Crock Lover is now DOPAMINEJUNKIE.ORG

Crock Lover has now merged with DopamineJunkie.org, now with old and new recipes and meal plans!

Four-Ingredient Beef in Gravy

1 pound stewing beef, cut into cubes

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup

1 large green bell pepper cut into strips

2 tbsp flour

 

In a 2-ounce crockpot, combine beef, onion soup and 1 cup water. Set on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours. In the last 30 minutes to an hour of cooking, dissolve 2 tablespoons flour in ½ cup water and add to stew along with bell peppers. Add salt and pepper to taste. The sauce will thicken like gravy and will be great for dipping bread or on top of rice. Mangia!

Pork Afritada

1 pound pork belly - cut into 1-1/2 inch strips, ½ inch thick
1 medium onion - chopped coarsely
3 medium tomatoes, quartered
4 tablespoons tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 large bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium potato, diced
2 medium carrots, in 1 inch rounds
3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

In a 4-quart crockpot combine all but last two ingredients. Set on low for 6-8 hours. In last hour of cooking, add bay leaves and season with salt, pepper or additional fish sauce.

* I have found that the "last hour of cooking" (when you can add the spices and vegetables for additional flavor) is actually a great time to cook your accompanying white rice.

Mangia!

Crockpot Nilagang Baka

Nilaga literally means "boiled," and in Filipino it usually refers to a soupy dish of beef, pork, chicken and vegetables.   I grew up with this dish being served for Sunday lunch, after coming home from Church, with my nanny setting aside the best part for me in a separate bowl: the sinful and deadly beef bone marrow that is stewed to gooey perfection.  This is a great crockpot dish as the meat doesn't fall apart and the low temps allow for maximum flavor.  Alternatively, boiling the ingredients until the meat is tender works well too, and is how this dish is traditionally served. Mangia!
 

Nilagang Baka (Boiled Beef Soup)
 
2 pieces beef shin, bone-in  (additional soup bones add to flavor)
1 medium onion, sliced
Sliced fresh ginger, the size of half an egg (really, you can't put too much ginger, its flavor is key)
1 cube beef bouillon or 1 can beef broth
2 large potatoes, cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes
Patis or fish sauce, to taste
½ head small cabbage, sliced
20-30 pieces string beans (optional)
  
Crockpot:  Combine first five ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker and fill with water until 1-1/2 to 2 inches from the brim. Set on low for 6-8 hours.  Add cabbage and string beans in the last hour of cooking, or cook in separate pot and add to stew before serving. Season with fish sauce. 2-4 servings. Adding more ginger at the same time as the vegetables gives more flavor.
 
Conventional stove:  Combine first four ingredients in a large pot and add water (depending on amount of soup desired), bring to a boil and simmer until beef is tender. Add potatoes and simmer until soft, season with patis. Add cabbage and string beans in last few minutes of cooking. Serve hot. 2-4 servings.

Bistek Filipino

1 lb beef steak, shoulder or chuck

½ cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

3 medium onions, cut into rings

Black pepper

Juice of 2-3 lemons

 

In a 2-ounce crockpot, combine beef, soy sauce, water and 1 of the onions. Set on low for 6-8 hours or until tender. In a separate pot, sauté remaining onions until clear, add beef mixture from crockpot along with black pepper, lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Add soy sauce if necessary. Simmer for 10-15 minutes and serve with rice.

 

 

 

Kare-Kare

6-10 pieces oxtail
1 onion, chopped coarsely
4 tbsp. giniling na bigas (raw rice, roasted brown and ground with a coffee grinder)
1-1/2 Lily's peanut butter
Pechay or bokchoy
String Beans (sitaw), cut into 3 inch pieces 
Eggplant, cut into 2 inch pieces
Achuete/Annatto juice (for aesthetics only)

Cook oxtail with onions enough water to cover them in a crockpot for 5-6 hours on low, or in a pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes. If meat becomes too tender, set aside and cook the stew separately. Transfer to a regular pot, add peanut butter and roasted rice and stir until peanut butter is separated. Simmer for a few minutes until rice thickens. Season with fish sauce. Add achuete/annatto until the right color, and vegetables till cooked, adding bokchoy last. Serve with bagoong (shrimp paste) and steamed rice. 

Mangia!

Curried Lamb Shoulders

2 small lamb shoulder steaks

3 small tomatoes

4 small carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tbsp yellow curry

1 small onion, chopped coarsely

½ Knorr beef bouillon

1 package frozen roti canai bread

 

In a 2-quart crockpot, combine all ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours. Brown roti canai in a pan and serve with stew. The bread is great dipped in the stew’s sauce. Enjoy!

Basil Oxtail

Very flavorful dish with tasty meat falling off the bones. For best results half of the ginger and all of the basil should be added in the last hour of cooking. Mangia!

6-8 medium sized oxtail pieces, frozen if cooking 8 hours, thawed if cooking for less
1 big piece of ginger, about the size of a small egg, sliced (I made slivers with a peeler because I don't like biting into the ginger)
½ cup oyster sauce
4 medium sized carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
About 40 pieces string beans
1 ounce fresh basil or about 1 cup

In a 4-ounce crockpot add oxtail, half of the ginger, carrots and oyster sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours if meat is frozen, 4-6 hours if meat is thawed. When meat is tender, add string beans and basil, and season with more oyster sauce and pepper if necessary, usually in the last hour of cooking.

Serves 3-4 with white rice.

Crock Lover has now merged with DopamineJunkie.org, now with old and new recipes and meal plans!