Friday, February 12, 2010

Crock pot comfort food: Sauerbraten

I don’t know about you all.. But I’ve had enough of this winter already. We had almost a foot and a half of snow on Wednesday and schools were closed Wednesday and Thursday (and lemme tell y’all schools around here aren’t too quick to give out snow days) I haven’t seen this much snow in one day since I was a kid and after a day of looking at it I’ve had enough.

But this cold, nasty weather makes me long for comfort food, the past few days I’ve been craving a heaping bowl of sauerbraten with big fat egg noodles like my grandma used to make.. Just the smell has me 6 years old again standing in my grandma’s kitchen stirring the pot of stew.. Mmm!

If you’ve never had sauerbraten, you must try it because it’s absolutely wonderful! This recipe uses the crock pot, but you can easily make it on the stove top.


Ingredients

2 lbs beef stew meat, 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion (2 medium)
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 dried bay leaves
6 cups uncooked medium egg noodles (12 oz.)
3/4 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (about 15)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In 3-1/2 to 4-quart slow cooker, mix beef, onions, broth, vinegar and bay leaves.

2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 9 hours
.
3. About 15 minutes before serving, cook noodles as directed on package. Remove bay leaves from beef mixture. Stir in crushed cookies and brown sugar.

4. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 15 minutes longer or until mixture is bubbly and thickened. Serve beef mixture over noodles, sprinkle with parsley.