Incredibly Easy Beef Stew

My sister gave me a great Crock Pot cookbook for Christmas, and tonight, i made "Easy Beef Stew" from it. And boy, was it easy! JD liked it so much he got 2 helpings. So, try it out.



1 1/2 to 2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (i used a lot more bc i like potatoes)
4 cups baby carrots (i got a med-sized bag and used the whole thing)
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
salt & pepper to taste

i also added about 1/4 cup of water that i used to rinse the extra out of the tomato sauce cans. and i had 1/4 of a container of fresh chopped mushrooms in the fridge, so i added them in too. i used a LOT of salt and pepper bc from what i understand, when you cook something in the crock pot for that long, the seasonings get pretty lost...so, use a lot.

Combine all ingredients in crock pot, cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until veggies are tender.

this is really good with Jiffy Corn muffins.

Kay's Red Lentil Soup

Kay turned me on to this really amazing soup. it tastes almost more like chili. i put a dallop of sour cream on it too. i think it'd be good with some shredded grilled chicken on top too...

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried red lentils (they're the tiny orange color ones)
1 vegetable bouillon cube
3 cups water
1 cup Salsa- it can be store-bought or homemade, any variety you like
1 small can of corn kernels, drained, OR the kernels from one ear of corn
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. ground cumin

Put everything into a saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil, stir & cover. Simmer on low for at least 35 minutes. The longer the better!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

...and yes, it's a yummy as it sounds...

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk (i just used milk tho)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup nuts if desired
a couple hands full of chocolate chips. probably about 1/2 to 3/4 cups

Move oven rack to low position so tops of pans will be in center of oven. heat to 350°. grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans.

Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. stir in eggs until well blended. add bananas, milk and vanilla. beat until smooth. sitr in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. stir in nuts and chips. Pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool about 2 hours before slicing. or, do like i did and burn your fingers while trying to pry it out of the pan straight from the oven, then spend 10 minutes scraping the bits out of the pan and eating them right away, thus scorching your tongue too.

Really Yummy Pot Roast

This was my first Pot Roast and man, is it good!

1 boneless beef chuck roast, 2 to 3 lbs.
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
4 stems fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups baby carrots
6 medium red potatoes, quartered
1 small can (6 oz.) V-8
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Cut five or six 1-inch deep slits in beef. Stuff slit with garlic and half the rosemary. Season beef with salt and pepper.

Place carrots and potatoes in bottom of slow cooker and top with the remaining rosemary. Lay beef on top of vegetables. Pour V-8 and Worcestershire sauce over beef and vegetables.

Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.