For the past, oh, really long time, my cooking strategy has been to purchase mostly healthy, mostly yummy frozen food from Trader Joe’s and heat it up in the microwave for dinner. This plan succeeds on several levels: It allows me to get dinner quickly when I’m tired, hungry, and/or need to get back out the door to some event. It also allows me to get in and out of the grocery store quickly. And it doesn’t take much brain power, which is typically at low levels after working all day. This strategy has failed recently, though, because I’ve become really tired of eating the same stuff all the time. It’s good, balanced, but I’m craving variety.
Therefore, I’ve decided to start actually cooking once in a while. I know the basics; ex-boyfriends and former roommates have been good for something (Mom, too). And it’ll give me a good, creative, rewarding project to take my mind off the job search.
So last night I printed out this recipe from Men’s Fitness. I thought it would be good because it gives me a chance to use the 5-quart slow cooker I got from my father a long time ago. It’s the best gift he every gave me; didn’t teach me to shave, gave me a slow cooker. Go figure!
For a soundtrack I put on the earphones and fired up my Zune to Annie Lennox’s recently released collection of greatest solo hits (plus 2 new tracks) that I found out about over at Joe.My.God. and recently downloaded. Zune’s Marketplace has gotten cheaper—most albums are $10—and easier; I’m finding most of what I’m looking for now. And being able to download music right away without having to go out searching, then housing the CD somewhere, is so nice. Did I mention I’m not much of a shopper?
This album is of the awsome! I had a great time browning the beef on the stove while cutting and chopping the other stuff and revelling in Annie Lennox’s amazing music.
Beef and Sweet-Potato Stew
A quick no-mess, one-pot dinner (there’s a little bit of mess)
by Elizabeth M. Ward
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 pound lean boneless chuck or stew beef, cut in 1-inch cubes salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 peeled sweet potatoes, cubed
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup large diced carrot chunks
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 dried bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 large onion, cut into chunks
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, undrained
8 dried apricots, cut in half
TO MAKE:
1. Trim fat from beef; season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Brown beef in the oil, stirring to brown all sides.
2. In a large slow cooker, combine beef, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, onion, and tomatoes. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until beef is tender.
NOTE: If you don't have a slow cooker, allow the stew to simmer on the stove over medium-high for 30 to 45 minutes or until beef is tender.
3. Add apricots.
4. Cover and cook on low 20 minutes or until apricots are soft. Chuck the bay leaf and cinnamon stick; eat.
Per Serving: 249 calories, 18 g protein, 33 g carbs, 6 g fat
Ater browning the beef and adding it to the pot I looked at all this crusty stuff left in the frying pan and I thought: “I don’t want to wash that down the drain.” So I grabbed an open bottle of chianti of my roommate’s, splashed some in and put it back over the heat. While the wine heated up and started to simmer I used the spatula to scrape up the yummy crusty bits and then poured it into the pot over the other stuff.
This morning I took the pot out of the frig, put it in the cooking base, and watched it heat up all day. Tonight Keith and I gave it a try and we’re both still alive as of 9pm. The recipe is good as it is, although I really love cooked carrots so I’m going to double that next time. And I’m going to double the ground beef, as well, to kick up the protein a little bit; there’s plenty of the other ingredients still to balance it.
