Slow Cooker Short Ribs

Am I the only one who has always been too intimidated and nervous to ask the butcher at the local grocery store to cut some fresh meat? I'm not entirely sure why, but I always thought "Well Amanda, if the cut isn't here, then I'll just check back again next week." I'm excited to share that I finally overcame that fear today! After spending about 10 minutes browsing through all of the different beef products in ShopRite this morning, I finally found the only 2 packages of short ribs that were left. I wasn't happy with how thin and practically meat-less they were and I was left completely heartbroken. What was I going to do? I could always rearrange my dinners for the week, switching the fish dinner to tonight. That would give me a chance to come back later on in the week in hopes of better luck, right? But then I'd have to go home and explain to my boyfriend and his friend who were already excited about having short ribs that our dinner plans would have to change. Nope, changing dinner was not an option. (I think you know by now where this story is going...) I smiled, walked up to a butcher and mustered up the courage to ask if he would mind cutting me some thicker short ribs. He smiled back, asked a few questions about my request, and moments later came back with a nice little package catered to me! I did it! I overcame my fear, and more importantly, went home even more excited to cook up tonight's meal: short ribs braised in red wine, slow cooker style!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 6-8 hours

Yields: 5-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs beef short ribs

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 carrots, sliced

3 stalks of celery, sliced

4 potatoes, halved and then quartered

2 cups red wine

3 tablespoons onion powder* (I do not like the texture of real onion so I use onion powder as a substitute. If you choose to use onion, use 1 whole onion cut up.)

1 beef bouillon cube

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon bay leaves

1 teaspoon thyme

Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

**For convenience, I use Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners whenever I use my slow cooker. They are plastic bags that line the slow cooker and help make clean up super simple. When you are done, just remove the bag and ta-dah, no mess! They are not necessary for this recipe, but if you are using them, put your liner in first!

1. Put flour in large zip lock bag. Season short ribs with salt and pepper and then add them to the bag. Shake so that the meat is coated in flour.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. In batches, brown short ribs for 1 minute on each side to help lock in extra flavor. Transfer to slow cooker when finished.

3. Add wine, bouillon cube, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, carrots, onion powder, potatoes and celery to slow cooker. Turn on low and cook for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.