Slow Braised Barbequed Beef Bites

Photo from Lord Byron's Kitchen

This recipe had such good intentions. I mean all those ingredients together sounds like it'd make a delicious dish. I wish it had. 

It wasn't horrible, just not what I was expecting. It lacked something. It took me all night to figure out what exactly was missing. And as I dosed off to sleep it hit me (naturally). It needed apple cider vinegar not white vinegar. 

When I think "BBQ" I think tangy and you get that tang from the ACV. This was missing that tang. If I make it again I'll use that instead. 

Otherwise, the recipe was simple, toss it all in a crock pot and leave it kinda recipe. Perfect on so many levels. Just not tangy.

Slow Braised Barbequed Beef Bites

Recipe from Lord Byron's Kitchen

Serves 4

• 2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 T white vinegar
• 4 T Worcestershire sauce
• 4 T brown sugar
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 c ketchup
• 2 c water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk together the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, water, ketchup, salt, paprika, chili powder, and sugar. Set aside.

Place the beef, in an even layer, into a Dutch oven or roasting pan with a good fitting lid.

Sprinkle the chopped onion over the top of the beef.

Pour over the sauce mixture.

Place a lid on the pan and bake for 2 and a half hours, stirring at the one hour and two hour mark.

Remove the lid and bake for 30 minutes more.

Serve immediately.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

I am trying to clean out my freezer again so tonight we did some slow cooking of some pork chops! 

Super easy recipe. Almost literary set it and forget it. I didn't brown my pork chops before I put them in. Seems unnecessary when it's just me. 

One cautionary comment though, don't salt anything until you taste it later. The au jus gravy mix is pretty salty. I sure wish I could find one that's low sodium...well, one that I like. 

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Recipe from Tornadoughalli.com

Serves 4

• 2 pounds boneless pork loin chops about 8 chops
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
• 1 ounce packet au jus gravy
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• Fresh chopped parsley optional

Season the pork chops on both sides with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Place the flour onto a plate or shallow bowl, set aside.

Place a large skillet over medium heat, once hot add the oil.

One by one, place the pork chops into the flour and shake off any excess.

Place the pork chops into the pan, not touching, you will need to do this in batches. Sear on both sides until golden brown, 3 minutes per side. You are not cooking them all the way through, just browning.

Place the browned pork chops into the bottom of an 8-quart slow cooker.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup, au jus packet, and chicken stock until smooth. Pour over the pork chops.

Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low until tender.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles with the gravy. Garnish with parsley, optional.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Photo from Butter
Your Biscuit

Soup "season" is pretty much over for me. The summer months and soup just don't mix. But today was supposed to be wet and gross in Seattle so I planned soup. Turned out to be sunny and beautiful. Alas, soup was still on the menu. 

I didn't do this soup in the crock pot. I completely forgot to put it on, so I just put it in a pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Frankly, I think it was fine. 

I wouldn't change anything about this recipe. And for a change, I didn't over salt the soup. DO NOT ADD SALT until you taste it in the end. The taco mix and ranch mix has plenty of salt to it. 

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Recipe from Butter Your Biscuit

Serves 6

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• ½ cup chopped yellow onion about ½ an onion
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 16 ounce jar salsa
• 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15.5 ounce can chili beans
• 1 15.25 ounce can corn, drained
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 packet Ranch seasoning mix
• 4 cups chicken or beef stock Low sodium
• 2 cups shredded cheese

Heat a pan on medium-high heat and add the ground beef or turkey meat, cook until browned for about 10 minutes. Drain fat and add the meat to the slow cooker.

Add onion, garlic, salsa, beans, corn, seasoning, and stock to slow cooker. Mix until well combined.

Cook on low for 4 hours or until onions have softened. Add in the shredded cheese and stir until melted.

Serve with more shredded cheese a dollop of sour cream and corn chips or your favorite toppings.

Slow Cooker Cube Steak

Its really not Slow cooker "season" but I still like using the slow cooker on the weekends to make meals. Set it and forget it is my favorite. 

This was a super easy meal that really has comfort written all over it. I cooked it on low for 6.5 hours and right before I served it, I added a small cornstarch slurry. My gravy was a little loose and that little slurry helped thicken it up...quickly. 

I served this with mashed potatoes and a side of green beans. It's a solid recipe to have at the ready.

Slow Cooker Cube Steak

Recipe from Bake it with Love

Serves 6

• 21 oz condensed cream of mushroom soup (2 10.5 ounce cans)
• 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix (use Recipe Secrets Onion or Beefy Onion flavor)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
• ¾ cup water (optional, for thinner gravy)
• 1½ lbs cube steaks (4-6 cube steaks)
• 1 medium yellow onion (or white onion, sliced)
• 4-8 oz mushrooms (optional, sliced)

Combine the cans of 21 oz condensed cream of mushroom soup with the 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (plus ¾ cup water if desired) in your crock pot. Mix until well combined.

Layer the 1½ lbs cube steaks over the 'gravy' mixture adding one at a time. 

Top each cube steak with some of the 1 medium yellow onion as you add them, staggered in shingle-fashion, over the cream of mushroom base. Top with optional sliced 4-8 oz mushrooms (white mushrooms or cremini) if desired.

Set your crock pot to high and cook for 6 hours. Serve over rice, potatoes, or pasta.

Slow Cooker Smothered Barbecue Green Beans

Photo by Incredible
Recipes

As a side to tonight's BBQ fest Sunday dinner, I found this recipe. I've had it in my list for some time and thought tonight would be a great time to try it. 

Small change, I already had the slow cooker going with the pork, so I did this on the stove. I didn't cook it for as long as it says either. I used canned green beans and I just felt like that would make them mush if I cooked them that long. 

These were super flavorful and oh so delicious. I never thought about putting BBQ sauce in green beans. Glad someone did. 

Slow Cooker Smothered Barbecue Green Beans

Recipe from My Incredible Recipes

Serves 6

• 12 strips thick-cut bacon chopped
• 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
• 1/2 c tomato ketchup
• 3/4 c Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce
• 1/3 c  light brown sugar
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 15 oz. cans cut green beans, drained and rinsed OR fresh if you prefer

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, then Transfer cooked bacon to a paper-towel lined plate.

Drain most of the bacon grease from the skillet, leaving about 2 tbsp. left in the pan.

Add diced onions and sauté until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Combine tomato ketchup, Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well combined.

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add green beans, sauteed onions, and barbecue sauce mixture.

Stir to combine and sprinkle top with cooked bacon. Cover and cook for 4-5 hours on LOW heat.

ENJOY!

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

It's Sunday dinner night! Tonight I went all our with BBQ as the theme, but not grill type of BBQ. Rather BBQ as the flavor. 

I started with this Slow cooker BBQ Pulled Pork. I had it in the slow cooker for 8 hours and man was it good. I removed most the liquid, shredded it then added enough liquid back to keep the meat moist. 

We had coleslaw to top it as well. It's required. It's the only time I eat coleslaw and man does it make the sandwich.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

Recipe from Slow Cooker Gourmet

Serves 12

• 3 pound boneless pork shoulder
• 2 tablespoons herb and garlic seasoning
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Rub pork shoulder with seasoning and place in slow cooker

Mix together bbq sauce, vinegar and broth and add to slow cooker

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 until pork reaches internal temperature of 205 degrees

Remove pork and shred

Add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the juices back to pork and discard the rest

Add additional BBQ sauce if desired

French Onion Pot Roast

Pot roast is quite possibly THE easiest dinner to get on the table. It takes just a little forethought when using a slow cooker, but set it and forget it is what makes it so easy. 

If you like French Onion Soup (I mean who doesn't?) you will love this recipe. It combines the two in an amazing meal that would be perfect for Sunday dinner, or just a week night dinner with the fam. It's got all the flavors of French Onion soup without being overly oniony. 

I put mine on for 8 hours. I feel like that's the sweet spot for tender chuck roast.

I'm not really sure why this recipe called for red onions. They sometimes give off a more oniony flavor, so maybe that's why. I used one VERY LARGE red onion instead of two. When you cut the onion for this recipe be sure to slice it root to end. This allows them to hold up better for the slow cooking. (thank you Food Network for that gem). 

This would be a perfect time to have mashed potatoes as a side considering how amazing the gravy turns out. I used left over rice pilaf and I was sad. I really should have gone for mashed potatoes. 

French Onion Pot Roast

Recipe from Taste of IzzyT

Serves 6

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast
• 2 red onions thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup beef broth or beef stock
• 1 packet French onion soup mix 1 ounce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley chopped (for garnish)

Season the chuck roast with salt and black pepper on all sides. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a bit of oil to the pan. Sear the seasoned chuck roast on all sides until it forms a golden brown crust. Place the seared chuck roast at the bottom of your slow cooker.

Add the sliced onions to the skillet. Cook and stir the onions for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat to lightly brown them. They do not have to be fully cooked, just seared. Spread the thinly sliced red onions and minced garlic over the roast.

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, tomato paste, beef broth and French onion soup mix.

Pour this mixture over the chuck roast and onions. Cover the slow cooker and set it to cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat is tender and easily shreds.

Once the roast is tender, carefully remove it from the slow cooker and place it on a serving dish. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley over the top.

Serve the slow cooker French onion pot roast with your favorite sides like mashed potatoes or crusty bread.

Beef Curry Slow Cooker

I'll just start by saying, this house smells amazing. I love the smell of curry. And thank god because I'll probably be smelling it all week in the house. It tends to linger. 

So...I kinda forgot to get the slow cooker going on time today. Not deterred I just cooked this in the oven instead. I put it in at 350F for about 2.5 hours. Turned out fantastic.

It's not spicy, but very flavorful. If you don't like curry, you won't like this. 

I really wouldn't change a thing with this recipe. I mean remembering to put this in the slow cooker would be good. 

Beef Curry Slow Cooker

Recipe from The Food Charlatan

Serves 6

• salt and pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons oil
• 2-3 pounds chopped stew beef or chuck roast*, chopped into chunks
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons yellow curry powder
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• cilantro, to garnish
• red onion, chopped, to garnish

Heat a large, high-sided skillet (or a wide-bottomed pot), over medium high heat.

Salt and pepper the beef chunks.

Add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl. It should start to shimmer if the pan is hot enough.

Add 1/3 of the seasoned meat to the pan. Place the pieces of meat so that they are not touching each other (You don’t want them to steam–see photos). Turn the pieces with tongs to brown all sides. Remove the beef to the slow cooker and repeat 2 more batches, adding more oil as necessary.

Once all of the beef is browned and in the slow cooker, turn the heat on the pan down to medium. Add the water, tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, beef bouillon, black pepper, curry powder , and garam masala .

Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is bubbly and the bouillon has dissolved. It should thicken up a bit.

Pour the mixture over the beef in the slow cooker.

Add the chopped onion and stir it all together. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours, until the beef is fork tender

Garnish with chopped cilantro and hot rice!

I love to serve this curry with lots of cilantro, Coconut Jasmine Rice and Homemade Naan! It's the best combo! You could even throw in a Strawberry Lassi to sip with it, if you wanted to get really fancy!

Beef Stroganoff Recipe (Crock Pot)

Photo from The Food
Charlatan

It snowed here in Seattle. Not a lot, just a dusting, but enough to make me feel like I need comfort food. Stroganoff is perfect for this type of weather.

The was an amazing recipe. Using a chuck roast and a slow cooker really made this delicious. The addition of red wine - which I almost skipped - put it over the top in flavortown. Sherrie was over to scrapbook and we ate this for dinner. We were silent for the first couple of bites. It was THAT good. 

Here's what I did different:

1. Sherrie's GF so I didn't want to use pasta. Instead I put this over mashed potatoes. And Y'all this might be my new way to eat stroganoff. 
2. I shredded my beef and then put it back into the sauce. 
3. I added about 1/2 c sour cream to the stroganoff instead of a dollop on top like they suggest. It needs to be in the sauce for me. 

Make this meal. It's delicious. And I'm adding it to my 2025 Favorites. 

Beef Stroganoff Recipe (Crock Pot)

Recipe from The Food Charlatan

Serves 6

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, chopped into 2 inch chunks
• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil, I used light olive oil
• generous salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter, (half stick)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 to 12 ounces mushrooms, quartered
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper, or more to taste
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
• 1 to 2 cups sour cream, to add after cooking
• 12-16 ounces pappardelle pasta, plus water and salt
• fresh parsley, to garnish
• fresh chives, to garnish

Cut the chuck roast into 2 inch chunks and dry them all over with paper towels.

Salt and pepper the pieces. Be generous. I used at least 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. When it is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat.

Place about 1/3 of the pieces of beef into the pan, one by one. Leave at least an inch or two of space in between. Let the meat sear for about 1-2 minutes, then use tongs to flip each piece. When you see nice brown edges on both sides, transfer the meat to your slow cooker.

Continue searing the rest of the beef in one or two more batches, depending on space. Remove all the meat to the slow cooker, but don’t clean out that pan. We need all those gorgeous brown bits.

Turn the heat off if you need to take a moment to chop your onion and slice your mushrooms if you haven’t already.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium high heat in the pan you seared the meat in. When it’s melted, add the chopped onion and quartered mushrooms. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons paprika, and 1 tablespoon dried parsley. Sauté for 5-8 minutes, until onions and mushrooms are soft.

Add 1 tablespoon smashed and minced garlic. Sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons tomato paste.

Add 1/2 cup red wine and 1/2 cup water. Add 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base. Let the mixture come to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for another 5-7 minutes until it has reduced a bit.

Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker , adding in every last drop. Stir it together with the beef.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.

Add some pasta to a serving plate. Top with beef stroganoff. The chunks of beef may be big, but it’s so fork tender your guests can take care of it themselves at the table.

Add a big dollop of sour cream to each plate. Top with fresh parsley and fresh chives.

Slow Cooker Nacho Soup

Its C-O-L-D outside! Sunny, but cold. Thank goodness I had planned a soup today. And not just any soup, but Slow Cooker Nacho Soup.

This one is being added to this years favorites. It's that good. I cooked mine for 6 hours on low - I prefer low over high for some reason. The house smelled amazing all day and I just kept getting hungrier and hungrier. 

I was so hungry, in fact, I forgot to put any toppings on it. Honestly, it was fine as it was. I did make one small modification and that was I used a canned of Pinto beans instead of black beans. I had the pinto beans in my pantry and I wanted to use them up. And I prefer pinto over black. 

I also just realized reading the recipe again I completely forgot to put in the shredded cheddar cheese. That would have made this THAT much more amazing. Oh well, guess I have to make it again. 

Slow Cooker Nacho Soup

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

For the Soup:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (like Rotel)
• 1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 jalapeno, sliced (optional) - I definitely added this
• 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• salt and pepper, to taste

For Toppings (optional but recommended)

• sour cream
• extra shredded cheese
• tortilla chips (for crunch)
• sliced avocado or guacamole
• diced tomatoes
• sliced black olives
• green onions
• fresh cilantro

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until browned and fully cooked. Break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Sauté until the onion is translucent. (About 3-4 minutes.) Drain any excess fat.

Transfer the cooked meat, onion, and garlic mixture to the slow cooker. Add the black beans, diced tomatoes with green chilies, corn, chicken broth, taco seasoning, cumin, smoked paprika, and jalapeño (if using).

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the cubed cream cheese and shredded cheddar. Mix well until fully melted and incorporated into the soup. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper as needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve warm and enjoy the hearty, cheesy, nacho-flavored goodness.

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew

Photo from Fake Ginger

You know I love a good slow cooker Sunday. I'm always game for a soup, stew, or something else in the slow cooker. Set it and forget it.

I wasn't a huge fan of this recipe. I think I should have browned the beef first. That adds so much flavor that I'm sad I didn't do it. 

The recipe was just ok. I think I like barley in soup better than a stew. I also didn't like using baby carrots. They have a very unique taste to me and it over powered the stew, in my opinion. 

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew

Recipe from Fake Ginger

Serves 6

• 1 ½ pounds chuck steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups frozen green beans
• 2 cups frozen corn
• ¾ cup medium pearl barley

Place chuck steak, onion, carrots, and potatoes in slow cooker

Add water, broth, tomato sauce, and seasonings

Cover and cook on low for 4 hours

Add green beans, corn, and barley

Cover and cook on low for 2 more hours or until barley and veggies are tender

Slow Cooker Carne Adobada

So far I've loved every recipe I've made from Hola Jalapeno's blog. This one, however, fell a short for me. It might have been the adobo paste. I may not like that flavor. That's the only thing I can think of that made this taste funky.

I  had to go to a Latin shop to get it and then I realized it's a lot like chipotles in adobo. I could have just gotten the adobo sauce. Adobo paste was smokey and had a slightly sweet flavor and then a spicy kick from the chiles. 

This won't be a repeat for me. It was good once, but that's it.

Slow Cooker Carne Adobada

Recipe from Hola Jalapeno

Serves 8

• 1/2 c packed adobo paste
• 3 large tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 c fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 2 1/4 c chicken broth, divided
• 4 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 2 large white onions, sliced
• 2 jalapeños, sliced

Blend sauce. Combine adobo paste, tomatillos, garlic, lime juice, salt, and 1/4 cup chicken broth in a blender. Blend on high until smooth.

Season beef. Generously season beef on all sides with salt and pepper.

Brown beef. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once shimmering add beef and brown about 4 minutes a side (you might need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan).

Add veggies to slow cooker. Meanwhile, place onions and jalapeños on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Deglaze pan. Once beef is browned transfer to the slow cooker. Pour off any fat from the frying pan into a heatproof bowl. Return pan to heat and add 1 cup of the broth to the frying pan. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, then pour broth into the slow cooker.

Combine in slow cooker and cook. Add adobo mixture and remaining 1 cup of broth to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

Serve! Beef should be fall-apart tender when done. Shred meat and serve as tacos, enchilada filling, on top of a rice bowl, or straight from the pot with a fork. Add more salt as needed.

Perfect Pot Roast

Photo from Life In the
Loft House

Another pot roast recipe tried. It's not my favorite, but it was good. I'm going to keep my tried and true pot roast with onion soup mix. It's the best. 

This recipe was ok. I cooked it on high for 6 hours because I forgot to put it in earlier. 

I put the carrots in when there was about 3 hours left. Those turned out perfectly soft and so mushable...I loved it. 

Perfect Pot Roast

Recipe from Life in the Loft House

Serves 6

• 2 to 3 pounds boneless rump roast
• 2 cans (10 ounces, each) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 packet dried Lipton Onion soup mix
• 1 beef bullion cube

Place all ingredients into a large, greased slow cooker (I use a 7 quart).

Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 9 to 10 hours, or on high heat for 6 to 8 hours.

Shred roast then serve with the gravy it creates. We like to serve ours over mashed potatoes or on top of toasted hoagie rolls. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Steak and Gravy

It's been hot here and for some reason a crock pot recipe made sense. I didn't want to turn on the oven or anything that would add heat. 

This recipe was just ok. I don't know why I keep trying these. They never wow me. 

This recipe had an ingredient I've never seen nor heard of before. JUST when you think you've seen it all. 

Onion Gravy. Where has this been all my life? I had to go to a different store (Safeway) to find it. And I think I'm glad I did. It's not onion soup mix, but it is as salty so don't salt anything until you taste the gravy later. It has a nice, mellow onion flavor to it. Try it. 

I made one small modification to the recipe. See, I'm trying to eat the stuff in my freezer and I didn't have round steak. I did have stew meat that had been tenderized. So we went with that. It wasn't 3 lbs, but I never make the full recipe. I always cut it in half. (Well in this case I did not cut the gravy in half because it's impossible to do that with a packet of something.)

The tenderized cubes were too tender for this recipe at 8 hours in a slow cooker. They basically melted. I don't recommend them. 

Slow Cooker Steak and Gravy

Recipe from Butter Your Biscuits

Serves 8

• 3 pounds round steak see notes
• Salt
• Pepper
• 3 tablespoons Olive oil divided
• 1 large onion cut into chunks
• 2 packages onion gravy
• 3 cloves garlic smashed
• 2 cups water
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season the round steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the round steaks into the skillet and brown for 2-3 minutes then flip and sear for 2-3 minutes then place into the slow cooker.

Add the remaining olive oil into the skillet then add the onions to get a brown, then place into the slow cooker.

Add in the garlic, onion gravy, water, and bouillon cube cook on low for 8 hours

30 minutes before its done mix the cornstarch with ½ cup of the gravy and mix to make a slurry. Add the slurry with the mushrooms to the slow cooker, give it a stir. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.

Slow Cooker Au Jus Pot Roast

Photo from AllRecipes

Every time I make pot roast I can feel my dad behind my shoulder licking his lips. Pot roast was his favorite. And it's one of my favorites too. 

I have some good recipes, but I like to try new ones just in case they are good too. 

This one, it was ok, but not one I need to make again. Super easy, and very few ingredients. It just didn't hit that "like" button for me enough. 

Slow Cooker Au Jus Pot Roast

Recipe from All Recipes

Serves 8

• 1 (4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
• 1 T Montreal-style steak seasoning
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 cube beef bouillon
• 1 c hot strong black coffee
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano, or to taste
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

Rub chuck roast with 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and sprinkle on all sides with steak seasoning.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the roast in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer roast to a slow cooker.

Dissolve beef bouillon cube in the coffee and pour the mixture over the roast. Pour tomato sauce over meat and season with oregano; drizzle meat with 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.

Set cooker to Low and cook until meat is tender, 8 to 10 hours.

Crock Pot Pork Chops and Gravy

Photo from The 
Country Cook

Once the crock pot is out, I use it several nights in a row. Last night I made pot roast for book club. Tonight I made crock pot pork chops. 

I bought this MASSIVE thick pork chops. They must have been at least an inch and a half, maybe 2 inches thick. They cooked really well in the crock pot. I like using thicker chops in the crock pot. I think the texture is better. 

This was a solid recipe. I didn't salt anything and boy and I glad. The packets that get added have enough sodium. I actually watered down the gravy a bit half way through to see if it would take out some of the salt, and it did.

I didn't have to add any corn starch. The broth and the soup made it thick enough. Even adding water to it, the gravy was still a nice consistency. 

Crock Pot Pork Chops and Gravy

Recipe from The Country Cook

Serves 4

• 1 (1 oz) packet onion soup mix
• 1 (14 oz) can chicken broth, low sodium
• 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup, low sodium
• 1 (1 oz) packet dry pork gravy mix
• 4 bone-in pork chops
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 T cornstarch
• 3 T cold water

In a 5-6 quart oval slow cooker, combine onion soup mix, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and pork gravy mix. Whisk together until combined.

Season both sides of the chops with a little bit of garlic powder. Place pork chops into the slow cooker. Do your best to spread them out and cover with the gravy mixture.

Cover and cook on low about 4-6 hours.

Just before the pork chops are done - whisk together the corn starch and cold water in a small bowl. Once it is smooth, pour it in with your pork chops in the slow cooker and stir gently.

Cover and switch the slow cooker to high and cook for another 30 minutes (until gravy has thickened.)

Slow Cooked Roast with Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Photo from Melissa's Southern
Style Kitchen

Book club always brings out yummy food. Every time I have the ladies over I ponder what would be a delicious meal. I often don't want to be in the kitchen so I try to find some slow cooker recipes. 

Pot roast is a nice, go-to recipe. I have made pot roast a thousand times. It was dad's favorite meal, and I gotta say, it is in my top 5 favorites too. 

This one couldn't be more simple. Literally, toss the beef, soup and broth into a slow cooker. Well, after you sear the roast. It's important to do that. It locks in flavor. 

The part that tripped me up was the gravy. Mom always made gravy with the drippings and a flour/water slurry. This recipe is with drippings and cream of mushroom soup. eh? But you guys, the gravy was, quite possibly, the best gravy I've ever had. It was so good. I'll be doing that again. 

I served it with mashed potatoes. I've never made mashed potatoes with pot roast. I always drop in red potatoes into the crock pot. But the recipe suggested mashed potatoes, so I went that route. WHY have I never done that before? Way better than potatoes in the crock pot.

I am adding this recipe to my 2024 favorites. It was that good. 

Slow Cooked Roast with Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Recipe from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen

Serves 6

• 1 4 lb Chuck Roast
• 3 Tablespoon steak seasoning
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 1 18.5 oz can French onion soup or 2 cups beef stock
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 1-2 lb carrots peeled, cut into quarters or peeled baby carrots. whole
• 8 oz frozen pearl onions
• salt & black pepper to taste

Pat dry the roast, then season the roast on all sides with steak seasoning.

On the stove top, heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Brown the roast on every side in the hot oil, turning as needed.

Remove the roast to your slow cooker. Add the chopped garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. Add the French Onion soup into the sauté pan to deglaze the pan. Pour the warm soup and garlic over the roast.

Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce over the roast, and arrange the carrots around the edge of the slow cooker. Season everything with salt and black pepper to your taste.

Set your slow cooker to cook for 8-10 hours on the low setting.

Add the frozen pearl onions approximately 2 hours, before the roast is done, so they won't overcook.

When the roast has finished cooking, and is pull apart tender, pour the liquid from the roast into a stove top sauce pan.

Bring the drippings to a boil and add the cream of mushroom soup. Whisk the soup into the drippings, and simmer for around 5-7 minutes on low heat until the gravy turns a medium brown color and thickens.

Taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste.

Slice the roast and arrange it on a serving platter with the vegetables.

Drizzle the gravy on top and serve.

Easy Slow Cooked Smothered Swiss Steak

Photo from Melissa's
Southern Style Kitchen.com

Slow cooker season is almost over. Or so I've been told. Though I'm a rebel and I slow cook all year round. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall. If it's a season I'm gonna do a slow cooked meal. 

This particular meal is warm and comforting. It was perfect for the drizzly Seattle day. 

The only change I made was I left those demon green bell peppers out. Blech.

Easy Slow Cooked Smothered Swiss Steak

Recipe from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen

Serves 6

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoon Mediterranean Herb seasoning, divided i.e. McCormick’s
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt plus additional as needed
• 2 lb cubed sirloin steak
• olive oil
• 1 large green bell pepper sliced
• 1 large sweet onion cut into thin wedges
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 14.5 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoon tomato paste if needed to thicken
• 2 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or shredded Swiss cheese

Seasoned Flour: In a small bowl mix together flour, 1 tsp Mediterranean seasoning and garlic salt. Dust the steaks with seasoned flour on all sides.

Drizzle a large skillet with olive oil. Heat to high browning steaks on both sides for around 1-2 minutes per side. Do not cook through.

Assemble: Arrange green peppers and 1/2 of the onion on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper to your taste.

Arrange the steaks on top. Top with remaining onion. Drizzle with Worcestershire sauce.

Sauce: Deglaze skillet with fire roasted tomatoes, brown sugar, bay leaves, 3 tsp of Mediterranean seasoning, red pepper flakes and 3 Tbsp tomato paste.

Season with garlic salt and black pepper to your taste. Scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour sauce over the steaks in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Remove steaks and use tomato paste to thicken the sauce at the end of cooking, if desired.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles. garnished with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese.

Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde

I'm not entirely sure why this recipe leapt off the page to me and yelled TRY ME, but it did and I did. And frankly, I'm sad that I did. 

This was not a good recipe for me. It both had and lacked flavor. I know that sounds weird, but let me try to explain. 

There was flavor there, but it was a vinegar-y flavor. It didn't have that salsa verde flavor I was expecting.

Oddly, that also lent to it not having flavor. I just can't really explain it.

Bottom line, this one was a fail. 

Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde

Recipe from Lemon Blossom

Serves 8

• 3 – 4 pounds pork butt (or shoulder), cubed
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 – 2 T olive oil
• 1 11-ounces canned tomatillos
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 16-ounces jar salsa verde
• 1 10-ounces can green enchilada sauce
• 1 4-ounces can diced green chile (I use mild)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
• 3 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c water or chicken broth

Season the pork with salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium – high heat. Working in batches (to not overcrowd the skillet), add the pork to the skillet and cook until golden brown. Add additional oil, if needed. Transfer the seared pork to the slow cooker.

Add the tomatillos to a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the tomatillos to the slow cooker.

Add the onions, garlic, salsa verde, green enchilada sauce, diced green chiles, oregano, cumin and liquid smoke to the crockpot. Mix to combine.

Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. About an hour before serving, mix 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water or chicken broth. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for an additional hour. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve!

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Stew

Last night was Sunday dinner and the theme was Irish. Only because next Sunday is St. Patty's day and

it was an excuse to eat soda bread. 

We had all the Irish favorites: Guinness, soda bread, colcannon, and more Guinness.

This was a good recipe. The crock pot was F-U-L-L. I cooked it for 8 hours and the corned beef wasn't as tender as I was hoping, but it was still good. I also didn't like the pickling spice. I knew I wasn't going to but was following the recipe anyhow. 

If I made this again, I wouldn't put in the veggies until half way. The cabbage was way to slimy. 

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Stew

Recipe from The Recipe Critic

Serves 6

• 2 pounds corned beef cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 large potatoes cut into large pieces
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 white onion chopped
• 1 bag baby carrots 16 oz
• 1/2 head cabbage cut into small wedges
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons McCormick® Pickling Spice
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional
• Chopped Parsley and additional salt and pepper for garnish

Add corned beef, potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, and cabbage to your slow cooker.

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, pickling spice, garlic powder, paprika and salt and pepper. Pour over the meat and veggies.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6 until the vegetables are tender and meat is cooked throughout.

Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped parsley.