So Easy Roast Beef
Jean Binns Smith
Bellefonte, PA
Sarah Miller
Harrisonburg, VA
Heidi Hunsberger
Harrisonburg, VA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3-4-lb. beef roast
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
half or all of 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1. Rinse beef, pat dry, and place in slow cooker.
2. Pour mushroom soup over top. Sprinkle with dry soup mix.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Variations:
1. You can add sliced carrots and halved potatoes after 4 hours of cooking.
2. For more sauce, mix mushroom soup with a soup-can of water before pouring into cooker.
— Lena Hoover
Ephrata, PA
— Michelle High
Fredericksburg, PA
— Colleen Konetzni
Rio Rancho, NM
3. For more sauce, mix mushroom soup with ½ cup white wine.
— Karen Waggoner
Joplin, MO
4. Brown the roast on all sides in 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Place in the slow cooker. In a bowl, mix together mushroom soup, dry soup mix, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, and ½ cup water. Pour over meat. Proceed with Step 3 above.
— Betty Moore
Plano, IL
Zesty Italian Beef
Carol Eveleth, Wellman, IA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½-qt.
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. paprika, optional
½ tsp. red pepper, optional
2 cups water
2-lb. rump roast
1. Combine soup mix and seasonings with 2 cups water in slow cooker. Add roast.
2. Cook on High 4-6 hours, or on Low 8-10 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
3. Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Top slices with cooking juices.
Carol Sherwood
Batavia, NY
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3-5-lb. boneless beef roast
10-oz. pkg. dry au jus mix
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
14½-oz. can beef broth
half a soup can water
1. Place beef in slow cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over roast.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.
4. Slice meat and spoon onto hard rolls with straining spoon to make sandwiches.
Or shred with 2 forks and serve over noodles or rice in broth thickened with flour.
Note: To thicken broth, mix 3 Tbsp. cornstarch into ¼ cup cold water. Stir until smooth.
Remove ½ cup beef broth from cooker and blend into cornstarch-water. Stir back into broth in cooker, stirring until smooth.
Cook 10-15 minutes on High until broth becomes of gravy consistency.
Pot-Roasted Beef
Ruth Hofstetter
Versailles, MO
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
3-4-lb. bottom round roast
1 envelope dry beef-stew seasoning mix
1 cup water
1. Place roast in the slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, mix together seasoning mix and water. Pour over meat.
3. Cook on Low for 10 hours, or on High for 5 hours.
I-Forgot-to-Thaw-the-Roast Beef!
Thelma Good
Harrisonburg, VA
Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 7-9 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
3-4-lb. frozen beef roast
1½ tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 large onion
¼ cup flour
¾ cup cold water
1. Place frozen roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle with 1½ tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Slice onion and lay over top.
2. Cover and cook on High 1 hour. Turn heat to Low and roast for 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
3. Spoon 1¼ cups broth from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to a boil.
4. While broth is heating, whisk together flour and cold water in a small bowl until smooth.
5. When the broth boils, stir flour water into the broth, stirring continually until the broth is smooth and thickened.
6. Slice roast and return meat and onions to the slow cooker. Pour gravy over top. Turn on Low until ready to serve.
Tip: This is a stress-free dish to serve to guests.
A Tip —
To get the most flavor from herbs and spices when using them in a slow cooker:
• Use them whole rather than ground or crushed.
• Use fresh herbs whenever you can.
Mary Kay Nolt
Newmanstown, PA
Makes 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 7-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2 2½-lb. boneless beef chuck roasts
1 envelope dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 envelope dry brown gravy mix
½ cup water
Optional ingredients:
1 Tbsp. flour
½ cup water
1. Place the chuck roasts in your slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing and gravy mixes. Stir in water. Pour over the meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 7-8 hours, or until the meat is tender but not dry.
4. If you wish, thicken the cooking juices for gravy. Remove the meat at the end of the cooking time and keep warm on a platter.
5. Turn cooker to High. Bring juices to a boil.
6. Meanwhile, mix 1 Tbsp. flour with ½ cup water in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until smooth.
7. When juices come to a boil, pour flour-water into cooker in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until juices thicken.
8. Serve over meat, or in a side dish along with the meat.
Italian Pot Roast
Sandy Osborn
Iowa City, IA
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½-qt.
2½-lb. boneless beef round roast
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 8-oz. cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
Optional ingredients:
½ cup flour or cornstarch
½ cup water
1. Slice roast in half for even cooking. Then place in your slow cooker.
2. Add onion and remaining ingredients in the order they are listed.
3. Cover and cook on High for 5 hours, or until the roast is tender but not dry. You can also cook it on high 1 hour, then reduce the heat to Low and cook for 7 hours.
4. When the meat is fully cooked, place it on a platter and cover it to keep it warm.
5. To turn cooking juices into gravy, turn the cooker to High to bring juices to a boil.
6. Mix ½ cup flour or cornstarch into ½ cup water. When smooth, pour in a thin stream into boiling juices, stirring continually. Continue to cook until juices thicken.
7. Slice meat. Serve gravy over meat, or place gravy in a separate bowl to serve.
Dorothy VanDeest
Memphis, TN
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
2 onions, divided
2 cloves garlic
1 large rib of celery, chopped fine, optional
3 slices bacon
flour
4-lb. beef rump roast
1. Chop finely 1 onion, the garlic, celery, and bacon. Mix together.
2. Lightly flour roast. Rub on all sides with minced mixture.
3. Slice remaining onion. Place in slow cooker. Place roast on top of onion.
4. Sprinkle any remaining rub—or any that’s fallen off the roast—over top the meat.
5. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours.
All-Day Pot Roast
Carol Shirk
Leola, PA
Makes 5 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1½-lb. boneless eye of beef round roast, round rump roast, or chuck roast
4 medium-sized potatoes, quartered
16-oz. pkg. peeled baby carrots
10¾-oz. can golden mushroom soup
½ tsp. dried tarragon, or basil, crushed
1. In a large non-stick skillet, brown meat on all sides.
2. Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker. Place browned meat on top of vegetables.
3. In a small bowl, mix together soup and tarragon or basil. Pour over meat and vegetables.
4. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours, or on High 5-6 hours, until meat and vegetables are tender but not dry.
For more flavorful gravy, first brown the meat in a skillet. Scrape all browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and add to the slow cooker along with the meat.
Carolyn Baer
Conrath, WI
Whole-Dinner Roast Beef
Betty Moore
Plano, IL
Rhonda Freed
Lowville, NY
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-9 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½- to 4-qt.
3-5-lb. beef roast
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
4 cups baby carrots
4-5 potatoes, quartered
1. Place the roast in your slow cooker.
2. Cover with mushroom soup. Sprinkle with onion soup mix.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6 hours.
4. Add potatoes and carrots, pushing down into the sauce as much as possible.
5. Cover and cook another 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are tender, but meat is not dry.
Variations:
1. Sprinkle carrots and potatoes with salt and pepper after placing in cooker.
2. Stir a soup can of water into the mushroom soup before adding to cooker in Step 2.
3. Add 1 small head of cabbage, quartered, to Step 4.
— Liz Rugg
Wayland, IA
4. Add 4 medium-sized onions, cut into chunks, to Step 4.
— Leona Yoder
Hartville, OH
Variations:
1. If it fits your schedule better to put all ingredients into the slow cooker at once, place the potatoes and carrots into the cooker first. Then top with the roast. Spoon mushroom soup over all. (For lots of gravy, mix 2 soup-cans water into mushroom soup concentrate before pouring over veggies and meat.)
Sprinkle with the dry soup mix.
Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat and veggies are tender but not dry or mushy.
— Sherry Kauffman
Minot, ND
— Marla Folkerts
Holland, OH
— Jean Butzer
Batavia, NY
— Janie Steele
Moore, OK
2. Place veggies in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with meat. Then instead of adding a can of soup and the dry soup mix, simply mix together until smooth ¾ cup water, 1½ tsp. salt,¼ tsp. pepper, and 2 Tbsp. flour if you’d like a slightly thickened broth. Pour over all.
— Janice Burkholder
Richfield, PA
— Ruth Ann Bender
Cochranville, PA
— Betty Hostetler
Allensville, PA
3. Use ½-1½ cups beef broth, or 1½ cups water, instead of the can of mushroom soup.
— Sarah Herr
Goshen, IN
— Karen Ceneviva
New Haven, CT
— Frances L. Kruba
Dundalk, MD
— Shelia Heil
Lancaster, PA
Burgundy Roast
Jane Hershberger, Newton, KS
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4-lb. venison, or beef, roast
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup burgundy wine
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Optional ingredients:
4 medium-sized potatoes, quartered
4 medium-sized carrots, quartered
1. Place meat in slow cooker.
2. Blend soup and wine together in a mixing bowl. Pour over meat.
3. Top with onion and parsley.
4. Cover and cook on Low 5 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Tips:
1. If you choose to include potatoes and carrots put them in the slow cooker first; then proceed with Step 1 above.
2. Serve the sauce as a gravy over the sliced or cubed meat.
Variation: Replace the wine with 1 soup can of water.
— Patricia Fleischer
Carlisle, PA
— Ethel Mumaw
Millersburg, OH
Tim Smith
Rutledge, PA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
4-lb. eye roast of beef
2 Tbsp. crushed garlic
8 medium-sized red potatoes, halved or quartered
1 lb. baby carrots, peeled
water
1 green pepper, cut in half and de-seeded
1. Place roast in center of slow cooker. Rub garlic into roast.
2. Add potatoes and carrots. Add water until carrots and potatoes are covered.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours.
4. One hour before serving, place pepper halves on top of meat (moving vegetables aside as much as possible), cut-side down. Cover and continue cooking.
Variation: Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper in Step 1. And sprinkle potatoes and carrots with salt in Step 2.
Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes
Loretta Hanson, Hendricks, MN
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-qt.
3-4 potatoes, pared, and thinly sliced
3-4 carrots, pared, and thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped, optional
salt and pepper to taste
3-lb. brisket, rump roast, or pot roast
1 cup beef consommé
1. Place vegetables in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Salt and pepper meat. Place meat in slow cooker.
3. Pour consommé around meat.
4. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours, or on High 4-5 hours.
Variatons:
1. In place of consommé in Step 3, use a 10¾-oz.-can cream of chicken soup, mixed with 2½ cups strong coffee.
— Eileen D. Wenger
Leola, PA
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce in Step 3, before adding the consommé.
— Carol Eveleth
Wellman, IA
Roast Beef and Mushrooms
Gladys M. High
Ephrata, PA
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
3-lb. boneless chuck roast
¼ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced, or 4-oz. can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 cup water
1 envelope dry brown gravy mix
1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix
1. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. Top with mushrooms.
3. In a small bowl, mix together water, dry gravy mix, and dry Italian dressing mix. Pour over roast and mushrooms.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Quick and Easy Mushroom Brisket
Dorothy VanDeest
Memphis, TN
Dede Peterson
Rapid City, SD
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-14 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4-5-lb. beef brisket
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
4-oz. can mushrooms, undrained
1. Place brisket in slow cooker with fat side up, cutting to fit the cooker if necessary.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine dry onion soup mix with mushrooms and their liquid. Spread onion soup mixture over top of brisket.
3. Cover and cook on Low 10-14 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Remove brisket from slow cooker and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve with meat juices poured over top of sliced meat.
Italian Roast with Potatoes
Ruthie Schiefer
Vassar, MI
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 30-35 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
6 medium-sized potatoes, peeled if you wish, and quartered
1 large onion, sliced
3-4-lb. boneless beef roast
26-oz. jar tomato and basil pasta sauce, divided
½ cup water
3 beef bouillon cubes
1. Place potatoes and onion in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Meanwhile, brown roast on top and bottom in non-stick skillet.
3. Place roast on top of vegetables. Pour any drippings from the skillet over the beef.
4. Mix 1 cup pasta sauce and ½ cup water together in a small bowl. Stir in bouillon cubes. Spoon mixture over meat.
5. Cover and cook on Low 6-7 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
6. Transfer roast and vegetables to serving platter. Cover with foil.
7. Take 1 cup cooking juices from the slow cooker and place in medium-sized saucepan. Stir in remaining pasta sauce. Heat.
8. Slice or cube beef. Serve with heated sauce.
Roast with Hearty Vegetables
Edna Mae Herschberger
Arthur, IL
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4-lb. beef roast
2 tsp. salt
6 cups tomato juice
6 carrots, peeled and cut in half
6 potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1. Place roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt. Pour tomato juice over all.
2. Cover and cook on High 6 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots.
3. Cover and cook on High 2 hours.
Deb Herr
Mountaintop, PA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
3-4-lb. pot roast or chuck roast
4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup beef broth
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
Optional ingredients:
½ cup flour, or cornstarch
½ cup water
1. Place pot roast in your slow cooker.
2. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, mix beef broth with the onion soup mix. Spoon over the roast.
4. Cover and cook on High 5-6 hours, or on Low 10-12 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Tip: To make gravy, prepare a smooth paste in a jar or small bowl, mixing ½ cup flour or cornstarch with ½ cup water.
After the roast is fully cooked, remove the meat and keep it warm on a platter. Turn cooker to High. When juices begin to boil, pour flour-water paste in a thin stream into the cooker, stirring continually.
Continue cooking and stirring until juices thicken. Serve over sliced roast, or in a bowl along with the meat.
Barbecued Roast Beef
Sherry H. Kauffman
Minot, ND
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4-lb. beef roast
1 cup ketchup
1 onion, chopped
¾ cup water
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¾ cup brown sugar
1. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients except the brown sugar. Pour over roast.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-7 hours. Approximately 1 hour before serving, sprinkle with ¾ cup brown sugar.
Barbecued Beef Brisket
Ruthie Schiefer
Vassar, MI
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6½-8½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2 cups Jack Daniel’s Original No. 7 Barbecue Sauce, divided
1 medium onion, cut in wedges
3 beef bouillon cubes
3-4 lb. beef roast or brisket
3 bay leaves
1. In bottom of slow cooker, combine 1 cup barbecue sauce, onion, and bouillon cubes.
2. Place roast on top of sauce. Top with bay leaves.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours or until beef is tender enough to shred easily.
4. Remove meat from slow cooker. Reserve cooking juices in slow cooker. Shred meat with two forks.
5. Return meat to slow cooker. Add remaining barbecue sauce. Mix well.
6. Cover and cook on High until heated through.
7. Serve on sandwich buns.
Rosalie D. Miller
Mifflintown, PA
Makes 5 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 2-qt.
2-lb. beef roast
½ cup pickle juice or apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup water
1. Place roast in your slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour over the roast.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Variation: Place 5 medium-sized potatoes, cubed, in the bottom of the cooker. Add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Top with 1 qt. frozen green beans. Then add roast and continue with Step 2 above.
Roast Beef with Ginger Ale
Martha Bender
New Paris, IN
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½- to 4-qt.
3-lb. beef roast
½ cup flour
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 envelope dry brown gravy mix
2 cups ginger ale
1. Coat the roast with flour. Reserve any flour that doesn’t stick to the roast. Place roast in your slow cooker.
2. Combine the dry soup mix, gravy mix, remaining flour, and ginger ale in a bowl. Mix well.
3. Pour sauce over the roast.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours or until the roast is tender.
5. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.
A Tip —
Browning the meat, onions, and vegetables before putting them in the cooker improves their flavor, but this extra step can be skipped in most recipes. The flavor will still be good.
Dorothy M. Van Deest
Memphis, TN
8-Hour Tangy Beef
Mary Martins
Fairbank, IA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-9 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3½-4-lb. beef roast
12-oz. can ginger ale
1½ cups ketchup
1. Put beef in slow cooker.
2. Pour ginger ale and ketchup over roast.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 8-9 hours.
4. Shred with 2 forks and serve on buns. Or break up into chunks and serve over rice, potatoes, or pasta.
Variations:
1. This recipe produces a lot of juice. You can add chopped onions, potatoes, and green beans in Step 2, if you want. Or stir in sliced mushrooms and/or peas 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
2. For a tangier finished dish, add chili powder or cumin, along with black pepper, in Step 2.
Colleen Heatwole
Burton, MI
Joette Droz
Kalona, IA
F. Elaine Asper
Norton, OH
Ruth Ann Hoover
New Holland, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
3-4 lb. beef roast
12-oz. can cola
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1. Place beef in slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, blend cola and mushroom soup together. Pour over roast.
3. Sprinkle with dry onion soup mix.
4. Cover and cook on Low for 10 hours, or on High for 5 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Variations:
1. Add a 4-oz. can of mushroom stems and pieces, drained, to Step 2.
— Ruth Liebelt
Rapid City, S.D.
2. Brown the roast on both sides in a non-stick skillet before placing in the slow cooker.
— Shawn Eshleman
Ephrata, PA
3. Instead of the cola, use 1 cup cooking sherry. Instead of the can of mushroom soup, use 2 10¾-oz. cans of golden mushroom soup.
— Janice Muller
Derwood, MD
Piquant Chuck Roast
Mary Jane Musser
Manheim, PA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3- to 4-qt.
3-lb. chuck roast
½ cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over meat.
2. Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours, or on High for 5 hours.
Tip: Shred the meat with 2 forks. Mix well with sauce. Serve over cooked rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.
Tender Texas-Style Steaks
Janice Muller
Derwood, MD
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cooking Time: 6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
4-6 steaks or chops
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
salt to taste
pepper to taste
few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1. Lay steaks in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Combine sugar and ketchup. Pour over steaks. If you need to layer the steaks or chops, make sure each one is covered with sauce.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
4. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours, and on Low for 3 hours.
Donna Neiter
Wausau, WI
Ellen Ranck
Gap, PA
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 10-12 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
3-3½-lb. fresh beef brisket, cut in half, divided
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup grape jelly
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
½ tsp. pepper
1. Place half of the brisket in a slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, combine ketchup, jelly, dry soup mix, and pepper.
3. Spread half the mixture over half the meat. Top with the remaining meat and then the remaining ketchup mixture.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours or until meat is tender but not dry.
5. Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes. Then slice and serve with cooking juices.
Note: Use fresh beef brisket, not corned beef.
Savory Sweet Roast
Kimberly Burkholder
Millerstown, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-9 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
3-4-lb. blade roast
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1. Brown meat on both sides in a non-stick skillet. Place in slow cooker.
2. Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-9 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Remove meat from the cooker and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing or shredding with 2 forks.
Tip: Make a good gravy by following the directions with Peppercorn Roast Beef on pages 84 and 85.
Serve gravy alongside or over top of roast.
Barbecued Pot Roast
Leann Brown
Ronks, PA
Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-qt.
5-lb. roast
16-oz. bottle honey barbecue sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Optional ingredients:
black pepper
Montreal seasoning
1. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. Pour barbecue sauce over top.
3. Sprinkle onion over roast, and garlic beside the roast.
4. If you wish, sprinkle with pepper and/or seasoning.
5. Cover and cook on Low 5-6 hours.
6. Remove roast from cooker and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with cooking juices.
Beef Roast with Tomatoes, Onions, and Peppers
Donna Treloar, Hartford City, IN
Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4-5-lb. beef roast
2 14½-oz. cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
16-oz. jar salsa, your choice of mild, medium, or hot
2 or 3 medium-sized onions, cut in chunks
1 or 2 green or red bell peppers, sliced
1. Brown the roast on top and bottom in a non-stick skillet and place in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, combine stewed tomatoes and salsa. Spoon over meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, or until the meat is tender but not dry.
4. Add onions halfway through cooking time in order to keep fairly crisp. Push down into the sauce.
5. One hour before serving, add pepper slices. Push down into the sauce.
6. Remove meat from cooker and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Place slices on serving platter and top with vegetables and sauce.
Tip: Make Easy Beef Burritos with the leftovers. Shred any leftover beef with 2 forks. Heat on the stovetop with the peppers, onions, and ½ cup sauce. Add 1 Tbsp. chili powder, 2 tsp. cumin, and salt to taste. Heat through. Spoon onto warm flour tortillas. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole.
Mexican Pot Roast
Susan Segraves, Lansdale, PA
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
1½ cups chunky salsa
6-oz. can tomato paste
1 envelope dry taco seasoning mix
1 cup water
3-lb. beef chuck roast
½ cup chopped cilantro
1. In a mixing bowl, combine first four ingredients.
2. Place roast in slow cooker and pour salsa mixture over top.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, or until beef is tender but not dry. Remove to a platter.
4. Stir cilantro into sauce before serving with beef.
Peppercorn Roast Beef
Stacie Skelly
Millersville, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3-4-lb. chuck roast
½ cup soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
3-4 peppercorns
2 cups water
1 tsp. thyme, optional
Optional ingredients:
½ cup flour
½ cup water
1. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients and pour over roast.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours.
4. Remove meat to a platter and allow to rest before slicing or shredding.
Tips:
1. Serve sliced with garlic mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese, or shredded for roast beef sandwiches.
2. To make gravy to go with the meat, turn cooker to High and bring cooking juices to a boil.
In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup flour and ½ cup water until smooth.
When cooking juices are boiling, pour flour-water paste into hot juices, stirring continually until juices thicken. Then turn off the cooker and serve gravy over the meat.
Green Chili Roast
Anna Kenagy
Carlsbad, NM
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3-4-lb. beef roast
1 tsp. seasoned meat tenderizer, optional
oil, optional
1 tsp. salt
3-4 green chili peppers, or 4-oz. can green chilies, undrained
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
½ tsp. black pepper
1. Sprinkle roast with meat tenderizer. Brown under broiler or in skillet in oil. Place in slow cooker.
2. Pour in water until roast is half covered.
3. Add remaining ingredients over top.
4. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.
5. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Mexican Brisket
Veronica Sabo
Shelton, CT
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
1 lb. baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
3-3½-lb. beef brisket, fat trimmed
1¼ cups salsa
2 Tbsp. flour, or quick-cooking tapioca
1. Place both kinds of potatoes in the slow cooker.
2. Top with the brisket.
3. Put salsa and flour in a small bowl and mix well. Pour evenly over the meat.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6½-10 hours, or on High 2-5½ hours, or until the meat is tender but not dry.
5. To serve, remove the meat from the cooker, keep warm, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then slice the meat across the grain. Place slices on a platter and top with the potatoes and sauce.
Beef in Onion Gravy
Donna Neiter
Wausau, WI
Makes 3 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix
2 Tbsp. beef bouillon granules
1 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1” cubes
1. Spray the interior of the cooker with cooking spray.
2. In the slow cooker, combine soup, soup mix, bouillon, and tapioca. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Stir in beef.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
Tip: Serve over cooked noodles or mashed potatoes.
Variation: Add 2-3 Tbsp. chopped onions, ½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms, and/or ¼ tsp. pepper to the mixture in Step 2.
— Rosemarie Fitzgerald
Gibsonia, PA
Vicki Dinkel
Sharon Springs, KS
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6¼-8¼ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
14½-oz. can beef broth
1 lb. beef stewing meat or round steak, cut in 1” pieces
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cooked noodles
1. Combine soup and broth in slow cooker. Add meat.
2. Cover. Cook on High 3-4 hours. Reduce heat to Low and cook 3-4 hours.
3. Stir in sour cream.
4. Stir in noodles.
5. Cook on High 20 minutes.
Since I’m in school part-time and work two part-time jobs, this nearly-complete meal is great to come home to. It smells wonderful when you open the door.
A vegetable or salad and some crispy French bread are good additions.
Herby French Dip
Sara Wichert
Hillsboro, KS
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3-lb. chuck roast
2 cups water
½ cup soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
3-4 whole peppercorns
1 tsp. dried rosemary, optional
1 tsp. dried thyme, optional
6-8 French rolls
1. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on High 5-6 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Remove meat from broth and shred with fork. Stir back into sauce.
5. Remove meat from the cooker by large forkfuls and place on French rolls.
A slow cooker is perfect for less tender meats such as a round steak. Because the meat is cooked in liquid for hours, it turns out tender and juicy.
Carolyn Baer, Conrath, WI
Barbara Sparks, Glen Burnie, MD
Zesty French Dip
Earnest Zimmerman
Mechanicsburg, PA
Tracey Hanson Schramel
Windom, MN
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 6-qt.
4-lb. beef roast
10½-oz. can beef broth
10½-oz. can condensed French onion soup
12-oz. bottle of beer
6-8 French rolls or baguettes
1. Pat roast dry and place in slow cooker.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine beef broth, onion soup, and beer. Pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Split rolls or baguettes. Warm in the oven or microwave until heated through.
5. Remove meat from cooker and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then shred with two forks, or cut on the diagonal into thin slices, and place in rolls. Serve with dipping sauce on the side.
Kelly Bailey
Mechanicsburg, PA
Makes 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 24 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
3 lb. beef roast
14¾-oz. can beef broth
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
10-12 crusty sandwich rolls
Optional ingredients:
½ cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. prepared mustard
1. Place beef in slow cooker.
2. Combine broth and dressing mix and pour mixture over beef.
3. Cover and cook on Low 12 hours.
4. Remove beef from broth and shred with 2 forks.
5. Return shredded beef to slow cooker and continue to cook on Low for another 12 hours.
6. Serve in crusty rolls, along with mayonnaise mixed with horseradish, if you wish.
Beach Boy’s Pot Roast
Jeanette Oberholtzer
Manheim, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3- to 4-qt.
3-4-lb. chuck or top round roast
8-12 slivers of garlic
32-oz. jar pepperoncini peppers, undrained
6-8 large hoagie rolls
12-16 slices of your favorite cheese
1. Cut slits into roast with a sharp knife and insert garlic slivers.
2. Place beef in slow cooker. Spoon peppers and all of their juice over top.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-12 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Remove meat from cooker and allow to cool. Then use 2 forks to shred the beef.
5. Spread on hoagie rolls and top with cheese.
Spicy French Dip
Joette Droz
Kalona, IA
Makes 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3-lb. boneless beef roast, cut in thirds
½ cup water
4-oz. can diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
10-12 crusty sandwich rolls
1. Place 3 pieces of beef in slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine the water, jalapenos, and dry dressing mix. Pour over beef.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, or until meat is tender but not dry.
4. Remove beef and shred using 2 forks. Place shredded beef back in juices. Stir and serve on rolls.
Radella Vrolijk
Hinton, VA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6½-8½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3- or 4-qt.
¾ cup flour
1 tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. salt
2 lbs. cubed or sirloin steak, cut into 6 serving pieces
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1⅓ cups water
1. In a bowl, combine flour, pepper, and salt. Dredge steak in flour mixture.
2. Brown in a non-stick skillet, being careful not to crowd the skillet. Transfer browned beef to the slow cooker.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour over steak.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours.
Variation: Add 1 cup sliced celery and 1-3 tsp. beef bouillon granules or brown gravy mix to Step 3.
Cozy Cabin Casserole
Anna Musser
Manheim, PA
Makes 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 lb. lean round steak
1 envelope dry beefy onion soup
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
10¾-oz. can cream of celery soup
½ cup sour cream
1. Layer first four ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
3. Stir in sour cream 10 minutes before serving.
Creamy Swiss Steak
Margaret Culbert
Lebanon, PA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2 lbs. round steak, ¾” thick, cut into serving-size pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, sliced thin
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
half a soup-can water
1. Place meat in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Top with onion slices.
3. In small bowl, mix soup and water together until smooth. Spoon over top.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Sherry H. Kauffman
Minot, ND
Virginia Eberly
Loysville, PA
Esther Burkholder
Millerstown, PA
Ruth Retter
Manheim, PA
Wilma Haberkamp
Fairbank, IA
Paula King
Flanagan, IL
Chris Peterson
Green Bay, WI
Phyllis Wykes
Plano, IL
Lois Ostrander
Lebanon, PA
Mary Lynn Miller
Reinholds, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2-2½-lb. round steak, cut into serving-size pieces
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
half a soup-can milk or water
half or a whole envelope dry onion soup mix, depending upon your taste preference
1. Place steak in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, mix soup and milk together. Pour over steak.
3. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over top.
4. Cover and cook on Low 4-7 hours, or until the meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Variations:
1. Add a 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained, on top of the steak, in Step 1. Sprinkle the top of the dish with ¼ tsp. black pepper at the end of Step 3.
— Bonnie Goering
Bridgewater, VA
2. Cut the steak into 2”x4” strips. Toss with mushroom soup mixture. Place in slow cooker and proceed with Step 4.
— Sheila Soldner
Lititz, PA
3. Use cubed steak instead of round steak. And use 1 cup water instead of only half a soup can.
— Sara Kinsinger
Stuarts Draft, VA
Slow-Cooked Round Steak
Kathy Lapp
Halifax, PA
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1¾-lb. round steak
¼ cup flour
2 onions, sliced thick
1 green pepper, sliced in strips
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1. Cut steak into serving-size pieces. Dredge in flour. Brown in a non-stick skillet.
2. Place browned steak in slow cooker. Top with onion and pepper slices.
3. Pour soup over all, making sure steak pieces are covered.
4. Cover and cook on Low 4-5 hours.
Variations:
1. Add ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper to flour in Step 1.
2. If you like a lot of gravy, add a second can of soup to Step 3.
Judith A. Govotsos
Frederick, MD
Makes 4-5 servings
Prep Time: 10-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- or 5-qt.
1 medium-sized onion, sliced and separated into rings
4-oz. can of sliced mushrooms, liquid reserved
2½-lb. round steak, ¾” thick, cut into 4-5 pieces
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbsp. dry sherry or water
1. Put onion rings and mushrooms in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Brown meat in non-stick skillet on all sides. Place in slow cooker over top vegetables.
3. In a bowl, mix reserved mushroom liquid, soup, and sherry together. Pour over all.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8-12 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Round Steak and Vegetables
Judy A. Wantland
Menomonee Falls, WI
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1-1½-lb. round steak, cut into 1” cubes
10-oz. pkg. frozen peas, optional
4 medium carrots, sliced
4 medium potatoes, chunked
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1. Spray the interior of the slow cooker. Then mix all ingredients together in the cooker.
2. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High for 4 hours, or until steak and vegetables are tender.
Slow-Cooker Swiss Steak
Joyce Bowman
Lady Lake, FL
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1-lb. round steak, ¾”-1” thick, cubed
16-oz. can stewed tomatoes
3 carrots, halved lengthwise
2 potatoes, quartered
1 medium-sized onion, quartered
garlic powder to taste, optional
1. Add all ingredients to your slow cooker in the order they are listed.
2. Cover and cook on Low for 7 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender, but not over-cooked or dry.
A Tip —
Meats usually cook faster than vegetables in slow cookers.
If you want to know if your dish is fully cooked, check the vegetables to see if they’re tender.
If the recipe allows, place vegetables on the bottom and along the sides of your cooker as you’re preparing it.
Leona Yoder
Hartville, OH
Heather Horst
Lebanon, PA
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2-lb. round steak, ¾” thick and cut into serving-size pieces
1 tsp. salt
⅛-¼ tsp. pepper, depending on your taste preference
1 large onion, thinly sliced
14½-oz. can chopped or stewed tomatoes
1. Season steak with salt and pepper. Place in slow cooker and top with sliced onion.
2. Spoon tomatoes over top.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 4-6 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Variation: Sprinkle 1 envelope dry onion soup mix over the seasoned meat in Step 1, just before topping with the sliced onion.
— Esther Porter
Minneapolis, MN
Basil Swiss Steak
Denise Nickel
Goessel, KS
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
2-lb. round steak, cut into serving-size pieces
1 onion, sliced
10¾-oz. can tomato soup or 14½-oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. salt and pepper
½ cup water
1 tsp. dried basil
1. Arrange steak in slow cooker. (Steak need not be browned first.)
2. Lay onion over meat.
3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon over the meat and onion.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours.
Green-Pepper Swiss Steak
Betty B. Dennison
Grove City, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
3 lbs. round steak, cut into serving-size pieces
½ cup flour
4-oz. can tomato sauce
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1. Dredge meat in flour.
2. In a non-stick skillet, brown meat on both sides, but do not cook.
3. Place browned steak in the slow cooker.
4. Pour tomato sauce over the steak.
5. Arrange onion and pepper over top.
6. Cover and cook on Low 6-7 hours, or until meat is tender, but not over-cooked.
Variation: Add 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper to flour in Step 1.
Ruth Zendt
Mifflintown, PA
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 6-qt.
1 lb. baby carrots
1½-lb. round steak, cut into bite-size pieces
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
salt and pepper to taste
8-oz. can tomato sauce
½ cup water
1. Spray the inside of the cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place carrots in bottom of cooker. Top with steak.
2. In a bowl, combine soup mix, salt and pepper, tomato sauce, and water. Pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours.
Variation: In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. cold water until smooth. One-half hour before the end of the cooking time, stir paste into cooker, in order to thicken the sauce.
— Christie Detamore-Hunsberger
Harrisonburg, VA
Italian Round Steak
Chris Peterson
Green Bay, WI
Phyllis Wykes
Plano, IL
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1½ lbs. round steak
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. pepper
medium-sized or large onion, chopped coarsely
15½-oz. jar spaghetti sauce, your choice of flavors
1. Cut steak into 5-6 serving-size pieces.
2. In a bowl, mix together salt, oregano, and pepper. Sprinkle over both sides of pieces of meat. As you finish a piece, place the meat into the slow cooker.
3. Sprinkle with chopped onion.
4. Spoon spaghetti sauce over top, being careful not to disturb the seasoning and onions.
5. Cover and cook on Low 5-8 hours, or until the meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Fajita Steak
Becky Harder, Monument, CO
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
15-oz. can tomatoes with green chilies
¼ cup salsa, your choice of mild, medium, or hot
8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 lbs. round steak, cut in 2”x4”strips
1 envelope dry Fajita spice mix
1 cup water, optional
1. Combine all ingredients—except water—in your slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
3. Check meat occasionally to make sure it isn’t cooking dry. If it begins to look dry, stir in water, up to 1 cup.
Tip: Serve meat with fried onions and green peppers. Offer shredded cheese, avocado chunks, and sour cream as toppings. Let individual eaters wrap any or all of the ingredients in flour tortillas.
Variation: Instead of the salsa, add 1 small onion, chopped, and 1 red bell pepper, cut in 1” pieces to Step 1.
Mix ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup water in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until smooth. Fifteen-20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, pour slowly into stew, stirring while you do so that it blends well. Cover and continue cooking until the stew thickens.
— Audrey L. Kneer
Williamsfield, IL
Pepper Steak
Darlene G. Martin
Richfield, PA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½- to 4-qt.
1-lb. round steak, cut ¾”-1” thick
14½-oz. can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 yellow, 2 red, and 2 green bell peppers, sliced in strips
large onion, sliced
1. Cut meat into 4 serving-size pieces. In a large non-stick skillet, brown meat on both sides. Transfer meat to a 3½- or 4-qt. slow cooker.
2. In medium bowl, stir together undrained tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon over meat.
3. Arrange vegetables over top.
4. Cover and cook on Low 5-6 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender but not over-cooked.
New Mexico Steak
Mamie Christopherson
Rio Rancho, NM
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 large onion, sliced
2-lb. round steak, cut into serving size pieces
salt and pepper to taste
2 7-oz. cans green chili salsa
1. Place onion slices in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. Add steak pieces to cooker.
3. Spoon chili salsa over all, being careful not to wash off the seasonings.
4. Cover and cook on High 1 hour. Turn to Low and cook 3 hours, or until steak is tender but not over-cooked.
Tips:
1. If the chili salsa is too hot, sprinkle a little white sugar over mixture before cooking. Or choose a milder salsa.
2. Add a little liquid (water or beer) if the dish seems too dry toward the end of the cooking time.
Pigs in Blankets
Linda Sluiter
Schererville, IN
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1-2-lb. round steak
1 lb. bacon
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar
1 small onion
¼-½ cup water
1. Cut round steak into long strips. Roll up each meat strip, and then wrap with a slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick to hold the roll shape.
2. Warm remaining ingredients in saucepan, bringing to a simmer to make a sauce.
3. Place meat rolls in slow cooker. Pour sauce over top.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until the meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Karen Waggoner
Joplin, MO
Makes 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
4 lbs. round steak
4 cups prepared packaged herb-seasoned stuffing mix
2 10¾-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1-2 cups water
1. Do it yourself—or ask your butcher—to cut steak into 12 long pieces. Pound each piece until thin and flattened.
2. Place ⅓ cup prepared stuffing on each slice of meat. Roll up and fasten with toothpick. Place in slow cooker.
3. In a bowl, mix soup and water together and then pour over steak.
4. Cover and cook on High 4-6 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Comforting Beef with Potatoes
Dorothy VanDeest
Memphis, TN
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2-3 cups cut-up cooked beef roast
2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 onion, finely chopped
¼ cup butter, melted
1 cup gravy or beef broth
1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker, either in layers or mixed together.
2. Cover and cook on Low 4-8 hours, or on High 2-3 hours, or until thoroughly heated.
Tip: This recipe can easily be doubled.
Buffet Beef
Kate Johnson
Rolfe, IA
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
12-oz. can beer
1 envelope dry brown gravy mix
⅓ cup flour
2½-3-lb. round steak, cut into cubes
1. In the slow cooker mix beer and gravy mix together well.
2. In a plastic bag, shake flour and steak cubes together until meat is coated.
3. Empty entire contents of bag into slow cooker. Gently stir to coat meat with liquid.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High 4 hours.
Dede Peterson
Rapid City, SD
Rosalie D. Miller
Mifflintown, PA
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
3 lbs. stew meat
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
½ cup beef broth
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Variations:
1. Substitute red wine for the beef broth.
— Kaye Taylor
Florissant, MO
2. Brown the beef in 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a non-stick skillet before placing in slow cooker. Do the beef in several batches so as not to crowd the skillet. The meat won’t brown well if the skillet is too full.
— Lauren Eberhard
Seneca, IL
3. Add ¼ cup quick-cooking tapioca, if you wish, to Step 1, in order to thicken the sauce.
— Deb Herr
Mountaintop, PA
Creamy-Style Beef Tips
Cathy Sellers
Cedar Rapids, IA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. stew meat
2 10¾-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1 soup-can water
half a 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Mix well.
2. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until the meat is tender but not over-cooked.
3. Serve over rice or noodles.
Creamy Beef and Mushrooms
Joette Droz
Kalona, IA
Betty Moore
Plano, IL
Mary B. Sensenig
New Holland, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
10¾-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup
10¾-oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
10¾-oz. can condensed French onion soup
¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1” cubes
1. In slow cooker, combine soups and breadcrumbs. Mix well.
2. Stir in beef.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender, but not over-cooked.
Variation: Add 1-1½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
— Sherry Goss Lapp
Lancaster, PA
Jennifer Eberly
Harrisonburg, VA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. lean round steak cubes
1 envelope dry beefy onion soup mix
10¾-oz. can cream of celery soup
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup sour cream
1. Place first 4 ingredients in slow cooker and mix together thoroughly.
2. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally if you’re around the kitchen and able to do that.
3. Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in sour cream.
4. When hot and bubbly, serve over cooked rice or noodles.
Variation: Use 2 cans cream of mushroom soup instead 1 can each of cream of celery and cream of mushroom soups.
— Jena Hammond
Traverse City, MI
Sweet and Sour Beef Stew
Heather Horst
Lebanon, PA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 cup chopped onions
2 lbs. stewing beef
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
1. Place onion in bottom of slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, mix meat and remaining ingredients together.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat and onions are tender but not over-cooked.
4. Serve over cooked rice or pasta.
No-Peeking Beef Tips
Ruth C. Hancock
Earlsboro, OK
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. stew meat
half or a whole envelope dry onion soup mix
12-oz. can lemon-lime soda
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup
1. Put meat in slow cooker. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over meat.
2. Mix soda and cream of mushroom soup together in a bowl. Spoon over meat, being careful not to disturb the onion soup mix.
3. Cover and cook on High 4 hours. Do not stir or remove lid until the time is up.
4. Serve over cooked rice or noodles.
Variations:
1. Add a 4-oz. can of mushrooms, undrained, to Step 2.
— Elaine Rineer
Lancaster, PA
2. Add a 4-oz. can of mushrooms, undrained, plus ½ cup red wine to Step 2.
— Leona Yoder
Hartville, OH
3. Replace soda with 1 cup sour cream in original recipe. Add either a 4-oz. or an 8-oz. can of mushrooms, undrained, to Step 2.
— Pauline Morrison
St. Marys, ON
Rainy Day Low-Fat Dinner
Ruth Zendt
Mifflintown, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, and cut into ½” cubes
1 lb. baby carrots
1½ lbs. lean beef cubes
10¾-oz. can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
12-oz. jar fat-free brown gravy
1. Layer potatoes, carrots, and beef in slow cooker in the order listed.
2. In a mixing bowl, blend together the soup and gravy. Pour over cooker contents.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-10 hours, or until vegetables and meat are tender.
Tips:
1. Add your favorite seasonings to the layers.
2. Vary the vegetable ingredients as you want.
3. You can prepare this recipe the night before, then refrigerate it overnight. Before you leave in the morning, put the crock in the cooker, and turn it on. Dinner will be ready when you get home.
Golfer’s Stew
Lucy O’Connell
Goshen, MA
Makes 4-5 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 lb. stew beef, cubed
12-oz. jar beef gravy or beef and mushroom gravy
6 medium potatoes, cut in ½” chunks
6 carrots, cut in thick slices
3 ribs celery, cut in thick slices, optional
2-3 onions, cut in wedges
1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir together gently.
2. Cover and cook on High 1 hour and then on Low 6 hours.
Variation: Add 1 tsp. salt and ¼-½ tsp. pepper in Step 1.
Beef Stew
Leann Brown
Ronks, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-qt.
3 lbs. cubed beef
2 12-oz. jars beef gravy
2 cups chopped carrots
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 cups chopped potatoes
salt and pepper, optional
1. Place beef in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients. Stir together well.
2. Cover and cook on Low 5-6 hours, or until meat and veggies are tender but not over-cooked.
Judi Manos
West Islip, NY
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 7½-8½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4 medium-sized red potatoes
1½ lbs. beef stew meat
⅓ cup flour
14-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups water
3 cups frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions
1. Cut potatoes into quarters. Place on bottom of slow cooker.
2. In a mixing bowl, toss flour with beef to coat. Add to slow cooker.
3. Pour in undrained tomatoes and water.
4. Cover and cook on Low 7-8 hours, or until beef and potatoes are tender but not overcooked.
5. Gently fold stir-fry vegetables into stew. Cover and cook on Low 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are hot and tender.
Variations:
1. Add 2-3 cups sliced carrots just after the potatoes in Step 1.
2. Add 2 tsp. salt and ¾ tsp. pepper to the flour in Step 2, before tossing with the beef.
Roast Beef Stew
Thelma Good
Harrisonburg, VA
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-13 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
2-3-lb. roast, which may be frozen!
5-6 potatoes, quartered
4-5 carrots, sliced
2 small onions, sliced
half a head of cabbage, sliced
1. In the evening, place roast in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour. Turn to Low and cook overnight, or 6-8 hours, if you’re doing this during the daytime.
3. In the morning, place potatoes, carrots, and onions around and over the roast. Fill slow cooker ½-¾ full with water, depending upon how soupy you like your stew.
4. Cover and cook on High 2-3 hours.
5. Lift the lid and put in the cabbage, pushing it down into the broth. Continue cooking on High 1 more hour, or until veggies are done to your liking. The stew should be ready at lunch-time—or dinner-time.
Variations:
1. Sprinkle the roast, top and bottom, with salt and pepper before placing it in the cooker in Step 1. Also, sprinkle the vegetables with salt after you’ve put them in the cooker in Step 3.
2. Increase the amount of potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage to your liking. You may need to increase the cooking time in Steps 4 and 5 to make sure that they get as tender as you like.
Lynn’s Easy Stew
Veronica Sabo
Shelton, CT
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
2 lbs. stew beef
4 ribs celery, cut into large pieces
3 cups carrots, cut up in large pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
water
1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir together gently, but until well mixed. Add about 2” of water.
2. Cover and cook on High 5-8 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Linda Thomas, Sayner, WI
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1-1½ lbs. stew meat
1 medium to large onion, chopped
14½-oz. can beef broth
1 broth can of water
½ lb. baby carrots
5 medium white potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cut into ½” chunks
Optional ingredients:
salt and pepper
5 shakes Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1. In a non-stick skillet, brown stew meat and chopped onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you wish. Transfer mixture to slow cooker.
2. Add broth and water, and Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves if you choose to. Stir together well.
3. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours.
4. Layer in vegetables. Push down into liquid as much as you can. Cover and continue cooking on Low for 4 more hours.
5. If the stew seems to get dry, add ½ cup water.
Mediterranean Beef Stew
Sandy Osborn
Iowa City, IA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½-qt.
2 medium-sized zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
¾ pound beef stew meat, cut into ½” pieces
2 14½-oz. cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
½ tsp. pepper, optional
2” stick cinnamon, or ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1. Place zucchini in the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Add beef and remaining ingredients in the order they are listed.
3. Cover and cook on High 3-5 hours, or until the meat is tender but not over-cooked. You can also cook the stew on High 1 hour, then on Low for 7 hours, or until meat is tender but not overdone.
Italian Beef
Peggy Forsythe
Bartlett, TN
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 6-qt.
4-5-lb. beef roast, cut into 1-1½” cubes
2 or 3 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. Italian salad dressing
1. Place roast, bouillon cubes, garlic salt, and dressing in slow cooker. Stir.
2. Add 1-1½” water around the beef, being careful not to disturb the seasoning on the top of the meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8 hours, or until tender but not over-cooked.
4. Remove beef from cooker and shred with 2 forks. Return shredded meat to cooker and stir into broth.
5. Serve over rice, or on rolls or garlic bread for a delicious open-face sandwich.
When I want to warm rolls to go with a slow-cooker stew, I wrap them in foil and lay them on top of the stew until they’re warm.
Donna Barnitz
Jenks, OK
Gloria Julien
Gladstone, MI
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2-lb. boneless beef roast, cut into 6 serving-size pieces
½ lb. salt pork or bacon, cut up
3 onions, chopped
pepper to taste
water
1. Place beef and pork in slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle onions over top of meat.
3. Add pepper to taste.
4. Pour water in alongside meat, about 1” deep.
5. Cook on Low 6-8 hours.
6. Serve over mashed potatoes, cooked rice, or pasta.
Beef Brisket Barbecue
Sharon Timpe, Jackson, WI
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6¼-7¼ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
2 cups barbecue sauce, divided
1 small onion, chopped
3 tsp. beef bouillon granules, or 2 beef bouillon cubes
3-4-lb. boneless beef brisket
8 sandwich rolls
1. In the bottom of your slow cooker combine 1 cup barbecue sauce, chopped onion, and bouillon.
2. Place beef brisket on top.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-7 hours, or until brisket shreds easily.
4. Remove brisket from cooker. Using 2 forks, shred the meat.
5. Tilt cooker and spoon off fat from cooking broth. Discard fat.
6. Pour cooking broth into a bowl. Again, spoon off any remaining fat and discard.
7. Measure out 1 cup of cooking broth. Pour back into slow cooker, along with remaining cup of barbecue sauce. Blend broth and sauce well.
8. Return shredded meat to slow cooker. Stir into sauce thoroughly.
9. Cover and cook on High for 15 minutes, or until meat is hot.
10. Serve over sandwich rolls.
Tip: You can also serve the Barbecue on small buns as a snack or appetizer. Serving from the slow cooker keeps the meat hot, and guests can help themselves whenever they want to.
Easy Roast Beef Barbecue
Rose Hankins, Stevensville, MD
Makes 12-16 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 12 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
12-oz. bottle barbecue sauce
½ cup water
½ cup ketchup
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped green pepper
3-4-lb. beef roast
12-16 sandwich rolls
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in slow cooker. Smother roast in sauce.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 12 hours.
3. Shred meat using 2 forks. Mix thoroughly through sauce.
4. Serve on rolls with cole slaw.
Pat Bechtel, Dillsburg, PA
Makes 16-18 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3½-qt.
4-lb. beef or pork roast
2 envelopes dry ranch dressing mix
2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
1. Cook roast in slow cooker on Low for 8-10 hours, or until tender but not over-cooked. Do not add water or seasonings! By the end of the cooking time there will be broth from cooking—do not discard it!
2. Just before serving remove meat from slow cooker. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart.
3. Add dry dressing mixes to broth and stir thoroughly. Stir pulled meat back into broth in the cooker. Serve immediately in rolls, or over cooked rice or pasta, or over mashed potatoes.
Barbecued Beef Sandwiches
Arianne Hochstetler
Goshen, IN
Makes 24 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5½-6½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
4-lb. round steak, ¾” thick, cut into 3” cubes
2 cups ketchup
1 cup cola
½ cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place beef pieces in cooker.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour over meat.
4. Cover and cook on High 5-6 hours.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, remove beef from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Return beef to slow cooker and mix well with sauce.
6. Cover and cook on High an additional 20 minutes.
7. Spoon about ⅓ cup beef mixture into individual sandwich buns.
Super Beef Barbecue
Linda E. Wilcox
Blythewood, SC
Makes 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 9-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
3-4-lb. rump roast
1 clove garlic, minced, or ¼ cup finely chopped onion
18-oz. bottle barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup
16-oz. jar whole dill pickles, undrained
1. Cut roast into quarters and place in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, stir together garlic, barbecue sauce, and ketchup. When well blended, fold in pickles and their juice. Pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 8-9 hours, or until meat begins to fall apart.
4. Remove the pickles and discard them.
5. Lift the meat out onto a platter and shred by pulling it apart with 2 forks.
6. Return meat to sauce and heat thoroughly on Low, about 1 hour.
7. Serve in sandwich rolls.
Leona Yoder
Hartville, OH
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 45 mintues
Cooking Time: 4-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
3 lbs. beef short ribs, cut into serving-size pieces
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium-sized onions, sliced
1 cup water
Optional ingredients:
1½ Tbsp. flour
½ cup cold water
1. Combine salt and flour in a shallow bowl. Roll short ribs in the seasoned flour.
2. Brown the ribs in oil on all sides in a large non-stick skillet. Rather than crowd the skillet, which prevents the meat from browning, do the browning in batches. As you finish browning, place pieces of meat in the slow cooker.
3. Add sliced onions and water.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours or on High 4-6 hours.
Variations:
1. Add ½ tsp. pepper to the salt and flour in Step 1.
2. To make gravy, remove fully cooked ribs to a platter and keep warm. Place 1½ Tbsp. flour in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Pour in ½ cup cold water. Shake together until lumps disappear.
Turn cooker to High so that broth begins to simmer. When bubbling, pour in flour-water in a thin stream, whisking as you do it.
Continue whisking until the broth thickens. Serve over, or alongside, ribs.
Tex-Mex Beef Ribs or Roast
Janie Steele
Moore, OK
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
3-4 lbs. beef short ribs, or round steak, cut in serving-size pieces
1 cup sweet and tangy steak sauce
⅓ cup picante sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. dry mustard
1. Place ribs or steak in slow cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on Low 4-10 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Carrie Darby
Wayland, IA
Leona Yoder
Hartville, OH
Esther Porter
Minneapolis, MN
Betty K. Drescher
Quakertown, PA
Karen Ceneviva
New Haven, CT
Bonita Ensenberger
Albuquerque, NM
Dorothy Lingerfelt,
Stonyford, CA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5- or 6-qt.
3-4-lb. corned beef brisket (not in a brine), cut into 6-8 pieces
¾-1¼ cups water
5-6 carrots, cut in 2”-3” pieces
3 medium-sized onions, quartered
salt and pepper
half to a whole head of cabbage, cut into wedges
1. Place corned beef in slow cooker. Add water.
2. Place carrots and onions around the meat if possible, pushing the vegetables in so they’re at least partly covered by the water. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all.
3. Cover and cook on Low 4-5 hours, or on high 2½-3 hours.
4. Add cabbage to cooker, pushing down into liquid to moisten. Turn to High and cook an additional 1½-2 hours, or until vegetables and meat are tender but not over-cooked.
Tip: You can prepare the cabbage separately in a large soup pot. Place wedges in kettle and add 1 cup broth from cooker. Cook 20 to 30 minutes, covered, or until just-tender. Stir into corned beef and vegetables right before serving.
Variation: Add 3 medium-sized potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cut into chunks, to Step 2.
— Sharon Timpe
Jackson, WI
Apple Corned Beef and Cabbage
Donna Treloar
Hartford City, IN
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
3-4-lb. corned beef brisket (not in a brine), cut into 6-8 pieces
1 small head of cabbage, cut in thin wedges
3-4 medium-sized potatoes, cut in chunks
2-3 cups baby carrots, or sliced full-sized carrots, optional
1 qt. pure apple juice
1 cup brown sugar
1. Place corned beef in slow cooker.
2. Place vegetables around and on top of meat.
3. Pour apple juice over everything. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender but not over-cooked.
Reuben Casserole
Melanie Thrower
McPherson, KS
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 2-qt.
2 cups deli-style corned beef, torn into bite-sized pieces, divided
15-oz. can sauerkraut, drained, divided
½ cup shredded or 8 slices Swiss cheese, divided
¼ cup Thousand Island salad dressing, divided
4 cups dry packaged stuffing mix, divided
1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Layer half of each ingredient in the order listed.
3. Repeat layers.
4. Cover and cook on Low 2-4 hours, until casserole is cooked through and cheese has melted.
Mary B. Sensenig
New Holland, PA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-3½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
8-oz. pkg. dry noodles
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
¼ lb. dried beef, shredded
1 cup shredded cheese, optional
1. Cook noodles as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a mixing bowl, blend soup and milk together.
3. Spray the interior of the cooker. Layer ingredients in cooker in this order: cooked noodles, soup-milk mixture, dried beef.
4. Cover and cook on Low for 2½-3 hours. Sprinkle cheese over top, if you wish. Cover and continue cooking another half hour.
Beef Tongue
Lizzie Ann Yoder
Hartville, OH
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 7-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
1 beef tongue, fresh or smoked
2 scant Tbsp. salt
1½ cups water
1 bay leaf
2 lemons, squeezed, or 2 onions quartered
6 peppercorns
1. Place washed tongue in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, mix all remaining ingredients together. Pour over tongue.
3. Cover and cook on Low 7-8 hours, or until the meat is tender. Cool until you’re able to handle the meat, and then remove the outer skin by pulling on it gently.
4. Slice meat and serve hot.
5. Use chilled leftovers in sandwiches.
Roast Venison with Gravy
Becky Gehman
Bergton, VA
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
2-3-lb. venison roast
1-2 tsp. garlic powder, or onion powder
10¾-oz. can golden mushroom soup
¾ soup can of water
1. Place roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle both sides with seasoning.
2. Cover and cook on Low 4-5 hours, turning the roast twice while cooking.
3. In a bowl, mix together soup and water. Add to meat after it’s cooked for 4-5 hours.
4. Cover and cook on Low 2 more hours, turning roast once during this time.
Variations:
1. Instead of the garlic or onion powder, use 1 envelope dry beefy onion soup mix.
— Krista Hershberger
Elverson, PA
2. Add 1 envelope dry onion soup mix and 2-3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce to the mushroom soup and water.
Pour over seasoned roast at the beginning of the cooking time.
Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours, or until meat is tender and not over-cooked.
— Anne Nolt
Thompsontown, PA
Good and Easy Elk
Evelyn Page
Lance Creek, WY
Makes 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1-2 lbs. elk, cubed
½ lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup beef broth
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1. Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker. Mix gently but well.
2. Cover and cook on High 4 hours or on Low 8 hours, or until the meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Tip: You may substitute venison or beef for the elk.
Elk Stroganoff
Evelyn Page
Lance Creek, WY
Makes 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. cubed elk
½ cup chopped onion
10¾-oz. can cream of celery soup
¼ tsp. garlic salt
4-oz. can mushroom pieces, drained, optional
1 cup sour cream
1. Brown meat in a non-stick skillet. Add onions and sauté until wilted.
2. Combine meat and onions, soup, garlic salt, and-mushrooms if you wish in slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until tender.
4. Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in sour cream.
Tips:
1. Serve over cooked rice or noodles.
2. Substitute venison or beef for the elk.
Elk in Mushroom Soup
Evelyn Page
Lance Creek, WY
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1-2 lbs. elk steak
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
soup can of milk
1. Brown steak in a non-stick skillet. Then place in the slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, combine soup and milk. Pour sauce over steak.
3. Cover and cook on Low 5-8 hours, or until meat is tender but not over-cooked.
Tip:
1. I often serve this meat alongside cooked potatoes or rice. Then we pour the soup mixture over the meat and vegetables.
2. You may substitute venison or beef for the elk.
A Tip —
Invest in good quality knives. They make preparation much easier.
Lucille Martin
Barnett, MO
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 30-40 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
4-5 medium-sized potatoes, cooked and sliced, divided
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained, divided
12-oz. pkg. frozen green beans, divided
½ lb. Velveeta cheese, sliced, divided
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1. Place half the potatoes in the bottom of a buttered slow cooker.
2. Layer in half the ground beef, followed by a layer of half the green beans. Top with a layer of half the cheese slices.
3. Repeat all the layers.
4. Pour soup over all.
5. Cover and cook on Low for 2 hours if the food is hot when put into the cooker, or on High for 2 hours if the food is cold when put into the cooker.
Creamy Ground Beef
Joleen Albrecht
Gladstone, MI
Makes 5 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 10¾-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
½-1 soup-can of water
1. Brown ground beef in non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Place in slow cooker, along with the seasonings. Taste and add more, if you like.
3. Mix in the soup. Add water until the mixture reaches the consistency of gravy .
4. Cover and cook on Low 2-4 hours.
5. Serve over cooked noodles or rice.
Tip: Serve over baked potatoes. Then sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.
Tater Tot Casserole
Sharon Wantland
Menomonee Falls, WI
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
¼ cup chopped onions
10¾-oz. can cream of chicken soup
16-oz. box tater tots
1. Brown ground beef with onions in a non-stick skillet until crumbly. Drain.
2. Place beef and onions in bottom of slow cooker.
3. Top with soup and then with tater tots.
4. Cover and cook on Low 2-3 hours.
Variation: Add a 10¾-oz. can of vegetable soup to Step 3. Mix it together in a bowl with the cream of chicken soup before spooning over the beef and onions. And if you like a lot of sauce, stir half a soup can of water into the two soups.
— Vera Martin
East Earl, PA
Sharon Wantland
Menomonee Falls, WI
Sherri Mayer
Menomonee Falls, WI
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
2 cups minute rice, cooked
1 qt. stewed tomatoes
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 envelope dry taco sauce seasoning, mixed with ¾ cup water, optional
¾ lb. ground beef, browned
1. Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker and mix well.
2. Cover and cook 1½ hours on High, or until heated through.
Variations:
1. Instead of the 2 cups of cooked minute rice, use 1½ cups raw long-grain rice and 2 Tbsp. oil or butter.
Turn the slow cooker to High. Saute the uncooked rice in the oil or butter until golden brown. Then proceed with Step 1 above.
2. Instead of ground beef, use loose sausage. Brown in a non-stick skillet and drain before placing it in your slow cooker. Then proceed with Step 1 above.
— Linda Overholt
Abbeville, SC
Meaty Spanish Rice
Susan Wenger
Lebanon, PA
Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
2 lbs. ground beef
44-oz. can of stewed or diced tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
2½ tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
Optional ingredients:
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1½-2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1. Brown beef in a non-stick skillet. (Include chopped onion and black pepper, if you wish.) Drain. Place mixture in slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients to cooker (including the green pepper and salt, if you wish), stirring well.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 4 hours.
Wild Rice Ground Beef Casserole
Esther Gingerich
Parnell, IA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
6.2-oz. pkg. long-grain and wild rice, uncooked
4-oz. can mushrooms, drained
2 10¾-oz. cans mushroom soup
½ cup water
1. In a non-stick skillet, brown ground beef and onion together. Drain.
2. In the slow cooker, combine ground beef mixture with all remaining ingredients, including the wild rice seasoning.
3. Cover and cook on High 3 hours or on Low 5-6 hours, or until rice is tender but not mushy.
Jennie Martin
Richfield, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
3 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 qt. pizza sauce
3 cups shredded cheese, your choice of flavor
1 cup cottage cheese, optional
4 cups water
1. Place ground beef and chopped onion in a non-stick skillet. Brown and then drain.
2. Mix all ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on High for 6 hours, or until the rice is tender.
Granny’s Delight
Anna B. Stoltzfus
Honey Brook, PA
Makes 5 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups dry macaroni
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups spaghetti sauce, your favorite packaged or homemade
½ cup water
1. Brown beef with chopped onion in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Spray interior of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients into slow cooker and fold together gently.
3. Cover and cook on High for 1½ hours, or until macaroni is tender but not mushy.
Variation: Add ½ tsp. salt, ¼-½ tsp. pepper, according to your taste preference, and 2 cloves minced garlic.
— Karen Waggoner
Joplin, MO
Here’s a real time-saver from our house: Brown large quantities (10 lbs.) of ground beef, seasoned with onion, basil, and oregano to taste. Drain and cool. Freeze in pint freezer containers. The meat is readily available with no prep time or cleanup need when preparing a slow cooker recipe or casserole that calls for browned ground beef.
Dale and Shari Mast, Harrisonburg, VA
Yumazetta
Andrea Cunningham
Arlington, KS
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 6-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
8 ozs. shredded cheese, your choice of flavors
1 onion, diced
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
12-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1. Brown ground beef in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker.
3. Cook on Low 3-5 hours, or until heated through.
4. Serve over cooked pasta.
Joanne Good
Wheaton, IL
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
2 15-oz. cans chili beans
15-oz. can Santa Fe corn, or Mexican, or Fiesta, corn
¾ cup water
Optional ingredients:
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
1. Brown ground beef and chopped onion in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Mix all ingredients together in the slow cooker, blending well.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.
Tips:
1. You may want to add more or less than ¾ cup water to this recipe, depending upon how hot and fast your slow cooker cooks and how tight-fitting its lid is.
2. Serve in warmed, soft corn tortillas or hard taco shells. Or serve as a taco dip with plain corn tortilla chips.
3. Good garnishes for this taco filling include sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and salsa.
Halloween Hash
Sharon Miller
Holmesville, OH
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 20-25 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 2-qt.
1 lb. lean ground beef
½ cup onion, chopped
16-oz. can whole-kernel corn, drained
16-oz. can kidney beans, drained
16-oz. can diced tomatoes
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
1. Brown beef and onion in a non-stick skillet until no longer pink. Drain. Place mixture in your slow cooker.
2. Layer in all remaining ingredients except the cheese.
3. Cover and cook on Low 2-4 hours, or until thoroughly hot.
4. Serve as is, or over a bed of rice or noodles. Sprinkle each serving with cheese, if you wish.
Easy Beef Tortillas
Karen Waggoner
Joplin, MO
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time:1½-3 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1½ lbs. ground beef
10¾-oz. can cream of chicken soup
2½ cups crushed tortilla chips, divided
16-oz. jar salsa
1½ cups (6 ozs.) shredded cheddar cheese
1. Brown ground beef in a non-stick skillet. Drain. Stir in soup.
2. Spray inside of cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle 1½ cups tortilla chips in slow cooker. Top with beef mixture, then salsa, and then cheese.
3. Cover and cook on High for 1½ hours, or on Low for 3 hours.
4. Sprinkle with remaining chips just before serving.
Christie Detamore-Hunsberger
Harrisonburg, VA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 3¼-4¼ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
4-6 white or whole wheat tortillas, divided
1 lb. ground beef
1 envelope dry taco seasoning
16-oz. can fat-free refried beans
1½ cups (6 ozs.) lowfat cheese of your choice, grated, divided
3-4 Tbsp. sour cream, optional
1. Spray the inside of the cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Tear about ¾ of the tortillas into pieces and line the sides and bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Brown the ground beef in a non-stick skillet. Drain. Return to skillet and mix in taco seasoning.
3. Layer refried beans, browned and seasoned meat, 1 cup cheese, and sour cream if you wish, over tortilla pieces.
4. Place remaining tortilla pieces on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
5. Cover and cook on Low 3-4 hours.
Tamale Casserole
Mamie Christopherson
Rio Rancho, NM
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-7 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. frozen meatballs
28-oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 cup yellow cornmeal
14- to 16-oz. can cream-style corn
1 cup chopped stuffed green olives
½ tsp. chili powder, optional
1. Microwave frozen meatballs for 4 minutes on Power 3, or until thawed. Place in slow cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour over meatballs and mix well.
3. Cover and cook on High 1 hour. Turn to Low and cook 4-6 hours. Check after 4 hours of cooking. The casserole is finished when it reaches a “loaf” consistency.
Stuffed Ground Beef
Mary B. Sensenig
New Holland, PA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 cups ground beef
2 cups cabbage, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups bread filling
2 cups tomato juice
1. Brown ground beef in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Spray the inside of the cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Layer ingredients in slow cooker in this order: ground beef, cabbage, salt and pepper, bread filling.
3. Pour tomato juice over top.
4. Cook on Low 4-6 hours, or until cabbage is just tender.
Audrey L. Kneer
Williamsfield, IL
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
1 lb. lean ground beef
32-oz. bag sauerkraut, drained
1 small green bell pepper, chopped fine
2 11½-oz. cans vegetable juice
½ cup chopped celery
1. Brown ground beef in non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on High 1 hour, then on Low 3-7 hours, or until vegetables are done to your liking.
Ground Beef Veggie Casserole
Mary B. Sensenig
New Holland, PA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.
1½ lbs. ground beef
half a medium-sized onion, sliced
2 10-oz. pkgs. petite mixed vegetables
1 cup tomato juice
8 ozs. cheese, your choice, shredded
1. Brown ground beef and onion in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Place browned mixture in slow cooker. Stir in vegetables. Pour tomato juice over top.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 4 hours, or until the veggies are done to your liking.
4. Stir in cheese during the last hour of cooking.
Zucchini Hot Dish
Sharon Wantland
Menomonee Falls, WI
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 1½-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped, optional
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 6”-long zucchini, sliced
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1. Brown ground beef with onions, if you wish, along with salt and pepper in a non-stick skillet until crumbly. Drain.
2. Layer zucchini and beef mixture alternately in slow cooker.
3. Top with soup. Sprinkle with cheese.
4. Cover and cook on Low 2-3 hours, or until the zucchini is done to your liking.
Green Bean, Potato, and Ground Beef Meal
Alice Miller, Stuarts Draft, VA
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
½-1 tsp. salt, according to your taste preference
¼-½ tsp. black pepper, according to your taste preference
1 qt. canned green beans, undrained
4 large potatoes, cut into 1” chunks
1 cup chopped onions, optional
1. In a medium-sized non-stick skillet, brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Pour undrained green beans into slow cooker. Top with potatoes, onions if you wish, and then the ground beef.
3. Cover and cook on High 4-6 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.
Variation: In a mixing bowl, combine 2 10¾-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup and ½ cup water until smooth. Pour over the layered ingredients, after completing Step 2.
— Jena Hammond
Traverse City, MI
Potato-Beef-and Beans
Vera Martin
East Earl, PA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 lb. ground beef or turkey, divided
1 tsp. onion salt, celery salt, or both, divided
15½-oz. can kidney beans, undrained, divided
4 potatoes, French-fry cut, divided
26-oz. can tomato soup
1. Layer half of all ingredients—except the tomato soup—into the slow cooker in the order listed.
2. Repeat the layers. Pour tomato soup over all.
3. Cover and cook on High 3 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.
4. Stir before serving.
Variation: Mix 1-2 Tbsp. chili powder, depending upon your taste preference, with the tomato soup in Step 2.
Ground Beef Hot Dish
Tracey Hanson Schramel
Windom, MN
Makes 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
small onion, chopped
4-5 medium-sized potatoes, sliced
½ tsp. salt, optional
14½-oz. can mixed vegetables, undrained
10¾-oz. can cream of chicken soup
1. Brown ground beef and onion in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Spray interior of cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir together gently until well mixed.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.
Variation: Instead of a can of mixed vegetables, use a 10¾-oz. can undiluted beef vegetable soup. And instead of the salt, add 1 envelope dry onion soup mix.
— Gloria Julien
Gladstone, MI
Denise Nickel
Goessel, KS
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1½ lbs. ground beef
3 large potatoes, cut into 1” chunks
16-oz. pkg. frozen peas
2-3 carrots, sliced
1 medium-sized onion, sliced, optional
1 rib celery, diced, optional
10¾-oz. can tomato soup
1 soup-can of water
1. Brown ground beef in a non-stick skillet. Drain. Set aside.
2. Spray inside of cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Layer all ingredients in slow cooker in this order: potato chunks, peas, carrot slices, onion slices and celery dice, if you wish, and browned ground beef.
3. Mix tomato soup and water together in a bowl until smooth. Pour over all other ingredients.
4. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until vegetables are tender.
Easy Meat Loaf
Karen Waggoner
Joplin, MO
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3- to 4-qt.
2 lbs. ground beef, or turkey
6¼-oz. pkg. stuffing mix for beef, plus seasoning
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup ketchup, divided
1. Mix beef or turkey, dry stuffing, eggs, and ¼ cup ketchup. Shape into an oval loaf.
2. Place in slow cooker. Pour remaining ketchup over top.
3. Cover and cook on High for 2 hours.
Meat Loaf
Becky Gehman
Bergton, VA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
2 lbs. ground beef
½ cup cracker crumbs
1-2 tsp. onion powder
¼ cup ketchup
1. Combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, and onion powder. Form into a loaf. Place in your slow cooker.
2. Spread ketchup over top of meat loaf.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 4-6 hours, or on High for 2 hours.
Tips:
1. You may mix all or half the ketchup into the meat loaf.
2. Remove the cooked meat loaf from the cooker with a slotted spoon, and keep it warm on a platter.
Pour the drippings from the slow cooker into a non-stick skillet. Turn the burner to medium and whisk 2 Tbsp. flour into the drippings until smooth.
Add a beef bouillon cube and stir until the cube is dissolved and the drippings thicken. Serve the gravy with the sliced meat loaf.
Sara Kinsinger
Stuarts Draft, VA
Miriam Nolt
New Holland, PA
Ruth Zendt
Mifflintown, PA
Karen Ceneviva
New Haven, CT
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
½ cup ketchup, divided
2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
⅔ cup dry quick oats
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1. Reserve 2 Tbsp. ketchup. Combine ground beef, eggs, dry oats, soup mix, and remaining ketchup. Shape into loaf. Place in slow cooker.
2. Top with remaining ketchup.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 2-4 hours.
Tip: Chill leftovers, and then slice for sandwiches.
Beef Barbecue
Anna B. Stoltzfus
Honey Brook, PA
Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2½ hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1½ cups ketchup
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup water
1. Brown beef with onions in a large non-stick skillet, breaking up the chunks of meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain.
2. Place beef and onions into cooker. Add remaining ingredients and mix together thoroughly.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 2½ hours.
4. Pile into sandwich rolls.
Italian Barbecue Sandwiches
Mary B. Sensenig
New Holland, PA
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup tomato sauce
half an envelope dry spaghetti sauce mix
salt and pepper to taste
8 ozs. Velveeta or American cheese, cubed
1. In a non-stick skillet, brown ground beef. Drain.
2. Place meat in slow cooker. Stir in sauce and seasonings.
3. Cover and cook on Low 2-6 hours.
4. One hour before serving, stir in cheese.
5. Stir before serving over long rolls.
To remove meat loaf or other meats from your cooker, make foil handles to lift the food out. Use double strips of heavy foil to make 3 strips, each about 20” x 3”. Crisscross them in the bottom of the pot and bring them up the sides in a spoke design before putting in the food.
John D. Allen
Rye, CO
Esther Lehman
Croghan, NY
Clara Yoder Byler
Hartville, OH
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
½ cup ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp. salt, optional
1. Brown ground beef and onion together in non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. Place in slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Cook on High for 2-3 hours, or until heated through.
4. Serve in rolls.
Sloppy Joes
Rosalie D. Miller
Mifflintown, PA
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3- to 4-qt.
3 lbs. ground beef
1 cup chopped onions
3 16-oz. cans Sloppy Joe Sauce
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1. Brown ground beef and chopped onions in non-stick skillet. Drain, but don’t lose the onion pieces while you’re doing it.
2. Place beef-onion mixture in slow cooker.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours, or on High for 3-4 hours.
5. Spoon mixture into hamburger buns to serve.
Party Meatball Subs
Tamara McCarthy
Pennsburg, PA
Makes 30 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 8- to 10-qt.
10-lb. bag prepared meatballs
1 large onion, sliced
10 good-sized fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 26-oz. jars spaghetti sauce, your choice of flavors
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese, optional
1. Combine all ingredients except the cheese in your slow cooker. Stir well to coat the meatballs with sauce.
2. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally throughout cooking time to mix juices.
3. Serve in hoagie rolls and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top, if you wish.
Tip: This makes a lot of meatball subs! The recipe also works if you reduce the ingredients by half, or even make only quarter of the amounts that are called for.
Lucy O’Connell
Goshen, MA
Makes 12 main dish servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-qt.
3 lbs. Swedish-style meatballs (frozen is fine)
16-oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
18-oz. bottle barbecue sauce
½ cup spicy prepared mustard
1. Place meatballs in slow cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl; then pour over meatballs.
3. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours.
Tip: You can serve this as an appetizer, or as a main dish served over rice.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Charlotte Shaffer
East Earl, PA
Michele Ruvola
Selden, NY
Velma Sauder
Leola, PA
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3- to 4-qt.
2 lbs. precooked meatballs
1 cup grape jelly
2 cups cocktail sauce
1. Place precooked meatballs in your slow cooker.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix jelly and cocktail sauce together with a whisk (it will be a little lumpy).
3. Pour jelly and cocktail sauce over meatballs. Stir well.
4. Cook on High 1-2 hours, or until the sauce is heated through.
5. Turn heat to Low until you’re ready to serve.
Fruity Meatballs
Donna Lantgen
Chadron, NE
Makes 8-10 servings
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. frozen meatballs
1 cup brown sugar
16-oz. can crushed pineapple with juice
1. Combine ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on Low 4-5 hours. If you’re home and able, stir every 2 hours.
Char Hagner
Montague, MI
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
1 lb. frozen prepared meatballs
12-oz. bottle chili sauce
16-oz. can jellied cranberry sauce
½ cup brown sugar
1. Place meatballs in slow cooker.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine chili sauce, cranberry sauce, and brown sugar, breaking up the cranberry sauce as well as you can. Pour over the meatballs.
3. Cover and cook on Low 3-4 hours.
Variation: Add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice to Step 2.
— Lena Mae Janes
Lane, KS
Tip: You can serve this as an appetizer (with toothpicks) or as a main dish over rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes.
Cranberry Meatballs
Mary Ann Wasick
West Allis, WI
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. butter
16-oz. can jellied cranberry sauce
16-oz. pkg. prepared frozen beef or turkey meatballs (approx. 32)
1 tsp. dried orange peel
1. In small saucepan, saute onion in butter.
2. Stir cranberry sauce into saucepan. Heat on low until melted.
3. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on Low 2-4 hours.
Sweet Cranberry Meatballs
F. Elaine Asper, Norton, OH
Makes 6 entrée servings, or 18-20 appetizers
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-6 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
50 meatballs, about 1½ lbs.
1 cup brown gravy, from a jar, or made from a mix
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1. Put meatballs in slow cooker.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour over meatballs.
3. Cover and cook on High 2-3 hours or on Low 5-6 hours.
Carlene Horne, Bedford, NH
Makes 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2 10¾-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, undrained
1 cup milk
2-3 lbs. frozen meatballs
1. Combine soup, cream cheese, mushrooms, and milk in slow cooker.
2. Add meatballs. Stir.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 4-5 hours.
4. Serve over noodles.
Meatballs With Chili
Colleen Konetzni
Rio Rancho, NM
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.
2 lbs. frozen beef meatballs
16-oz. jar 505 green chili sauce, or any other good green chili sauce
chili-sauce jar of water
1. Place frozen meatballs in slow cooker.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine green chili sauce and water.
3. Pour sauce and water over meatballs.
4. Cover and cook on Low 8 hours.
Tip: This is good as a main dish served with flour tortillas. Or put out toothpicks and serve the meatballs as party food.
A Tip —
If you wait until you have all your work done, you will never have company. Guests don’t usually care about what’s undone anyway.
My Norwegian Meatballs
Mamie Christopherson
Rio Rancho, NM
Makes 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.
2-2½-lb. pkg. frozen meatballs
2 or 3 10¾-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup, depending upon how saucy you’d like the finished dish to be
12-oz. can evaporated milk
1½ cups sour cream
1 cup beef broth
1 tsp. dill weed, optional
1. Lay frozen meatballs in a long, microwave-safe dish and microwave on High for 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients.
3. Place meatballs in slow cooker. Cover with soup mixture.
4. Cover and cook on High 45 minutes (sauce should not boil).
5. Turn to Low. Keep warm until serving time.
Tips:
1. Serve these as an appetizer (with toothpicks), or as a main dish with mashed potatoes or noodles.
2. Substitute other herbs for the dill weed.
Karen Stoltzfus
Alto, MI
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 2-qt.
1½ lbs. frozen fully cooked meatballs
8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup water
1. Place meatballs in slow cooker.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and cream of mushroom soup until well mixed. Add water and stir in thoroughly.
3. Pour sauce over meatballs.
4. Cover. Cook on High for 1 hour; then turn to Low for 2-3 hours. (If meatballs are thawed, cook only on Low 2-3 hours.)
Meatball Sauce
Norma Grieser
Clarksville, MI
Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.
32-oz. bottle of ketchup
16 ozs. ginger ale
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, optional
3 lbs. fully cooked meatballs
1. Combine sauce ingredients in slow cooker. Cover, turn to High, and bring to a simmer.
2. Gently spoon in meatballs, being careful not to splash yourself with the hot sauce.
3. Cover and simmer 3-4 hours on Low if the meatballs are thawed; 6-8 hours if they’re frozen when you put them in.
Tip: You can use little smokies instead of meatballs. In fact, this sauce is good on most meats you grill or barbecue. To serve as a sauce for grilled meat, follow Step 1; then brush on grilled meat.
Porcupine Meatballs
Esther J. Yoder
Hartville, OH
Jean Binns Smith
Bellefonte, PA
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
1 lb. ground beef
¼ cup uncooked long-grain rice
¼-½ tsp. salt, optional
10½-oz. can tomato soup, divided
2 Tbsp. shortening, or butter
1 cup water
1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix ground beef, rice, salt, and ¼ cup of tomato soup. Shape into 1½” balls.
2. Brown the balls in 2 Tbsp. shortening or butter in a large non-stick skillet, being careful not to crowd them. (If your skillet is small, brown them in two batches.)
3. Place the browned meatballs in your slow cooker.
4. In the bowl, mix together 1 cup of water and the remaining tomato soup. Pour over meatballs.
5. Cover and cook on High 2-4 hours, or until the rice is fully cooked.
Beth Peachey
Belleville, PA
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.
2 lbs. meatballs, frozen or homemade
10½-oz. can tomato soup
¼ cup water
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 lbs. potatoes, sliced
1. Brown meatballs in a large non-stick skillet, being careful not to crowd the skillet. Brown in two batches rather than pile them up or squeeze them in.
2. When the meatballs are browned, place them and the rest of the ingredients in your slow cooker. Stir together gently.
3. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.
A Tip —
Write in your cookbook the date when you tried a particular recipe and whether or not you liked it. Develop a rating system for each recipe you try (Excellent, Good, Yummy, Okay). Write notes about what might be a good addition or deletion the next time you make it.