Steak Teriyaki

Slice the steak thinly and place into the crock pot.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the steak and mix through.  Cover with the crock pot lid and cook on low for around 5 hours.  I serve it with rice but vegetables and mashed potato or pasta are nice for a change too.  The meat is lovely and tender and its one of our favorite dishes.

Note:  I add 2 cloves garlic but it depends what your tastes are whether you like the strong garlic taste.

Crock Pot Lamb Stew

Melt the butter in a frying pan and brown the chops then add half to the crock pot and half of the vegetables. Place the rest of the chops on top with the remaining vegetables.  Add the flour and the curry to the frying pan and brown for a few minutes.  Combine the wine, plum jam, ketchup and stock together and add to the frying pan stirring constantly until it comes to the boil and thickens to a nice gravy.  Season with salt and pepper and pour over the chops and vegetables in the crock pot.  Cover and cook for 4 hours.

This crock pot lamb stew serves 4.  I accompany the meal with rice.  This is a another great crock pot meal to try.

This crock pot beef stew is very easy to put together and you should have all the ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry.  The flavors of the red wine and mushrooms really gives this recipe its great taste so I encourage you to use the wine.  You can also use half and half of wine and beef stock if you prefer.

Turn on the crock pot to high and spray with some non stick spray .  Put the steak into the crock pot, add everything else except the mushrooms and then stir gently.  Put the lid on and turn the heat down to low and cook for 8 hours.   Add the mushrooms in the last 1/2 hour of cooking. You can thicken with cornflour or potato flour about the same time.  Remove the bay leaves from the crock pot before serving.  Oh, and I have forgotten that step once or twice and was the lucky one who got the crunchy bay leaf.

Serve this crock pot beef stew with rice or mashed potato and some peas, corn or other vegetables.   I must admit my favorite accompaniment with this crock pot meal  is sweet potato mash.  Serves 4

The advantage of making crock pot meals like this one is that your breakfast cooks while you sleep.

Apple and date oatmeal breakfast

Add all ingredients to your crock pot except for the walnuts.  Turn your crock pot on to low and cook for 8 hours approximately.  Add the walnuts 5 minutes before and stir well through the oatmeal mixture.  Serve with extra brown sugar and milk.  Makes 4 servings.

Variations:  you can substitute the dates with sultanas, you can use honey instead of brown sugar, and you can leave out the walnuts if you want.  I like this apple and date oatmeal breakfast though just as it is.

For more recipes check out the great variety of crock pot recipe books at AMAZON.

Beef Stroganoff is a great recipe for the family and is a real warming meal on a cold night and easy to make in the slow cooker as well.  You can serve it with rice but I like noodles with this dish.

Beef Stroganoff

Slice the steak into strips and coat with the flour, mustard and the salt and pepper.  Spray the bottom of the slow cooker with cooking spray and add the meat.  Layer the onion and mushroom slices on top.   Mix the tomato paste into the beef stock and add this to the pot with the wine.  Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or on low for 8 hours.

Just before serving spoon the sour cream through the stroganoff.  Serve with vegetables and noodles.  Check my other recipes by clicking the link Crock Pot Meals Recipes.

Vegetarian Pumpkin Soup with Sweet Potato

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.  I like to thicken my soups by taking half and putting through a sieve or food processor.  This also makes a smoother soup but its really up to your own tastes.  You can also thicken this soup with a little cornflour mixed in water and stirred through the soups when cooked.

Serve sprinkled with parsley and with toast, foccacia bread or sourdough bread (my favorite).

This vegetable pumpkin soup  with sweet potato has to be one of the easiest soups I have made and is a good choice to make on a Sunday for your lunches during the week.  Soup makes a good meal for work and is filling especially in the colder months of the year.  Vegetable soups are also low in calories so if you limit your carbohydrates like toast with the soup then you have a low calorie entree or lunch meal.

Traditional dishes like casseroles and chili are good choices.  Dishes don’t have to be fancy and the recipe doesn’t need to be complicated.  Mark your crock pot slow cooker with your name so you can identify it afterward.  You might be surprised how many people will bring them and then you will know which one is yours when it has been cleaned.

A great easy recipe for a non cook and one that has very little preparation time is this chili one below:

Crock pot chili

Tip:  Take copies of the recipe with you so others can check the ingredients if they have allergies.  They will love this dish so much they will want a copy of it and it says to others 'hey I really can cook' (hehe).

Have fun at your potluck party and Im sure you will now be hooked on how easy it is to cook with the crock pot.  No matter what level of cook you are there is a crock pot recipe for you.

Rice Pudding

Serve with stewed or canned fruit and ice cream.

This crock pot desserts recipe is so quick to cook so you can put it on in the later afternoon for that evenings meal.  If you are looking for other great recipes for winter warming dishes then try Amazon for The Ski House Cookbook: Warm Winter Dishes for Cold Weather Fun.

I love prunes right out of the bag but with the combination of port it makes a nice light dessert.  Its not everyone's idea of a great dessert but I like it and its different. Just remember to not eat too many at once or you may get a stomach ache.  My son learned the hard way that when he was a little boy.  He told me the black apricots made him feel sick.  hehe

Prunes in Port Wine

There are some great old recipes out there that you or your mother/grandmother used to make and they are adaptable to the crock pot usually quite easily.  Why not dig out some of your own and try them yourself this week.

For other recipes here at Crock Pot Meals you can access them all here - Recipes

There is a little preparation with the browning of the leek and the lamb but then its a quick and easy recipe to make in the crock pot.  I make it on Saturday and there is enough to have again and I must admit that it is a soup that takes even better the next day.  Try it and see for yourself.

Lamb Shank and Butter Bean Soup

Brown the leek and garlic in the oil until it is transparent.  Add to the bottom of the crock pot.  Brown the lamb shanks then put them on top of the leek.  Add the tomatoes, stock and herbs.  Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.  After 1 hour add the celery and the sweet potato and stir through.  About 1/2 hour before the finish of the cooking time add the butter beans and the pepper.  Also lift out the lamb shanks and remove the meat from the bones and add back to the pot.

I hope you like this recipe and try it for yourself soon.  If you are looking for recipe ideas then why not look to Amazon.com as they have a great range.