Kara's Sights & Bites: Summer survival tool: the Crockpot!

By Kara Kimbrough 

     As much as we’d like to be able to enjoy hearty bowls of chili, gumbo, taco soup and beef stew year-round, it’s just too hot to survive the heat that fills the kitchen when we’re cooking and stirring these dishes. And who needs their body temperature to rise even more through eating one of these hot and steaming dishes when the temperature is 90-plus degrees? But it’s impossible to survive solely on cold salads and sandwiches until the weather cools down, especially when that won’t happen until around Thanksgiving.

    My solution for hot weather cooking is to rely on the Crockpot, often seen as a cold weather appliance. That doesn’t make sense when you consider the fact that no heat is dispersed into the kitchen while the interior thoroughly cooks just about anything you can imagine. So don’t leave it on the shelf until it’s time for the afore-mentioned chili, beef stew and soup.

    Here are two of my favorite summertime (and any time, really) meals that’ll allow you to fix it, forget it and come home at the end of a hot day to a delicious meal – and a cool kitchen.

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

2 pounds ground chuck

½ pound bacon                   

Extra-virgin olive oil

5-15-ounce cans tomato sauce

3-6-ounce cans tomato paste

1 cup water

1 onion, sliced and diced into small pieces

1 carrot, sliced and diced into small pieces

3 tablespoons each of dried oregano and dried parsley

1 tablespoon each of salt and ground black pepper

     Brown ground chuck in large skillet with olive oil until meat is no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Fry bacon until brown and crisp; remove from pan and set aside on paper towel-lined plate. Crumble into pieces when cool. In bacon grease in bottom of pan, cook diced onions until they're soft and brown.

    Place meats and cooked onions into a lined six-quart Crockpot. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours. Serve over cooked pasta.

Crockpot Pepper Steak

1-1/2 pounds flank steak, cut into strips

Salt and ground black pepper

1 large red bell pepper, sliced

1 large green bell pepper, sliced

1 medium white onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1 cup low-sodium beef stock

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)

Cooked rice, for serving

     Season flank steak thoroughly with salt and black pepper. In a large Crock Pot combine steak, bell pepper, onions and garlic. In a mixing bowl, combine beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper before adding into the Crock Pot.

     Cover and cook on high for 3-1/2 hours to 4 hours or on low for 5- 6 hours, until the steak is totally tender. Serve over rice.

 Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer from Mississippi. Email her at [email protected].