When the CSA week 3 box contained radishes, I was stumped. Too many to put in a salad, too dicey to trust that a supposedly “delectable” dip from one of my vegetarian cookbooks would really get eaten…but the crock pot DID seem like the right place to put them.

My hope was that the crock pot would neutralize the bitterness of the radishes, and the answer is…well, not so much. So, I’d only recommend adding the radishes to this meal IF you love radishes. If you don’t love radishes, by all means – skip ’em. They don’t add any flavor to the dish, in my opinion, and they lose all their color, which is just a little strange when you’re only ever used to radishes being this really pretty pinkish-red color. I also used a white onion in the original version of this recipe, but a yellow onion would be far superior, so the recipe below lists a yellow onion instead.

Now, why is this flank steak semi-drunk? First off, I didn’t really want to make flank steak. This was our Rosh Hashanah dinner this year, so I really wanted brisket. When my grocery store only had 6 lb briskets, and I just didn’t feel like butchering a $30+ slab o’meat into smaller portions, I was ready to give up…until I saw the perfect little flank steak beckoning to me. As to the drunk part, I wanted the meal to be simple yet tasty. And, like my early fall beef crock pots, I wanted something that wasn’t overly heavy. So, I went for the beef broth in the fridge (left over from my Crock Pot Beef with Beets) and then reached for a bottle of Madeira. There’s nothing like some wine to really make a dish vibrate on a higher frequency. A little water, and there was plenty of liquid to keep the meat nice and moist throughout cooking. The Madeira gave the meat a nice sweetness that really just worked for me.

You can let this one go for up to 12 hrs if you want the meat to fall apart on you, and you can turn the liquid into a gravy easily enough (instructions below). OK, enough yakking…on to the recipe.

Radishes may lose their color, but they're still plenty bitter!

Prep Time: 5-10 mins

Cook Time: 8-10 hrs on LOW

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1-1/2 to 2 lb flank steak

1 medium or large yellow onion

1/2 cup low sodium beef broth

1/2 cup Madeira (or other flavorful red wine)

1/2 cup water

1 bunch radishes, greens removed, washed & stems/roots removed (optional)

1-1/2 Tb cornstarch + water to dissolve it, for thickening a gravy (optional)

Make it Happen

1. Peel the onion and slice it thinly, no more than 1/3″ wide. Layer the bottom of the crock pot with the onion slices to make a bed for the flank steak.

2. Place the flank steak on top of the onion slices. (If adding the radishes, put them on top of the flank steak.)

3. In a measuring cup, pour in the three liquids so they can mix a little, then pour the combined liquid over top of the flank steak. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hrs.

4. When cooking is done, remove the flank steak and place on a cutting board; remove the onions and radishes and place them in a serving bowl (or put them on a platter to serve with the flank steak). Slice the flank steak against the grain. Note: if you put the flank steak in for a longer cook time, cutting might be difficult because it may just fall apart on you. There are worse problems to have.

5. If you want to make a gravy with the liquid in the crock pot, pour the liquid into a skillet and heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Let the liquid boil for about 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to medium. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and enough water to dissolve the cornstarch completely. Add this mixture to the skillet and whisk briskly until the cornstarch/water mixture has blended completely into the liquid from the crock pot. Pour into a gravy boat and serve with the flank steak, onions and radishes.

Beets? No. BEETS? No…well, okay. Yes, beets. Really, beets? YES, I MADE SOMETHING WITH BEETS.

I’ve never been a fan. Beets always seemed too odd, too “that thing that comes in cans in a sliced form that looks no more appetizing than that cranberry gel everyone hauls out at Thanksgiving“. So, I’ve avoided beets. However, when beets showed up in my Week 2 CSA box, I realized that I was on the spot to make something beety happen. *Cue nail-biting*

Beets are a root vegetable, and what do I love to do with root vegetables? Say it with me: PUT THEM IN THE CROCK POT. So, yes, these beets went into the crock pot. And what was the verdict? Could’ve used even more beets! HA! What a surprise. Not only did the beets come out well, but the beef I paired them with came out even a little sweeter than usual, thanks to the yummy sweetness of the beets. And, even better, you can cook this dish for 8-10hrs or you can stretch it out longer if you need to (as I did, since we had to leave the crock pot on for closer to 11hrs).

Other things of note:

• If you’re trying to find something to do with the beet greens, since you don’t necessarily want to waste them, just wash and dry them, then toss them in a skillet over medium heat and a small amount of olive oil for a few minutes to wilt them. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and you have a great, crunchy, green accompaniment to your meal!
• This dish pairs nicely with just about any starchy side; we had it with egg noodles one night and rice another night.

Beet-tastic!

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 8-10hrs on LOW

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1-1/2 lb stew beef, cut into chunks or bite-sized pieces

1 bunch of medium-small beets, greens removed

1-1/4 cups reduced sodium beef broth

1/4 cup red wine

2 Tb red wine vinegar

1 Tb cornstarch

water

2 tsp garlic powder

Non-stick cooking spray

Make it Happen

1. Spray the inside of a 4qt crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Wash the beets well and cut off the stems and roots. Chop the beets into quarters. Add the beets to the crock pot to make a bed for the beef.

3. Add the beef to the crock pot.

4. In a measuring cup or bowl, stir to combine the beef broth, red wine and red wine vinegar, then pour over the beef and beets. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10hrs.

5. Just before serving, remove the beef and beets from the crock, leaving the liquid in the crock. Add the garlic powder to the crock and stir to combine.

6. In a small bowl, stir water into the cornstarch until the cornstarch has dissolved. Add the cornstarch/water mixture to the crock and stir to combine.

7. Put the liquid into a gravy boat and serve atop the beef and beets.

The crock pot really gets going in the fall in our house; once it starts to get chilly out, we often start throwing in the beef stroganoff or some other fairly hearty dish. Trouble is, it’s often really heavy, too. There are times when I just don’t want a crock pot meal that weighs me down. CSA week 1 brought us sweet potatoes, so I decided to make a crock pot that capitalizes on those. Since we got apples, too, adding those into the mix seemed like a logical next step. And let’s toss in the red onion we got, as well! The more the merrier!

This crock pot meal meets most of my typical requirements: easy to prepare, cooks well, and doesn’t break the bank. If your grocery store does BOGO on pork tenderloin (which ours does on a semi-regular basis), consider picking up a couple and then freezing one. It only takes a day or so to thaw out a tenderloin, and you can save money while you eat a tasty dish.

Welcome to Fall...

Prep Time: 10-15min

Cook Time: 6-8hrs on LOW (note: we let ours go for 11hrs and it was FINE)

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

3 decent-sized sweet potatoes (about 1-1/3 lb), washed & chopped into ~1in pieces

2 small or medium macintosh apples, washed, cored & sliced

1 medium or large red onion, peeled & sliced

1-1/2 lb pork tenderloin

1/2 cup apple juice

2 Tb brown sugar

1 Tb cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Make it Happen

1. Coat the inside of a 5qt crock pot with non-stick spray.

2. Add the potatoes and onion to the crock pot. Place the pork on the bed of potatoes and onions.

3. Grind or sprinkle a small amount (each) of salt and pepper on top of the pork tenderloin. If using a grinder, a few grinds should do the trick.

4. Pour the apples on top of and around the pork tenderloin.

5. In a bowl, stir to combine the apple juice, brown sugar and cider vinegar. Once combined, pour over top of the items in the crock pot.

6. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8hrs.

7. When done, remove the pork tenderloin from the crock pot and place on a cutting board to rest for 5-10 minutes.

8. Remove the potatoes, onions and apples and place in a serving bowl; remove the juices and put in a gravy boat or other easy serving vehicle. Slice the pork tenderloin into 1/2 – 3/4in slices, serve with the potato/onion/apple mixture, with sauce over top.