slow cooker Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Pressure Cooker Ropa Vieja (Slow Cooker, too!)

December 12, 2016 By Becky 62 Comments

Pressure cooker ropa vieja is a time-saving version of the traditional Cuban beef dish, and is naturally gluten and dairy free. There’s also a slow cooker version! This post is sponsored by Pomí in partnership with Honest Cooking.

Have you tried ropa vieja? Don’t worry about the fact that the name is Spanish for “old clothes”–this is supremely delicious comfort food, with nothing old or ragged about it. To make this pressure cooker ropa vieja, beef is quickly seared, then cooked until tender in an addictive sauce made with Pomí tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, smoked paprika, and other spices. Next, capers, raisins, and pimiento peppers are added for pops of color, sweetness, and tart, briny flavor. The result is a dish so soothing and satisfying that Ben and I aren’t even close to being tired of it, despite having eaten three giant batches over the past two weeks.

No pressure cooker? Don’t fret. This ropa vieja is just as delicious made in a slow cooker. I was surprised to find the two versions indistinguishable in taste and texture, so it’s really just a question of how much time you have and which appliance you want to use.

I used Pomí Organic Strained Tomatoes for this recipe. They’re similar to crushed tomatoes and provide all the great umami-packed flavor of fresh tomatoes grown in the Italian sunshine. (By the way, I also tested this recipe with Pomí’s chopped tomatoes and they worked great, too!) I love that they’re organic and non-GMO certified. If you’re interested in more recipes using Pomí tomatoes, you can download their free e-cookbook right here.

Slow-Cooker Balsamic Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree

September 23, 2016 By Becky 4 Comments

These tender slow-cooker balsamic short ribs are so comforting, with great flavor from the balsamic vinegar and rosemary. Serve them over parsnip puree with a simple vegetable side, like seared radicchio or quickly sautéed kale.

Who’s ready for part four of my ongoing love letter to short ribs? If you missed them, check out parts one, two, and three (plus the honey chipotle short ribs in Paleo Planet!). I love short ribs because they’re meltingly tender, full of meaty flavor, and really hard to mess up. They’re super easy to make in the slow cooker, and they go well with a wide variety of flavor profiles. In this simple recipe, they’re cooked low and slow with plenty of balsamic vinegar and fresh rosemary for the perfect fall comfort food with an Italian bent.

To round out the meal, I like to serve these slow-cooker balsamic short ribs with an extra creamy (but cream-free!) parsnip puree. Parsnips are such a fun cold weather vegetable and they taste great as a puree–the flavor is beguiling and almost has hints of coconut to it. This parsnip puree is pretty much heaven with some cooking juices from the short ribs spooned on top. If you’re looking for more on parsnips and reasons to love them, check out my parsnip and pumpkin soup post.

Slow-Cooker Cuban Short Ribs

February 19, 2016 By Becky 20 Comments

These slow-cooker Cuban short ribs are rubbed with an irresistible mojo, cooked to fall-apart perfection, and then served with fried green plantains, rice, and avocado. Thank you so much to ButcherBox for sending me a box of amazing grass-fed meat for this post!

Here’s part three of my ongoing love letter to short ribs, which will forever be my favorite cut of beef (you can see part one, kratiem prik thai short ribs, here, and part two, slow-cooker short ribs, here). Up until a couple of years ago, I assumed short ribs were a cut of pork, perhaps a less lengthy version of spareribs, and had never thought to give them a try. As soon as I did, I was all in. Slow-cooked short ribs are beef at its very best: meltingly tender morsels with little crunchy bits, all of which are infused with spot-on savory flavor. I do love a good steak, but I’d choose short ribs instead any day of the week, and these slow-cooker Cuban short ribs are my new absolute favorite.

That’s why I was so excited to find short ribs included in the box of grass-fed meat I got from ButcherBox, a new company that delivers carefully curated boxes of meat straight to your door. I am beyond excited about their boxes, and really think you’ll love them. The mission of ButcherBox is to make grass-fed meat available to everyone, and they’ve taken all the work out of getting a wide selection of delicious and sustainably raised meats to cook with. You can choose how frequently you’d like a box delivered, and can also pick from the all-beef box, a beef & pork box, a beef & chicken box, or a mixed box containing all three. Each box contains 6-10 pounds of meat (enough for 15-20 individual meals at a portion size of 6-8 ounces per meal). The cuts are individually packed so it’s easy to defrost just one short rib or steak at a time or all of them, depending on your cooking plans.

Here’s what was in the all-beef box I got (the contents change from month to month, but always include two pounds of ground beef and several other cuts as well): two pounds of ground beef in one-pound packages, four boneless short ribs packaged individually (two pounds total), four top sirloin steaks packaged individually (about one and a half pounds total), and two pounds of stew beef. (Oh, and a package of sugar-free, Whole30-approved paleo bacon! If you order a box through this link, you’ll get a free package of paleo bacon, too!) The box also contains cards explaining what each cut of meat is and how to best prepare it, with a tried and true recipe using that cut on the other side.

Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce with Sweet Potato Spaghetti

June 10, 2015 By Becky 16 Comments

There’s nothing more comforting than a slow-cooked Bolognese sauce with sweet potato spaghetti! It’s gluten free, paleo, and much more colorful and nutritious than regular spaghetti and meatballs.

This is Whole30 comfort food at its best. Making Bolognese sauce every Friday is a new tradition of mine, and even though I’ve only been doing it for a few weeks, it’s already made my weekends much heartier and more delicious. I have Fridays off this semester so I can stay home while this fragrant sauce simmers away, but if you have to work you could start the sauce in the morning before you leave and finish it in the slow cooker, or make it your Saturday or Sunday tradition instead.

You want to let this sauce cook for a nice long time because the flavors will continue to meld and develop over the course of several hours. The long cooking time is the reason bolognese sauce is so synergistic. I also think the sauce tastes even better when I reheat it a day or two later, but I can never resist eating at least some of it the day I make it. The aroma is so enticing!

Because everyone’s schedule is different, I’m providing a slow cooker version and a version that cooks completely on the stovetop. Other than the cooking time, which is much longer for the slow cooker version, the only difference is the amount of liquid you add. The stovetop version needs extra liquid since much of the water in the sauce will evaporate, but the slow cooker keeps all that moisture locked in.

Slow-Cooker Short Ribs

May 11, 2015 By Becky 14 Comments

If I had to pick one food to write a love song to, it would probably be short ribs. I just found out about them a couple of years ago when I ordered them at a restaurant expecting spareribs, and was surprised that the meltingly tender meat I received had no bones at all. The texture of short ribs feels so deluxe if you’re used to steak or ground beef. I can’t get enough!

You can buy boneless or bone-in short ribs. I usually buy bone-in because I think cooking with the bones in gives the meat extra flavor. They can be served on the bone, like in this recipe for kratiem prik thai short ribs, or off the bone, shredded, like I’ve done here.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork with Peach Barbecue Sauce

April 17, 2015 By Becky 49 Comments

I’m not sure where to start: there are so many exciting things going on here! We’ve got a tangy, sweet, paleo peach barbecue sauce, spice-rubbed, slow-cooked pork that’s perfect on its own or drenched in the aforementioned sauce, and a pair of hard-core, handy-dandy meat claws.

Was that too many adjectives? Is it possible for a tool to be both hard core and handy dandy? I apologize–there’s just something about pulled pork that makes me a bit verbose. It’s so tender, so easy, so versatile, and so GOOD.

For this recipe, a pork shoulder is coated in a simple spicy-sweet mix and popped in the slow cooker with an onion and a bit of olive oil. While the pork is cooking, you can put your feet up and enjoy the wonderful aroma permeating your house.

Or, you can make some peach barbecue sauce to go with it.

Slow-Cooker Carnitas Lettuce Wraps with Pineapple & Avocado Salsa

April 3, 2014 By Becky 9 Comments

Crisp and tender slow-cooker carnitas are wrapped in butter lettuce and topped with pineapple and avocado salsa for a paleo dinner or appetizer with an ideal balance of sweet and savory flavors.

Ben is out of town this week, so I have been left to my own devices. Last night I got home and decided to read the first chapter or two of the kids’ novel Because of Winn-Dixie, which I needed to preview before using it in a lesson. Turns out the book is really good, and also a bit sad. A girl named India Opal, whose mother left when she was little, moves to Naomi, Florida with her dad and ends up adopting a stray dog who helps her make all kinds of interesting friends. Each friend has their own poignant story. I may have ended up crying several times (just enough to need a tissue, not straight-up bawling), and finishing the whole book in less than two hours. Now, that’s what I call a fun evening! Tonight I might watch the film version.