Seeing as Hawaii doesn’t have what most Northern Hemisphere-ers would consider “winter weather,” I have found myself with less reason to pull out the (when living in Germany, ever-present) slow cooker.  Gasp! I know!  I LOVE MY SLOW COOKER!  And here we are, over half-way through winter and it is collecting dust in my culinary closet.  Well, fear not!  I have shown pity on this makes-your-house-smell-fantastic-all-day-time-saving-dinner-hour-is-a-breeze device and am simmering a hearty Gulasch in it as I type. Yum!

This morning, as I tossed in the browned steak chunks I could tell my slow cooker smiled.  Yes, it was happy again--and so am I!  I’m not sure why I got into the mind-set that my slow cooker was a winter item.  Sure, I have some fantastic slow cooker stew, chili, and soup recipes, that do appeal to me more in the typically colder months of winter, but why wouldn’t I utilize this cooking machine that keeps the heat OUT of my kitchen equally in warmer weather!?  Summer (type weather) is the PERFECT time to have your slow cooker keep an ovens worth of heat in a 1 cubic foots’ worth of space!  Yes, I am now vowing now to keep my slow cooker fed (and in the process my family) with new recipes (and some classic ones as well) that showcase what an energy efficient and time saving tool it can be, and how it’s a calming force during the dinner hour of an over-scheduled family.  I'm rediscovering how my slow cooker is one cool (and HOT!) device...

Here’s is what’s cooking right now:

Terry's Firehouse Gulasch*

2 lbs. Beef Chuck cut into 1” pieces (make sure the meat isn't too lean-- or it will be REALLY tough)

2 T oil (vegetable, olive, canola-- your choice)

1 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

¾ cup catsup

2 T Worchester sauce

1 T brown sugar

1 t salt (scant)

2 t paprika

½ t dry mustard

Dash of Cayenne pepper

1 ¼ cups water, divided

2 T corn starch

1. Pre-heat slow cooker on high.
2. In a large sauté pan heat oil.  Brown meat with onion and garlic.
3. Transfer meat mixture and the juices from pan to slow cooker.
4. Add catsup, Worchester sauce, brown sugar, salt, paprika, mustard, cayenne pepper, and 1 cup of water.  Cover and simmer for 6 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.
5. If you desire a thicker stew:  one hour prior to serving mix corn starch and ¼ cup of water in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Add to gulasch and stir.  Re-cover and raise heat to high (if on low) for remaining hour.

Serve over cooked egg noodles or Spätzle.

*I’ve adapted my father-in-law’s (Terry) recipe (and added the Firehouse, cuz he was a Washington DC Firefighter, and did a lot of cooking) from a stove-top cooking method for that of a slow cooker.  For stove-top preparation simply up the water total to 1 ¾ cups (adding 1 ½ cups initially) and simmer on the stove over low heat for 2 hours.  Just prior to serving blend 2 T cornstartch and ¼ cup of water, then add to stew.  Finally, heat to boiling, stirring constantly for 1 minute or until thickened.  Enjoy!