Pulled Steak?

My obsessive tendency is acting up again - I busted out the slow cooker for the second time in two weeks! (Not that's a bad thing, or anything.) This time, I tried the Orange Chutney Steak from The Crockery Cook. For the dried fruit, I mixed crasins, raisins, prunes, apricots, and pineapples. Even though the recipe didn't say so, I cut up the prunes, apricots, and pineapples to similar sizes as the (c)raisins. I never have Worcestershire sauce at home. (In fact, I can barely say it - it's such a tongue twister, don't you think?) I used BBQ sauce instead, teaspoon for teaspoon. Other than that, you'd be proud of me since I really followed the recipe to the dot. Well, OK, so my flank steak is almost 2 lbs instead of 1.5. Anyways, I thought this came out much better than the chicken drumsticks.

After stewing for 7 hours, I was expecting the beef to melt on your tongue. Well, it wasn't THAT tender, but it was falling apart good. The only problem that posed was that it was very difficult to cut the steak into strips. I ended up with bunch of small pieces that resembled pulled pork. (See that hacked up mess on top of the rice. Well, that was the steak. Not very photogenic, I know.) The dried fruit was sweet and savory. They soaked up the beer (No, I'm not kidding. There is a whole can of beer in there. =), got all plump. They were great!

The instructions were clear and easy. My only complaint would be that it took over 30 minutes for the sauce to thicken instead of 15-20. While the recipe is called Orange Chutney Steak, it only required 2 measly tablespoons of orange marmalade. I was doubtful that the orange flavor would be pronounced, and I was right. I couldn't taste the marmalade at all. I think next time, I will use more BBQ sauce or orange marmalade depending on my mood. =)

Slow Cooked Chicken Costco Style

Over the years, I have collected a lot of recipes that I didn’t even look at, (That's bad, isn't it? =) which included the Costco Connection magazines. The latest issue did a section on slow cookers. This got my attention since I haven't busted out mine for over a year now. I love the idea of slow cooking, but in order to get all the ingredients ready and into the cooker I will need to plan one more day ahead which I rarely do. =) With a magazine flipped open to the page, there is no way I'd forget. *fingers crossed* Out of the handful of recipes, the Autumn Herbed Chicken with Fennel and Squash looked most interesting.

With the plan set, I went about making sure I had every ingredient, which is a VERY short list. However, I have been getting very forgetful the last couple of years. (It must be old age, or child baring. =) Not to my surprise, I forgot to get fennel. So I used an onion instead. (I also substituted drumsticks for thighs.)

After immersed in the stock simmering for over 6 hours, the chicken was falling off the bones tender. The kids loved it except for the fresh rosemary on top. I found the flavor a little lacking. What did I expect?! It hardly called for any seasoning. I don't think I'd be making this again. I’m sure there is a far more delectable slow-cooked drumstick recipe waiting for me somewhere.