More Adventures in Crockpot Cooking

Crockpots are the ultimate kitchen tool. They've been around just about forever (at least in my lifetime) and it wasn't until just recently that I listened to both my mother-in-laws and started using one. I actually got my crockpot free, that was one condition of the deal, I didn't want to spend $30 on a new crockpot when I knew there were likely crockpots laying around in people's cupboards or attics, not getting used, just collecting dust. I thank the nice lady from Dorchester who offered me her crockpot in response to my request on Freecycle . Anyway, back to my latest adventure - "Souper Beef Stroganoff". This recipe was culled from a cook book I received as a gift (from one of my MILs) a few years back when I didn't even OWN a crockpot. So, needless to say, this recipe is untested. Until now. It smells good and I think it might even taste good. As soon as Tm gets home we'll find out, and I'll let you know....

Rating: 7 on a scale to 10
The flavor was excellent, it's not too salty, just right. Very creamy. My only complaint is the texture of the meat (Tm thought it was fine!), but I did leave it on to cook much longer than the recipe recommends. It's very easy to make! It took me about 30 minutes this morning before leaving home to get it going and 10 minutes after getting home. If you want a meatier version just add more meat. We made it with about 1 1/3 lb. of meat and the meat pieces seemed a little scarce. You could cut the pieces up smaller than I did, also. Here's the recipe:

"Souper" Beef Stroganoff
from Crazy About Crockpots by Penny E. Stone

Prep time about 15 minutes, Serves 6, Cost: about 72 cents per serving

1 lb or more beef round steak
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of potato or onion soup
2 teaspoons beef seasoning mix or 3 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pkg. egg noodles, prepared according to package directions
1 small pkg. sour cream

Combine salt and pepper with flour. Cut meat into strips or bite-sized pieces. Coat meat with flour and brown all sides in a little bit of oil. Transfer meat to crockpot when beef has browned. Dissolve boullion in 1 cup of water, add beef broth mixture and soups to crockpot, and stir together. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, prepare one package of egg noodles according to package directions, and drain. Add a small carton of sour cream to crockpot mixture. Serve over cooked egg noodles. (I actually mixed the egg noodles in with the mixture in the crockpot as we like our noodles fully coated in yummy goodness. Also, ours was made with cream of potato soup and I cut the meat in bite sized pieces.)

Enjoy!!