It's pretty much forbidden in my house and bust out the soups and stews until the temps drop below about 60 degrees. So these cozy, one-pot dishes are pretty much reserved for December, January and February around here. Since "winter" has finally hit in Northern California (kinda, sorta), I am ready for some full-on cozy, comfort food! This is my go-to one-pot, slow cooker dish. One of of the main ingredients is WINE, sooooooo does anything else need to be said? Make it. Now!
A little background because I have to give credit where credit is due...this is my sweet friend Maureen's recipe. Maureen was my teacher's aide back when I taught an elementary school special ed class. At the time, she had 3 kids in high school and I had 2 little-little "babies." She was always SOOOOOO amazing and supportive with both work and "personal stuff." If I had to call in sick because my kids were sick, she always just took over the class and I never had to worry about anything. She saw me cry and supported me countless times in the four years we worked together in that crazy, crazy job. She was always my biggest cheerleader and she is one of the reasons (although she doesn't know this) that I started attending church.
Anyway--enough of the sappy stuff. Maureen is an amazing cook, so she was always making and sharing something delicious! This is her grandmother's stew recipe that she shared with me years ago and it's still on my recipe repertoire all the time in the winter!
5-6 slices of bacon, diced
1lb stew meat (you can buy it already cut into chunks)
3-4 carrots cut into chunks
1 medium onion, sliced
4-5 small red potatoes cut into chunks (you can use any kind of potatoes)
1 tablespoon of flour
1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste
About a 1/2 to 3/4 bottle or more of good red wine (the bolder the better--i like using a Zin..as in the red kind, not White Zin- LOL!)
1 cup of beef stock (store bought)
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika
1. In a large skillet cook bacon pieces into almost done and most of the fat has rendered out.
2. Meanwhile, toss the meat lightly in flour and salt/pepper and about a tablespoon of smoked paprika.
**If you are short on time, skip to Lazy Girl's Note below** :)
3. If there is a large amount of grease from the bacon, drain a little out (but not all of it!). In the skillet with the bacon grease, add meat and cook for about 5-6 minutes or until the meat is browned on the outside (DOES NOT have to be cooked through!)
4. Remove meat and toss it in the crockpot.
**Lazy Girl's Note: You can skip browning the meat and just throw it into the crockpot if you are really pressed for time. However, I always take the extra 10 minutes or so because all of that amazing bacon grease is just sitting there, waiting to be used!!!
5. To the crockpot, add veggies, reserved bacon, tomato paste, beef stock and wine. Give it and good stir. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours or HIGH 5-6 hours until meat is super tender. While it's cooking, if it seems to need more liquid, add more wine (or beef stock).
I always serve this up with some nice, crusty bread to soak up all the wonderful juices. It's soooooooooooo good!
XO ~ Casey
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