Fall favors family, football, and food. Try saying that 10 times fast.
But that’s not just any kind of food. It has to be that warm-the-soul, stick-to-the-bones, tantalize-the-taste buds kind of fare.
Author Beth Hensperger has you covered in Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Family Favorites: Healthy, Wholesome Meals Your Family will Love.
Check out these recipes for Sirloin Beef Stew and Corn Kernel Corn Muffins, courtesy of The Harvard Common Press.
Recipe © 2012 by Beth Hensperger and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.
Sirloin Beef Stew
This beef stew is unusual in that it uses sirloin steak instead of chuck or round steak stew meat. Oh my, is it good! It is adapted from a recipe I found on one of my favorite recipe blogs, Karina’s Kitchen, which is devoted to gluten-free cooking. It was Karina’s son who suggested using the more expensive sirloin.
Serves 4
COOKER: Large round or oval
SETTING AND COOK TIME: HIGH for 4 to 5 hours
- 2 pounds boneless top sirloin steak, cut into 2-inch chunks
- Fine sea salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons light olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 medium-size yellow onion, diced
- 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds
- 3 stalks celery, sliced 1⁄2 inch thick
- 1 cup dry red table wine
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon crumbled mixed dried Italian or French herbs, or to taste
- (a combination of thyme, sage, rosemary, and/or basil, or herbes de Provence)
- 1 bay leaf
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Coat the inside of the crock with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Season the beef with salt. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef, in batches, and brown quickly on all sides, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to the crock as it browns.
3. Add the garlic, onion, potatoes, carrots, and celery to the crock, then the wine, broth, vinegar, herbs, bay leaf, and pepper. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fork-tender. Serve hot.
Corn Kernel Corn Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
There is something just plain wonderful about fresh-out-of-the-oven corn muffins. These muffins are great to serve as an accompaniment to your chilis and stews, but they’re also good with egg dishes and soups. Look for corn flour, the finest grind of cornmeal, in the specialty flour section of a well-stocked supermarket or natural foods store. I use Bob’s Red Mill brand.
- 1 cup all-purpose fl our
- 1 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground, or corn fl our
- 1⁄3 cup sugar
- 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1⁄2 cup frozen baby corn kernels, thawed, or kernels cut fresh off the cob
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons light olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter or coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray, or use paper muffin liners.
2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the buttermilk, corn kernels, whole egg, egg yolk, melted butter, and olive oil. Stir just until all the ingredients are moistened yet thoroughly blended. Take care not to overmix. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until almost level with the tops of the cups. Bake until the tops are golden, a cake tester comes out clean, and the tops of the muffins are springy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before turning the muffins out of the cups to cool on a wire rack. These are good to eat right away with butter but are also delicious at room temperature.
Recipe © 2012 by Beth Hensperger and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.
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Sounds delicious! Especially since it’s a crock pot meal – love it!
Courtney recently posted..Juno Lucina Push Present Review
Now that sounds like a meal I would love to dig into on a Sunday afternoon here on the chilly east coast while watching football. Also, my kids LOVE corn muffins so the Corn Kernel Corn Muffins would be a HUGE hit in our house.
Thanks for sharing this!!!
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Yum! This sounds so good. I think I am going to add it to the list of recipes to make next month for my freezer to crockpot meals.
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Oh, you’re making me drool – that stew and muffin recipe sound so good! I’m blog hopping for the first time and when I saw the name of your blog, I just had to come see you. I love books, too! Will look for your button and add you to my list.
Thanks for sharing!
Patty
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The stew looks great… but I’m making the muffins first!
I really have to stop looking at recipes at 9 AM — these are going to make me spend the rest of the day starving! They do look good and I bookmarked them for later. Thanks!
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Oh my gosh I’m hungry now!
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Mmmmm! I love slow cooked beef stew and using the crock pot makes dinner time so much easier! I also love cornbread w/ my stew, will definitely be trying both recipes soon since cold weather is on its way!
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