Easy Bacon Burgers with Seasoned Pan Fries

I love making this meal because of how fast and easy it is to put together. I find that I can get this meal done in about a half hour.  It definitely is one of those meals that cuts my time in the kitchen.

How does the meal get done in a half hour?

• burgers already prepped to use coming out of the freezer. 
• pre-made diced potatoes
• baking the bacon either on the grill or oven. 

Prepped Burgers


When I buy my ground beef in bulk, I take the time to make up raw burger patties and stick them in the freezer with wax paper separating each patty then sticking them in a freezer bag.  Doing this helps cut my  meal preparation along with having quick meals ready to roll out of the freezer for those busy summer days.  I usually will pull them out of the freezer at lunch time so that by dinner time they are thawed enough to separate to go on the grill.  For dinner, I just grill them while fixing the rest of the dinner.

Pre-made Diced Potatoes

I have tried to do diced potatoes for the freezer but have not come up with a good way to do them where the texture doesn't change too much of the potatoes.  So if I am making the diced potatoes from whole potatoes I work on peeling and dicing potatoes around the lunch hour and then letting them soak in salt water until I use them for dinner.

If I want to make things very quick then I will just pull out a bag or two of Southern style hash brown potatoes from the freezer that I have bought from the store on sale.

To cook either the fresh or frozen way: I put 2-3 tbsps olive oil and 4 tbsps margarine in the skillet before placing the potatoes in the skillet.  Once the margarine is melted and sizzling a bit I pour the potatoes in(drain the water off the fresh first before cooking).   As the potatoes cook, I just shake in some seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Sorry I don't have measurements for those spices, I just shake in to our tastes.

Cooking Bacon

A couple of years ago, I underwent a change in my kitchen on how I cooked bacon for the family.  I had always fried the bacon in a skillet but I was tired of how long it took to cook a pound of bacon. I did an experiment for one meal where I did fried and baked bacon to see what the family would say about the baked bacon.  The results of the experiment was baked bacon was the way to go!  Now I just bake the bacon along with the rest of the meal. Stick the bacon on a jelly roll style pan and place in the oven at 400°. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes for the bacon to cook completely.

If you do not want to heat up the kitchen you can do the same thing on your grill as what you do for cooking the bacon in the oven.  I do not have a pan for the bacon to go on my grill so I just put some foil down on the grill grates and cook the bacon.   I use a gas grill so I make sure that side of the grill is on low while the burgers cook on the side.   I definitely watch the grill very closely while the bacon is cooking.

Once everything is cooked it is ready to fix your burgers!  I love mine topped with lettuce and mayonnaise and if I have fresh tomatoes I will slice one to put a couple of slices on the burger.

I love putting together this meal in the summertime because it is fast and easy and very filling.

This post is linked to: 

• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at At The Well!
• Tuesdays at the Table over at All the Small Stuff!

Ways to use Ground Beef!

I have shared before how to purchase meat on the cheap, and with the summer months upon us I thought it would be a great time to share different ways to use ground meat. I usually can't get ground beef on Manager's specials/markdowns so I usually will purchase it in bulk at Sam's. Sometimes though I able to find it in the grocery stores for cheap and with the summer grilling season upon us now will be the time to look for the sales at the grocery store.  I will get around 9-10 lbs all at once, sometimes more! When I first starting getting it in bulk, I thought what in the world am I going to make with all this meat! I thought I would end up having and making the same thing all time! Well I found several recipes that have become family favorites. I like to use ground beef for my recipes but you can use ground pork or ground turkey as well!

I cook all my ground meat and then divide it into one pound packages for the freezer so that I can just pull out what I need to make the following recipes...

Queso Dip (This makes a quick lunch or appetizer!)

One large Velveeta Cheese

1 can Rotel tomatoes

½ pound of hamburger (approximately)

Slice up the Velveeta cheese in to a big bowl

Add ¼ cup milk

Melt in the microwave

Add ground beef and Rotel tomatoes

Stir and put in crock pot

Serve with the tortilla chips!

To make for large get-togethers I make 2 large Velveeta Cheese, 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes, and 1-1 ½ pound of hamburger.

Besides grilled burgers and queso dip, here is a list of other dishes that I make:

1. Tacos--1lb ground meat, a can of refried beans(or make your own), and 2 tbsp. of taco seasoning. Or instead of using bean in the meat I'll use a can of tomato soup.
   
2. Goulash--1lb ground meat, a can of tomato sauce, 1-2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard, 2 cups of elbow macaroni.
   
3. Spaghetti--1 lb ground meat or meatballs and a jar of spaghetti sauce. I usually will add more spices(italian seasoning, garlic powder, and minced onions to the pot. Also instead of adding sugar to the pot, I add shredded carrots. I also put this in the crockpot and let it simmer all day!
   
4. Hamburger gravy--1lb ground meat, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1-2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, and minced onions. Mix all together. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
   
5. Chili--1lb ground meat, 1-150z can tomato sauce, 1 can tomato soup, 1 can red kidney beans, 2-3 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, minced onions. Mix all together. Simmer in crockpot all day.
   
6. Sloppy Joes--1 lb ground meat, 1 can tomato soup, 1-2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. yellow mustard. Mix altogether. Simmer. Serve on hamburger buns. In my opinion, this is better than Manwich!
   
7. Meatloaf--1lb. ground beef (I usually use ground chuck or ground round which is like 86%-91% lean meat)
   1 egg
   1/4- 1/2 cup bread crumbs or crushed saltines or regular/quick oatmeal
   1 tsp. garlic powder
   2 TBSP. minced onion
   3-4 TBSP. ketchup
   1 TBSP bbq sauce
   1-2 tsp. yellow mustard
   1/2 green pepper, chopped(optional)
   1-2 medium size carrots, shredded(optional)
   
   Mix altogether. Form into mini meat loaves and stick on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper to "flash freeze". Once frozen, stick in a freezer bag and label!
   
   If you do not want to freeze them uncooked, place in a 9x13 pan and place in the oven at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until done. Let cool completely before freezing!
   
   Other notes: if the meat looks too wet add more bread crumbs/crushed saltines/oatmeal. This recipe makes tasty burger patties too! If you want to make an actual loaf, you can do that as well, I would let the loaf cool completely first then slice it into individual servings, wrap them and then stick in a freezer bag for later consumption.
   
8. Salisbury Steak--take the meatloaf recipe and instead of forming loaves I make patties. Cook the patties. Once cooked, add beef gravy. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

What are some dishes that you make with ground beef?  Have you found any ground beef on sale lately?

This post is linked to:

• Frugal Friday at Life As Mom!

Mom's Homestyle Chili

One of my favorite winter meals to make is a big pot of chili and Fritos! I love making my Mom's Homestyle Chili .  It is so easy to make with items that I keep in my pantry and aside from the spices I put in it there is only five ingredients!  It tastes so much better than the canned chili you get off the grocery shelves too.  I like to make a big pot so there is plenty of leftovers to makeover and use in other dishes, like nachos or for topping a baked potato.

My kids wish that I did not have to put beans into every pot I make but I just can't bring myself to make it without beans! It just wouldn't be chili and the beans add extra nutrients to the pot.  I have started taking 1/2 of the can of beans and mashing them or pureeing them in the blender so it appears that there is not a lot of beans in the pot. I found that pureeing the beans actually helps to thicken the chili so it is easier to use for nachos and baked potato topping.

Mom's Homestyle Chili

2 lb ground meat(venison or beef)
2 cans tomato sauce(15 oz)
1 can tomato soup
1 can red kidney beans(or ranch style beans)
3 medium size carrots, shredded
2-3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2-3 TBSP dry minced onions


Mix all together. Simmer in crockpot all day(4-6 hours) on low.

Notes: The carrots are used as the sweetener instead of sugar. You can add other veggies, like shredded zucchini, chopped green peppers, and celery; but I haven't been able to find a way to add them to my pot due to picky eaters.  You can adjust the amount of chili powder in the pot to effect the "hotness"/zing of the pot.

I serve this with a double batch of corn muffins or a bag of Fritos or sometimes both!

This post is linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff!
• $5 Dinner Challenge at $5 Dinners!

Crockpot Roast and Veggies

As we get into the holiday season, I love making meals that are simple and easy to prepare or fall under the "fix and forget it until dinnertime" category.

Crockpot Roast and Veggies falls under both of those categories and is enjoyed by the whole family!  The other thing about this dish is that if I fix it and end up having unexpected guests there is still plenty to serve up for dinner.

When I make this dish, I use a beef eye of round roast from Sam's Club that is usually between 4 and 5 pounds.  I get one this size because I know that it will work for two meals for my family.

I cook the whole roast along with 9 or 10 potatoes and at least 1 pound bag of carrots. I have several kids that do not like cooked carrots of any kind but will eat crunchy fresh carrot sticks so I serve those with this dish as well.

As for spices that I put on the roast, I use a packet of onion soup mix,  about 2-4 tsp. garlic powder and shake on about 1-2 TSP black pepper.  I also put 2 cans of beef broth in the pot.

I put all the ingredients in my crockpot on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Lately for this dish I have been using my small roaster at 225° for about 5 hours.

Once the roast and veggies are cooked, I drain the liquid off and use it for making up some homemade beef gravy to use with it.  I drain the liquid into another pan.  I put it on the stove and bring it to a boil.  Once the broth is boiling I add thickener (flour, cornstarch and milk mixture) to it.

When I make this meal, I try to make sure that there are leftovers, not just the roast but the veggies so that I can make a second quick meal.  If there are meat and veggies leftovers, then I make my veggie beef stew. If there is only meat leftovers, then I make my beef gravy and noodles meal.

This post is linked to:

• Food On Fridays at Ann Kroeker’s!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
• Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum!

Pantry Meal--Beef Gravy and Noodles

Toward the end of last week, we had roast, carrots and potatoes for dinner. At the end of the meal when I was putting the food away I realized that the roast leftover was not going to be enough to make another big meal for the seven of us so I was a little stuck on what to do with it. Taking the time to reheat roast as is causes it to dry out and making veggie beef stew wasn't an option either because it isn't a favorite with the family.  I didn't want to shred it for tacos either.  

So I started thinking about what to do with it, and then remembered that I had on my freezer spring cleaning list another small roast(1.83lbs) that I had picked up on a meat markdown rack that I hadn't found a use for either.  The light bulb went on and another pantry/leftover makeover meal was created!  Here is what I created...

I cooked up the little roast in a skillet on the stove with a little water. Once it was done cooking, I diced up the roast and removed the fat.   I then diced up the leftover roast and added it to the roast I just cooked in my skillet on the stove.  

I added enough water to cover the meat in the skillet.  I then added minced onions, worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, beef bouillon cubes and seasoned salt.  I brought the meat mixture to a boil and then added in flour/cornstarch/milk mixture to thicken to a gravy consistency.  Brought the mixture back to a boil and then let simmer with a lid on the skillet while I cooked the noodles and the green beans to compliment the meat. 

I served the meat over egg noodles and served the green beans on the side. It was a delicious meal!  My hubby even commented that he loved the flavorful meat gravy! He asked me what I did differently...the only thing I did differently from other times that I have done this dish is I made the gravy from scratch using bouillon and water rather than using a can of beef broth!

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2- 2lbs beef roast, cooked & diced

4 cups water*

3-4 tsp. dry minced onions*

2-3 tsp. worchestershire sauce*(used for coloring purposes rather than flavoring)

1 tsp. garlic powder*

1 tsp. seasoned salt*

4 beef bouillon cubes

Combine altogether. Bring to a boil.

In a separate cup, mix together 3 heaping spoonfuls of flour, 2 heaping spoonfuls of cornstarch. Add in enough milk to make a thick pourable paste.  Once mixture doesn't have any lumps pour into the meat slowly(Might not use all the of the flour/cornstarch paste!!). Stir meat while pouring the flour/cornstarch paste in to the skillet. Use just enough of the paste to thicken the meat.  

Serve over egg noodles that are cooked al dente.

*the amounts are approximate!

This post is linked at:

• $5 Dinner Challenge at $5 Dinners!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace!
  
• Kitchen tip Tuesday, over at Tammy's Recipes! 
  
• I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic!
  

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Pantry Meals

There are days when I don't feel like putting any effort into doing anything in the kitchen! You know those days where you just want to close the kitchen and eat take out for all your meals??!! I am sure that no one else gets that way!?! When I get like this, I would rather find something else to do like curl up on the couch and get lost in a good book than to work in the kitchen! These days seem to come especially when I know that my hubby is going to be working long hours. It ends up being just the five kids and me for all 3 meals so I don't feel/need to fix anything fancy just filling. I don't need them coming back in an hour saying they are still hungry!

Yesterday I had one of those days!!! So instead of ordering take out, I pulled out one of my "pantry meals". My pantry meals are those meals where I have all the ingredients that I need either in the freezer or in my pantry stockpile and I can get in and out of the kitchen in less than an hour! I don't do OMAC or have freezer meals but I do up meals partially to pull out on my lazy days.


I pulled out of the freezer about 1lb of already browned ground beef, grab a can of tomato sauce, some elbow macaroni, and a few spices and whipped up a meal in less than a 1/2 hour!!! I call it goulash/chili mac/homemade hamburger helper.

Here is the recipe I used(approximate measurements)...

1lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 can water
1-1 1/2 cups dry pasta
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
2-4 tsp. minced onion(or 1/4 of a fresh onion)

Mix all together. Simmer til the pasta is tender. Serve on to plates, and sprinkle with parmesan or cheddar cheese.

Serve with veggies or a leafy salad and homemade bread.

Notes: You can change the spices to change the dish. I have used taco seasoning. I have used italian seasoning. Instead of using water, I have used milk. It all depends on what I feel like throwing together.

I love putting one dish wonders together because on lazy days it makes the clean up a breeze!

For other kitchen tips, or recipes...head over to Tammy's Recipes

Frugal Food Series--Ground Meat

Jenn over at Frugal Upstate is in week three of her Frugal Food Series. She has done a week all about eggs and all about tuna and all about beans! This week it is all about ground meat!

Confession time...
I haven't used ground pork, or turkey in my cooking ever! I do use LOTS of ground beef! I usually buy two big 6-7 lb package at Sam's Club and I am able to divide it up into 10-12 meals for my family. I also love it when I can find it the leaner ground meat on Manager's Special markdown like what I did this last week so I can stock up my freezer!

The other confession I have to make is that I don't rinse my meat! You can if want but for me I can't bring myself to do it!! I can rinse off fruits and veggies but not my cooked meat. However, I do drain it well by using my strainer and paper towels.

Well enough confessions on to some recipes that I make for my family!

I love this recipe it makes a quick item to make to take to a party!

Queso Dip (This makes a quick lunch or appetizer!)
One large Velveeta Cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes
½ pound of hamburger (approximately)

Slice up the Velveeta cheese in to a big bowl
Add ¼ cup milk
Melt in the microwave

Add ground beef and Rotel tomatoes
Stir and put in crock pot

Serve with the tortilla chips!

To make for large get-togethers I make 2 large Velveeta Cheese, 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes, and 1-1 ½ pound of hamburger.


Besides grilled burgers, here is a list of other dishes that I make:

1. Tacos--1lb ground meat, a can of refried beans(or make your own), and 2 tbsp. of taco seasoning. Or instead of using beans in the meat I'll use a can of tomato soup.
   
   
2. Goulash--1lb ground meat, a can of tomato sauce, 1-2 tsp. chili powder, 1-2 tsp. minced onions, 1/2 tsp. prepared yellow mustard, 2 cups of elbow macaroni.
   
   
3. Spaghetti--1 lb ground meat or meatballs and a jar of spaghetti sauce. I usually will add more spices(italian seasoning, garlic powder, and minced onions to the pot. Also instead of adding sugar to the pot, I add shredded carrots. I also put this in the crockpot and let it simmer all day!
   
   
4. Hamburger gravy--1lb ground meat, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1-2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, and minced onions. Mix all together. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
   
   
5. Chili--1lb ground meat, 1-150z can tomato sauce, 1 can tomato soup, 1 can red kidney beans, 2-3 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, minced onions. Mix all together. Simmer in crockpot all day.
   
   
6. Sloppy Joes--1 lb ground meat, 1 can tomato soup, 1-2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. yellow mustard. Mix altogether. Simmer. Serve on hamburger buns. In my opinion, this is better than Manwich!
   
   
7. Meatloaf--1lb. ground beef (I usually use ground chuck or ground round which is like 86%-91% lean meat)
   1 egg
   1/4- 1/2 cup bread crumbs or crushed saltines or regular/quick oatmeal
   1 tsp. garlic powder
   2 TBSP. minced onion
   3-4 TBSP. ketchup
   1 TBSP bbq sauce
   1-2 tsp. yellow mustard
   1/2 green pepper, chopped(optional)
   1-2 medium size carrots, shredded(optional)
   
   Mix altogether. Form into mini meat loaves and stick on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper to "flash freeze". Once frozen, stick in a freezer bag and label!
   
   If you do not want to freeze them uncooked, place in a 9x13 pan and place in the oven at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until done. Let cool completely before freezing!
   
   Other notes: if the meat looks too wet add more bread crumbs/crushed saltines/oatmeal. This recipe makes tasty burger patties too! If you want to make an actual loaf, you can do that as well, I would let the loaf cool completely first then slice it into individual servings, wrap them and then stick in a freezer bag for later consumption.
   
   
8. Salisbury Steak--take the meatloaf recipe and instead of forming loaves I make patties. Cook the patties. Once cooked, add beef gravy. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

For other ground meat recipes, head over to Frugal Upstate--Frugal Food Series!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday---Freezer Tips and Meatloaf Recipe

Last Friday, I was talking about my way of Once a month Cooking(OMAC) and had a couple of reader ask me questions about freezing baked goods and looking for a meatloaf recipe.

Kim asked...
"I've tried doing baking days as well, but the results haven't been too nice coming out of the freezer--they taste freezer-burned. I usually put them in freezer bags and suck the air out with a straw. Any other tips?"

I usually have no problems with freezer burn when I put my baked goods in freezer bags and stick them in the freezer. As long as I make sure that the baked goods are totally cold so that the moisture from the baked goods doesn't create ice in the bag when they are put in the freezer.

Also, if my freezer hasn't been defrosted in a while and there is ice accumulating on the shelves, my baked goods don't like that and will taste freezer burned. So having a freezer without alot of ice build up is a good thing, not only will it be more energy efficient but less of your foods will taste or have freezer burn. Having dollar store baskets available to stick your baked goods in and place in the freezer would be another alternative to keep those baked goods off the ice.

The other thing I would recommend is to date your freezer bags so that you know how long the baked goods have been in the freezer. Around here baked goods usually do not last 3 weeks in the freezer, however, they can keep up to 4 months in the freezer and still have a "fresh taste. Freezer storage is great when you know how long items will last and still "taste" fresh!

One of the recipes that I have found to work well in my freezer is my meatloaf!

Donna asked...
"Care to share your meatloaf recipe as well as the leanness of the ground beef that you use in it?"

I would love to share my meatloaf recipe with a disclaimer! The disclaimer is that all ingredient amounts are approximate! My meatloaf recipe has been handed down to me from my Mother. She would just put ground beef(and sometimes sausage or ground turkey along with the beef) in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients! Mix it together and then decide if more of an ingredient was needed based on the dryness or wetness of the meat. Here is the recipe, which so happens to be very close to my meatball recipe.

Sonshine's Meatloaf

1lb. ground beef (I usually use ground chuck or ground round which is like 86%-91% lean meat)
1 egg
1/4- 1/2 cup bread crumbs or crushed saltines or regular/quick oatmeal
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 TBSP. minced onion
3-4 TBSP. ketchup
1 TBSP bbq sauce
1-2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/2 green pepper, chopped(optional)
1-2 medium size carrots, shredded(optional)

Mix altogether. Form into mini meat loaves and stick on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper to "flash freeze". Once frozen, stick in a freezer bag and label!

If you do not want to freeze them uncooked, place in a 9x13 pan and place in the oven at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until done. Let cool completely before freezing!

Other notes: if the meat looks too wet add more bread crumbs/crushed saltines/oatmeal. This recipe makes tasty burger patties too! If you want to make an actual loaf, you can do that as well, I would let the loaf cool completely first then slice it into individual servings, wrap them and then stick in a freezer bag for later consumption.

These are my tips for today! For other tips, recipes, and resources, head over to Tammy's Recipes, where today she is talking about glass jar storage!

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

I have found a fast and easy way to make meatballs all the same size without alot of mess and clean-up!!! No more rolling out the meat and trying to cut into same size pieces to roll the meat into balls. I just mix up the meat and then use my Pampered Chef small scoop! This scoop can be used for so many different things other than meatballs. In the summer time, I make a fruit salad with watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe! The scoop also is great for making mini cookies for the kids!
See how the meatballs all look the same before they are cooked!!??
Here is the meatballs just out of the oven!
And just in case you would like the recipe, here it is!! Wellllll at least a guessimate recipe as I put some ground beef in a bowl crack an egg in it and then add the seasonings, mix those into the meat if it seems to need more seasonings I will add more then I add bread crumbs til meat doesn't look too wet and then scoop onto a jelly roll pan.

1lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/4- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 TBSP. italian seasoning
2 TBSP. minced onion
3-4 TBSP. ketchup

Mix altogether well. Scoop into meatballs.

If you don't want to use my recipe, use your meatloaf recipe and just add italian seasoning to it for making meatballs. :)


For more tips to help you in the kitchen, head over to Tammy's Recipes!!!

Taco Soup

Well I am suppose to be making Taco Soup for dinner tonight BUT dh saw the recipe that I had made up with combining a few recipes that I had read for Taco Soup that he doesn't think it will taste that appetizing! LOL Most of the Taco Soup recipes that I read had Ranch salad dressing mix(dry) in it but I knew that none of my family would eat it with that so I decided to omit it from the recipe and just use taco seasoning as the majority of the "spice" in the soup.

Sooooo I am going to post it and see what everyone else thinks!


Taco Soup

1lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 can refried beans(I have a container of homemade refried beans in the freezer I was going to use.)
2 tbsp. taco seasoning (add more to taste if needed)
1 can Rotel tomatoes(diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 can(290z) tomato sauce
1 can tomato soup
1 can corn
2 cups of dry rice(or 3 to 4 cups of leftover cooked rice)
water to rinse out cans and for the rice

Simmer in the crockpot for 4-6 hours just basically to get all the flavors combined.

Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.


So does this sound good to you?? Do you think it is hearty enough to make a good dinner meal or should I think about doing it more for a lunch(which for us is our lighter meal of the day)?

Two Ways to do Beef Stew

Beef Stew
Steak chop up into bite size pieces
mixed veggies(beans, corn, peas, carrots)
boiled potatoes
beef broth
onions
some garlic powder, and pepper
(I can't give you an exact measurement on these as I just shake it in. But I would say between 1-2 tsp. of each.)Put all ingredients in the crockpot in the morning and walk away.


Using Leftovers.....

Sorry there isn't more specific measurements but when it comes to making stew I just throw it together with whatever I have in leftovers after having roast, carrots, and potatoes casserole.

Leftover roast
1/4c. to 1/2 c. barley(uncooked)
carrots(cooked and diced)
potatoes(cooked and diced)
bag of frozen mixed veggies or 1/2 can/bag each of green beans, corn, and peas.
1-2 cans beef broth
water(mostly to rinse out the cans)
can of stewed tomatoes(optional!)
Salt and pepper
dash or two of garlic powder
minced onion
chopped celery and green pepper

Mix all together. Simmer on stove for 3-4 hours or put in the crockpot for 6-8 hours on low. Watch as the barley cooks that you don't need to add more water or broth.

MY notes:I use cans of beef broth or the leftover broth from the roast, carrots and potatoes rather than water and bouillon because of the salt content in bouillon. Want soup add another can or 2 of broth.

This makes a great dish for a filling meal to take to others...you can read about what I did here