Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Spend 15 minutes preparing this beef stew in the morning, place all ingredients in your slow cooker, go about your day, and come home to the inviting aroma of beef stew!

Ingredients

1 pound stewing beef; bite-sized pieces

2 medium potatoes, cubed

1 large onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 large carrots, sliced

1/2 cup green beans, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 cups canned beef broth

1 envelope beef gravy mix

1 cup water

Directions

In a saucepan, stir together the beef gravy mix and 1 cup water; heat till slightly thickens; pour into slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients with gravy.

Cover slow cooker; cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.

Try this beef stew over baking powder biscuits! Yum!

Tiny Meatballs Stroganoff

A little tweeking of my old Stroganoff recipe, I came up with this one today - tried it out on my son (and myself) for dinner tonight - it was a hit with both of us!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix, divided
1 (16 ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (16 ounces) container sour cream

Directions:
Mix together the ground beef, egg and 1/2 package Lipton onion soup mix (shake the soup mix envelope well before opening); combine ingredients well to evenly distribute the onion soup mix.
Shape the ground beef mixture into tiny meatballs (about 25-28).
Fry meatballs in skillet at medium heat until thoroughly cooked; remove with slotted spoon; keeping about 3 tablespoons meat drippings into skillet, discard the rest.
Over medium heat, whisk flour with beef drippings; add remaining onion soup mix, water, paprika and pepper, continuing to whisk.
When mixture begins to thicken, add mushroom soup; stir to combine and remove from heat.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain.

Return soup mixture to medium heat; add sour cream and stir to combine; add meatballs; cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly - any longer than 5 minutes, your stroganoff will thin out. Remove from heat.

Serve over egg noodles.
* I didn't add salt to recipe, because for me there is enough salt in the Lipton onion soup mix.
* Fresh mushroom slices would be great added to this recipe also.

Really Tasty Hamburgers

Whether you are grilling or frying, the added flavor of onion and garlic seasoning will make your hamburgers taste better than ever!

Before grilling your hamburgers: (for 4 to 6 patties)

Pour into a frying pan, 3/4 cup chicken broth; add 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onion and a dash of black pepper.
Cook over medium heat until onions are tender. Remove from heat and place ingredients into a square baking dish or cake pan.
Lay the uncooked hamburger patties in dish. Place in refrigerator for an hour, turning the patties after 1/2 hour, then grill the hamburger patties, discarding the onion/broth mixture.
Before frying your hamburgers: (less chicken broth for this method). Pour into a frying pan 1/8 cup chicken broth; add 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onion and a dash of black pepper.
Place the hamburger patties in the frying pan and fry until patties are done. Because the meat was cooked along with the ingredients, use the onion as a topping.

Grilling or frying, these hamburgers are delicious! If you are a cheese lover, try adding a small amount of bleu cheese on top of the burger and a slice of muenster cheese just a couple of minutes before removing from the grill or frying pan.