August Recipes - Not Much Cooking Being Done Here!

Crock Pot Beef And Potatoes

2 pounds ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup (really good with the Golden Mushroom soup, can use cream of celery or cream of potato or cream of just about anything, even tomato)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
Chopped celery (as much or as little as you like!)
Chopped onion (as much or little as you like!)
Chopped bell pepper (however much you like!)
Chopped mushrooms (optional)
Grated cheese (optional)

Brown beef in skillet with peppers, onions, celery and mushrooms (if you are using them.) Pour off excess fat, save to dilute soup. In a small bowl, mix together undiluted soup and any herbs or spices you enjoy. Dilute with small amount of drippings from beef – just enough to make it ‘pourable.’ In crock pot arrange alternate layers of potatoes, carrots and meat mix with potatoes on bottom. Pour soup mixture over. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, sprinkle with grated cheese.

I have added summer squash to this dish.

Italian Beef Crock Pot

1 (3 to 5 pound) rump roast
2 cups water
1 package any beef, brown, or au jus gravy mix
1 package Italian salad dressing dry mix
Additional Italian seasoning (optional)

Mix gravy mix and dressing mix in water. Pour over roast in crock pot. Cook on LOW for 12 to 15 hours.

Break up meat and cook again on LOW for 10 to 12 hours.

Serve on Italian buns.

SUGGESTIONS AND OPTIONS: Depending on the size of your crock pot, watch that it doesn’t over flow.

Since I am alone, I make several meals from this recipe. I start with about 3 – 4 pound roast (the cheaper the better). After adding the meat and gravy mix to the crock pot, I cut up enough onion, carrots and potatoes to start out with a ‘pot roast’ type meal. After a meal or two from the “pot roast” stage, I continue letting the beef cook until I can easily break the meat into smaller portions for sandwiches.

If I notice the liquids coming too close to the top of the crock pot, I spoon some out and use that to make some gravy in a sauce pan by adding flour or corn starch. If I don’t use all of the gravy from the saucepan for the ‘pot roast’ meal, I pour it into the crock pot and let it cook with the beef.

Almost forgot the last great meal from this recipe...if you have any gravy left after you remove and break up the meat for sandwiches, save it. It makes a great starter base for vegetable noodle soup!