Sauerbraten

Pin It So, I have a whole bunch of cookbooks which I have either received as gifts, or purchased for myself. Honestly, I often use one recipe from a book and then put it right back on the shelf. In this particular case, I got a beautiful Williams-Sonoma slow cooker cookbook from my mother. I made one recipe, and back to the shelf it went. However, since I haven't been able to work, I have been cooking a lot more. So, as I was flipping through the pages, I found a recipe for crock pot sauerbraten. I had never tried sauerbraten before, so I figured "What the heck?" The cookbook has a little side note that says traditional sauerbraten is marinated for a couple of days before cooking, so I did that. It definitely was worth the wait. Even my 3 year old son loved it, especially the cabbage! You can find the original recipe here. I served it with olive oil roasted red potatoes, but it is traditionally served with spaetzle or boiled potatoes. Without further ado, here is the recipe!

Sauerbraten

Ingredients:

Boneless beef chuck roast (3 1/2 - 4lbs)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tsp ground ginger

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 cup beef broth

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 bay leaf

1/2 head red cabbage, thinly shredded

12-16 gingersnap cookies, finely crushed (I used 16, and I used a food processor to crush them)

(Side note: As I type this, I realize I didn't use the onion when I made this. It was purely an accident on my part. So, I guess the lesson here is that if you don't particularly want onions, that's OK! It will taste delicious anyways!)

Preparation:

Boil the broth, vinegar, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature. Season the beef with salt, pepper, and ginger. Place beef in container and pour vinegar mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. If the roast is not completely covered, turn twice a day.

Transfer roast and liquid to crock pot. Add onions and bay leaf. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 7 hours. Add the cabbage, pressing it down around the edges with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle cabbage with one teaspoon salt. Cover and continue cooking for one hour.

Remove and discard bay leaf. Transfer roast to cutting board, and transfer cabbage to serving bowl. Whisk crushed gingersnaps into liquid in the crock pot until thickened into gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer gravy to serving dish/small pitcher. Slice meat across the grain. Either transfer to serving plate, or dish up individual servings. Serve with cabbage and gravy on top.

ENJOY!!

Credits: Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Slow Cooker

Lemonade Cake

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I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and of course, I had to try it. I made it for Easter and my son's 3rd birthday (by request from him), as well as one other time. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to make, and really delicious! I use extra fresh lemon juice (squeezed from the lemon I zested) in the frosting to thin it out a bit, and it also tarts it up. Additionally, I use lemon curd as the middle layer, instead of frosting, because that tarts it up some, too. You can find the original recipe here.

Lemonade Cake

Cake:

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Cooking spray

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 ounces cream cheese

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Filling:

1/2 cup lemon curd

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes).

Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.

Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans.

Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy.

Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat).

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup lemon curd.

Top with remaining cake layer.

Spread frosting over top and sides of cake.

Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

COOKING LIGHT 2002

This was the cake for my Teddy's 3rd Birthday!

Potato Leek Soup (with a twist)

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I have made potato and leek soup before, and found it to be pretty bland. So I found a basic recipe and twisted it around to make it delicious! Hope you enjoy :)



Potato Leek Soup (with a twist)

Ingredients:

5 Cups strong chicken broth (throw an extra bouillon cube in if you are making it with them, the potatoes soak up so much salt that it's OK if it is strong broth)**
2-3 Leeks
1 Medium Onion
5-6 garlic cloves
3/4 Cup butter
1/2-3/4 Cup dry white or pink wine (DO NOT USE FRUITY WINE! But if all you have in the fridge is a pink table wine, that will work! It did for me... ;)
3 Jumbo Russet potatoes (maybe 5-6 regular sized? It's OK if it isn't exact here)
3-4 Stalks celery
3/4-1 Cup Carrots (sticks/chips/chopped, any way will work)
2 Bay leaves
1/4-1/2 Evaporated milk (or heavy cream, if you're feeling decadent!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Get the broth going in a big pot, over medium heat (especially if you are making your own). Trim most of the green off of the leeks, and cut the white lengthwise to rinse out any sand. Slice into about 1/8-1/4" wide pieces. Chop the onion into similar sized pieces. Finely chop or crush the garlic. Melt most of the butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat (reserve about 1/4 Cup), and put the onions, leeks and garlic in with it. Keep the veggies going until pretty soft, starting to brown just a little. Deglaze the pan with the wine (pour into the pan with the veggies and stir/scrape up any tasty bits that may have stuck to the bottom). Let the veggies cook in here for a couple minutes. Dump this into the pot with the broth, and toss in the bay leaves. Dice the potato into 1/2" cubes (leave the skin on, it's SO tasty!). Scoop half of the remaining butter into the frying pan, and lightly saute the cubed potatoes. Toss the potatoes into the soup. Dice up the celery and carrots (carrot sticks: cut in half, carrot chips: leave whole). Scoop the remaining butter into the frying pan, and lightly saute them together. Toss those into the pot with the soup. Let this cook down for 30-60 minutes, until the vegetables are as soft as you want them to be. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, mix in the evaporated milk. Some people like to use a stick blender at this point to puree the soup, but not me. It's up to you.

Delicious hearty meal, great served with fresh-baked rolls!!

**If you want to go totally vegetarian on this, you can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth, I'm sure it would be just as tasty :)

This may seem like a lot of chopping and sauteing, but I promise it is worth it! And really, with the measurements, go with your gut. If you like more onions, go ahead. No milk? Just fine. And if there is any extra veggies you think might be tasty, toss 'em in! I have added zucchini and yellow squash. I think other "root type" vegetables would be excellent, also. The only "hard number" in this recipe is probably the broth, and only so that there is enough liquid for the solids pieces.

Porcupine Beef

Pin It I have forgotten to put this recipe up for over a month now, so here it is. Sara, this one's for you :) It's a little on the spicy side, especially when you use jalapenos, but these meatballs are delicious! A side of some cheesy cornbread cuts the spice nicely. I suppose you could throw a dollop of sour cream in there too, if you like. With a little adjusting, this can be made in a crock-pot easily. Brown the meatballs a little, heat up the sauce in the crock-pot, throw 'em in and they'd probably be done in a couple hours on low heat. Just a warning, if you don't brown them first, you run the risk of this turning into a porcupine stew.



Porcupine Beef

Ingredients:

1 LB ground beef
1/2 C uncooked instant rice
2 eggs, beaten
1 - 1.5 oz envelope dry onion soup mix
1/4 C finely chopped sweet green or jalapeno pepper
1 - 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 - 12 oz can or bottle light beer
2 tsp chili powder

Preparation:

Mix together ground beef, rice, eggs, dry soup mix and chopped pepper. Shape into 6 large balls.

Combine tomatoes, beer, and chili powder in a large skillet or 3 QT baker. Heat to boiling over medium heat or in a 350 oven.

Carefully drop meatballs into hot tomato mixture; cover and simmer or bake for 45-55 minutes. Lift out meatballs and, if desired, thicken sauce with 3 TBSP flour mixed with cold water. Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread or cheesy cornbread.

Makes 6 servings.

I got this recipe from a cookbook called Fifty From The Trail: The Best Cowboy Cooking From A Timeless Land. There is no credit given in the book to any author, so I can't give any either. This cookbook just showed up one day in my cookbook collection, and has become one of my favorites. Hope you enjoy the recipe!!