Recipe: Slow-Cooker Shell Mac Stew
No, we don’t know why the word “Mac” is in the name, it’s been there for 5-6 generations.
Ingredients
1 medium chuck roast, diced up
1 box medium shells
1 bag baby carrots (or however many sliced carrots you want)
Old-gen versions of this recipe included celery and mushrooms as well; whatever veg you wish to add, just add them all in together.
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp baking soda
1 29-oz can tomato sauce (can be replaced with 2 15oz cans)
1 15-oz can tomato sauce (so if you’re using all cans this size, get 3)
1. Turn slow cooker to ‘High’.
2. Add either your 3 15-oz cans of tomato sauce or 29-oz + 15-oz cans.
3. If you used the 29-oz can, fill that up with water and add it to the slow cooker. If you used the 15-oz cans, just fill one up twice with water.
2. Pan-fry meat, strain liquid away either from the pan or when you add it to the slow cooker.
3. Add your 1-2 bay leaves (Usually 2 is good, I only say 1 if you have Spice Island brand, since they tend to be strong).
4. AFTER 2 HOURS; add 1 tsp baking soda and stir well. The sauce will foam quite a bit and stay foamy for an hour or so, that’s totally fine! ------- Baking soda helps eliminate the metallic taste tomato sauces have! Use 1/2-1tsp every time you cook with tomato sauce if the flavor bugs you :)
5. 30 MINUTES BEFORE EATING; fish out the bay leaves and throw away. Add in your medium shells.
6. Stir every 10 minutes until shells are desired level of done-ness.
Enjoy!