Feb92012

Meatloaf in the Crockpot

Crockpot Meatloaf

I love trying to adapt regular recipes for use in my crockpot, and one of my favorites is meatloaf. Though really it’s just as easy to do it in the oven, I like the easier clean up of using my slow cooker, along with the fact that I can get everything going in the morning (when I prefer cooking), and have it be done and ready to go by dinner.

Any meatloaf recipe should work. I like to use one pound of ground beef with one pound of ground turkey along with whatever else I feel like tossing in. Meatloaf is very forgiving. When I bake it in the oven I use actual diced onion, which helps keep it moist. In a crockpot that’s not really an issue so I take the lazy route and just use powder. Read More

Sep132010

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

I grew up on the beef stroganoff that many others did: ground beef and a can of cream of mushroom soup with sour cream over egg noodles. It doesn’t sound terribly appetizing but it’s not bad for what it is! (Read: a quick dinner!)

When I’ve made it for my own family I’ve substituted the cream of mushroom soup with cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic, chopped onions, maybe some sliced fresh mushrooms and a little extra sour cream. Over time even that got boring so I stopped making it.

I recently found a new spin on that childhood classic, and I’m never looking back! Though I’m not a huge fan of using condensed soups in many recipes, there are a few where they work well, and this is one of them. And to make things even better, it’s made in the crockpot. Mike took the leftovers for lunch today and he said it actually tasted better and stayed creamy.

The original recipe can be found here, but the version I used with my own tweaks is below:

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

1-2 lbs cube steak, cut into one-inch pieces; or 1-2 lbs stew beef, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cans condensed golden mushroom soup (no substitutes!)
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
1 14 oz can beef broth
8 oz button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream

In the crockpot, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Stir in cream cheese and sour cream about half an hour before serving, stirring every ten minutes or so to break up cream cheese.

Serve over cooked egg noodles or rice. (After the egg noodles have cooked, I like to add them directly into the crockpot for about half an hour for the flavors to mingle and thicken up a bit.)

If the sauce is not thick enough for you, add some cornstarch and water.

Makes 6 generous servings.

Print this recipe! Print this recipe!

May52010

Crockpot Taquitos

The title of this post is actually misleading – the only part of these taquitos that get made in the crockpot is the shredded beef filling!

Taquitos (also referred to as rolled tacos, though I refuse to call them that) are a favorite of the whole family. A local quickie Mexican restaurant sells them, but I’ve only gotten them a few times because they taste like they’re just heated-up frozen taquitos from a box (and yes, we’ve tried those too!).

Anyway, so I wanted to figure out how to make these myself, and here’s what I’ve come up with. The first time I did it I tried to shred the beef with two forks, which, as you can imagine, took forever. Now I transfer the beef and about 3/4 of the liquid into a food processor, pulse it a few times, and voila, done! I also like my taquitos extra-crispy (see picture above) so I let mine cook just a tad longer in the oil.

I’ve got these in the crockpot right now (Cinco de Mayo!) and the house smells amazing after just a couple of hours.

Recommended equipment:
~ 1.5 to 2 qt crockpot
~ Heavy-bottom pan
~ Splatter screen
~ Cooling/draining rack
~ Tongs

Crockpot Taquitos

~ 1.5 – 2 lbs beef stew meat, or other beef of your choice (other than ground)
~ 1 packet of taco seasoning mix, or homemade taco flavors of your choice
~ 1 4oz can of chopped green chiles
~ 1 cup of water (or beef broth)

Put all ingredients into a small crockpot (I actually use my little guy for this, you don’t need a lot of room and it only goes up about halfway) and gently stir to combine. Set on low and let cook for about 6-8 hours.

Transfer beef and about 3/4 to 1 cup of the liquid into a food processor (you can add more liquid as you need to, especially if it looks dry). Pulse just a few times to get the beef shredded up (or, if you’ve got kids in braces like I do, you can shred it a bit finer, too).

Using warmed up corn tortillas (place about three tortillas and a cup of water in your microwave and microwave for 30 seconds), place about 2-3 tablespoons of shredded meat (I don’t actually measure, just put in what looks right) just off-center on the tortilla and roll up.

Shallow fry (about 350 degrees and no more than 1/2″ of oil) in a heavy-bottom pan on one side for about 30 seconds or until golden brown, and turn over. I use my tongs and a fork to keep the taquito in the oil just long enough that it doesn’t come apart, and after it’s “set” it’ll sit by itself in the oil just fine. I do three taquitos at a time in the pan so it doesn’t get overcrowded.

Remove finished taquitos from the oil onto a rack to drain and immediately sprinkle just a bit of salt on top. Serve warm or at room temperature with sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, and whatever else you want!