Flashback Cookbook: the Crockpot

The idea of "slow cooking" has been around since ancient times, but ages ago, the slow-cook recipe went something like this:  "...wrap the roots and meat in leaves and leave beside the fire on a rock..."  Today's version of slow cooking is accomplished in a "crock pot" and while many of the younger folks may think this device has been with us for generations; the truth is that the original electric slow cooker didn't come on the scene until 1971.  That's when the Naxon Corp. put out the first bean pot, a device that was later redesigned by Rival and renamed from bean pot to crock pot.

So this installment of the Flashback Cookbook offers an early recipe for that new-fangled contraption called the crock pot. 



Slow-Cook Pepper Steak

1 to 2 pounds beef round or sirloin steak
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 med. onion, cut up
garlic powder or 1 small clove chopped
1 or 2 large green pepper, seeded and cut into strips or chunks
2 C beef broth
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Layer steaks and veggies in the bottom of the crock.  Pour on the broth and vinegar.  Add seasonings, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 to 5.
If you want a thick gravy, add a paste made of 3 tbsp. of flour and 3 of water to the both after removing the meat and veggies.  Cook gravy on high until thickened.

For retro:  serve over white rice, all sticky and fluffy!  After all, back in the 1970's, we didn't know it was bad for us. 

Happy slow-cooking!

Bonus blog link:  http://www.ehow.com/about_5081557_crockpot-history.html