There was a really. good. sale. on “beef stew meat” (pre-cut chunks of bottom round roast) recently, and having blown through our standard slow-cooker fare, I tossed together a new one, which has been simmering away (and making me very, very hungry) all day. As you can see in the picture below, the tomato paste likes to burn and stick to the sides of the crock pot – if you’re not like me (I happen to like burnt buts), you may want to scrape the sides down with a spatula every so often.

Slow-Cooker Beef Goulash*

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds bottom round roast, cut into chunks
• 12 ounces tomato paste
• 1/4 cup dried minced onion (use fresh if you have it; I didn’t)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 5 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Toss everything except the vinegar in your slow cooker, and stir to combine. Cook on low for 5-7 hours, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, stir in vinegar. Serve over buttered egg noodles with plenty of sour cream.

*Yes, I’m perfectly aware this isn’t a traditional goulash, but “Slow-Cooker Beef Fauxlash” sounded silly.

I’m a bit under the weather this week, so I’m naturally seeking out comfort foods and easy throw-together meals. This is a bit like the Greek classic moussaka, minus the eggplant; it’s savory, creamy, satisfying, and filling.

Be sure to use plain tomato sauce and not spaghetti sauce — the added Italian seasonings aren’t necessary here. The breadcrumbs thicken the sauce and sop up any grease from the beef.

Greek-Style Beef and Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds white potatoes
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 cup plain yogurt (homemade if available)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel potatoes and slice into 1/8″ thick rounds. In a small bowl, whisk eggs until well-blended and stir in yogurt. Set yogurt and potatoes aside.

In a nonstick skillet set over medium heat, brown beef, onions, and garlic. Add salt, potatoes and tomato sauce and cook 10 minutes or until edges of potatoes become translucent. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and stir to combine. Pour into a baking dish and top with yogurt mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Bake at 350° F for 90 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serves 4-6.

It’s not cabin fever if you’re not going crazy…Mer and I were both home today due to the lovely snow and ice that was dumped on us last night. I made mention this morning of making soup from last night’s leftovers, but got into the groove that is work-from-home goodness and forgot about it. A few hours later, I noticed Mer had something brewing on the stove. What followed may be the best damn chicken soup I’ve had in a long time (which is saying something, because I don’t generally like rice in my soup.)

Pardon me. I need to pause to go get more soup. Yum.

The end result is a bit more like porridge than soup – sticky, viscous, and just a little bit sweet. If you prefer your soup more…soupy, add more water with the rice at the end.

An extra bonus – it’s not only hearty, but cheap! I’d estimate that this entire pot of food cost us less than $3 to make. (We buy most of our food in bulk and on sale, so YMMV.)

Anyway…here’s the recipe, as best as she can remember it. Eat. Share. Enjoy.

Minimalist Balsamic Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken drumsticks, roasted and cooled
• Water (see below)
• 1/2 cup dried minced onion
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste or chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups medium-grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons chicken base*, or to taste

Separate meat from bones and set meat aside. Place the bones in a pot with enough cold tap water so that they float above the bottom of the pan. Set over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, adding more water if needed to keep bones covered. Add onion, celery salt, garlic, ginger, and vinegar. Continue to cook for 2-3 hours, adding water if needed, until bones become soft and easily breakable. Strain and return liquid to pot. Add reserved meat, rice, and chicken base. Continue to cook over medium heat until rice is tender; serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

*The link goes to a product called Better than Boullion, which is our preferred soup base. I encourage you to seek out local supplies (restaurant supply stores sometimes carry them, as do farmer’s markets), but please don’t use those awful foil-wrapped boullion cubes here.

Image by Herrner

In keeping with the “drunk food” theme of this week’s Carnival of the Recipes, this week’s CTS recipes will all include (or feature) alcohol – yum.

Coq au vin is a dish that inspires incredible awe and fear in people. “You made coq au vin?” “I can’t believe you can make coq au vin as part of a catered buffet!” “It’s too fancy!” “Wow, you must be an incredible cook!” …and so on.

I know that traditional coq au vin involves a rooster and 12 gazillion hours of cooking and stewing and prepping, but I have never had that kind of patience. I am of the opinion that coq au vin is quite simply coq au vin: that is, “chicken with wine”. (And vegetables, of course.) My original recipe, presented below, requires neither roosters nor a lot of patience, is based on the recipe included in “From Julia Child’s Kitchen” (she notes that it differs from other coq au vin recipes she’s published, although it is not clear how).

A slow cooker adaptation of this recipe is available here.

Coq au Vin

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken leg quarters, divided into thighs and drumsticks
• 8 ounces frozen pearl onions
• 32 ounces mixed button and baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine
• 4 cups beef stock
• 4 whole cloves garlic, smashed but not chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sun-dried tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• bacon fat (or oil) for browning
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan (a dutch oven is preferable), melt the bacon fat over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown lightly on all sides. Add the brandy (off the heat, please!) and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add bay leaf, thyme, and onions to pan and cook for an additional 10 minutes, turning chicken halfway through.

Using a fine mesh strainer or old-fashioned flour sifter, sift flour over chicken, stirring as you sift so that the flour coats the chicken and the onions. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in all remaining ingredients except the butter. Cover and cook on low for 1-2 hours, or until onions are tender and chicken is falling off the bone. Stir in butter just before serving to enrich the sauce.

Serves 4-6.

Tomato and Onion Tart

Ingredients:

• 3 large onions, sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed per package instructions
• 3/4 lb shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3/4 lb plum tomatoes, cut into thin rounds
• 3/4 lb orange or yellow tomatoes, cut into thin rounds
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh basil leaves for garnish

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and begin to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to temperature recommended by puff pastry manufacturer. Lay pastry sheet on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and dock the center of the sheet, leaving a 1″ border around the outer edge. (The undocked border will rise and form a crust.)

Spread onion mixture over docked area of pastry, avoiding undocked edges. Top onions with cheese. Arrange tomato slices on top, alternating colors to form a pattern. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake per pastry instructions. Cool before slicing into rectangles, and serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with basil leaves.

Serves 12-16 as an appetizer, or 3-4 as a main course.

Image by minusbaby

I’m not sure when it happened, but my favorite ricotta and black olives pizza has been replaced by barbecue chicken pizza.  If you have cooked chicken and a pizza shell on hand, this is a great fast dinner.  I don’t like onions, so I leave them out.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust, store-bought or your favorite recipe
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or your favorite recipe
• 1 cup cooked chopped chicken (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion (optional)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spread sauce on crust and top with chicken (and onion, if using), evenly distributing ingredients. Sprinkle cheeses on top. Bake per crust package or recipe directions.

Serves 4.

Image by Daxiang Stef
Regionally known as stuffing, filling, and dressing, this bread-based side dish is a staple at the American holiday table. If you’ve never made your own stuffing, step away from the Stove Top canister and give this a try. It’s a departure from traditional stuffing recipes in that it uses breadcrumbs instead of bread cubes, but your guests won’t miss the extra bulk. When I was tasked with preparing the family Thanksgiving dinner at the tender age of 19, I served this stuffing, and it became an instant family classic.

Sage and Onion Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 onions, diced
• 4 whole cloves
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 2 cups finely ground plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large sautee pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until they begin to color. Add cloves and peppercorns; sautee for one minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, add water, and simmer until onions are soft but not mushy. Strain onion mixture, reserving liquid.

Combine onions, bread crumbs, sage, and chicken broth in a large bowl, stirring until thoroughly combined. Stuffing should be moist enough to form a ball if compressed; if it is too dry, add the reserved onion broth. Turn mixture out into a shallow baking pan (do not pack down) and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serves 4.

Green beans are one of my favorite summertime vegetables, and have been since I was a little girl, when I spent countless Sunday mornings with my Grammy snapping green beans and shucking sweet corn on the back porch in preparation for the neighborhood suppers. Paired with the sweetness of balsamic vinegar and the earthiness of sesame oil in this recipe, green beans form the base for a memorable summer side dish.

Balsamic Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed or snapped, cut into 2″ pieces
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Fill a large bowl with water and ice; set aside. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and add beans. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove beans with a slotted spoon and drop into ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cool, drain well and lay on paper towels or clean kitchen towels to dry.

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and lemon juice. Continue whisking, and slowly drizzle in the olive and sesame oils to form an emulsion. Add beans and onion and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8.