeys sweet curry)
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice

Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt, cayenne, onion and carrots to the crockpot.  Stir together, then add the chicken, turning to coat in the sauce.

Cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir in the lemon juice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Burgundy Pot Roast

If I make pot roast I usually always make pepsi pot roast, but I really wanted to try something new. This burgundy pot roast from Rock Recipes looked really good to me because it looked like an English Sunday roast, with parsnips, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

4 lb chuck roast
1  lb  carrots
1 lb parsnip
1 large onion, quartered
3 cups beef stock
1 1/2 cups burgundy wine
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp black pepper
6 springs fresh thyme
3 cloves minced garlic

Season  the beef with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan and brown the roast on all sides, then place in the bottom of a crockpot.  Add the peeled carrots and parsnips, the quartered onion, the beef stock, wine, worcester sauce, thyme, garlic, bay leaves and pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

 

Rudy's Creamed Corn

As soon as I saw this recipe over at Bluebonnets & Brownies I knew I had to make this for Randal. Every time we eat at Rudy's BBQ he orders the creamed corn, and always comments that he wished we could make it at home. The end result was very close to Rudy's corn, but Randal thought it was a little bland, but he always wants his food spicy. The original recipe uses 4 lbs of corn, but I halved the recipe because we really didn't need 4 lbs of creamed corn!


2 lbs frozen sweet corn
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place everything into a slow cooker and heat on low for four hours.

Chicken-n-Dumplings

I've never made chicken-n-dumplings before, I don't think I have ever really eaten them until my friend Allison made some for me a couple of weeks ago while I was sick. The only dumplings I am used to making are the suet kind that I eat with lamb stew in the winter, so these were different. Randal and I both really enjoyed Allison's soup so I wanted to try and make them myself.

This is a little different to Allison's recipe and while these were good, Allison's was better!


2 large chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp dried parsley
4 refrigerated biscuits

Put the chicken in the slow cooker and add the butter, soup, broth, parsley and onion. Cook for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken, cut biscuits into pieces and add to the soup, cook for 30 minutes.

Indian-Spiced Butternut Squash

One of my favourite new cookbooks is Anupy Singla's The Indian Slow Cooker. This is the first recipe I have made from this book, but it definitely won't be the last, even Randal enjoyed this squash along side his chicken tikka.


2 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 brown cardamom pods
1 2-inch cinnamon stick
1 red onion, sliced
1 medium tomato, diced
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground coriander
3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp garam masala
1-2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a small sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the fenugreek, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture sizzles. Add the onion and cook for another minute or two, stirring, until the onion browns slightly. Add to the slow cooker and turn it on high.

Add the tomato, turmeric and coriander, and mix well. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the squash, and mix again. Turn the cooker to low and cook for 4 hours, stirring once each hour.

Add the jalapeño, brown sugar, garam masala, 1 tsp of salt, cayenne and lemon juice.

Chicken Burrito Soup

I found this recipe at Tasty Kitchen and I had everything on hand to make it, so decided to try it. The hubby loved it, I thought it was a little too spicy, which was my fault as I used spicy taco seasoning.


* 1 clove Garlic, Minced
* 1 whole Onion, Diced
* 2 cans Rotel (10 Ounce Cans)
* 2 cans Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed (15 Ounce Cans)
* 2 cans Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed (15 Ounce Cans)
* 1 can Petite Diced Tomatoes, With The Juice (28 Ounce Can)
* 1 can Chicken Broth (14 Ounce Can)
* 1 envelope Taco Seasoning (1 Ounce Package)
* 2 teaspoons Chili Powder (or More To Taste)
* 1 Tablespoon Cumin (or More To Taste)
* 2-½ pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs, Cut Into Pieces

Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, until the chicken is done.

Slow Cooker Chicken Makhani

I love butter chicken, I've never made it in the crockpot before, but it was so easy and turned out so good and definitely spicy! I got the recipe from A year of slow cooking



2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 T butter
15 cardamom pods
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt

Put chicken in crockpot, and add onion, garlic, and all of the dry spices (put the cardamom pods in cheesecloth). Add in the butter and tomato paste. Add lemon juice and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.

Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods.

Carolina Pot Roast With Ginger Snap Gravy

I found this recipe over at Dinners For A Year and just had to try it. DH was a little more skeptical, when asked if he thought he would like the ginger snap gravy, his response was "well, there's always ketchup" but I am happy to report that he ate this last night and the ketchup bottle was never opened! we both really liked this pot roast and will definitely be making it again!

4 pound eye round roast or rump roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger root, grated
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup flour
3 cups beef broth
2 teaspoons beef bouillon
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ginger snap crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat, brown roast on all sides then transfer to crock pot.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onions until softened, add garlic, ginger, chili powder, nutmeg, beef bouillon, sugar and pepper and cook for about a minute
Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook for another minute

Add beef broth and cook for another minute

Pour mixture over roast, cover and cook on low for 9 - 10 hours, until meat is tender

Remove meat and add sour cream and ginger snap crumbs, season to taste

Pepsi Pot Roast

Anyone that knows my hubby, knows that two of his favourite things are beef and pepsi, so I figured a meal made out of the two should be pretty perfect for him!

I have made pepsi pot roast a few times now, and I have to say that it is probably my favourite way of slow cooking a pot roast. I am really not a fan of dry onion soup mix or those cream of mushroom soups that many pot roast recipes seem to have, so I like to use a can of tomato sauce mixed with the pepsi and a dash or two of worcester sauce in my pot roast.


Ingrediants:
Beef roast
2 cups pepsi
1 can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon worcester sauce
1 onion
Red potatoes
Baby carrots
Celery stalks
2-3 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
Salt and pepper to taste


Pour the tomato sauce in bottom of crock pot, add the sliced onion, carrots, potatoes and celery


Add the worcester sauce


Season beef and place on top of vegetables... I usually brown the meat before adding to the pot, but I was running late this time and to be honest I had just cleaned my kitchen and really didn't want to dirty another pan!


Pour in the pepsi


Add the tapioca


Cook on low for 8 hours


The finished roast, it was so good, and I'm glad I have another beef roast in the freezer so I can make this again soon!

Crockpot Cherry Pork Chops

We have a lot of pork chops in our freezer (thanks to a great sale at Kroger) so I have been looking for some new recipes, and when I found this one for cherry pork chops, it sounded very sweet and sticky and something my DH was sure to love. It actually turned out a lot more savoury than I expected and really wasn't that sweet, which is really a surprise considering it is made with cherry pie filling!


4 pork chops
1 cup cherry pie filling
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown pork chops in a large skillet, season with salt and pepper
In a 3qt crockpot, combine cherry filling, lemon juice, bouillon and mace
Add pork chops, cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours

Crockpot Red Chicken Curry With Butternut Squash

I saw this recipe on another food blog (but I don't remember which one) and it looked so good I just had to make it!

1 medium onion diced
1 red bell pepper
1 butternut squash peeled and chopped
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp each cinnamon, ginger and cumin
2 tsp red curry paste
2 cloves garlic
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 can coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth



Place the onion, pepper (I used green as I didn't have red) and squash in the bottom of the crockpot


Cut chicken into small pieces and toss with the cinnamon, ginger and cumin, saute chicken for a few minutes until browned, then place in crockpot


Combine curry paste, coconut milk, lime juice, garlic and broth in blender and blend until smooth


Pour over chicken and vegetables, cook on low for 6 hours, thicken with 1 tsp corn starch before serving

Crock Pot Mango Chutney Short Ribs

This is one of our favourite crock pot meals. This time we used the boneless short ribs, but we both thought that the on the bone ribs end up a little more tender and fall apart, but they were still great. Also, usually we don't use the hot mango chutney, but the store was out of the regular this time.

Mango Chutney short ribs:
3/4 cup of beef broth
1/2 cup mango chutney
3 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon worcester sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
1 onion sliced




Combine the first 11 ingrediants in the crock pot


Add ribs and turn to coat


Top with onions, cover and cook on low for 8 hours


We usually serve with rice or noodles, but we have a lot of potatoes to use up, so we had them with creamy mashed potatoes last night

Crock Pot Cranberry Pot Roast

I saw this recipe on another food blog (but can't remember which one now, sorry) and as I had a bag of cranberries I needed to use, I decided to give it a try.
It turned out pretty good, you can definitely taste those cranberries!

2 lbs beef roast
1 bag of cranberries
1 apple
1 onion
1 potato
Juice of 1 lemon
1 can of crushed pineapple
2 cups orange juice
1 cup long grain rice
Salt and white pepper

Coat beef in salt and white pepper
Place cranberries in bottom of crock pot, pour the pineapple and orange juice on top of cranberries
Add chopped onion, potato and apple
Cut the roast into smaller pieces and add to the crock pot, pour lemon juice over the meat
Cook on low 6 hours
Add rice and cook an additional hour