Slow Cooker Short Rib Sandwich

I just love coming home to dinner ready in the crockpot. It smells delicious when you walk in the door, its easy to cook, and easy to clean up.

Last night's dinner was a slow cooker short rib sandwich. The meat was so tender and yummy. I topped the sandwiches with caramelized onions, swiss cheese, and baby arugula. This dinner was a definite win and will be on our menu again soon. It was also pretty inexpensive to make (I had most items in my pantry already), which is always a plus!

Here is my recipe. Sorry I don't measure when I create recipes, my cooking philosophy is to relax and have fun. As long as you're not baking, exact measurements are overrated. 

Slow Cooker Short Rib Sandwich

1 package boneless beef short ribs

1 package onion soup/dip mix

Dry red wine

Black pepper

1 sweet onion, sliced

Butter

Olive oil

Sugar

Balsamic vinegar

Swiss cheese

Baby arugula

Bakery rolls

Put the short ribs into the crockpot. Pour in the packet of onion seasoning mix and add some fresh cracked black pepper. {I used the whole packet of onion soup mix, which does make the meat more on the salty side, but in my opinion it was not overly salty} Add some red wine, about 1/4 cup, and some water, another 1/4 cup? (you want the bottom of the crockpot covered) Stir so the ribs get evenly coated with everything. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

When finished use two forks to shred the meat and stir into the remaining juices in the crockpot. Turn the crockpot to warm. 

Heat a skillet to medium high heat. Add the onions, a small pat of butter, a drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of balsamic. Mix well. Add some fresh ground black pepper and a small sprinkle of sugar. Turn the heat to low and let the onions go until golden brown, stirring often. 

Toast your bun and add some shredded meat, onions, and a slice of swiss cheese. Place under the broiler for a a few minutes to melt the cheese. Top with a handful of baby arugula and enjoy with the rest of that red wine!

Quick, Easy, Healthy{ish} Weeknight Stew

Tonight I made some soup for dinner that was fast, easy, delicious, and healthy{ish}. I'm calling it a stew because it was thick and hearty, and there was not a ton of broth. If you want it soupier increase the amount of chicken broth, but I loved it just the way it was. I will definitely be making this again!

Sausage and Kale Stew

1/2 lb. ground mild Italian sausage--Use turkey for a healthier version, freeze the other half of the package to use another time

1 small bunch kale, rinsed, pulled off the stem, and chopped

1 can white beans (great northern/cannellini), drained and rinsed

1 32 oz container low sodium chicken broth

1 can stewed tomatoes with Italian seasoning, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Heat a pot (I like to use a cast iron dutch oven) to medium heat. Add a small amount of olive oil and brown the sausage, breaking into bite size crumbles as you cook. When the sausage is almost browned put in the minced garlic to sauté. Careful, it burns easily! 

Once the sausage is nicely browned pour in the chicken broth, scraping off the good brown bits from the bottom of the pan into the broth (deglazing if you want to be fancy about it).This makes the broth rich and delicious. Mmmmm 

Add in the diced tomatoes in their juice (do not drain). I can never find these pre-diced, so I pull the slices out with a fork and dice them myself and then throw them in the pot along with the leftover juice that's in the can.  

Add in the white beans and kale along with some salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for about 20 minutes until the kale is tender. 

I'm never great at taking pictures of food, but this one is especially bad because the soup was so steamy it kept fogging up my camera. I was too hungry to wait! 

Enjoy!