Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen

Slow cooker meals can be hit or miss, but this one was a keeper. Perfect for a cold day like today. I chopped the veggies last night while I was making this soup for dinner. Put them in a Ziploc in the fridge so all I had to do was throw everything in the slow cooker this morning! You can customize with whatever veggies you prefer. I used fresh instead of frozen since I hate frozen mixed veggies. I’m very happy with the first recipe I’ve tried from my new cookbook!

Mustardy Pot Roast with Vegetables (adapted from Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites)

Ingredients:

3 T all purpose flour
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1 (2 1/2 pound) beef eye-round roast
1 (24-oz) bag frozen vegetables for stew (I HATE frozen veggies so I chopped up some onion, carrots, celery, and red potatoes (count points for the red potatoes, 1 medium red potato is 1 point).
1 (10 1/2 oz) can reduced-sodium reduced-fat condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 T course-grained mustard (I used ground mustard…not sure if that’s the same thing!)
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 cup water (I added this because I worried there wasn’t enough liquid in the slow cooker for 9 hours, but do as you wish!)

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the mixture all over the beef (you can sear beef at this point in 1 t of oil, but I always skip this and just stick it straight in the slow cooker.)

2. Combine veggies and remaining flour mixture in a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, mix well. Place the beef on top of the vegies. Combine the soup, mustard, and italian seasoning in a small bowl, pour over beef. Cook, covered, until the beef and vegetables are fork-tender, I cooked mine for 9 hours on low.

3. Cut beef into 24 pieces, you will have 8 servings of 3 pieces each. Serve beef and veggies with gravy on top, enjoy this comforting dish!

WW Points per serving: 6 (plus the points of potatoes if you choose to add them!)

Source: Adapted from Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites: Over 200 Best-Ever Recipes from the Weight Watchers Test Kitchens, Wiley Publishing, 2008.   

Oh crock pot, how I love thee on a cold autumn day when I am lazy and in need of a no fuss meal. I have never been a huge fan of stew, but when I saw this recipe over at Good Things Catered I was intrigued and knew I had to try it. It just looks so…tasty. I modified the original recipe for the crockpot and subbed beef broth for red wine, I’ve posted my version below. This was a delicious stew, I’m sad I left town after I made it and wasn’t able to enjoy the leftovers!

Hearty Beef Stew (original recipe found here, taken from America’s Test Kitchen)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
salt and ground pepper
1 medium onion, chopped coarse (about 2 c.)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1.5 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 can beef broth
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 medium red potatoes cut into 1-in. cubes
2 large carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick
1 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. minced parsley

Directions:
-Dry beef throughly and season with salt and pepper.
-Place all ingredients except for the peas and parsley to the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
-Add the peas and parsley and cook for another hour or until peas are tender.

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It’s rare that I cook with cream of _(fill in the blank)__ soups, but I remembered making this recipe sometime last winter and was suddenly craving it. My favorite part are the biscuit “dumplings.” Mmm it is such an easy recipe and makes the whole house smell wonderful. Perfect on a cooler night when the seasons are beginning to change. It’s going to get down to 25 degrees tonight, unbelievable! We finally caved and turned on our heat so that we don’t wake up as little icicles in the morning. So if you are in the mood for a creamy and comforting chicken dish you might want to give this a try. Crock pots are a great tool for making easy and tasty meals.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (original recipe from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
• Veggies of your choice (a bag of frozen mixed veggies would work well)
• Enough chicken broth to cover the chicken.

Directions

1. Place the chicken, soup, and onion (and veggies if you so choose) in a slow cooker, and fill with enough chicken broth to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 8-9 hours on low. About 1 hour before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

I’ve been craving bbq but since we don’t have a grill (well the tiny george foreman grill doesn’t really count) I decided to try shredded bbq chicken sandwiches in the crockpot. I love crock pot meals, especially on the weekend when I’d rather be out and about than cooking all evening. With a side of baked beans and corn on the cob it was a delicious summery meal!

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken (made by Julia)

INGREDIENTS:

3 large chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (any type)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
20-25oz bottled barbeque sauce (we used KC Masterpiece)

Place chicken, water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and cumin in slow-cooker set on low. Cook for 6 hours. Drain juices. Shred chicken right in slow-cooker using two forks to pull it apart. Pour in barbeque sauce; stir to combine. Cook on low for an additional hour. Serve on buns with your choice of sides. Makes about 4-6 servings.