No-Fuss Dinner Recipe: Tender Slow Cooker Mushroom Lamb Shanks

We don’t know about you, but fall-off-the-bone meat is definitely one of our favorite kinds of meat. Generally, the key to really tender meat is to cook it for a long time at a low temperature. Enter: the slow cooker. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring one appliance, the slow cooker should absolutely be your choice. You might be stuck in the middle of nowhere, but you’d have fantastically cooked and flavored meat—all of a sudden, things aren’t looking too bad, right?
This dish, which you can prep overnight or before you start your day, is also a great choice because it stretches your dollars. You generally use cheaper cuts of meat when you use a slow-cooker (they become more tender as they release their rich flavor) and you can use a ton of vegetables to bolster the meal; thus, you have a meal that gives you a ton of bang for your buck and tastes amazing!

Slow Cooker Mushroom Lamb Shanks

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds lamb shanks, excess fat removed
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, washed and scrubbed of dirt, halved
• 1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, with juices
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• parsley, garnish

Directions

1. Put onion, mushrooms, red pepper, carrots and celery a 5-6-quart slow cooker.
2. Then add in tomatoes (with juices) and paste, garlic, rosemary, cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper.
3. Season lamb shanks and place on top of other ingredients. Pour beef broth and wine over the top.
4. Cover mixture and cook on low for 8 hours.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly, garnish with parsley.