Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

This is one that's sort of what you might call "semi-homemade". It uses a seasoning packet, but I still have to chop up several vegetables and some meat, unless I bought it pre-diced (which I didn't this time). The recipe is here, or else on the back of whatever packet you buy.

Anyhow, this one is quite straightforward. You peel and chop some potatoes, carrots, celery stalks, and an onion or two. Then you chop up and add the meat. (I skipped the flour step, as the broth is plenty rich without being actual gravy.) Mix the water with the seasoning packet, dump it over the top, and stir. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. Bam. Tasty dinner.

Chopped veggies

And the meat

With the seasoning and water, all mixed up

Cooked down and done!

With a bread plate, that's my dinner.

You could literally eat it with a fork if you wanted to. It's basically Dinty Moore, except with flavor.

I used half a beef roast, the last one we had from our share of last year's cow. I think all we have left from the cow is the other half of the roast (destined for stroganoff, yum!), some ground beef, and a cube steak. We still have some pork spare ribs and chops, plus two ham portions and some ground pork. Overall I think we got just the right amount for what we would use.

I made a new batch of plain artisan dough and baked a boule to have with dinner and a demi-baguette for Dan to take to work today with leftovers.

I debated about chopping the rest of the vegetables for the next two batches of stew, and freezing them, since I knew they'd probably go bad in the fridge if I didn't. It didn't take long to get the veggies going this time, but I can imagine how excited I'd be to make this recipe if I just had to thaw a baggy of veggies and use store-bought stew meat, already diced. I could literally throw it together in 5 minutes. Anyhow. So I did. Two batches worth.

Tada!

Tomorrow night we are taking a class at Sam's school hosted by his speech therapist, so I plan to toss together some spaghetti with meatballs in rosa sauce when we get back from that. (Newsflash: it's half a jar of Target brand pasta sauce with a little half-and-half mixed in, and a dozen frozen meatballs. I have my nights of not-even-a-little-bit homemade, too.) I think I'm going to try to do a crock pot meal every Monday as long as we have Music Together, a reasonably quick pasta on Tuesdays, and possibly another crock pot meal Wednesdays once we start ECFE. I may need recipes. We may resort to pizza by Wednesday once we get on the classes every Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday night schedule.