It's time to pull out the slow cooker...

Now that school is back in full swing, my usually very busy life goes into overdrive. My daughter is in band, and that means at least twice a week we don't get home until 8:30 PM. I've resolved to make this band season easier by preparing slow cooker meals for our late nights. So far, I've made two easy slow cooker recipes that were both winners. Both were simple to prep and were ready to go when we got home.

I'll take a moment here to give my disclaimer. I love to cook and normally, I try to avoid prepared soups and mixes that can be high in sodium, etc in favor of fresh ingredients and home made sauces. However, I have found that at 8:30 at night, I am not inclined to begin a meal from scratch and often end up eating a sandwich, bowl of cereal, or some combination of junk food, which I am sure is no better than the many evils of canned soup. And while I am sure there are people out there who can plan ahead enough to speedily put together the home cooked meal after getting home so late, I, sadly, am not one of those people. That being said, I have decided, at least for the short term, to forego some of the food snobbery I have acquired and focus on simple ways I can get hot food on the table without going batty. I have justified this to myself by choosing fresh ingredients whenever possible that can be prepped in advanced, and by using low sodium and low fat prepared ingredients when I think they can be successfully substituted.

Now, with all that being said, the first recipe I'd like to share is a variation on the popular slow cooker pot roast. It gets the usual onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup, but with the addition of wild mushrooms sauteed in butter with garlic, and some nice cabernet to round out the flavor. I served it over buttered egg noodles tossed with some fresh chopped parsley.

The second dish is a traditional slow cooker chili. This is not a true "recipe" in my book because I used packaged chili seasoning as my base. However, the taste was great, it was easy to prep the night before, and the family cleaned out the slow cooker the night we ate it. That being said, it passes the test as a successful weeknight recipe.

I hope you enjoy them both.


Slow Cooker Roast Beef with Mushrooms

1 chuck roast (2-3 pounds)
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (I used 1 family size can instead.)
1 C. red wine, preferrably a cabernet
1 lb. assorted mushrooms, sliced (I used baby portabello & shitake)
2 cloves chopped garlic
3 T. butter
Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Melt butter in saute pan over medium to medium high heat. Add chopped garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn. Add mushrooms and stir to coat with butter and garlic mixture. Saute until liquid from mushrooms has almost completely evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix and wine. Set aside.

Salt and pepper roast on both sides. In a saute pan, brown roast over medium heat.

Remove roast from pan and place in slow cooker. Add sauteed mushrooms. Pour soup mixture over the top of mushrooms and roast.

Cook in slow cooker on low heat 8-10 hours. Serve with your choice of buttered egg noodles tossed with chopped fresh parsley, or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!


Weeknight Slow Cooker Chili

3 lbs. lean ground beef
3 envelopes dry chili seasoning mix (I used McCormick's Tex Mex)
2 28 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can pinto beans (not the pre-seasoned style)
2 T. chopped garlic
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 - 3/4 C. water (optional)

Garnishes:
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or your favorite variety)
Chopped green onion
Corn Chips

Brown ground beef and garlic in large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until onion is soft and transparent. Drain excess grease from beef and add chili seasoning mix. Stir well to blend seasoning throughout meat. Place meat in slow cooker. Add tomatoes and beans (you can either drain the beans or not depending on your preference.) Stir to combine with meat. Add 1/2 C to 3/4 C water depending on how thick or thin you like your chili. (The water is optional. I used the water because I knew the chili would be in the slow cooker for at least 12 hours and I didn't want it to get too thick.) You have now completed the prep work.

Place in refrigerator overnight. This gives the chance for the seasonings to mingle. Cook on low in slow cooker for 8 hours or more. Serve with your favorite garnishes (see my suggestions above.) Enjoy!