Meat

Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast

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Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This recipe is pretty flexible and if you have a large slow cooker you can make TWO roasts! Just double all the ingredients and give one to someone who would enjoy a nice prepared meal! New parents, an elderly parent, someone who has suffered a loss really will enjoy this comforting roast. Also, two chuck roasts will feed a family of 7-8.
The browning of the chuck roast in the sauté pan is optional, if you are busy or sometimes like me I make it before work in the morning and I don’t have time to brown the meat so I just put it in there. It’s still super delicious either way. My family enjoys mashed potatoes and gravy to go with our roast.
Tools
  • A Slow Cooker like a Crock-Pot or Instant Pot
  • Large sauté pan (optional)
  • Large fork or tongs
  • Cutting board
  • Large knife

Ingredients

Fresh Roast

Fresh Roast

  • 3- 4-pound chuck roast
  • One onion sliced
  • 3 – 4 cloves of garlic smashed
  • 3-4 carrots cut into chunks
  • Sprig of rosemary
  • One 2-ounce package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
  • 3 cups of low sodium beef broth
  • 1/2 cup of beer or red wine (optional)
  • Olive oil (optional)
  • Pepper to taste
Recipe
  • If you have time— brown the Chuck roast on either side on high heat for about five minutes on each side.
  • Meanwhile, chop onions into small pieces
  • Cut carrots into thirds
  • Place the onions, garlic, and carrots on the bottom and sides of the crockpot
  • Place the seared or un-seared pot roast on top of the vegetables
  • Sprinkle the roast and vegetables with the onion soup mix
  • Add rosemary and a teaspoon or so of black pepper
  • Pour broth (and a beer or wine if you are using) around and on top of roast until liquid comes up to one inch below the roast
  • Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-9. A fork should twist easily in the beef when it’s tender
Delish Tips
  • Don’t keep lifting the lid of the slow cooker you add cooking time every time you lift the lid
  • I prefer to use a chuck roast than an English roast the English Roast has way less fat and tends to be tough in my opinion.
  • Do not completely submerge your roast with the liquid – you’re not boiling the meat, you are braising
  • If you are browning the meat; after you put it in the slow cooker pour the broth in the hot pan and scrape the bottom of the sauté pan-all those brown bits are flavor! Then pour it on top of the meat.

Gravy 101

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Easy Gravy

Make Your Own Gravy

Making gravy for any occasion is easy once you know the not-so-secret formula.

Basic gravy is made by adding equal parts of a fat to a thickener then adding a warm liquid.

This recipe makes 2 cups of gravy.
Tools
  • Whisk
  • Liquid Measuring cup
  • Knife
  • Small pot
  • Strainer (optional)
 
Ingredients
  • FAT– butter, oil, bacon, turkey, chicken, beef, etc EQUAL PARTS TO Your Thickener
  • Thickener-Flour or cornstarch (if you use cornstarch your gravy will be light)
  • Warm Liquid – 2 cups of hot, low sodium stock (beef, turkey, chicken, etc)
Recipe
  • 3 tablespoons of beef, chicken, turkey, drippings OR butter —Melted
  • 3 tablespoons of flour stirred into the fat
  • Cook 1-2 minutes to cook the flour
  • Heat the stock
  • Whisk in hot stock gradually and bring to a boil. Whisk the whole time to prevent lumps.
  • The gravy will thicken once it comes to a boil keep stirring.
  • Turn heat to low until ready to serve.
DELISHTIPS
  • If your gravy is lumpy then pour the liquid through the strainer to remove the lumps

 

  • If your gravy isn’t as thick as you’d like, then make a paste out of a tablespoon of butter and flour in a bowl, add some gravy and whisk the butter-flour mixture until you have a really thick liquid, and then poured that into your gravy and bring to a boil again and it should thicken.

Hamburger Macaroni Skillet – Easy Quarantine Dish

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MMM!

I love this kind of recipe. Uncomplicated, very few ingredients, plus it’s comforting and homey.  This recipe came from my mom. She taught me how to make it  years ago and when I taste it it makes me think of her and makes me feel like a little kid again. That’s what I love about cooking; The recipes can bring back memories. I just made this Hamburger Macaroni Skillet the other night and it is always a huge hit with my daughter and husband. This is also an easy one pot meal and you can doubled the recipe easily to serve a crowd or a family larger than 4.

Tools

  • large non-stick skillet with lid
  • wooden spoon
  • can opener
  • liquid measuring cup
  • cutting board
  • sharp knife
  • container to drain grease
  • Large metal spoon

Ingredients                                                                                                                  

  • One pound of ground beef*
  • One can of condensed tomato soup
  • One cup of uncooked elbow macaroni
  • One can of water (from the soup can)
  • One teaspoon of garic powder
  • 1/4 cup of diced white onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried herb blend
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1/4 cup of 2% milk–OPTIONAL

Recipe

Brown your ground beef over medium high heat. Drain excess grease into your heatproof container or jar. Dice your onion and add to the ground beef along with the condensed soup and water. Stir until the soup and water are well mixed into the beef. Add the macaroni and spices and stir well. Cover and bring to a simmer (little bubbles) for 30 minutes.  I like to take the lid off around 20 minutes and use the wooden spoon to  scrape any of the macaroni that might get stuck on the bottom. Replace the lid until time reachers 30 minutes. Test pasta for doneness (eat one!). I like to leave the lid off for a minute and stir in the 1/4 cup of milk. It makes the dish a little silkier. Let it cool for 5 minutes and serve.

DELISH TIP 1: You can use Ground Chuck and sometimes I do because it’s more affordable but it gives off a lot more grease than sirloin.  I’ve also used ground turkey.

DELISH TIP 2: My husband likes to top his with parmesean cheese!

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

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My family and I live in The Midwest. Stuffed cabbage has been a big part of my and my husband’s life since we were little children.  Southeast Michigan has a large Polish population too and the food is pretty popular around here. My mother’s side of the family is Romanian and my mother, aunts, and grandmother all made stuffed cabbage at the holidays. I looked forward to it every holiday. There would be a HUGE roasting pan full of theses steamy, meaty, rolled up cabbage leaves, enough for 40 adults and children. Fast forward to adulthood. I HAVE made rolled stuffed cabbage but it is  a lot of work to do yourself. So I REALLY wanted stuffed cabbage so I thought shoot! Why don’t I just chop everything up and make soup instead?

I’ve been making this for more than ten years, and I think it’s my parents favorite soup I make for them. It’s great to make for friends on a winter day after snowmobiling or ice fishing. This soup makes around 8 quarts! I know it’s a lot but I’m the the type of person if I’m taking the time to make it I want to eat it, share it and freeze it for later. It’s a pretty easy soup to make. Once you brown your meat you just add the other ingredient and simmer. I put some Delishtips at the bottom of the recipe I hope you find them useful!

Tools

  • 8-10 quart stockpot
  • ladle
  • long spoon
  • cutting board
  • can opener
  • colander
  • glass bowl

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds of ground beef and pork*
  • 1 medium white onion, diced-about 1 1/2 cups
  • 1 cup of shredded carrot*, diced
  • 4 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt**
  • 2 teaspoons of pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 1 cup of long grained rice
  • 1 large head of green cabbage
  • 2- 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes-No salt added
  • 24 ounces of low sodium beef broth
  • 12 ounce beer
  • 2 quarts of low sodium V8 juice*

Recipe

Brown the meat mix until brown. Chop your onion, garlic and shredded carrots. Use your colander to drain the meat into the glass bowl. Add your vegetables, spices, meat, rice all the liquid and then chop the cabbage into small chunks like 1-2 inch squares. Add them to the soup. Stir and simmer on low for an hour stirring occasionally. Make sure you are at a simmer not a rolling boil as the rice and meat might stick to the bottom of your pot and burn. Cook until rice is done and cabbage is soft.

DELISHTIP 1: If you can find Meatloaf Mix buy it. Some grocery stores have it or you can get it from your butcher. It has beef, pork and veal and it’s great! I can’t always get it so I use ground beef and pork.

DELISHTIP 2: I buy organic shredded carrots for this recipe and I throw the leftover in salads. If you don’t have it don’t worry about it!

DELISHTIP 3: I buy canned products with low sodium or no salt, that’s why it calls for a Tablespoon of salt. If you use SALTED products start with a teaspoon of salt. You can always add but you can’t take it out.

DELISHTIP 4: If you can’t find V8 or a Vegetable juice you can try adding tomato juice. The flavor may be a little flat so you might want to add a few teaspoons of dried herbs.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

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This Slow- Cooker Pulled Pork is SUPER easy to make and it can feed a family of 3 (like mine) or feed a party of 12 or more! I freeze the extras or I’ll take some to my parents when we visit. There are many things to do with leftover pulled pork. Hmm, Maybe I’ll do a whole section on pulled pork repurposed! This pork can be kept on low or warm in your slow cooker for hours. I make it all the time and it’s a dish that children and adults both enjoy. It’s fun to eat on the little slider buns too for a large crowd. Sometimes we put it on regular sized buns too. Do whatever YOU think is Delish!

Tools:                                                             FullSizeRender-8

  • Slow-cooker
  • baster

Ingredients:

  • 6-7 lb Pork Butt/ Shoulder
  • 1 medium onion- chopped
  • 2 tsp of chili powder
  • 2 tsp of garlic powder
  • 2 tsp of onion powder
  • 2 tsp of herb seasoning.
  • 2 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1- 12 oz beer
  • 1 8 oz can of beef broth
  • 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
  • sweet buns (Hawaiian)

Recipe: 

Lay your onions in the bottom of your slow-cooker. Sprinkle and rub all the herbs and spices onto your pork shoulder. Place in Slow-cooker fat side up (if your shoulder has that) on top of the onions. Pour in the beer and the beef broth around the Pork. The liquid should reach up halfway up the sides of the pork. If it doesn’t, then add a little water. I like to cook the pork on low for 8-10 hours.  Remove the pork to a platter and remove all but a cup of the liquid from the slow cooker.  Pull your pork with two sturdy forks into bite sized pieces. Return to the slow-cooker.  Squeeze BBQ sauce onto the meat and broth and stir until combined. It depends upon YOUR taste as to how much BBQ sauce you want to add to your pulled pork. Pile pork onto buns,  add a bit of cole slaw* and CHOW DOWN!! Delish!!

 

DELISH TIP 1: When you put a fork into the pork and it turns easily through the meat then the pork is done. If there are big fatty pieces remove those before you pull the meat.

DELISH TIP 2: You cannot rush pulled pork. If you can’t cook the pork for at least 8 hours then start it the night before. I’ve started this pork before I go to bed if I want it for a summer party or beach potluck that’s in the early afternoon.

 

 

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