Venison Pho

Now that I'm not pregnant, I'm not scared to try new foods, and Jesse and I have recently gotten into the Pho thing. Today, I'm trying a crockpot recipe and looking forward to coming home to delicious delicious noodle soup. I've never used lemon grass before in my own cooking, and I'm excited!

(This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen. So you know it's gonna be good.)

2 onions, minced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 TB olive oil

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups beef broth

2 cups water

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 TB soy sauce

2 TB sugar

1 stalk lemon grass, bottom 5 inches, bruised

4 star anise pods

4 whole cloves

2 pounds blade steak, trimmed. (We just used a couple venison steaks, because that's what we had.)

salt and pepper

8 ounces rice noodles

Garnishes! (This is the best part!)

2 cups bean sprouts

1 cup fresh Thai basil or regular basil

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 scallions, sliced thin

1 fresh Thai, serrano or jalapeno chili, sliced thin

lime wedges

1. Microwave onions, garlic and oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

2. Stir chicken broth, beef broth, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and lemon grass into slow cooker. Secure star anise and cloves in cheesecloth or teabag and add to slow cooker. Season meat with salt and pepper and add. Cover and cook until meat is tender (9-11 hours on low, 5-7 hours on high).

3. Transfer meat to cutting board - cut into bite size pieces. Let soup settle 5 minutes, skim fat. Discard lemon grass and spice pouch.

4. Stir in the noodles, cover, cook on high until noodles are tender (time will depend on thickness of noodles.) Stir meat back in, serve with garnishes.