Crockpot Beef Stew

I am always on the look out for (easy) crockpot recipes. Recently (after it was pointed out to me) I realized that I have never made beef stew before! Don't ask me why....I guess we don't eat a whole lot of it. I researched a few recipes and some sounded good and some I didn't have the ingredients on hand so, basically a little here and a little there and I came up with my own. :)


Beef Stew:

Stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes
2-3 stalks of celery
1/3 cup flour (can substitute with 2 packs of beef gravy)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 onion chopped
chopped potatoes (we go heavy on the potatoes so I just kept dumping them in!)
4 cups beef broth
diced carrots
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pack of stew seasoning

Directions:
Put your beef in crockpot and sprinkle the flour(or gravy)  on and stir to coat the meat.
Add all other ingredients, cover and cook on low 6- 8 hours

I may add some gravy and the flour next time because I like it a little thicker but it was just to my hubby's liking!

My Two Week Menu (and a recipe)

Alright, here goes again. Here is our menu for the next two weeks, plus I wanted to share a recipe with you that I threw together on Saturday and was really quite happy about.

Monday:

Twice baked potatoes and leftover Greek Couscous salad (recipe below)

Tuesday:

 dinner @ Mom's

Wednesday:

White Chicken Enchiladas (double batch to freeze some)

Thursday:

Chicken spaghetti with feta and parmesan and pesto

Friday:

Tortelinni vegetable soup

Saturday:

Black bean burgers and fries

Sunday:
porkchops and baked potaotes

Monday:

Crescent roll hot dogs

Tuesday:

tatertot casserole

Wednesday:

@mom's

Thursday:

Meatloaf and mashed potoatoes

Friday:

turkey chili

Saturday:

leftovers

Sunday:

BBQ


                      

Greek Couscous salad:

Let me preface this by saying that I had two recipes I was kind of following and then throwing in some of my own ingredients along the way. Overall, I am quite pleased with how it turned out, but next time there are a few things I would do a bit differently. 

  Ingredients:

one box of couscous (I like the Near East brand)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. Tabasco
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
One can chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp. olive oil 
diced tomatoes
kalamata olives and reserve juice to add some in
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
4-5 stalks of chopped green onions


Prepare your box of couscous and add everything together. As simple as that. I added a little juice from the olive can to give it a little bit of extra flavor.  Next time I plan on adding some diced red pepper and some cilantro. I had parsley on hand but my hubby doesn't care for it. 
 

Mexican Casserole

This is my mother's recipes and it is one my "go-tos" . I generally always have all the ingredients on hand and it is an easy, tasty meal.

Ingredients:

- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 lb. hamburger
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8 oz shredded cheese
- 1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
- 2 cans kidney beans (drained)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- taco seasoning
- one can of corn
- a little bit of chopped garlic

Directions:

-Brown your hamburger with onions, garlic and taco seasoning.

- Place into a large mixing bowl and add in stewed tomatoes, kidney beans(drained), corn (drained) and cream of chicken soup.

- Mix everything together really well

- Line the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan with corn tortillas cut into wedges.

 - Place a layer of meat mixture on top

- Put another layer of tortillas and cheese on top of that

- Bake @ 325 for 45mins - 1 hour

 

All that is left to do is eat it and enjoy! I like to top mine with sour cream.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken With Brown Rice

As most of you already know I have a love affair with my crock pot! :) I am always experimenting and coming up with new recipes to throw in there.

The other night I tried another variation of salsa chicken. I had made this once before, but never wrote down the recipe so I just kind of winged it. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. In fact, my hubby requested the leftovers two nights in a row (it makes a lot!). Fine by me.

- Boneless skinless chicken breast (I used 4)
- One can of Kidney beans
- One can of Black beans
- One can of cream of chicken soup
- One can of corn 
- One container of salsa (did you catch the clearance tag on the salsa? It was only a $1.26 at Target!)
- One 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (Mexican style works well)
- Brown rice (we made enough for 6 servings)

Directions:

Place your chicken in the crock pot, slather the cream of chicken soup on top of it and then pour in your beans, corn, salsa and diced tomatoes. I drained the beans, corn and tomatoes before putting them in. It is going to look quite soupy until you have mixed your rice in later.

I cooked it on low for 8 hours or until your chicken shreds easily. Then it is as simple as cooking up your rice and mixing the two together.

I like to top it with shredded cheddar cheese and a little bit of sour cream. Corn bread is a good compliment to this meal.

This is obviously  my hubby's plate! I don't put that much cheese on!

The leftovers are also great for stuffing in tortillas and smothering with enchilada sauce! Yum...

Crockpot Turkey Chili

There is something about a big pot of chili simmering ALL day that makes it feel like Fall to me. I love Sundays when I am curled up inside watching football while it is stormy outside and the aroma of dinner is wafting through the house all day. Here is my favorite chili recipe and it is pretty simple ( I love simple).

Here's what you will need:

•   1 lb ground turkey ( or ground beef, if you prefer)
•   1 can black beans
•   1 can kidney beans
•   1 pkg chili seasoning
•   1 15 oz. can mexican style stewed tomatoes
•   1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn
•   1 5.5 oz. can V8 or tomato juice

* I prefer a really  thick chili,so I usually add an extra can of beans, either kidney or black, whatever I have on hand. :)

Go ahead and brown your meat and then it is as simple as throwing everything into the crockpot and stirring it together. You can cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6.  I like to add Tabasco sauce to mine for extra flavor but because we have little ones I don't mix it in beforehand.

Linking up over here today

ENJOY!