Slow Cooker Tammy Joes

     Did you ever have an ingredient sitting around the house that you never seem to use? Something that sits in the cabinet mocking you. Something that makes you wonder what you were drinking that day? My ingredient is a jar of Tamicon Tamarind Paste. I bought it thinking it was Tamari. I finally decided I'd use it in a riff on the classic Sloppy Joe. The end result was surprisingly good. It was was sweet, savory and spicy, but not too much of any one of those. I have to think the tamarind isn't going to be a taste that everybody is going to love, but it's totally worth the try for something different. If you try it, let me know if you like it. If you don't, you probably did something wrong. As always, notes are in blue.

Tammy Joes

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (10.75 ounce) tomato soup
• 1 bag (14 ounces) mixed frozen onions, green and red peppers, defrosted (if you don't have access to the frozen, use chop one onion, one green and one red bell peppers)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (panipuri paste) (you're not likely to have this laying around the house. I got mine from a local Indian grocer. Amazon carries the brand I use) 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. In a pan, brown the ground beef. Drain the excess oil. Put in a slow cooker.
2. Sautee the vegetables in the pan you used for the ground beef. Add them to the slow cooker. (if you're feeling lazy, you can just throw them directly in the cooker without the sautee)
3. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate.
4. Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours.
5. Serve on a bun, with nachos, or over egg noodles or rice.

Good times!

Beef and Broccoli in Sweet and Pungent Sauce

     My town has one major flaw. Lots of drunks on lawnmowers. Okay, two major flaws. Drunks on lawn mowers and plastic fires. Okay, three major flaws. Drunks on mowers, plastic fires and no plows in the winter. Okay, four major flaws. Drunks on mowers, plastic fires, no plows and dogs running loose everywhere...
     I guess I'm getting off track here. My town has some serious shortcomings. The one I was trying to get to was the lack of Chinese carryout. I have to drive 30 minutes round trip to pick up carryout from the nearest Chinese restaurant. That's crazy. I have taken it upon myself to learn Chinese cooking so I can just make this stuff at home. This is a recipe for the classic beef and broccoli. The sauce was something I hadn't had before. Sweet and pungent. Not that orange sweet and sour, but something entirely different. It was fantastic. It's a bit labor intensive and bordering on a PITA, but it's totally worth trying.  Unless you live near a Chinese restaurant, in which case pick me up some egg foo young. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Beef and Broccoli
in Sweet and Pungent Sauce
via The 1000 Recipe Chinese Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic
• cornstarch
• oil for frying
• 1 pound broccoli florets (preferably fresh, but if you use frozen, defrost and drain first)

For sauce

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• a few drops of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

For beef 

1. Beat egg in a bowl. Add garlic. 
2. Dip beef in egg mixture, dredge in corn starch to coat. 
3. In a pan (I used my cast iron skillet), heat about 1/2" vegetable oil. Add beef slices, a few at a time and fry until golden. Remove to paper towel to drain.

For sauce

1. In a medium saucepan (you'll be using vinegar, so make sure the pan is nonreactive), bring water to a boil. Add sugar and stir. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Add vinegar and cook for a minute or so. Add tomato sauce, garlic, fish sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes and sesame oil. Stir and cook another minute.
2. Blend cornstarch, soy sauce and cold water to a paste. Stir into sauce to thicken. 

For broccoli

1. Steam or boil broccoli to whatever consistency you prefer.

Once the beef, sauce and broccoli are done, toss all together over low heat until sauce covers beef and broccoli evenly. Serve over white rice.

Good times!

Slow Cooker Simmering Hot and Sour Soup

     One of my favorite treats at any Chinese restaurant is hot and sour soup. I used to go to a restaurant up north that would give me free quarts of the soup because I raved about it so much. NOTE TO POTENTIAL SPONSORS: I will gladly rave about any product you give me free of charge. I've been trying to replicate hot and sour soup with varying degrees of success. I was a bit leery of using a slow cooker recipe for hot and sour soup from Crock Pot Weeknight Favorites, but I gave it a try. It was not even close. It was, however, a tasty soup worthy of cooking again. I did make a number of changes, especially in the heat department. The soup wasn't anywhere hot enough for my liking. Give it a try and see what you think. As always, any notes and changes are in blue.

Slow Cooker Simmering Hot and Sour Soup
via Crock Pot Weeknight Favorites

Ingredients

• 2 cans (about 14 ounces each) chicken broth (I had actual chicken stock in the freezer, so I just used 28 ounces of that)
• 1 cup chopped cooked chicken or pork (we went with chicken)
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms (didn't have any in the house, but for whatever reason, we had a 5 ounce jar of nameko mushrooms in the cabinet. We used those)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots (none in the house, omitted)
• 1 can (14-15 ounces) bean sprouts
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1-1/2 teaspoon chili paste or 1 teaspoon hot chili oil (we wound up using about 3 tablespoons of sriracha)
• 4 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (we used full one pound block)
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (we ended up using close to 5 tablespoons of cornstarch and water to get the soup to the desired consistency)
• Chopped fresh cilantro or sliced green onion (no)

Directions

1. Combine broth, chicken, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste in slow-cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours or HIGH 2 to 3 hours or until chicken is heated through.
2. Stir in tofu and sesame oil. In a small bowl, whisk water into cornstarch until mixture is smooth; stir into soup. Cover; cook on HIGH 10 minutes or until thickened. Sprinkle with cilantro or onion. 

Good times!