Montiform Monday

montiform ~ shaped like a mountain

I was sitting here on Saturday, looking out at the rain, and I was finding it hard to believe it was February. Late April maybe, but not February. It was especially hard last week when one of the days had a record breaking high temperature.

The birch tree in the front yard has buds on it. And yet we had a smattering of snow on the weekend. Wednesday is supposed to be +10C (+50F) and Thursday is supposed to be -2C (-28F). The weather is on crack, I tell you what.

I suspect this is going to be a short post. Last week was pretty uneventful. I mean seriously, do you want to hear about how I cleaned out the pantry and got it all organized, which was pretty much the highlight of the week.

I know, just for something completely different I’ll do something I don’t think I’ve ever done before. I’ll post a recipe. This was something new I tried last week and it was absolutely delicious. It would have been even better with biscuits, but I didn’t think of it until just now.

Slow Cooker Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients
1½ pounds ground beef, browned and drained
6 medium red potatoes, cut into 1½ inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chili, undrained
¼ cup water
1 ½ tablespoon salt
2 teaspoon pepper
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Brown ground beef and drain off excess fat.
2. Add potatoes to 4-quart slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add onion and garlic.
4. Add beef, beans, and tomato. Pour over water.
5. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.
6. Sprinkle cheese in last 15 minutes and continue to cook covered.

Now, for the record, I used a bag of those mini red potatoes instead of the big ones, and I used herb and garlic tomatoes because I couldn’t find any with chilies in them. But other than that I pretty much stuck to the recipe. I honestly thought it would turn out to be more like a stew than a casserole, but the cheese thickens it up. It’s like a cross between a stew and chili. Yummy!

If you'd like to read something a little more interesting ... the first Friday of the month I’m posting a picture prompt on my writing blog, and the last Friday I’m posting a story, poem, or article that was inspired by it. I posted my first story last night and you can read it HERE if you like.

Have a good week!