Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Sometimes with new recipes I really amaze myself- like with this one. Mainly because I have never made beef stroganoff before and went with my own version after looking up a few online.  Most of the time when I do that, the food comes out so-so. But not this one. If I can eat it three days in a row - it must be good!  There was enough for a small army, or maybe a family of 4 with leftovers. So if you are cooking for one a lot like me, invite some friends over, or just keep eating it for every meal.  My version of beef stroganoff is made in the crock pot, so it's super easy and besides chopping veggies, so it doesn't require much effort.  This dish was also approved by my picky 4 year old!


What I used
2 medium carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 garlic cloves
1/2 white onion
2 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup chicken broth
1.5 pounds London broil
1/2 cup light sour cream
salt and pepper, if needed
1 lb pasta, cooked al dente, and drained

What I did

1.  First prepare the veggies.  Shred the carrots using a cheese grater.  Then finely chop the celery, onion and garlic.

2.  Next, add all the ingredients (except the sour cream) into the crock pot.  Set it on high for 4 hours.  About half way through check your dish.  Mine looked like it was browning too much, so I switched it onto low. Total cooking time was about 5 hours. 

3. Once the meat is cooked through, take it out and place it onto a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the entire piece and set it aside. This is also a good time to taste the sauce. If you'd like, add salt and/or pepper if it needs it. When the meat is almost finished, boil some water in a large pot for the pasta and cook to your liking. 

4.  Before adding the meat back into the pot, add the sour cream to the crock pot sauce and stir to combine.  When the sauce is mixed completely, add the meat and the pasta.  Mix everything together and enjoy!

Hints
* London broil is usually inexpensive. My mom suggested I buy it for stew meat, because it's a very lean piece of meat.  This piece I bought was less than $4.
*I top all pasta with Parmesan cheese, so if you are like me, go for it!

*If I have a lot for one recipe,  I will take out my Cuisinart to shred carrots because using a grater scares me sometimes. So in order to protect my fingers, I found a little trick by putting the carrot on the end of a fork and using that to hold the carrot as i grated it.  You have to keep moving it to different sides, and you end up with a bit at the end that you can grate, but I still have all my fingers and no cuts!

Easy Crock-Pot Chicken

This is considered a staple in my house. I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot over night, or during a lazy Sunday, and then freeze the shredded meat. The chicken is ready to use in pastas, salads, quesadillas, enchiladas, sandwiches, soups and anything else you can imagine. I just take out what I need and thaw it on the counter or in the microwave. It's cheap, easy, and makes last-minute dinners without having to get fast-food.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
3-4 carrots
3-4 celery stalks
1 medium to large onion
Salt/pepper
Poultry seasoning
Garlic powder
2-3 bay leaves
Liquid of your choice-water, chicken or vegetable broth, white wine

Directions:
1. Chop up the carrots, celery, and onion. Everything should be quartered so that it lasts through the long cooking process.

2. Prepare the chicken in a clean sink by removing the innards and any extra fat that is visible around the end openings. You don't have to do this, but it just grosses me out and unnecessary. Rinse the chicken under running water, inside and out, and then pat dry with paper towels. Place inside the crock pot.
3. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and garlic powder. Make sure each spice gets all over, around and inside the chicken.

4. Add a few pieces of each vegetable underneath the chicken so it is sitting on them. Then toss a few pieces of each inside the cavity of the chicken as well. The remaining veggies put on top of the chicken. Throw the bay leaves on top.

5. Add enough liquid to fill the crock pot about half way. It should cover at least half of the chicken. If you are using wine, I suggest doing half wine and half water or broth.
6. Place the lid on the crock pot and set for your longest cook time; mine gets set on Low for 8 hours.

7. When the chicken is done, the meat should fall off the bones. Depending on the size of the chicken, this might not take all 8 hours. Remove the chicken from the crock pot, leaving the liquid inside the pot.
8. Shred the meat with two forks (just like in the Pulled Pork recipe from a previous post) or leave in pieces and place in a freezer bag. Label the bag with a Sharpie marker so you know when it was made and what it is and freeze. You're done and ready to begin making lots of easy quick meals for the next month or so.

Tips:
*I usually buy 2 whole chickens at a time-one to freeze, and one to cook-so I always have this on hand. Its the easiest thing to do last minute, and it cooks while you are sleeping or at work!
*Season the chicken however you like- use cumin and chili powder if you want a more Tex-Mex flavor, or add fresh herbs and lemon when you have them on hand.
*Be sure to clean everything really well when handling raw chicken. I usually take the lids off of all my spices before I use them so I can hold the chicken in my left hand and sprinkle with my right. This way I don't have to constantly wash my hands and nothing gets contaminated. Don't forget to clean out the sink if you prepared the chicken in there.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe makes me very proud since it's my very own and always get a lot of compliments. It's very easy too -I have made it for 50 people, and I've made it for 6 people. It freezes well, so you can make a lot now and eat it a month later. I'm still not too sure about the amounts-I usually do a lot of tasting when I make the sauce, so if you need to adjust something, please do. Oh, and did I mention once you put this in the crock pot, you are free to do whatever you want for 8-10 hours! I usually make it at night, while I'm sleeping!


Ingredients:

4 lbs of boneless pork roast, trimmed of visible fat (I always get mine at Winco, its either the Picnic Boneless Pork, usually $1.98/lb or the Pork Sirloin Roast, about $2.40/lb. They are very lean, AND pretty cheap!)
1-2 yellow onion, sliced
2-3 Bay leaves
Hamburger buns/rolls

For the sauce:
1 14 oz bottle of BBQ sauce (I use Kraft-any flavor-since its about $0.89/bottle at Winco)
1/4 Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp Brown sugar
1-2 tsp minced Garlic
1/2- 1 tsp ground pepper
Some Apple juice,orange juice, chicken broth, or water if needed, usually up to 1/2 c
2-3 Bay leaves

Directions:
1. Trim all visible fat off of the pork and place into the crock pot.


2. Slice onion and scatter on top of the pork. Throw in the bay leaves.


3. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. If you have extra think BBQ sauce you might need more juice, broth or water. If not, add less. With the crock pot the liquid should fill at least halfway up the meat or more so it doesn't burn.


4. Once the sauce is mixed, taste and add anything more you think it needs. Then pour over the pork. Throw in the bay leaves.

5. Put the lid on the crock pot and set for the longest time possible. I have an 8 and 10 hr setting for Low, both work well.


6. Once the pork is done, let it cool for a bit with the lid off. Then remove the pork and shred with 2 forks. Make sure to take out the bay leaves, but keep in the onions, they will be falling apart. Once the pork has all been shredded and put into another container, ladle in the remaining sauce from the crock pot to keep it moist.



7. Serve on hamburger buns or rolls. Enjoy!

*makes about 10 servings