Taiwanese beef stew (紅燒牛肉)

I’ve been craving meat lately but haven’t really had time to cook anything properly.  By the time I get home from work or German class after work, it’s super late and I’m just wolfing down whatever I can get my hands on from the fridge and cupboard.

Taiwanese beef stew (紅燒牛肉)

So this is where my slow cooker comes in!  I recall my mother telling me I could use the Taiwanese spice packets she gave me to stew some meat, so I decided to throw in some beef chunks into the slow cooker this morning before work, add a spice packet, top with some soy sauce, rice wine, and water…  and then let magic happen while I was slaving away at the office.  😉  

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup for Two

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

I’ve been sick all weekend, so that means holing up indoors and stuffing my face with food.  I think the only productive thing I did all weekend was two loads of laundry today.  My YouTube music of choice today is The Rolling Stones.  It’s been interesting, because I never thought I liked rock, rhythm, and blues…  and now their music is kind of growing on me.  It must be my old age.  Or perhaps the fever is getting to my head.  😛

Actually, I don’t think I have a fever (not that I actually checked), because you know the old saying, Feed a cold, starve a fever?  Well, I’ve fed myself nonstop all week…  so I must have a cold, not a fever.  😉  In fact, my belly is so full now, it’s actually hurting.  But that’s another blog post.  (Stay tuned for dessert right after this.  ;))  

Paleo Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Paleo Slow Cooker Pot Roast

It’s cold in Switzerland now…  cold enough for me to switch back to Celsius on my smartphone.  >.<  I tried to convert to Celsius when I first moved here, but anything over 2 °C didn’t mean anything to me–I always had to convert back to Fahrenheit to figure out how to dress for the day–and then finally one day I just followed my American friend M-‘s advice and switched back to the Fahrenheit setting on my phone.

Since then, I know that if it’s 70 °F, then it’s nice and warm…  if it’s 60 °F, then I bring a light jacket with me…  if it’s 40 °F, the I wear a thicker jacket (and maybe a scarf)…  and if it dips below 35 °F, then it’s time to switch over to the Celsius setting and pull out my down coat.  😉  

Crock Pot Asian BBQ Chicken Wings

It’s been really hot in Switzerland lately, which means BBQ weather!  As I don’t have a BBQ grill, I decided to do the next best thing–and dusted off zee ‘ol slow cooker to make some Asian-style BBQ chicken wings.  I love the concept of crock pot cooking.  Just plop in all the ingredients before work, set it and forget it, and then come home to a nice, hot meal.  😀  

Slow Cooker Coca Cola Barbecue Chicken

Since U.S. Men’s soccer is playing against Germany today, I figured that it would be fitting to do a good ol’ American style meal for dinner.  In comes the Slow Cooker Coca Cola Barbecue Chicken recipe that I found on Pinterest, courtesy of Six Sisters’ Stuff website.  (Oo…  side note:  USA just scored again.  2-0 to Germany.  Yay!)  

Slow Cooker Beef Stew Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian) 牛肉麵

I bought a Morphy Richards slow cooker off Amazon.de this past March, and it’s kind of just been sitting in the corner of the kitchen, gathering dust…  so yesterday I decided to make my version of Beef Stew Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian) 牛肉麵 in the slow cooker.  I didn’t really have a recipe on hand, so I just made it up as I went along, and I think the finished product came out okay.