Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Pork Crockpot Stew

At this point in my pregnancy dinners are alternating between quick and fresh (salads, eggs, fruit) and slow cooked meals that are ready at dinner with no effort. Slow cooked meals feel like a bit of a gamble as I prepare them... will we be around for dinner that night? Or will my water break leaving a simmering crockpot meal for whomever picks up our dog to take to their house?

This meal is everything I like in a dinner. It's hearty with chunks of meat- I tend to load my bowl with more veggies while my husband loves the carnivorous elements. It's quick to prepare and it's cheap. Pork stew meat runs around $1.49/lb in our local grocery stores and I managed to snag a pack that was .50 off. Topped off with some lime spiked sour cream it was a hit with everyone in our family.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Pork Crockpot Stew (total cost for recipe is $5.25 or .88/serving)
(serves 6)

1 1/2 pounds pork stew meat (2.19- .50 coupon= 1.69)
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (.99/lb = 1.49)
1 15.25 oz can black beans (.89)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (.95)
1/2 cup orange juice or the juice of 1 orange (estimate .23 cents cost)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
Top with: sour cream, lime & parsley (optional)

Gather your ingredients by the slow cooker. Use a garlic press or mince the garlic and add it into the cooker. Peel and dice the sweet potato and add that into the cooker.

Add the pork in on top of the sweet potatoes. 

Dump in the can of beans and the can of tomatoes. 

Pour the orange juice over the top. 

Add all spices and set the slow cooker to start. I cooked on high for 4 hours but you could also do low for 8 hours. 

When the time is up on the slow cooker and you're ready for dinner you can create a quick lime sour cream topping for your stew. I mixed a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream with the juice from a lime wedge and some lime zest and set a dollop on top of each bowl along with a lime wedge. I also sprinkled some fresh parsley on top since I had some on hand. Toppings are optional. Enjoy!

Lamb Sausage Bolognese with Polenta Cupcakes

We attended the 2nd Edible Vermont Food Exchange last weekend. This is a great Vermont food event that I dreamed up months ago and finally saw to fruition when my friend Sandy who owns Brown and Jenkins Coffee jumped in to co-host and provide the perfect space for it to happen. Basically a mix of home cooks and canners and some commercial companies come together. Everyone brings some of their favorite items and a food swap ensues. The goal is to walk in with your items and leave with a plethora of new things to try. I learned last time to bring my stuff in a container that was conducive to packing with my new treasures when I left, hence my laundry basket came with me. You can check out our event photos here.

Here's the before:

I brought freshly baked bread, cranberry onion jam, cranberry catsup, homemade dog treats, and apple chutney. I forgot to take a picture of my after but it included lamb sausage, ground venison, kettle corn, turkey rice soup, nut bars, cookies, coffee, eggs, and rice and beans. 

So after thawing my homemade lamb sausage which I got by trading apple chutney to Waiora Valley Farm, I decided a slow cooker bolognese sauce was the way to go. 

This recipe makes "tons". No it's not a technical term but you could easily serve this at a large dinner party. We ate it for a family dinner and I now have 3 large mason jars in my fridge. My parents will be the lucky recipient of one jar, my husband will demolish another, and one will be processed for storage for a later windy wintery day. 

Lamb Sausage Crockpot Bolognese with Polenta Cupcakes

(serves 4 plus leftover for canning)

1 1/2 pounds lamb sausage (you could use ground lamb if you wanted to- I would add sage & spices)

1 TBS olive oil

2 28 oz can whole tomatoes

1 28 oz can tomato puree

1 cup of red wine

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced. 

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 2 TBS dried, I used frozen cubes from last summers CSA share)

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 bay leaves

For the polenta cupcakes:

6 cups water

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup cornmeal

1. Lightly cook the lamb sausage in a frying pan using the 1 TBS of olive oil. You want it to change to a light tan color but don't overcook it. 

2. Dump the 3 cans of tomato products into the slow cooker. Add the wine (I probably put in more like 10 oz because I measured in one of the tomato puree cans.). 

Add the lamb and the bay leaves.

3. Peel and thinly slice the carrots. Add them to the crockpot along with the parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper. 

Smash the garlic cloves,

peel them and drop them in the pot.

 Start the pot, I cooked for 4 hours on high but you could also do 8 hours on low if you were starting it in the morning. 

4. About a half hour before you want to serve dinner preheat the oven to 425. Start 6 cups of water boiling on the stove. When it reaches a boil add 2 1/2 tsp of kosher salt (reduce amount if using table salt). Here's where I took the lazy approach. If you're going to use a whisk you need to gradually add the cornmeal so that it doesn't clump, you'll need to be whisking the whole time. I'm lazy, pregnant, and constant whisking hurts my back so I dumped in the whole thing of cornmeal, plugged in my electric hand mixer and mixed it on medium while it was on the stovetop. Voila, no clumps! Once the mixture comes together and is more like a batter than a liquid turn off the heat. This takes about 15 minutes with the whisk method and 5 if you use the electric hand mixer. At this point in time I deviate from standard polenta recipes. Most recipes will have you add butter. I don't feel like it needs it so I don't.

5. Spray two muffin tins with cooking spray. Fill the cups with the polenta and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top. They will still be creamy in the middle. I like the texture added by baking the polenta, crunchy and creamy makes me happy. 

Pale before being baked. 

Golden after coming out of the oven.

6. Serve the bolognese sauce over the polenta cupcakes. Polenta packs a punch- it looks unassuming but is extremely hearty and filling. If polenta isn't your thing you could also serve the bolognese over mashed potatoes or pasta. Enjoy!

Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

I advocate easy real food. I don't like boxes and mixes and 80 steps. I love my crockpot. I also am a huge fan of rotisserie chicken. This combines the best of both worlds.

Doesn't it look yummy?

Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

1 roaster chicken (I used a 5.5 lb one- $3.83 on sale at .69/lb)

2 TBS your choice spices, I use a Buzz Rub by a local VT company Brown & Jenkins Coffee which I traded for at a food swap (If purchased it would have been $7.95 per container- it uses about 1/8 of the container so $1.00)

1. Take out the crockpot and chicken. 

2. Place the chicken breast side down in the crockpot. 

3. Sprinkle with spices. 

4. Set crockpot for 4 hours and go do something exciting. You could also set it for 8 hours on low if you were going to work for the day. 

5. After 4 hours take the chicken out, marvel at how moist it is, and eat it. Enjoy!