Thursday, October 23, 2008

Out of the mouth of babe's...

Lately, once my stomach settles down from chemo, I crave beef. I'm not sure why. Under normal (whatever that is) circumstances, I would usually choose a chicken or pork dish over beef. However, some time ago I came across a crock-pot recipe for Beef Bourguignon. I tried it and it was wonderful!! Beef stew can sometimes be rather, well, blah...but because this recipe called for bacon and red wine, it had such a rich and yummy flavor!! Served over hot buttered noodles, dinner rolls and a salad...it really is a perfect fall meal.

Since I was feeling better last night, I started to get everything ready for the crock-pot this morning. I fried up the bacon and then browned the beef in the drippings (yes I know....not a low fat recipe). The kitchen smelled absolutely incredible at about 9pm when I finally had packaged everything up to put in the fridge till morning. Nathan kept trying to steal pieces of bacon and cooked beef!! He said he couldn't wait until dinner time so he could eat "it all". He stood by me this morning as I gingerly poured all the ingredients (including the wine) in to start it on low. He again told me how he looked forward to our dinner tonight.

Since I worked today, I had Dan cook up the special noodles....Whole Grain Tigger Tails...to go with it. When I got home, I could smell that wonderful smell waiting for me. The table was set, the kids had been bathed and finished homework! This was a perfect night...and...I actually felt like eating! We all sat down together, said the blessing and served up dinner.

At this point...Nathan turned to me, looked at his plate and said...."Mom, how come everything you put into the crock-pot comes out looking the same...brown and mushy? This is gross!"

Dan and I enjoyed our dinner...the kids...well they had hot buttered Tigger Tails.

In case you're interested...here's the recipe.

Beef Bourguignon with Red Wine:

1 1b bacon, cooked, reserve grease
3 lbs beef, cubed
flour
1 to 2 Cups red wine
3 ribs celery, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
4 to 8 oz sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
water

Slowly cook the bacon in a large skillet, remove to crock-pot. Dredge beef cubes in flour, brown in bacon fat. Transfer meat from skillet to crock-pot. Saute vegetables and garlic in remaining fat, add to crock-pot. Gently stir beef, veges, bacon, and wine (add a little water if needed). Add bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low 7-9 hours.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gee I craved clay when I was going through chemo.
Your craving def sounds better.