What a Crock! Pot!

As I’ve written before, my little apartment does not boast a full stove, so baking isn't an option. I have a two-burner cooktop, one large, one small. There’s the large microwave, a crock pot, and I bought a small toaster oven. Limited doesn’t begin to describe it.

I have looked into the Cuisinart Convection/Toaster Oven combo. It's the perfect size for my space, but 1) it uses too much energy, and 2) the cost is prohibitive at the moment. Still, it is on my list for Santa this year.

So, how to go about creating some diverse meals? I like to cook in large batches in winter; like hearty soups, thick stew and roasts. Things I can put into individual containers and throw in the freezer.

I searched the Web and found a number of interesting recipes for the crock pot and all-in-one pot meals for the stove top. Yesterday I made my first crock pot roast and it turned out so juicy and fork-tender that I was amazed. I believe the key to slow cooking is NOT to overcook meats, and that’s too easy to do since most people I’ve talked to seem to think that if 6 hours will result in tender, 7 or 8 will only make it more so. Not necessarily true. I’ve found that overcooking often takes moisture away from meats making them dry and stringy, or falling apart. This is especially true with pork and beef.

Where am I going with this? Well, a friend showed up at my job yesterday with a plastic bag containing four or five pounds of venison. Steaks, a large roast, and cubes for stew or chili. I had no idea this was coming. I made some comment at a dinner party and WHAM, this! YUM! I haven’t had venison in a decade and all my recipes are either in storage or were lost to my previous life. So, it’s back to the web to see what I can find. Venison is definitely a lean meat containing almost no fat so it’s tricky to make a good meal. Wish me luck.

Oh, and if you have a venison recipe and are willing to share, please leave it in comments.

And so it goes.

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