The slow cooker is a lovely invention of convenience. After a long day in combination with the searing summer temperatures, standing over a hot stove isn't exactly a fond experience. Anyhow, I like that you can just throw in the contents, allow it to cook at low heat all day long, and come home to an effortless meal. On top of that, with the rising grocery prices, even the less desirable cuts of meat (if one were a meat-eater) can be made tender and edible without slaving away. For the vegetable-oriented kind, it's a rather good way to make meatless dishes/soups as well. I recently read that the crock pot or rice cooker can be used to make the steel-cut breakfast oatmeal. I'll have to give that a whirl next time as consecutive months of eating instant oatmeal have truly burned me out.
Anyway, here is my favorite beef stew recipe. It's a little bit high in sodium as well as a little higher cholesterol content than desired, but it's great for that occasional craving for a hearty stew. I wouldn't suggest making it during warmer climates unless you have the air conditioning turned down very low and supplement the meal with tons of fluid intake. I've never been able to find the Good Seasonings dressing & recipe mix at my grocery store of choice, so I've found that substituting with dried onion soup mix seems to work just fine. Enjoy.
Tip: Don't forget to pick up these liners to take away some of the burden of clean-up.
