All moms need a little extra help around the house – whether they go out to work, or whether they stay home to work. One of my all time favorite “mother’s helpers” is my Crock-pot! Last night was a high stress night in my house, and I happily whipped out my Crock-pot and threw in the ingredients for my favorite beef stew. It is so easy to throw together the night before, refrigerate, plug in the next morning, and voila! That night’s dinner is done!
Here is my recipe for anyone looking for an easy, yummy Crock-pot dinner:
BEEF STEW
- 2 lbs stew beef (I use the already cut up stew beef from my grocery store, and you can adjust the amount of beef and other ingredients depending on how many people you are feeding, and how many meals you want to eat this for!)
- 2 to 3 cans of whole, white potatoes (I get these and cut them in half, or you can buy the sliced version)
- 1 package baby carrots (no peeling, no cutting!)
- frozen pearl onions (put in as many as you want – I keep a bag on hand in the freezer, and it will last me at least 2 or 3 stews – it saves TONS of effort and tears instead of cutting up fresh onions, and adds a nice flavor!)
- frozen peas (ditto what I said above about the onions!)
- ½ can of beef broth (you can use water if you don’t have this, or I have even used a combo of beef broth and red wine or beer which both add nice flavor!)
- 1 teaspoon jarred, minced garlic (use it if you have it, if not, leave it out!)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Throw the beef in the Crock-pot with the flour, mix well to coat, and then season with salt & pepper. Then throw everything else in, mix it up and that’s it! I make put this together the night before, refrigerate and then pull it out in the morning and put it on Low for 10 – 12 hours, or you can cook it on High for 5 – 6 hours.
I make this for my family and serve it with either a loaf of bread or rolls. If I have time and energy, I will throw together a salad. This is a favorite of mine for busy nights (dance class, Halloween trick or treating, you name it!) and it's also great when we have out of town guests visiting!
BEEF STEW
- 2 lbs stew beef (I use the already cut up stew beef from my grocery store, and you can adjust the amount of beef and other ingredients depending on how many people you are feeding, and how many meals you want to eat this for!)
- 2 to 3 cans of whole, white potatoes (I get these and cut them in half, or you can buy the sliced version)
- 1 package baby carrots (no peeling, no cutting!)
- frozen pearl onions (put in as many as you want – I keep a bag on hand in the freezer, and it will last me at least 2 or 3 stews – it saves TONS of effort and tears instead of cutting up fresh onions, and adds a nice flavor!)
- frozen peas (ditto what I said above about the onions!)
- ½ can of beef broth (you can use water if you don’t have this, or I have even used a combo of beef broth and red wine or beer which both add nice flavor!)
- 1 teaspoon jarred, minced garlic (use it if you have it, if not, leave it out!)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Throw the beef in the Crock-pot with the flour, mix well to coat, and then season with salt & pepper. Then throw everything else in, mix it up and that’s it! I make put this together the night before, refrigerate and then pull it out in the morning and put it on Low for 10 – 12 hours, or you can cook it on High for 5 – 6 hours.
I make this for my family and serve it with either a loaf of bread or rolls. If I have time and energy, I will throw together a salad. This is a favorite of mine for busy nights (dance class, Halloween trick or treating, you name it!) and it's also great when we have out of town guests visiting!
Enjoy!
2 comments:
I can't wait to make this. I love the onion tip-I love those little onions and hate to peel them!
I know -- me too! As you can tell, the whole recipe is an adaptation from a regular stew recipe, but using all time-saving ingredients, and then I've thrown in some other things along the way -- I thought of those onions one day a year or two ago when I saw them in the freezer section of the grocery store! And the canned potatoes are a HUGE time-saver, and frankly, they are really inexpensive and they have the perfect consistency for a Crock-pot dish!
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