Crock-Pot Beef Stew

This is the type of meal you eat when you are hungry. What southern grandmothers call a "rib stickin' " meal. Perfect for rainy or cold days.

Ingredients:
2 packages of stew meat (beef cut into 1in pieces)
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 and 1/4tsp Paprika
Oil for browning
2 Cups Beef Broth
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1/4 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
6 Medium Potatoes
3 Carrots
2 Garlic cloves
1 Bay Leaf



1. In crock-pot, pour together beef broth, wine, and Worcestershire sauce.



2. Mix together flour with 1/4tsp of paprika



3. Rinse and dry beef



4. Throw beef into flour, cover with lid, and shake, until all pieces are lightly floured



5. Heat oil in skillet, and brown beef on each side



6. Add beef to crock-pot

7. Chop potatoes and carrots, adding to crock pot



8. Mince garlic, add to crock pot along with Bay Leaf and 1tsp of paprika


9. Crack fresh pepper for flavor

10. Stir together, set on low for 4 hours, making sure to stir occasionally



11. Serve over egg noodles!

Garlic Pepper Roast Beef

I am terrified of cooking roast beef. Before today, I have never actually tried! Let's cross our fingers that it turns out OK.

I researched all the different ways to cook it, and found myself horribly confused. Some say to sear and cook high and then low, some say to cook on 325, others say 375. Covered, uncovered, half covered... It left me so lost. I finally decided to do it by trial and error. At least they all agree that medium rare is at 145. So, that's a start. The following is my foray into making a top round roast become to die for.

Ingredients:
Top round roast (mine was 2.25lbs, on sale at Food Lion. It's not huge by any means, but should feed the family, right?)
Fresh cracked pepper
Garlic powder
Olive Oil

1. Turn the oven on 325 degrees

2. Dry your meat off (do your joke in your head!)

3. Rub the meat with the Olive Oil (refer to parenthesis in step 2 please)


4. Sprinkle meat with cracked pepper and garlic, on all sides

5. Place on shallow roasting rack


6. Place thermometer in meat and slide into pre-heated oven

7. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until temp reaches 140 (adjust time for larger/smaller pieces of meat)

8. Remove from oven (leave thermometer in) and cover loosely with foil. The temp will continue to rise to a medium well 145.

9. Let sit for 15, to soak in juices, and then carve




For those interested, the side is a Sauteed Garlic Butter Mushroom. I'll be making those for the blog soon. They are to die for! ;)