Sunday Dinner Roast Beef

I think a chuck roast is one of my favorite cuts of beef and luckily, I kept finding them on sale this winter. So, I had a few in my freezer and when it was a touch chilly a couple months ago, despite the mild winter we had, I decided to make this beef from The Southern Slow Cooker Bible. The brown sugar in the sauce was most noticed in the gravy, not as much in the meat, but it was a nice addition. The recipe overall was not overly salty or sweet, but a nice balance. This makes a lot of gravy, so I froze some of it, which will come in handy when I’m looking for a little homemade gravy sometime soon!

Angel Wings

While on maternity leave, I spent some time going through the freezer and found a forgotten bag of chicken wings that I wanted to use up. Looking through the recipes that I had to use for wings, I came across this easy-to-throw-together recipe from the Southern Slow Cooker Bible and knew I wanted to make it. These were a sweet, not quite barbecue-flavored wing. If you aren’t looking for a crisp skin on a wing, these were a great recipe.

Meat Lovers Chili

What a bizarre fall we’ve had thus far. We’ve had 90 degree days in October and mornings where we’ve woken up and it’s been near freezing levels. So, as I was using up some of the last of my garden peppers and jalapenos, I saw this recipe from the Southern Slow Cooker Bible, added a can of black beans to the recipe, and made this with mostly ingredients that I had on-hand. I enjoyed this, although with this much sausage in it, it was a little oilier than I would have preferred. I think I could adjust that in the future.

Cocoa Powder Pork

Every once in a while (or at least once a week for me), a recipe catches my eye and I know I am waiting for the perfect opportunity to throw it together.  So when a colleague had surgery and a family I admire lost a loved one, I knew I could take this pork recipe from the Southern Slow Cooker Bible and help it be multi-purpose.  I ended up putting it with sandwiches and a salad for my co-worker and bringing tortillas, chips, and salsa, for the family that lost a loved one.  The salsa in the pork recipe makes it fairly dynamic and able to be adjusted to the needs of the food.

6 servings

1 2 1/2 lb boneless pork butt
2 c salsa
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt

Place the pork in a lightly greased large slow cooker.  In a medium bowl combine the salsa, chili powder, cocoa powder, oregano, and salt.  Pour over the pork.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 1/2 hours.  Shred the pork with two forks and serve warm in the cooking juices.

Good Granny Apple Raisin Crumble

The season of pumpkins and apples is coming to an end; I think this may be the last recipe featuring one of these items for this year.  Yet, when I had the students over last month and served them pumpkin chicken chili and chicken and vegetable soup, I also put together this granny apple raisin crumble to eat for dessert.  The recipe came from the Southern Slow Cooker Bible cookbook, and it seemed to feature a lot of great seasonal items, so I was thrilled to be able to put it together.  To add to this, I served cinnamon ice cream, which is one of the best kept secrets of fall (dessert) cooking.  If I was to put this together again, I’d cut the apples into smaller chunks than the wedges the recipe suggests, but I was very happy about the way it all turned out.  And it smelled great cooking while we were working our way through the soups.  I was thrown by the direction to incorporate a towel into the cooking process, but it seemed to have served the crumble well.

Good Granny Apple Raisin Crumble

4 large Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into wedges
1/2 c golden raisins
1 tsp vanilla
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 c brown sugar, divided
1 c plus 2 Tbsp baking mix, divided
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c oats
1/2 c chopped pecans

Place the apples and raisins in a lightly greased medium slow cooker.  Sprinkle with the vanilla and dot with 2 Tbsp of teh butter.  In a medium bowl, stir together 2/3 c of the brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of the baking mix, and the cinnamon.  Sprinkle over the apple mixture and toss gently to evenly coat.

In the same bowl, combine the remaining 1/3 c of brown sugar and 1 c of the baking mix with the oats.  With a pastry blender or two forks, cut in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Sprinkle over the apple mixture and top with the pecans.  Fold a clean kitchen towel in half and lay over the top of the slow cooker, allowing the excess to hang over the outside.  Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.

Uncover and let stand for 15 minutes before serving warm with a garnish of whipped cream.