Crock Pot Italian Beef

Just in time for the Super Bowl, let me present to you some of the best crock pot meat you will ever have: Italian Beef -- made only the way an American from the Midwest can make it! Having been raised in Wisconsin and having lived in Minnesota for nearly twenty years doesn’t exactly make me an expert on Italian food. Heck—I’d wager a bet that they don’t even know of a recipe like this over in Italy (I’m sure my friend, Michele, from My Italian Grandmother will set me straight, Ha Ha). In the mean time, put aside those preconceived notions, haul out your crock pot and put together this simple, but very tasty, meaty treat.

I got this recipe from a co-worker about 3 or 4 years ago and I’m sure it has made its way around the potluck circuit, but whenever I make it at home, it elicits many satisfactory groans. Even my vegetarian, Taylor, admitted that it smelled sooo good!

Crock Pot Italian Beef

1 3-4 lb. rump roast
1 small jar of beef gravy
1 jar of water
1 envelope Au Jus mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix

Place all ingredients in a crock pot and set to medium-low heat.

Egads--I don't want to think about the sodium content!

Not the most appetizing picture...it gets better, I promise...

Allow meat to cook for 12-18 hours. Pull the meat from the crock pot and shred or thinly slice and place back in the gravy. Serve on crusty rolls or soft hoagy rolls and top with banana peppers or spicy pickle slices. Alternately, pile some of it on white bread, serve it with mashed potatoes and smother it with the gravy. Or stand over the crock pot with a fork and shovel it your mouth.

Seriously, does it get any better?

White Chicken Chili

My second chili day in a row….this time with some meat! With the weather at a minus 20 degree wind chill factor, it doesn’t hurt to turn up the heat with a little more of this warm comfort food. The nice thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t skimp on being good for you. I will have to admit that I took the recipe right off of the back of the Great Northern bean bag, but if it works, it works!

White Chicken Chili

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ pound Great Northern Beans, soaked, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onions
2 (4 oz) cans diced green chiles, undrained
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (oops, I was out….I used parsley)

Just throw it all in a slow cooker--what could be easier?

In medium bowl, combine chicken, garlic, cumin, salt, chili powder and cayenne pepper; toss to coat chicken. Add seasoned chicken, beans, chicken broth, onions and chiles to a slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours. Serve with cilantro, sour cream and shredded cheese, if desired.

Easy comfort food, but next time I may have to double the recipe....I had no leftovers for lunch!

Update: September 23, 2012--I made this again, partly because I wanted to write a new post, updating this recipe. The only changes I ended up making, however, were to cut up the chicken into smaller pieces and to increase the chicken broth to 4 cups. No real improvements necessary. :)

Pumpkin Lasagna

Three things happened to make this the perfect recipe for me to make over the weekend. The first thing actually happened a few months ago when my 19 year old daughter announced that she was a vegetarian. It was really no surprise, although I have seen her wolf down an order or two of chicken nuggets. She has always preferred veggies, even when she was little, dipping her carrots in ranch dressing. Sounds a little like a Hidden Valley Ranch commercial, n’est pas? At any rate, it’s not a huge deal for me, except that now I was on the lookout for vegetarian recipes.

The second thing happened when my friend, Michelle Cadieux Tibbs, posted a pumpkin lasagna recipe on FaceBook. Her mouthwatering description of it on her status update prompted a comment from me and she was nice enough to provide me with the details.

Interestingly, the lasagna recipe was made in a crock pot, which brings me to the third thing: I won a brand new digital crock pot from the lovely Liz Brooks over at  Examiner.com. It arrived just about the same time I printed out the recipe! Karma. It had to be made.

Isn't it a beauty?

Truth be told, the original recipe was called Chèvre & Pumpkin Lasagna (chèvre being goat cheese, for the uninformed). My daughter might have tried goat cheese, but I knew my husband wouldn’t go for it, so that was my one modification. Here is the recipe as written:

Chèvre Pumpkin Lasagna

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 large onions, halved and cut into thin slices
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon dried ground sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon flour
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, divided
1 can (15 oz) 100% pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pine nuts
¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
12 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled in cold water
8 oz fresh chèvre, broken into small pieces (I used ricotta cheese)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Yum--I love onions.

Add the onions and cook slowly until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add three-fourths of the garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, the sage, thyme and flour and stir until the onions are thoroughly coated.

I mixed the flour and spices in a cup first.

Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the broth and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in the vinegar and half the parsley and set aside.

This is where I started whifting the smell up with my hands like they do on the Food Network.

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, breadcrumbs, pine nuts, 1/2 cup parmesan, and the remaining parsley, and garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium mixing bowl.

Coat the interior of the crock of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Spoon a fourth of the onion mixture over the bottom of the crock, top with 3 lasagna noodles, a third of the pumpkin mixture, and a third of the chèvre.

Spoon a third of the remaining onion mixture over the chèvre, top with 3 more noodles, half the remaining pumpkin, and half the remaining chèvre. Spoon half the remaining onion mixture over the chèvre, top with 3 more noodles, the remaining pumpkin, the remaining chèvre, and the remaining onion mixture. Top with 3 remaining noodles. Cover the crock with 2 kitchen towels and the lid. Cook for 3 to 4 hours on low. When the lasagna is done, the edges will be browned and the center will be barley set.

Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and cover until melted, about 1 minute. Remove the crock from the cooker and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Cut into 8 portions and serve.

Now here is where I goofed up. This new crock pot is awesome because it is digital--you can set the time and it will switch over to the warm mode when the time runs out. Well, the instructions call for 3-4 hours on "low" and this crockpot switches to "high" if you go under 7 hours. Of course, instead of just keeping it at 7 hours and manually turning it off after 4, I set it on high. The result was some pretty burned edges. Really, though, it didn't matter---it turned out fantastic! Both my husband and my daughter raved.

Now, only three more cans of pumpkin to use.....