It is often said that, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach". And while that is so so true, let me tell you that the way to a woman's heart is for her to have a meal prepared and cooked by her husband.
Quite frankly, preparing a meal for my wife is one of the things that brings me the most joy. However, I understand not every man has the flexibility in their schedule, like I do, to make a good quality meal. Most men, work from "sun down to sun down"--The leave the house before the sun comes up and they come home after the sun goes down.
Well fellas, let me introduce you to a device that can give you a great meal and will also respect your 9-5. It's called the Crock pot. This device is designed to prepare meals with very little babysitting. You can prepare your dishes overnight or in the morning, turn the pot down low before you go to work and, when you come home, you have a meal that will make your wife's love for you explode in ways that will blow your mind. This is because most crock pot recipes take approximately 10-12 hours to cook and do not require any stirring or basting. Equally, its energy friendly, so you can let it cook while you are at work and not worry about burning down your home.
Just recently, I made my first beef stew dish in a crock pot that my mother bought for my wife and I and, let me tell you, it was a hit. Before I share the recipe with you, let me tell you that I will periodically share recipes with you that--not only will be easy and time friendly--but will gain you major "brownie points" as well. With that said, here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 lbs of beef stew meat
1 small can of either Cream of Mushroom or Celery soup
1 1/2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 packet of Knorr's Goulash Beef Stew recipe mix (or you can substitute this for Onion Soup Mix, if you desire)
3 medium sized potatoes, sliced
1 cup of frozen peas
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 spoonful of minced garlic (you can buy this in the bottle if you like or use fresh garlic)
2 dashes of Scotch Bonnet Pepper sauce
1/2 tablespoon of Meat Tenderizer
2 tablespoons of Cornstarch dissolved in water
Directions:
1. In a bowl, place the meat with the Worcestershire sauce and Meat tenderizer. Mix them well, and set aside. Also, take the can of Cream of Mushroom or Celery soup and mix it in with the water.
2. In the crock pot, place the potatoes at the bottom
3. Then place the meat on top of the potatoes, followed by the onions, carrots, and frozen peas.
4. Then pour in the beef stew recipe mix, followed by the soup mix.
5. Then put in the garlic, bay leaf, and the dashes of Scotch Bonnet Pepper sauce.
6. Stir lightly, and set the crock pot on low for 11-12 hours (if you have the time in the morning, you can place the crock pot on high for the first hour and turn it down low for 9-10 hours).
7. After the cooking is done, prepare the Cornstarch mixture and pour it over the stew while stirring. This will instantly thicken the sauce to make a wonderful gravy.
8. If you desire, you can make a pot of rice with this stew or eat it by itself. Any way you eat it, you will be "the man" in your home.
