Thursday, August 11, 2011

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I don't think this recipe could have gotten any easier.  The hardest part was cutting up onions or maybe buying the groceries.  Who doesn't love a recipe that takes 10 minutes to assemble... 8 hours later dinner is done.  I tried it because of the cream cheese variation.  Most stroganoff's use sour cream so I thought I would give this one a try.  I also added thick cut mushrooms to bulk it up a little.  I made egg noodles to serve it over and made a salad as a side.  It was the perfect amount for 4 adults.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound cubed beef stew meat
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 4 ounces cream cheese

Directions

  1. In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.
  2. Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-beef-stroganoff-i/detail.aspx

Lemon PoppySeed Upside Down Cake

Beware... this is a very dense cake but if you cut it in thinner slices it is a perfect amount.  Not much to say about this one expect it is easy to make.  My cake got pretty brown on the bottom side but it didn't taste over done, I just think the sauce started to caramelize.  My friend that tried it said I could bring this dessert anytime I wanted.  I also frosted mine with cool whip.

Cake:
1 pkg Lemon Poppyseed Bread Mix
1 egg
8 oz Sour Cream
1/2 c. water

Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice

Cake: Mix all ingredients together until moistened well.  Spread into lightly buttered 1 1/2 to 2 quart crockpot.

Sauce: Combine ingredients over medium heat.  Bring to a boil then pour over cake batter in crockpot. 

Cover.  Cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  Edges will be slightly browned.

Turn off heat and let cake stand 30 minutes with cover slightly ajar to let steam escape.  When cool enough to handle, invert cake on to a serving platter.  Garnish with whipped cream.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Stay tuned....

for the following recipes in the next few days:

Cheesy chilada Bake (freezer meal)
Upside Down Lemon Poppyseed Cake (Crockpot)
Beef Stroganoff (Crockpot)
Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches (Crockpot)

I'm very busy this summer so I have been depending heavily on my crockpot and freezer meals.  I made 5 freezer meals 2 weeks ago for my sister and myself and as I try them I will be posting those recipes too.

Crockpot Egg Casserole

This was a huge hit on vacation at my cabin! It was very nice to wake up and breakfast was done.  Try different variations with this recipe.  I used ham I had frozen in the freezer and mozzarella cheese.  It only took about 6 hours in the crockpot and I would go any longer than that.  Don’t want to stay up till the wee hours to start the crockpot.  Use a timer that would use if you wanted your lights to turn on while you were gone on vacation.  It doesn’t the same thing for a crockpot.  I used a 7qt. crockpot for this recipes and it was pretty much to the top of the crockpot. 

Ingredients:
  • 32 oz. bag frozen hash brown potatoes
  • 1 lb. cooked ham, cubed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 12 eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
Preparation:
Spray inside of slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. In small skillet, cook onion and green pepper in olive oil until crisp tender. Let cool about 10 minutes. Place one third of the frozen hash brown potatoes in the slow cooker. Add one third of the ham, onion, green pepper and cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk and seasonings until well mixed. Pour over the ingredients in the slow cooker, cover and turn on low. Cook for 8-10 hours, until casserole is set and eggs are thoroughly cooked. Serves 12
If you have a new hotter cooking crockpot, you'll need to check this after 6 hours. It will probably be done after 7 hours. The eggs should reach a temperature of 160 degrees F.