Braised sirloin

In the crockpot:

1/2 bottle of Boulevard's Bob's 47 Oktoberfest
1 mushroom bouillon cube
1 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1 (healthy) Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 (scant) Tbsp. instant coffee
2 large (frozen) sirloin steaks

Served with roasted carrots and parsnips, and gravy. This would be better with a roast -- the meat got a little dry -- but it was still delicious! =)

Beer Braised Short Ribs

3 medium onions
3 to 3.5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
1 bay leaf
12 oz beer
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
beef bouillon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cold water

Place onions in a 5-qt crockpot; add ribs and bay leaf. Combine the beer, honey, molasses, tomato paste, bouillon, salt and pepper. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours until meat is tender.

Remove meat and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm. Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer juices to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine flour and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Chicken, Spinach, White Bean casserole

3 chicken breasts
1 pkg frozen spinach, partially thawed
1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can golden mushroom soup + 1/4 can water
1 teas. Montreal steak seasoning + salt/pepper
1/4 c. mozzarella
1/4 c. parmesan

Break up the partially thawed spinach in an 8x8 pan. Mix in the beans, soup and water. Trim the chicken breasts of fat, and nestle in the spinach mixture. Cover the casserole with mozzarella. Cover the pan with tin foil and put in a 400 degree oven. After about 1 hour, remove the tin foil and bake uncovered for approximately 30 minutes. Top with parmesan and bake until golden brown and chicken is 170-180 degrees.

Even though this isn't the prettiest list in the world, it was quite delicious ... and Rob even went back for seconds! Success. =)

AB's Beer Bread

*untested*

8 oz. all-purpose flour
4 oz. whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 teas. kosher salt
1 teas. sugar
1 teas. dill, fresh chopped
4.5 oz. sharp cheddar, grated
12 oz. pale ale
2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds, topping

Mix all ingredients with a spatula until moistened. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Crockpot chili

In a 4 quart crockpot, I added:

1 lb. pinto beans, dry and picked through
2 c. water
1 bottle New Belgium 1554
1/2 lg. red onion, diced

After 1.5 hours, I added:

3 c. water
1 can fire-roasted tomtaoes with garlic
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, diced fine
1 Tbsp. chipotle chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
1/4 Tbsp. paprika
1 lb. stew meat

After 5 hours, I wanted more meat, so:

1 lb. stew meat, chopped in 1/2" cubes
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

After 6.5 hours, it didn't smell much like chili, so:

1 6-oz can tomato paste
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. cocoa

The chili ended up cooking for almost 11 hours. I think the early addition of tomatoes made it take longer for the beans to get done. Either way ... I liked it, but it wasn't overly "chili" flavored. Rob seemed indifferent. He ate a bowl, but didn't go back for seconds.

I do think the key for the richness was the tomato paste. I have no idea what seasonings are required to make it taste more like chili. The cocoa did deepen the color, and I could maybe have gotten by with more (since I had a full 4 quarts of chili). Next time, I'm going to follow a recipe for crockpot chili, and we can tweak from there...