Slow Cooker Crock Pot

Cooking for two with a slow cooker that usually comes in 6-quart sizes or larger is not very convenient. Unfortunately, most slow cooker dinner recipes that are available consider these large volumes that can serve eight or more people. But what if you’ve got a 2-quart or a 3-quart cooker because you’re only cooking for two or three people? What’s a good recipe proportion for your smaller cooker? Well, here’s a slow cooker dinner for two, beef stew recipe that’s perfect for these smaller-sized cookers.

For this beef stew slow cooker dinner, the ingredients include:

1 lb. of beef stew meat (preferably, from beef chuck because it stews beautifully)
2 potatoes cut into bite-size cubes
1 carrot that’s cut the same size as the potatoes
1 large garlic clove that’s chopped (or two small cloves)
1 onion that’s peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. of vegetable oil
Flour
A dash of powdered oregano
A dash of powdered rosemary
Salt and pepper
Water

First off in preparing this slow cooker dinner is to dredge the meat in flour and fry it in hot vegetable oil until brown but not cooked all the way through. We’re doing this to get a thicker sauce and to add color to the stew. When the meat is browned, transfer it to the slow cooker and take as much oil out as you can — drain the meat in an iron sift, if you must.

Pile in the vegetables (diced potatoes and carrot, chopped garlic clove, quartered onion, bay leaf, and spices) with the browned meat. Add just enough water to cover the ingredients but do not go more than ¾-full in the pot. Cover and set it at “low” and cook for 7-8 hours.

When you are into the last half hour of finishing this slow cooker dinner, you’re going to set it to “high”. When it begins to boil, mix two tablespoons of flour in ½ cup of water and stir this blend into the stew. Since there’s almost no evaporation when you’re cooking with a crock pot, this will help thicken the stew more in addition to the initial dredge that you did when the beef was browned.

If it has thickened to your preference, then this beef stew slow cooker dinner for two is done. You’ll find that the meat and vegetables are tender and the soup is hearty. It’s perfect with crusty bread and it’s just the right portion for two people to share.

Tags: Cooking, Slow Cooker, Cooker, Crock Pot, Food