Crockpot Beef Stew

 This is one of my favorite winter dishes. The family loves it, and it's so easy to do.

-3 pounds of stew meat

1 – 16 oz frozen green beans

2-3 whole carrots, peeled and sliced (I use 5)

3 russet potatoes peeled and diced ( I use 5)

1/2 onion, chopped ( I used one medium onion)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

In a 6-quart crockpot, place the stew meat and the potatoes on the bottom.

Place the green beans, onions, and carrots on top. (If green beans are frozen place after potatoes)

Pour the crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and the water on top. Season with salt and pepper and add three bay leaves.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.

Allow it to sit for a few minutes remove bay leaves and stir. before serving.

I like to serve this with whole wheat french bread. Or a toasted garlic french bread.

Baked potato Soup

 

Now, this is one the whole family loves. I always hear the bottom of the crockpot being scrapped sometime after dinner. Someone has gone to get that last bowl.

Ingredients

1 (32 oz.) bag frozen hash browns

1 (32 oz.) box chicken broth

1 (10 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for garnish

3/4 cup crumbled bacon, plus extra for garnish. ( I buy the package of crumbled bacon.)

Parsley ( Optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine hash browns, cheddar cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, bacon bits, and cream cheese in the crockpot.

Season with salt and pepper, then use a spoon to break up cream cheese and mix things together.

Place lid on the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, stirring occasionally, or until potatoes are tender.

Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. 

Garnish with parsley and/or more cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Easy Loaded Chicken

Loaded Chicken

 I came across this recipe this morning purely by accident. I was looking on the internet for something and I saw this recipe. As it was, I already had chicken thawing on the counter for dinner. I quickly read over the recipe and noted the basics. As with any recipe, I never follow it step by step, I always switch it up to suit my family. I will be giving you my version of loaded chicken. Just to let you know, my family went nuts over it.

Now you probably aren't going to make as much as I did. I am feeding eight people here and six are adults. We have six people here and I take dinner to my elderly parents. So, It takes a lot to feed everyone!

Ingredients

Chicken breasts

I can of mushroom stems and pieces

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.

2 chicken bullion dissolved in 1 cup of water. ( Optional)

2 onions peeled and sliced

salt and pepper

cornstarch

Parsley ( optional)

I used a large pack of boneless chicken breasts. Roughly seven large breasts. And a large pack of chicken strips. Roughly twelve pieces.

I sprayed my crockpot with nonstick spray and then layered my chicken with onions. I put the chicken on the bottom, placing onion "rings" to completely cover the chicken, then salt and pepper. More chicken, then onion, then salt and pepper. I continued until all the chicken and onion were in the crockpot.

I did not drain my mushroom pieces. I added the whole can to the three soups and stirred it all together. I poured this over the top of the chicken. I microwaved my two chicken bullion in a bowl with about 1 cup of water and poured this on top of my soup mixture. I cooked this on high for about six hours. Once my chicken was good and done. ( Falling apart like we like it.) I removed it from the crockpot. I mixed three tablespoons of cornstarch with a half cup of hot water. Stirring to make it smooth. I poured this into the crockpot, Stirring it two or three times. I added the chicken back and turned off the crockpot. I removed my crockpot from the cooker to stop any more heat. The only thing left to do is sprinkle a little parsley on top before serving. 

We had this with mashed potatoes, Peas and carrots mix, and dinner rolls.

The whole family loved it!!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

2 pounds cubed stew meat
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 largish onion diced
2-3-4 tablespoons of Worcestershire
1/2 cup water
8 oz of cream cheese
a couple of dashes of Garlic Salt (1 tsp?)
couple dashes of Hot Paprika

I package of extra-wide egg noodles

In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients together, (except the meat AND the Cream Cheese). Once combined add the meat and mix together.

Cook on Low for 8 hours.

Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crockpot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined. You might have to put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes.

Cook noodles as directed, drain and mix into meat mixture.

So good to freeze BEFORE adding the cream cheese. Just re-heat on the stove and add cream cheese 10 minutes before serving. The meat becomes even more tender when reheated after freezing-perfect for toast.