A Crockpot dinner

Lexi spent the weekend in Antelope with her mom while I stayed home and  nursed a rotten cold. While she was there she made a new skirt from an old chinese cheongsam her mother had stored in a drawer And she worked on her latest watercolor, Girl Smoking. She is one talented girl.But she’s back!  Tonight she has a ton of math homework so I’m doing dinner by myself. 

I put a beef tri-tip in the crockpot and I’m making broccoli again (we love broccoli) with cheese sauce and heating up leftover rice pilaf. I rubbed the beef with salt and pepper, browned it in a cast-iron skillet, removed it and added a mirepoix of sliced onions, celery, carrots, and garlic to the skillet. Then put the vegetables in the bottom of the crockpot with the beef on top. I deglazed the skillet with beef broth and about 1/4 cup red wine and added that to the beef in the pot. I didn’t have fresh herbs so put dried herbs in a mesh tea ball and nestled it in with the tri-tip, covered it with the lid, and said “Nighty-night.” Four hours later, I steamed the broccoli, heated the rice pilaf and made a simple cheese sauce: Melt 1 Tbls. butter, Add 1Tbls. flour and a dash of salt and pepper. Stir and cook about 1 minute. Add 1 cup milk and stir briskly with a wire whisk until bubbly and thickened. Add 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar and 1 tsp. Dijon (or yellow, if you prefer) mustard. Whisk until smooth. Done.