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Crock Pot Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken Fried Steak is to the South like “Eh” is to Canadians (okay, I’ve never been to Canada, but Barry has and I think the analogy works). You cannot separate them. And buddy, does this family love Chicken Fried Steak. Yummo! So, I wanted to make some in the Crock Pot. They turned out fabulous but the next time I’ll do them a tad bit differently. I made the mistakes in advance for you. You’re welcome. You’ll need minute steak (also known as cube steak), flour, salt, ground mustard, garlic powder, oil, cream of chicken soup, and water. You could serve this dish over mashed potatoes or rice. We just had mashed potatoes on the side. I like to dip stuff. Yeah, it’s a disease. [Read more…]

Crock Pot Mushroom Beef


I love cooked mushrooms. I don’t really care for raw mushrooms. I would love to tell you why…..but I don’t know. So much of my life makes no sense at all. Kind of like how I am freaked out by meat on the bone. I saw this recipe by Betty Crocker and I knew I had to give it a shot. I am SO glad I did! It was so delicious. Barry really, REALLY enjoyed it. Okay, so I enjoyed it too. Okay, so I licked my plate when I was done. Gravy should never be wasted. Can I get an “Amen!”?


This recipe popped out at me because it called for a jar of gravy. Normally I make our gravy, but I had a jar of the pre-made stuff downstairs. If I recall, I got it free somewhere around Thanksgiving….and I knew it would stay there until next Thanksgiving or after if I didn’t just go ahead and use it. If you don’t have canned gravy, you can make your own. Getting rid of stuff from the canned good shelves is really exciting. Yes, I’m boring. You’ll also need stew beef, Worcestershire sauce, spicy brown mustard, canned mushrooms, flour, and water.

Place your stew beef in the bottom of your crock. You could use other cuts of beef for this recipe, but I like using stew beef in my slow cooker. Cooking it a long time helps it get nice and tender. This was so good it would melt in your mouth. Sorta like cotton candy, except it was beef.

In a small bowl, mix the gravy, Worcestershire, and mustard. Resist the urge to drink it directly from the container. Think of the beef.

Pour the mixture over the beef. Use a spatula and get every last bit of goodness out of the bowl…..you should always be using a spatula. If you don’t, you’re leaving tons of yumminess in your bowls and jars. God created spatulas – use them.

Drain your mushrooms and pour them over the top of everything else.

Now, stir it all together. Yes I realize we just layered it……for apparently no reason at all since we’re stirring it now – but it was fun wasn’t it?

Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Mine cooked for 8 hours because I wanted maximum tenderness……okay, so you caught me. Mine cooked for 8 hours because I wasn’t at home to check after 6 hours. When I got home, my house smelled like Thanksgiving – except it was 90 degrees outside and I was wearing shorts and a tank top….but other than that, just like Thanksgiving.

See how lovely it looks? I needed a straw……but that would have been a bad influence for Annie. We’re not done yet!

We need to thicken our gravy a bit. Oh yeah, thick gravy. Mix your flour and water with a whisk. Pour it into your beef mixture and stir well. Magic is going to happen.

Cover and cook on high for about twenty minutes. It will seem like eternity because you’ve got the gravy smell up your nose now.

Ahhhh, what a work of art. Beef art (which is somewhat better than some stuff I’ve seen downtown on the side of the road).  I served ours with a side of mashed potatoes. You could pour the mixture over mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, noodles, or rice. Anything goes…..and the beef goes too – it goes bye-bye.

 
Print Recipe

Crock Pot Mushroom Beef

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb boneless beef sirloin tip steak cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 12 oz jar beef gravy
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
  • 2 4 oz cans mushrooms drained
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

  • In 3- to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except flour, water and potatoes.
  • Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
  • In small bowl, mix flour and water; stir into beef mixture.
  • Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened.
  • Spoon beef and mushroom mixture over potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

Oh. My. Word. These are amazing. Actually, amazing doesn’t even cover it. They are stupendous! Spectacular! Dreamy! Totally Tubular! You want to make these soon. Very soon. In fact, you’re already too late. Gosh, you’re so slow……cooker. Slow cooker, get it? Okay, sorry.

[Read more…]

Fried Rice – Barry’s Way

Hey everyone – Barry (the husband) here.  I thought for my first guest post I’d be writing something deep and insightful about being a dad, or maybe something useful about my role as a financial counselor – or maybe even something about my woodworking or something else about which I might consider myself knowledgeable.  But alas, it is not so.  Stacy asked me to write about how to make fried rice.

Before you read any further, please know I cannot compete with my kitchen queen of a wife and would never try to get in her way in the kitchen.  However, once a week, Stacy gives herself a reprieve from cooking the family dinner, instead opting to sit on the couch with her bonbons and forcing me to go to the kitchen and cook something…or something like that.  I have always loved to cook, but I really enjoy this weekly opportunity to remind myself bachelorhood is not for me.  Even though I enjoy doing my weekly dinner assignment, I much prefer to enjoy the fruits of Stacy’s labor.  Anyway, there is one thing I make that Stacy tells me is better than hers – so let’s make some fried rice! [Read more…]

Crock Pot Jerk Chicken Hoagies

****I have edited this recipe to fit our Whole Foods lifestyle by using homemade buns and organic ketchup.********

When I told Barry I was going to make these Jerked Chicken Hoagies, he kept going around saying, “What a jerk!” Yes, I married a comedian. Anyway, we love jerk seasoning in our house. What is it? It’s actually a Jamaican spice.  Cooking “jerk style” means that you use a dry rub or a wet marinade for meats – the marinade being a very hot spice mixture. So, what’s in it? Allspice, peppers, cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper. It sounds like a weird combination, but it just works……trust me. Sorta like green beans and ketchup. They just go together. [Read more…]

Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce

This Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce will definitely earn a regular spot on your meal plan! It makes a ton, so you can freeze it for later as well.

Wowza! This is GOOD stuff right here, y’all. I’m having a lot of fun playing with my crock pots…..and this one is a recipe you’ll probably add to your regular rotation. 

And you’ll kiss me after dinner and bestow upon me tons of gifts in the form of fancy dishes (or enamel-coated cast iron cookware – HINT, HINT) and pretzel M&Ms. Yes, it’s THAT good.

Another plus to this one is that it makes a large amount, so you can put the extra in the freezer for another meal. You’ll start this in the morning when you go to work, and then when you come home 8 hours later, you’ll just have to boil your noodles and fix a side salad. Voila! I’m falling in love with my crock pots (yes, pots…..I have 5). [Read more…]

Crock Pot Meat Loaf

****We have adapted this recipe to fit our whole foods lifestyle by using organic ketchup and homemade bread cubes.******

Okay, I am about to blow your mind – did you know you could make meatloaf in the crock pot?! IT’S TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I <3 meatloaf.

Yes, I know it’s scary to some people, but I like it all sorts of ways. I will tell you that I don’t order it at a cafeteria or anything like that – that IS sorta scary. Hairnets freak me out.

Anyway, if you missed it you can see this post I did about making mini meatloaves. They are really fast! But, I like this one too…….because it cooks all day and is ready when you’re ready to eat! It’s like a miracle, I’m telling ya.

If you have to work, you could throw this in the crock pot in the morning before you got ready and ate breakfast. Then it would be ready when you got home from work! You want to kiss me, don’t ya? [Read more…]

Skillet Pizzas

I’ve been on a pizza kick recently. I want it all the time. We fix these tortilla pizzas a lot in our house. You can vary the toppings depending on how you’re feeling. Feeling especially frisky today? Use hot salsa and jalapenos. Feeling bland and blah? Plain cheese works too. It’s ok if no one in your house likes the same toppings…..if usually that makes you travel somewhere like CiCi’s Pizza (be still my heart!) then today you’re in luck! Each pizza can be customized to your pickiness. There won’t be a recipe at the end, as this is just to give you a general idea. Then I’ll unleash you and let you go. If you love something, let it go! I love pizza, and I let it go…….down the hatch. [Read more…]

Deceptively Delicious – Turkey Chili

The second recipe I’m showcasing from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious is Turkey Chili. Please don’t run screaming from the room. I realize that a lot of people think that ground turkey is really gross – we are not among them. I use ground turkey a lot in our house…..especially when I find it marked down. My friend Kim will NOT use ground turkey because she tried it once and her family had nightmares for months. I keep telling her it was a loooooooooooooong time ago and she should try it again. Ground turkey has come a long way. It’s a great substitute for beef and pretty healthy to boot! However, if ground turkey makes you gag and fall down on the floor and have convulsions, then you can substitute ground beef.  The verdict for this recipe? Not bad. I liked the finely chopped vegetables and the addition of cornmeal. Now ,it’s not the BEST recipe for chili I’ve ever had, but it’s great for sneaking in vegetables and getting your kids to eat healthy. Even my mom liked it and she’s really picky about her chili. So, let’s be sneaky shall we? [Read more…]

How to Make Stuffed Burgers

In honor of the Labor Day holiday, Barry said I should post something that was made on the grill. I guess most of you are going to pull out your grill and give a last hurrah for the summer. Although around here, if the heat keeps up, we’ll be having sweaty buns for most of the winter months. Yesterday, it was so hot, spit would have evaporated before it hit the ground. Stupid Global Warming. I blame it on Al Gore. Anyway, I thought I would show you how to make stuffed burgers. It’s more of a method than a recipe, so no recipe will be included at the bottom. You can take this idea and run with it. Run like the wind! Happy Labor Day!

Ingredients

For these burgers, you’ll need ground meat, garlic powder, salt, fresh pepper, bacon bits, feta cheese, and cream cheese. Now, you can use any type of ground meat that you want – beef, veal (too expensive for my blood), turkey, chicken, or just about anything you can think up. As far as the cheeses go, I used these because that’s what I had. You could use ANY type of cheese – bleu cheese, goat cheese (YUM!), cheddar, mozzarella – let your imagination run wild. Try to pair things together. I used bacon, but you could use pepperoni, or anything else you think might pair well with the cheese you’re using.  To make a pizza burger, use mozzarella and chopped pepperoni.  The burger is your canvas! [Read more…]