Cozy Cabin Casserole

I'm on a roll with trying new crockpot recipes lately, since I borrowed a crockpot recipe magazine from my sister-in-law. We all liked this one!  I have no idea why it has this "Cozy Cabin Casserole" name, because it's certainly not a casserole. It's very similar to this Beef and Noodles recipe. I think you could easily serve it on noodles as a beef stroganoff type meal. My plan was to serve it on top of mashed potatoes (since there's quite a bit of gravy in it), but we ended up having it with baked potatoes instead.

Ingredients:
2 lb. lean round steak (I used beef stew meat instead)
2 1.1-oz envelopes dry beefy onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions:
Layer first four ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high one hour and then on low 4-6 hours or until meat is tender. (I cooked it on high for 4 hours instead.) Stir in sour cream 10 minutes before serving. 

Salsa Chicken with Rice

I should call this recipe "Miracle Chicken", because it's a miracle that I've actually posted THREE recipes this month!  :)  I decided the other day to institute the tradition of a "Sunday dinner" (actually, lunch) each week in our home, and so today I started this in the crockpot before we left for church.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa 
1 Tbsp. olive oil (I used vegetable oil)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Spray interior of slow cooker with cooking spray. Pour rice into slow cooker. Add chicken broth and salsa. Stir together well.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to skillet and brown chicken 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place chicken breasts on top of salsa mixture in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken and rice are tender. Top with cheese just before serving.

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs

I've seen this recipe several times over the years, but never tried it until tonight. I think it's meant to be more of an appetizer, but we had it as a dinner, served on rice, with green beans. It got the thumbs up from 4/5 of us! The man who took a bite and spit it into the trashcan shall remain nameless.  Since I am currently following the Weight Watchers program, I made this recipe with turkey meatballs rather than beef meatballs.  Turkey meatballs are an acquired taste, and apparently the above mentioned nameless man has yet to acquire it.  :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. frozen precooked meatballs 

12-oz bottle chili sauce

16-oz can jellied cranberry sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Place meatballs in slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl, combine chili sauce, cranberry sauce, and brown sugar, breaking up the cranberry sauce as well as you can.  Pour over meatballs.  Cover and cook on low 3 to 4 hours.

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

If I were really on top of my game, I would have taken a picture of my homeschool Home Ec'ers making this a couple of weeks ago! Maybe next time. :) Anyway, this is our beloved Vegetable Beef Soup recipe! This makes a full crockpot, about 18 cups. This is double the original recipe.

Ingredients:
3 lbs beef stew meat

2 cans rotel

6 c. water

4 medium potatoes, cubed (peeled or unpeeled)

4 c. carrots, sliced (or 1 lb. baby carrots)

4 celery ribs, sliced

6 beef bouillon cubes

some minced onion

2 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 c. frozen mixed vegetables

Instructions:

Combine all but the mixed vegetables in crockpot. Cook on high four hours or low eight hours. Add mixed vegetables and cook on high one additional hour.

Yield:

about 18 cups 

Old Settlers Baked Beans

This recipe makes a FULL crockpot, so if you're making it for an average sized family or as a side dish, you'll want to cut the ingredients in half.  But for a larger family, a family who likes to have leftovers for lunch the next day, or a potluck, it should work out just fine! 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb bacon, chopped
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans pork and beans
2 cans butter beans
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. barbecue sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. mustard
4 Tbsp. molasses

Instructions:
Cook ground beef and bacon; drain.  Pour into crockpot.  Add beans and mix well.  Add all other ingredients and mix well.  Cook on low all day (or at least a few hours).  Alternatively, you can cook it on the stove, simmering for at least an hour.

Sweet & Tangy Kielbasa

We always have this with Kraft macaroni and cheese as a side dish.  ALWAYS.  It's the law.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. kielbasa or smoked sausage
1 c. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard

Instructions:
Combine brown sugar and mustard in crockpot.  Cut kielbasa into bite sized pieces. (You could cut it into bigger pieces and put toothpicks in them, if serving as an appetizer.)  Add kielbasa to crockpot.  Stir to coat.  Cook on low 2-1/2 to 3 hours on low or 1 to 1-1/2 hours on high.  (Alternatively, you could cook this on the stove.)

Crockpot Beef and Noodles

This is our favorite "beef stroganoff" recipe. For years I called it Beef Stroganoff, until I realized one day that you probably can't call something "beef stroganoff" if it doesn't have sour cream in it. So these days it's known as Beef and Noodles. :) Make sure you don't put the noodles in to the crockpot to cook all day, or you'll join my sister-in-law in a cooking mistake that she has never lived down!

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef stew meat (you could get away with 1-1/2 lbs to save $$ and/or calories)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 envelopes dry onion soup mix
1/2 tsp. pepper
16 oz egg noodles

Instructions:
Cut beef stew meat into smaller pieces, if you'd like. (It will be very soft and easy to cut when cooked, so this is really not a necessity.) Combine beef, soup, soup mix, and pepper in crockpot. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Cook noodles. Add noodles to crockpot, mix well, and serve. (Or serve beef mixture on top of noodles.)

Yield: Quite a bit! The original recipe calls for half of this, which could easily feed four. We double it so that we have leftovers to pack for lunches the next day.