Simply Sides 24 - German Potato Salad

I am always looking for ways to make our weeknight meals more exciting with new side dishes. I was a little nervous that hubs would not like this tangy potato dish, but it turns out that he really enjoyed it. Now we have new side dish to add to our lineup! I looked at a few different recipes and came up with my own spin that turned out pretty delish. And even though this is called potato salad, it really is more like a warm potato side as opposed to what I think of as salad.

German Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 6 red potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 strips of bacon, diced
• 3 tbs white wine vinegar
• 2 tbs water
• 1 tbs brown mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs dried dill
• salt & pepper

Directions:
Bring potato slices to a boil & cook for 8 minutes. Drain. While potatoes are cooking, cook bacon in a skillet over medium until pieces are brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. In bacon drippings, saute onions for 5 minutes. Add in garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Once onions and garlic are tender and translucent, add in water, sugar, mustard, and 2 tbs of the vinegar & stir well. Add in potatoes and sprinkle the last tbs of vinegar on. Sprinkle with dill, salt, & pepper. Toss well to coat potatoes. Sprinkle in drained bacon pieces and stir again.  Serve warm.
Enjoy!

Pot Roast - Crock*Pot Cafe 8

I adore pot roast.  Especially during the winter months, and especially when I can just throw it in the slow cooker and let it go.  Tender meat in a savory gravy with a few vegetables?  Very comforting!  This recipe is easy, can feed a lot of people, and is fairly cost effective.  Serve it with mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or rice.  Yum!

Crock*Pot Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 2lb beef stew meat ( you can also use a chuck roast, about 3 lbs)
• 2 packets beef gravy mix (I use store brand but use whichever your prefer)
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• adobo seasoning (optional)
• 3 cups beef stock or broth
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 2 onions, cut into eight chunks each
• ***optional - you can cook potatoes right in this as well if you prefer, just cut 3 or 4 potatoes in to quarters and toss in when you add carrots

Directions:
Preheat a pan on the stovetop over medium high.  Quickly sear beef on all sides until browned.  (About a minute a side.) In slow cooker, pour in two cups of broth/stock and mix in 1 gravy packet.  Season with a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and adobo seasoning.  Stir in both bay leaves.  Add meat, onions, carrots, and garlic.  Give a quick stir and set slow cooker on high for four hours or low for eight hours.When roast is about done, on stove top, mix remaining cup of broth with last gravy packet.  When thick, stir into slow cooker.  Enjoy!

Corned Beef - Crock*Pot Cafe 4

St. Patrick's Day dinner is one of my favorite dinners throughout the year.  I absolutely adore corned beef.  And all the sides are delicious and comforting, which makes it a great meal all around.  I have a great recipe for fried cabbage that I'll share with you in the future.  Even people who claim they don't like cabbage enjoy it.  And then I just make some mashed potatoes on the side, because I prefer my potatoes mashed over any other way.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Corned Beef (Slow Cooker Method)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb corned beef brisket (I bought a 2.5 lb flat cut beef)
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 2 large onions, quartered
• 1 16 oz can beer (I used Bud Light, a lot of people use Guiness)
• 1/2 cup water mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbs yellow mustard (really, you can use whatever kind of mustard you like)

Directions:
Place carrots on bottom of slow cooker insert.  Top with onion quarters.  Place corned beef on top.  Pour beer around (but not on top) of beef.  Sprinkle season packet that comes with beef all around.  Spread mustard over top of brisket.  Pour water/sugar mixture all over crockpot.  Place lid on top.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours.  ***Note, you can also cook this on high for 4-5 hours but I prefer the longer cooking method.
Enjoy!

Caramelized Onions - Crock*Pot Cafe 3

We ADORE caramelized onions in our household.  But it takes a bit of work and a LOT of time to make them the traditional way.  So when I came across a way to make them in the Crock*Pot I pinned the method right away.  You can find the site I originally found this method at HERE. This week I decided to make it my mission to make them because I haven't done a Crock*Pot recipe in awhile, and onions were on sale.  I got 4lbs of sweet onions (about 10 medium onions) for $1.98.  So this was easy, cheap, and we have a mess of caramelized onions to use on steak sandwiches, in french onion soup, or to make a tart with.  Yum!

***Note - I use a mandolin to slice my onions.  This is the easiest and fastest way to do this job.  

***Secondary Note - The fumes that come off this many onions when prepping can be brutal.  I was crying like no ones business, but that's to be expected.  However, we have a brand new kitten and I had no idea the fumes would affect him, but they did.  The poor little guy was crying and we had to move him outside for a while.  So I recommend that if you have pets and/or kids, you prep your onions in a well ventilated area, with doors and/or windows open.  Or have them stay in another room while prepping. 

Crock*Pot Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs sweet onions (or any variety you like), sliced thin
• 2 tbs butter and/or olive oil
• 1 tbs salt
• 1 tbs sugar
• Cooking spray

Directions:

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray.  Place in sliced onions.  Drizzle with butter (or olive oil).  Sprinkle on salt.  Turn slow cooker to the low setting.  After 4 hours, stir in sugar.  After 8 hours, stir again.  Onions will be perfectly sweet, soft, and caramelized at 12 hours.  ***This seems like a lot of time But if you do the first 4 hours before you go to bed and then let them cook the remaining 8 while you're sleeping, it's pretty efficient.