Slow Cooked Elk with Rich Tomato Gravy

This is a modification of a pot roast recipe we enjoy. The tomato gravy compliments the elk so perfectly. My 4 year-old twins couldn't get enough of this and actually asked for second helpings! (They don't ask for second helping of ANYTHING). This takes a little bit of effort up front but the results are wonderful. Be sure to thaw your roast before cooking to make this more tender. (My favorite method: place frozen roast in a ziploc bag and the place the bag in a large bowel. Cover the bag with cool water and let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)

FYI: Elk is super lean so don't skimp on the added oil, otherwise you end up with tough dry elk.

Ingredients:
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 elk roast (3-4 lbs)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 small bag of baby carrots or 3 large carrots, peeled and cut in pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 TBSP flour
1 can (10 oz) condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup beef broth

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP oil over medium-high heat. Add roast and cook, turning, until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Pour 2 TBSP oil into slow cooker and transfer roast to cooker.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, celery and carrots to skillet and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Sprinkle mixture with flour and stir. Add romato soup and broth and cook, stirring, until thickened.

Pour mixture over roast, cover and cook on high 4-6 hours or low 8-12 hours, until meat is very tender.
This is excellent served with mashed potatoes.

Slow-Cooked Elk Roast with Horseradish Chive Sauce

Last year I shot an elk with my dad. I have not been brave enough to this point to cook the meat myself, but my parents came up for dinner on Sunday and I decided to give it a go. I did a lot of research on cooking elk and came up with this recipe which I used a shoulder roast with. It turned out great! While it was cooking it smelled pretty gamey which made me worry but it didn't taste gamey at all. Don't skimp on the oil because elk is so lean it will get very dry without it. It is also best to work with a thawed roast for a number of different reasons, so thaw it in a bowl of water in your fridge about 24 hours before you start cooking for best results. Use the left over juices to make gravy or serve with the sauce listed below. The Horseradish Chive Sauce is also excellent on beef.

To Make the Roast:
2 lb loin or any back leg roast
1 package Grill Mates Mesquite Marinade (or your favorite rub recipe)
¼ c olive or other vegetable oil
½ c. water
1 tsp. minced garlic
½ chopped onion

Other vegetables, like carrots and potatoes as desired.

In a hot skillet with a small amount of oil, quickly brown (sear) the outside of the roast. This process just takes a few minutes and improves flavor and moisture retention. Put roast in the crock pot on low temperature.
Mix together: water, oil, garlic, onion and marinade (or rub) mix and pour over roast.

Cook in crock pot on low for at least 8 hours. Longer won't hurt it. If you prefer to use a covered roasting pan or turkey roaster, add enough water to immerse about 1/3 of the meat. Remember, every time you open the crock pot, you will slow the cooking process by about 20 minutes.

To make gravy from scratch:

Mix ½ -1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch in a small amount of cold water until lumps disappear. Pour into one cup of liquid from roast. For a richer flavor, add 1 teaspoon, or so of beef base or 1 bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until slightly less than desired thickness, stirring constantly. Remember that the gravy will thicken a bit after removal from the heat.


Horseradish Chive Sauce

2/3 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and serve with the roast.

Tandoori Spiced Pork Roast

I have modified this recipe to be prepared in the slow cooker. It is so easy and my kids loved it. This Indian spiced pork smells and tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon garlic oil
2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Pork roast or tenderloin about 3 lbs.

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except pork in small bowl. Place pork in slow cooker; coat all sides with spice mixture. Add 1 cup water.

2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours on low. Serve over rice.

Slow-Cooked Pinto Beans

I never make beans, mostly because I forget to soak them overnight. A Mexican girl in my ward made these beans for a church event and they were so delicious I had to get the recipe. The best part is that they require no soaking. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup bacon fat, she pared it down to 1 Tbsp because she didn't like how the left overs congealed in the fridge. I eliminated the bacon fat all together and substituted liquid smoke to give it that smokey flavor. If you don't have liquid smoke, smoked paprika would also work. They turned out great. Adding the bacon fat back in would give the juice more body, which some people like, but I don't care. The girl who I got the recipe from said that she likes to make these the night before and have beans and eggs for breakfast and then make enchiladas that night. If you want to use fresh onion and garlic, you can, but I like the plain, chunkless beans. I made these with fish tacos and a side of asparagus, it was super delicious.

Ingredients:
2 cups dry pinto beans
7 cups water
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp liquid smoke (more or less to taste)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker and cook on low for 10+ hours. Makes ~7 cups beans.

Italian Pot Roast

I really should call this blog Lazy and Healthy Meals, because that is my real motivation. I was going to make Pot Roast with Rich Tomato Gravy, but was too lazy. I have had this recipe in my 'To Try' binder forever and decided to finally give it a go. My husband said this is his new favorite way to make pot roast.

Ingredients:
   1 boneless beef bottom round roast (3 pounds)
   1 1/2 cups water
   6 garlic cloves, minced
   2 bay leaves
   3 Tbsp dried basil
   4 1/2 tsp dried oregano
   1 1/2 tsp salt
   1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
   1/2 tsp garlic powder
   1 Tbsp cornstarch
   3 Tbsp cold water

Directions:
1. Place roast in slow cooker. Combine water, garlic and seasonings; pour over roast. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
2. Discard bay leaves. Remove roast to a serving platter; let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, for gravy, pour liquid into a small sauce pan. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice beef; serve with gravy.

Caputo's Irish Dinner (Corn Beef and Cabbage)

This is my favorite way to prepare corned beef.

Ingredients:

• 1, 3 to 5 lb. corned beef
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 8 small red potatoes, cleaned and peel removed from center strip only
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 large onions, sliced
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 head green cabbage, trimmed and cut into eighths
• whole grain or spicy mustard

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Remove corned beef from package and rinse well. Place in a roasting pan and cover ¾ with hot water. Sprinkle with spice package that comes with corned beef, add balsamic vinegar, cover tightly and place in oven for 18 to 24 hours.

An hour and a half before serving prepare potatoes, cover with water and boil for about 30 minutes or until slightly tender. Remove from water, season with salt and pepper, and place uncovered in a baking dish in same oven with corned beef.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, place onions in skillet and sauté slowly until well caramelized, about 30 minutes.

Remove the corned beef from oven; pour off the excess liquid in the roasting pan into a large pot. Return the corned beef to the roasting pan cover and return to oven. Place the cabbage in the liquid in the pot, cover and cook until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

When cabbage is done arrange the corned beef, potatoes, onions, and cabbage on a large platter and serve with the mustard.

Optional Slow Cooker Method:

Place brisket in the slow cooker, fat side up. Cover brisket 3/4 of the way with water. Put in 1 cup Balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle brisket with seasoning packet from the brisket. Cover and cook on low for 10-20 hours. (The longer it cooks, the more it dissolves in your mouth.)

Texas Ranch Chicken

This recipe is also good in the slow-cooker. The nice thing about that is you can more easily use raw chicken. Just dump the ingredients in and shred the chicken before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 12 corn tortillas (6 inches), cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided

Directions

• In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, celery and peppers in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the chicken, soups, tomatoes and chili powder.
• Line the bottom of a 3-qt. baking dish with half of the tortilla strips; top with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly. Serve over rice and garnish with crushed up tortilla chips. Yield: 8 servings.

Refried Beans without the Refry

Here's the original recipe I found on allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
9 cups water

DIRECTIONS
Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 6-8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Changes I made: 1/2 t red pepper flakes instead of jalepano, 1/2 t cumin. Seth prefered them unmashed when I served them at dinner with rice, so I just processed them for lunch today to put them on a quesidilla. Yum!

This was very quick prep work, and the beans turned out so flavorful, much better than the can. (It makes about 6 or more cups of beans.)

Slow Cooked Pork Tacos

• Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork sirloin roast (2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1-1/2 cups salsa verde
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• Dash hot pepper sauce
• 10 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• Reduced-fat sour cream, thinly sliced green onions, cubed avocado, shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese and chopped tomato, optional

Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 11 ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until meat is very tender. Shred pork with two forks. Place about 1/2 cup pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Serve with toppings if desired. Yield: 10 tacos.

Caputo's Irish Dinner

This is a recipe from one of our favorite Salt Lake chefs. We make this every year for St. Patrick's day. It is super easy, but you need to remember a day in advance. If you forget until that morning, just throw it in the slow cooker with the juices.

Ingredients:
1, 3 to 5lb. corned beef
1 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)
8 small red potatoes, cleaned and peel removed from center strip only
salt and pepper to taste
3 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 head greed cabbage, trimmed and cut into eighths
whole grain or spicy mustard

Method:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Remove corned beef from package and rinse well. Place in a roasting pan and cover 3/4 with hot water. Sprinkle with spice package that comes with corned beef, add balsamic vinegar, cover tightly and place in oven for 18 to 24 hours.
An hour and a half before serving prepare potatoes, cover with water and boil for about 30 minutes or until slightly tender. Remove from water, season with salt and pepper, and place uncovered in a baking dish in same oven with corned beef.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet, place onions in skillet and suate slowly until well caramelized, about 30 minutes.
Remove the corned beef from oven, pour off the excess liquid in the roasting pan into a large pot. Return the corned beef to the roasting pan, cover and return to oven. Place the cabbage in the liquid in the pot, cover and cook until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
When cabbage is done arrange the corned beef, potatoes, onions, and cabbage on a large platter and serve with the mustard.

Pot Roast with Rich Tomato Gravy

We skipped the browning step. The meat was so tender it just fell apart. It was absolutely delicious and very easy. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

3-4 lbs beef roast or cross-rib roasts or rump roast, about
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
2 tablespoons flour
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (14 ounce) can condensed beef broth (undiluted)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

Directions

1 Pat roast dry with paper towel.
2 In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
3 Add roast and cook, turning, until brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes.
4 Transfer to slow cooker.
5 Reduce heat to medium.
6 Add onions, celery and carrots to pan and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened.
7 Add garlic, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
8 Sprinkle mixture with flour and stir.
9 Add tomato soup and beef broth and cook, stirring, until thickened.
10 Stir in Worcestershire sauce.
11 Pour mixture over roast, cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, until meat is very tender.
12 Remove roast from slow cooker and place on serving platter.
13 Pour sauce over roast or serve in a separate sauce boat.

Slow Cooked Southwest Chicken

Marc made this yesterday, Yummy!

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1 jar (8 ounces) chunky salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:
In a 2- or 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the beans, broth, tomatoes, chicken, salsa, corn and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken shreds easily with two forks.
Shred chicken and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Serve with rice. Yield: 6 servings.

Kalua Pork

This recipe is very adjustable. I usually just put the roast in the slow cooker with the water (or not) and sprinkle with the salt and liquid smoke to taste. It tastes like luau pork. Serve on rice.

3 pounds pork butt roast or tenderloin
2 cups water
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tbsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours.