Make it Monday

I love my Crockpot! I mean, really love it! To me it's the best kitchen appliance, I can put everything together in the morning or the night before...turn it on and by the evening dinner is done (all in one pot mind you) the house smells awesome and I wasn't trying to entertain the girls and make dinner. To me it's a perfect evening.

This week I used the crockpot twice and both recipes were amazing and I will be sure to share the 2nd one soon. I'm always willing to try a new recipe in the crockpot and I haven't had a single bad one yet (knock on wood).

This is the crockpot I have, it's great. (Thank you Mom & Dad for this great gift). I highly recommend it, it has a timer and temp gauge so it will automatically go to warming mode once your food is cooked. This was huge when I was working because I left so early and got home so late that if I had one without these features my food would be over cooked.

Beef Burgandy
Special Notes: I used  low-sodium beef broth everytime it was an option.

2 Lbs Boneless Beef Chuck Pot Roast cut into 1 inch pieces
2 t Oilve Oil
3 Medium Onions chopped
4 Medium carrots cut into 3/4 inch pieces
2 Cups frozen Small Whole Onions (or just use more fresh onions)
2 Cloves Garlic (I used about 5...we love garlic)
2 T Quick-Cooking Tapioca
1 C Burgandy wine or low-sodium beef broth
1/2 C low-sodium beef broth
1/4 C brandy or low-sodium beef broth
1 T tomato paste
1 t Dried Thyme
1/2 t Dried Rosemary
1/2 t black pepper
2 Bay Leaves

1. In a large nonstick skillet brown half of the beef in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Remove and do this with the 2nd half.
2. In the crockpot add onions, carrots, whole onions and garlic. Sprinkle with tapioca. Place beef on top. 
3. In a medium bowl whisk together wine, broth, brandy, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary and pepper. Pour into crockpot. Add bay leaves.
4. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours or high heat for 4 to 5 hours. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
5. Serve this over your favorite mashed potato recipe. We use red potatoes with skins left on and add garlic and sour cream. This is so YUMMY!!!