Beef Stew

This beef stew is one of my favorites beef stews out there.  Instead of just stewing beef, Nick often makes it with beef ribs and prime rib chunks that bring so much more flavor and much thicker then other beef stews because of all the bones and fat.  Easy to assemble in the morning, and then just set it and forget it till dinner!  Bake a batch of biscuits (if we're lazy we just use a tube of Pillsbury) to go with the stew for dinner, and you've got a hearty meal.  

BEEF STEW

Serves: 4-6

approx prep time: 15min

approx cook time: 7 hours

INGREDIENTS: 

- 3 to 4 large beef ribs, with as much meat on them as possible. (If the ribs you can get are a bit on the lean side, add in about 1/2lbs of stewing beef or a strip steak diced into 1 inch cubes)

- 1 large potato

- 1 medium size sweet potato

- 1 large carrot or 1 handful of baby carrots

- 2 celery stalks

- 1 red, orange or yellow pepper

- 1 handful of fresh green beans or sugar snap peas

- 1 large onion

- 1 beef bullion cube

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tbsp oregano

- 1 tbsp vegetable seasoning

- 1 tbsp seasoned salt

- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Chop potatoes into 1.5" cubes, leaving the skin on the potato, but peeling the sweet potato first. 

- Chop vegetables into 1.5" cubes (leave peas and baby carrots whole).

- Dust all ingredients lightly with flour.

- In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients. I suggest placing the beef ribs in the bottom and stacking/cramming the vegetables on top. When the slow cooker is roughly half filled, add the beef bullion cube, seasoning, and remaining flour.

- Once full, pour in approx. 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup of water.

- Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Do not remove the lid until the last hour of cooking.

- When cooked, remove beef bones, and stir thoroughly.

- Serve hot and with a side of biscuits (optional). 

Extra Beefy Pasta Sauce

There's pasta sauce, and there's beefy pasta sauce.  This one is definitely the beefcake of pasta sauces.  It's thick, has the consistency and thickness of chili, and slow cooked to bring together all the flavors.  A welcome hearty meal on a cold winters day.

EXTRA BEEFY PASTA SAUCE

Serves: 6-8

approx prep time: 15min

approx cook time: 6 hours

INGREDIENTS: 

- 2 lbs extra lean ground beef
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 large onion
- 2 or 3 stalks of celery
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 2tbsp dried oregano
- 2tbsp italian seasoning mix
- 2tbsp dried parsley flakes, or 1/4 cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Peel and finely chop garlic
- Dice celery and onion into small to medium size pieces

- In a slow cooker, combine all the ingredients.

- Mix thoroughly.

- Cook on Low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours, stirring once or twice in the last hour of cooking as well as right before serving.

- Server fresh right over your favorite pasta, and top with cheese.

Slow cooked Roast Beef

SLOW COOKED ROAST BEEF

Serves: 6

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 7 hours

Super simple, fall apart, roast beef done in the slow cooker. Great for hot sandwiches, or served with rice or potatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

- Roast of your choice (We used a Sirloin roast for this one) approx. 4lbs

- Schwartz's Steak & Beef spice (from Schwartz's Deli in Montreal, which can also be ordered online at http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/. Or for an easier to get solution, you can use Montreal Steak Spice)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Rub all sides of the roast generously in seasoning.

- Place the roast in the slow cooker, along with approx 2tbsp of water.

- Cook on low for 7-8 hours (7 hours for a roast 4lbs or less, and 8 hours for a 4-6lbs roast).

- Do not open the lid of the slow cooker while cooking, or until ready to serve.

- Slice and serve immediately.

Slow cooked BBQ Ribs

SLOW COOKED BBQ RIBS

serves: 5

approx prep time: 5min

approx cook time: 7hours

A super simple BBQ ribs recipe, that makes delicious fall off the bone ribs! You'll need a slow cooker/crock pot for this one.

INGREDIENTS: 
- 3 racks of pork side ribs.
- 1 bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce. We use Diana Original BBQ sauce.

HOW TO MAKE IT: 
- Cut ribs into chunks of roughly 3 to 5 bones each.
- Layer ribs in slow cooker, adding a bit of BBQ sauce between each layer.
- Pour a bit of extra BBQ sauce on top of the last ribs.
- Cook in the slow cooker on low for 7 hours.
- When serving, drizzle a little bit of BBQ sauce on the ribs as soon as they come out of the slow cooker.


NOTE: If cooking the ribs from frozen, thaw them for 12 hours in the fridge first, and adjust the cooking time to be 2 hours on High, followed by 5 hours on low.