Crock Pot Flank Steak with Mushrooms, Onions, and Blue Cheese

Ahhhh, the joys of a three day weekend.   This weekend I packed my bags and headed to Cleveland to meet James Theodore Gibbs – it was love at first sight.  Phil swooped him up from his rock n’ play sleeper and brought him over to introduce me to him.  After about a half a second I asked if I could hold him.  I was a little nervous as I haven’t had much experience holding a baby and didn’t want to do anything wrong or wake him up.  Phil passed him off to me and like a good father does, made sure I had a squirt of hand sanitizer to rid me of germs from the plane (the flu season is a rough one this year!).   I was absolutely amazed at this little life in my arms.  The first night James did so well…I only heard him cry once. 

Saturday was so much fun and I got to see the new baby cycle: eat, sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop.  Since I don’t live close, I had to make sure I got in quality snuggling time, and boy did I!  I am pretty sure I was holding him a majority of the time, only giving him back to Tamara for feeding.  Around mid-day we decided to head out and get some food and our nails done.  Of course we needed to time it right and head out right after James had eaten and fallen back to sleep.  He did so great!  We placed his carrier between the two pedicure stations Tamara and I were sitting at, rocking him and talking to him.  We knew we were pushing it a little close to when he could have a meltdown for being hungry and by the end he was “talking” to us letting us know that he was getting a little hungry.  Overall it was a successful first outing to the nail salon.  We headed home for a quick feeding and then right back out again to the Yale’s house to hang out and catch up.  It is always great to see the Yale’s and chat over the classic cheese and cracker appetizer basket they put together.  James and I also had a quick photo shoot by their Christmas tree (see below).  

Saturday night was a little more challenging – James was fussy and didn’t sleep much.  Dad took him out for a long drive (the car puts him to sleep) while Tamara caught up on a little sleep.  Sunday morning was also another fun experience as Tamara showed me what “tummy time” is.  I learned pretty quickly that James is NOT a fan of tummy time.  He is also not a fan of having the hiccups, so I talked him through that as I was swaying back and forth.   The best part of the weekend was when he fell asleep on my chest while I laid back on the couch.  For more stories about James, visit Tamara's blog: homesweetgibbs.blogspot.com

Since Tamara is a new mom and has her hands full, she is looking for simple recipes that don’t need a lot of attention and has turned to the crock pot for help.  Today’s recipe is SOOOOO good!! I got it from and old Nielsen friend and have passed it on to lots of friends and family.  The steak gets scrumptiously tender, and the combination of flavors from the onions, mushrooms, wine, balsamic vinegar, and blue cheese will make your taste buds dance.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lbs Flank Steak

Salt

Pepper

¼ Cup Flour

1 Red Onion, sliced

¼ Cup Condensed Beef Broth (undiluted)

¼ Cup Chianti (or similar red wine)

10 Ounces Mushrooms  (I always add more because I love mushrooms)

1 tbs Olive Oil

2 tbs Balsamic Vinegar

Blue Cheese

Directions:

In the crock pot, combine broth, wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.  Salt and pepper flank steak to your liking.  Coat the steak with flour and put in the crock pot.  Slice the onions and mushrooms and pour in on top of the steak.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.  Stir a few times during the cooking process. 

If you have leftovers, this would also be good served on Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls as sliders the next night. 

Recipe Source: Jessica Powell

Picture Source: Lindsay Klindt