The crockpot

I am not much of a winter person - hate the cold, the idea of wearing winter boots, bulky coats, slush and cold hands. But, winter is the season for the slow cooker - I love all things slow cooked - braised lamb shanks, hearty stews, short ribs, pork roasts - love it all.

So, with the onset of the cold weather here (darn cold, I have to say - where did that Indian Summer go?), I have brought out the good old slow cooker. I made a ragu earlier this week - got two meals out of the batch and froze a third dinner. I finally made an excellent chicken taco recipe yesterday evening - think pulled pork, but with fowl, a bit of salsa and taco mix (MSG free!) - and the kiddos and I enjoyed ourselves as we wrapped tortillas around all the stuffings.

Today - had to bring it out just one more time for the week - this time, a Beef Carbonnade - or Belgian beef stew made with beer. I have been making the french sister meal - Boeuf Bourguignon - for several years but didn't quite feel like either the heavy red wine sauce or the little onion plucking required by the recipe - so decided to go Belgian. Husband even took two of the three little ones to the grocery story and the beer store to accumulate the required ingredients - including Stella Artois - genuine Belgian beer for my stew.

Yum!