Beef Stew

Is the Sunday family dinner dead? Few traditions are as well loved as the family Sunday dinner. But, in today's fast paced culture, are people still taking time to get the family together to enjoy a good meal on Sunday afternoon? Sure they are, and what better way to get a great meal prepared without a lot of fuss than with a slow cooker. Very popular recipes are crock pot recipes for pot roast.

But crock pots cook slowly, and your family eats their main meal early on Sunday. How can you have food ready in time? Slow cookers have a high setting that cooks the food in about four to five hours, so just as you do during the week, pop the ingredients in the slow cooker before you head off to church or whatever activity you partake in, and the food will be done when your family is ready to eat later on that day.

Since roasts are a family favorite meal for anytime, but especially on Sunday, here are a couple of easy and delicious crock pot recipes for pot roast to try.

Easy New England Pot Roast

3-4 lbs beef roast
8 small red potatoes, cut into quarters
8 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 small onion, chopped
1 - 8 oz jar prepared horseradish
1-2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Place potatoes, carrots, and onion into your crock pot. Place beef on top of vegetables. Mix horseradish, salt, pepper and 1 cup water; pour over top of beef. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender. Remove 2 cups of juices from slow cooker and put into small sauce pan. Mix corn starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and then add to juices. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly until thickened. Serve gravy over meat and vegetables.

Beef Roast and Sour Cream Gravy

1 (3 pound) chuck or pot roast
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon dill weed
5 or 6 small potatoes
5 or 6 carrots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon dill seed

Coat roast with 2 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper. Brown in oil in skillet. Put roast in crock pot. Add water and vinegar. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon dill weed over meat, then add potatoes, carrots, onion and salt. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours. To make a gravy, pour off 3 tablespoons of drippings, add 1 tablespoon flour and heat. Measure rest of drippings, and add water to make 1 cup. Add to flour mixture and heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add sour cream and 1 teaspoon dill weed. Heat to boiling before serving.

Crock pot cooking tip: During long cooking times, dry, ground herbs and spices may dissolve, so a good tip is to always add your ground spices closer to the end of cooking time. For the best flavor enhancing, use whole herbs and spices because they tend to release their flavor over time and work very well in crock pot slow cooking.

And now I would like to invite you to visit Family Crock Pot Recipes http://familycrockpotrecipes.com for more crock pot cooking tips and 
crock pot recipes for pot roast. While you're there, be sure to sign up for my free newsletter.

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What can be said about stew? I remember as a little girl that familiar smell of being in my Grandma's kitchen. I remember the fascination of watching her prepare a meal that did not require much preparation, but it had many different variations of flavor. I could not seem to get enough of it before you could hear the serving spoon clanging on the bottom of an empty pan. My Grandma Gracie is no longer with us, and how I long for her cooking. I decided to go to culinary school to try and become half the cook that she was. I did not get her recipes on paper, so I have to try and create from memory, and mine will be a little more health conscience.

Stews are a very unique dish for several reasons. You can add the staple ingredients such as onions, potatoes and carrots. There is so much freedom to this dish that you can add different herbs, and other vegetables that will make it your own. I use salt, pepper and flour in my stew to dredge the stew meat, and then I sear the stew meat before I start braising which is a low and slow cooking method. This will help thicken the stew and also give it flavor. I will give you a very detailed set of cooking instructions. This will be an easy to follow recipe without much prep and cooking time in the kitchen. The afternoon will be yours to do with what you wish and dinner will be served on time, and will be a meal that everyone will enjoy.

Beef Stew

This recipe has a little different twist to it. I have added cumin seed to this stew. I am sure you are probably wondering why? I love the flavor of cumin, and it has the flavor stamp of Mexican, or as I like to say Texican. I am of course from Texas and I love TEx-Mex food. I thought that I would take my stew recipe and add some new zap to it. The cumin can be omitted if you do not care for the flavor of it, as it is very distinct.

Ingredients list:

3-4 pounds of stew meat cut into bite size cubes

1 1/2 c of all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. of salt

1/2 - 1 tsp of black pepper or to your taste

1/4 c of canola oil

4-6 russet potatoes depending on size you want about 2-3 cups of large diced potatoes, and the skin can be left on if you desire. It will be more rustic.

3 carrots cut thick slices, un-peeled but washed if you like

1 large sweet yellow onion diced

1 small can of sweet corn drained

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup of red wine your choice I think a good merlot is best, and would be better served with the dish :)

1 bay leaf

2 1/2 pints of beef stock or beef bouillion and water mixture

1-2 tsp of cumin seed, or you can use ground but use less about 1/2-1 tsp

1 tsp. of chopped cilantro for garnish

Serves 6 - 8

Lets make Stew:

1. Heat your large braising pan or stew pot on med to med high heat.

2. Take your stew meat and season with salt and pepper and dredge/coat it in the flour.

3. If your pan is hot add the oil, and heat the oil for about 20-30 seconds and then add your stew meat and get a good browning on it.

4. Take your wine and add it at this point but do it off of the fire so it will not blaze up on you.

5. Reduce the wine mixture by 1/2 or 3/4 and then add your onions and garlic until they are translucent.

6. Add your carrots, potatoes, beef stock, cumin seed, sweet corn, and bay leaf at this time.

7. Put the lid on your pot and turn down to a simmer. You will simmer for about 1-2 hours or until your carrots are done. When the carrots are done the dish will be fully cooked.

8. When done you can add the cilantro as a garnish if you like to give it the extra added flavor from Texas.

9. Do not forget to remove the bay leaf.

This meal is excellent served with jalepeno cornbread, or a sweet cornbread. I hope that you enjoy this Sunday afternoon stew, or have it on a cold winter night, as I have, and with many friends. It is a handy dish to complete when you would like to spend more time out of the kitchen.

Steaming, Hearty Choices Beef Stew With Cumin Seed For That Cold Winter Evening, Or Sunday Afternoon

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and research and development chef for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA.

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