How are we already halfway through March already? I feel like 2017 is flying by, which isn't necessarily good or bad but it did made me realize how I haven't yet fulfilled my one 2017 resolution which is to bake more, and more specifically, to learn how to bake bread like a pro. So last night I was flipping through Tartine Bread and trying to make sense of the baker's measurements. Does anyone else have this book? I'm not going to lie I've had to read through the first section twice and still don't completely understand how to make the starter or how many days (weeks?) this will actually take to make one simple country bread. *Sigh*
The good news is though that Kyle understands all my crazy cooking/baking needs and got me a scale for my birthday so I can start measuring correctly in grams. Yay! Now just to brag on my husband a bit, he is the sweetest most thoughtful guy ever. I felt like the luckiest gal in the world this past Friday! He planned my entire birthday and it included some time with friends, a trip to Magnolia Market, dinner at Olive & June, and a late night showing of Beauty and the Beast in the fancy section of the movie theater which has reclining leather seats, blankets, and pillows. We ordered cheesy biscuits and Dr. Pepper and the movie was just pure magic! My hope is that they start re-making every Disney film and if this is happening my vote is for Mulan and The Little Mermaid to be priority.
After literally not using my crockpot for almost two years (pretty much the entire time we lived in New York), lately I have found myself using it often. I think this is because since I basically surround myself with recipes and thoughts of food constantly now I have lots of ideas of what to make, and if I can start it earlier in the day and have it ready by dinner why not use a crockpot? This hearty pasta sauce is AMAZING. It's like spaghetti with ground beef meat sauce on steroids (totally just spelt steroids wrong).
I saw this recipe on Half Baked Harvest's blog a few months ago and have had it on my mind ever since. I mean, what's not to love about a hearty and comforting pasta dish where you throw everything in a slow cooker and call it a day? Serve this with wine and some parmesan cheese and this is one perfect Sunday dinner.
Slow Cooker Short Rib Tomato Sauce
adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Ingredients:
- 2 tbl. olive oil
- 3 pounds bone in short ribs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 2 (28 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
- fresh hot pasta for serving (I used linguine)
Directions: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Sear the ribs in the skillet meat side down, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown ribs on all sides for about 1 minute per side. Remove ribs and place at the bottom of the slow cooker.
Cover the short ribs with the red wine, crushed canned tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, garlic, sugar, herbs, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a spoon, put the lid on, and cook on low for 7 hours. Stir a couple of times if possible.
When the sauce is ready, take the short ribs out and shred the meat off the bone with a fork. Transfer the shredded short rib meat back into the crockpot and stir until combined. If sauce is too thin, let it cook with the lid off while the pasta is cooking.
Serve a large spoonful (or two or three) of sauce atop a bed of hot pasta. Enjoy!
