Following the Presidential election, my children decided that they wanted to have a little election in the Erdner household for President of our household. The President would have certain responsibilities as well as some privileges. One of the responsibilities would be to help plan the meals for the week. We held our election, and I decided to let the winner be president for 2 weeks, 2nd place would do it for 1 week, 3rd place would do it for 1 week as well.
My 12-year-old son, David, wrote a convincing speech which included such promises as "more date nights for mom and dad while the children stay homeland watch family friendly films or play games." So cute. David (and his running-mate, Nina) won 1st place, and this is the first week of his term. David helped me plan this week's menu. I asked him to pick at least one crockpot recipe for every day. His menu has been in place so far since Sunday. The choice he wrote on the menu for last night was called "New Mexico Stew." It's a very meat-and-potatoes kind of meal, whichTodd and I have been avoiding since going almost completely vegan a few months ago. However, Todd said we should let the president plan, and he and I can always eat salad or makes green smoothie if desired. We aren't really strict about the eating plan, but follow the principles in general. This New Mexico Stew definitely did not fit in with the "Eat to Live" plan, but the kids have been missing meat-based meals. This meal hit the spot for them!! They DEVOURED it, and want me to make it again.
The recipe is rather unusual, and as I placed the ingredients in the pot yesterday, I wasn't so sure about it...raw pork sausage crumbled on top of each layer of meat and potatoes...hmmm??? Well, everything cooked through well, and the flavors mixed in well. The results were a HUGE hit with my family. Next time, I will definitely double this one. I could even slow cook this one in my giant roaster oven (22-quart) and make a really large quantity of it if I want to have leftovers to freeze.
New Mexico Stew
Makes 8 servings
(there was room to double this in my 7-quart crockpot, so next time I will)
2 lbs. stewing meat or steak, cubed
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. oil
5-6 potatoes, cubed
6-8 carrots, diced
2 (4.25-oz.) cans chopped green chilies
1 1/2 lbs. raw pork sausage, crumbled (I only used 1 lb., and it was fine)
1. Salt and pepper stewing meat (I'm Cuban, so I did what I like to do with meat--seasoned it with Adobo instead of salt and pepper). Brown in oil skillet. (I omitted the oil--I think it's unnecessary.)
2. Place half the stewing meat in the bottom of slow cooker.
3. Layer half the vegetables and chilies over the beef. Crumble half the sausage on top (yes, raw). Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste (I sprinkled McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning--just a *little*).
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, layering meat and vegetables and sausage once more to use up all ingredients. Sprinkle salt and pepper or seasoning on that layer too).
5. Cover. Cook on high until ingredients begin to boil. Then turn cooker to low for 8-10 hours. Do not lift lid, and do not stir during cooking. (I put a little sign on the crockpot to warn everyone not to open lid--the children sometimes do that while something is cooking in the crockpot).
6. Serve with a green salad and fresh bread.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Advent so far! We love the traditions and warmth of this time of year! Be blessed!!
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