Lamb and Vegetable Stew (Crock Pot)

I’ve been going to the gym at lunch most days. Some days I go after work. Mostly I go at lunch.

I know what you’re thinking, and yeah, it’s a pain lugging my workout gear to and from work everyday. I am notorious for forgetting my facewash [but I just picked this cleansing water up, so I can keep it in my bag and never forget again], and it’s fun trying to make myself presentable after a crazy sweat session. It’s worth it, though. I don’t have to get up extra early anymore. It breaks up the monotony of sitting at my desk all day. It keeps me from doing unnecessary shopping at lunch. It forces me to be efficient. I work hard in those 45ish minutes to get in and get out. It also gets it out of the way. I can go home, and not have to worry about getting in a workout. If I had to pick, that’s probably my favorite part.

The other challenge is figuring out the lunch situation. I would eat out every day when I had the full lunch hour at my disposal. I find myself brown bagging it a little more often, or popping into the grocery store or deli on the way back to the office, instead of trying out one of the 500+ restaurants open at lunch downtown. The last couple days, for example, I’ve been mixing up a quick salad of kidney beans, canned tuna, tomato, cucumber, and avocado. The overnight crock pot thing also works out pretty good, and that’s where this stew came from. Toss everything into the crock, set it when I’m about to go to bed [11pm-12am] on low, and it smells awesome in the house in the morning. Alternatively, I could have prepared it the day prior while I was at work, or after work so it finishes before bed. That said, while this is delicious, I still miss eating out most of the week. I’m just not a huge leftovers person. After two days of the same thing, I’m ready for something new.

This was my first time cooking with a lamb shank, and there was a lot of meat on the bone. I just tossed the whole thing in [you could brown it first if you wanted], layered a bunch of vegetables around it, tossed in a bunch of herbs, and set it to low. The lamb was shredding easily after eight hours, and once I pulled out the bones, the meat soaked up some of the veggie juices.  Top it with some hot sauce and parsley? Golden.

Inspiration: EatingWell

Ingredients

• 1.5lb lamb shank
• 2 large onion, sliced
• 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2lb russet potato, sliced into 1/3″ rounds
• 1/2lb green beans, ends trimmed
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/3″ slices
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/3″ slices
• 1 jalapeno, sliced — use as many seeds as you’re comfortable with [optional]
• 6 bay leaves
• parsley for topping

Preparation

Place the lamb shank in the bottom of a crock pot, and surround it with half of the onions. Top with half of the can of tomatoes, half of the oregano, and all of the minced garlic. Place the potato rounds in a layer on top of the onions and tomatoes. Top with the green beans, carrots, and sliced jalapeno, if using. Layer the zucchini slices on top. Top with the remaining onions and tomatos. Evenly space the bay leaves on top. Turn on low for 7-8 hours until the lamb is falling off the bone. Remove the bones and stir the meat in with the vegetables.