I adore my slow cooker (aka crock pot). It has a way of making comforting food easy & no stress.
This weekend I got some craving for a favorite meal & it was perfect since it was just too hot to cook since the AC went out (AGAIN!).
So I got the ingredients & when I woke up Sunday I started the dish.
You will need a pound (or more if you want more, this one is easy to play around with servings) of cubes of beef. Not CUBED BEEF but actual chunks of beef around 1 to 2 inches.
Also you need a packet of onion soup mix and a can of cream of something soup (take your pick I have tried them all & all are good).
Finally you need red wine. This is a good way to get rid of any cheap stuff you have been given as a gift or leftovers from the night before (do people have those?).
Plop the beef into the slow cooker, add the soup & soup mixes & pour on the wine. I used to think I needed to add a can full of wine, but I just add as much as covers the meat. This is the liquid it will be cooking in. YES this is going to make it taste LOVELY! Stir it all up well. Then turn the cooker on.
This will take around 6 hours depending on the size of the beef cubes & if you put it on high or low. Typically I will start on high then turn it down to low for the last few hours. If I make this on a workday, I just turn it to low & then 8 hours later I am greeted at the door by the smell of it beckoning me inside letting me know it is ready to eat. You will know its ready when the beef is easily smashed. It will basically fall apart.
NOW here is where I made my mistake. I forgot to check to see that I had rice in the house!
Typically I serve this over rice & the juice is a gravy to go along with the beef. I sprinkle a dash of fresh grounded pepper on mine, but its your bowl, your choice!
This time I tried it with spaghetti pasta since it was the only pasta in the house (& I was having a lazy, not about to get dressed & go to the store for rice kind of day!).
I had my doubts, but it was great!
This weekend I got some craving for a favorite meal & it was perfect since it was just too hot to cook since the AC went out (AGAIN!).
So I got the ingredients & when I woke up Sunday I started the dish.
You will need a pound (or more if you want more, this one is easy to play around with servings) of cubes of beef. Not CUBED BEEF but actual chunks of beef around 1 to 2 inches.
Also you need a packet of onion soup mix and a can of cream of something soup (take your pick I have tried them all & all are good).
Finally you need red wine. This is a good way to get rid of any cheap stuff you have been given as a gift or leftovers from the night before (do people have those?).
Plop the beef into the slow cooker, add the soup & soup mixes & pour on the wine. I used to think I needed to add a can full of wine, but I just add as much as covers the meat. This is the liquid it will be cooking in. YES this is going to make it taste LOVELY! Stir it all up well. Then turn the cooker on.
This will take around 6 hours depending on the size of the beef cubes & if you put it on high or low. Typically I will start on high then turn it down to low for the last few hours. If I make this on a workday, I just turn it to low & then 8 hours later I am greeted at the door by the smell of it beckoning me inside letting me know it is ready to eat. You will know its ready when the beef is easily smashed. It will basically fall apart.
NOW here is where I made my mistake. I forgot to check to see that I had rice in the house!
Typically I serve this over rice & the juice is a gravy to go along with the beef. I sprinkle a dash of fresh grounded pepper on mine, but its your bowl, your choice!
This time I tried it with spaghetti pasta since it was the only pasta in the house (& I was having a lazy, not about to get dressed & go to the store for rice kind of day!).
I had my doubts, but it was great!
So good I packed some for my lunch today! Even great reheated the day after.
