Despite the fact that we had some days last week with near record high temps in the 70's, I am passing along a true chill-in-the-air-yummy-in-your-tummy classic recipe today, Slow Cooker Beef Stew! This goes great with some fresh made baked bread. It is also one of those recipes that you can tweak to your liking, by adding or taking out some veggies and seasonings. I like to throw in some seasoning salt when I make it.

NOTE: I have a 6qt slow cooker, so if yours is smaller, you may want to cut the recipe.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

-2 lbs cubed stew beef

-1T olive oil

-1 large onion, chopped

-3 ribs celery, diced

-4 large carrots, sliced

-potatoes of your choice (I use about 6 yukon golds, unpeeled) diced into bite sized pieces

-one 28oz can crushed tomatoes

-1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend

-3 cups reduced sodium beef broth, divided

-3 bay leaves

-1 cup frozen peas

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-1/2 cup all purpose flour

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and then lightly brown the meat in batches. Transfer browned beef to a plate and set aside.

Dump the tomatoes into the slow cooker, then add the onions, celery, carrots and potatoes. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the vegetables and then add the beef and any drippings. Pour 2 1/2 cups of the beef broth over the meat and veggies. Stir and then add the bay leaves.

Cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, add the peas (no need to defrost first), salt and pepper. In a small bowl whisk together the flour and remaining 1/2 cup of beef broth, creating a smooth paste. Stir into the stew. Cover and cook until thickened (about 15-20 minutes). Remove the bay leaves before serving.

The Crock is BACK!! Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches!

Julie's Crock of the Week on 97.7 WGLR is BACK by popular demand! The leaves are falling, the air is getting that chill in it, so that means it's time to pull out that crock pot! The first recipe for this season is one that can be enjoyed as a family meal, or as an awesome appetizer for your next football party! Serve it on large hamburger buns, or mini slider buns.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN CAESAR SANDWICHES

-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite Caesar dressing (I like the refrigerated kind near the salads in the grocery store)
-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
-1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
-shredded romaine lettuce
-12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns

Place chicken in slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker and shred it up with two forks. Remove any water left in the crock, and then put the shredded chicken back in the crock. Pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until mixture is heated through an the cheese has melted.

Serve on buns with the romaine lettuce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese! YUM!

Crock Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage

Well, here we are! 70's expected this week for temps (yay!), so this will be the last Crock of the Week until the Fall. And since St.Patrick's Day is this Saturday, I am giving you a special crock pot recipe to celebrate the holiday of (some of) my ancestors, Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage! No need to go out for this, you can make it yourself, easily. Now, for some, this dish just isn't appealing no matter how it is prepared, but I made this for the first time last St.Patrick's Day, and I have to say, it turned out pretty well. It was pretty tender, not tough, which corned beef can be. I got the beef at my local meat shop, so check out your local shops, and get yourself a quality piece of beef, it makes all the difference, in my opinion.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage

•4 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces (I just buy a bag of shredded carrots)
•10 baby red potatoes, quartered
•1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
•4 cups water
•1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet
•6 ounces beer
•1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped
Place carrots, potatoes and onions on the bottom of the crock. Pour in the water, and add the brisket on top of the veggies. Sprinkle the spice packet on top of the meat (mine came pre-seasoned already) and pour the beer over the meat. Cook on high for about 7 hours.

Add cabbage, and cook on high for another hour. ENJOY! Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Now this pic isn't mine, I didn't make this over the weekend like I usually do with the Crock of the Week, because I am saving it to make on St.Patrick's Day!

Italian Chicken

Well folks, we are nearing the end of this weekly feature for the season. Spring is inching in, so I will shelve the Crock of the Week for now, and maybe bring it back in the Fall. Next week will be the last Crock of the Week. But don't cry, because here is another recipe to add to your collection, Italian Chicken. Super easy and tasty! My 2 year-old son gobbled this up like he was never going to get another meal in his life.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 envelope dry Zesty Italian Dressing mix

1 8oz brick cream cheese

1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending on how much 'sauce' you want

Place chicken breasts in the crockpot (I used frozen, and it worked just fine). Sprinkle the Italian dressing mix over the chicken. In a saucepan, melt the cream cheese on low heat with the cream of chicken soup. Pour mixture over chicken in the crock, and cook on low for at least 4 hours (at least 5 if using frozen chicken), but you can leave it on all day if you need/want to.

When done, you can serve how you want. I shredded the chicken in the crock which made for a good chunky sauce. Serve over pasta or rice. We used rotini pasta this time.

Slow Cooker Corn & Potato Chowder

OK, so no more naughty fudge cake for this week. Back to a good meal! Potato and corn chowder!! This hearty chowder will leave your belly full and your tastebuds happy too. Even my non-corn loving husband ate it. Although I don't think he is having leftovers, but that's his fault, not the chowder's :) And I am plugging an "As Seen on TV" gadget which helps me so much for recipes like this...the Vidalia Chopper. OMG, makes cubing potatoes and dicing veggies for recipes like this a BREEZE!

Slow Cooker Corn and Potato Chowder

-8 ounces (1/2 pound) bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled (I used the packages real bacon bits, I am all for ease in prep)
-2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes (approximately 5 medium sized potatoes), NOT peeled, diced in 1/4 inch cubes
-8 cups (about 2 pounds) kernel corn (I used frozen)
-1 medium/large sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
-1 cup chopped celery
-6 - 8 garlic cloves, crushed
-1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
-32 ounces (4 cups) chicken stock
-16 ounces (2 cups) half & half or heavy cream
-salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT half & half in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.

Blend about half the soup using an immersion blender or just scoop it into your upright blender then return to slow cooker. (Or if you are like me, and prefer easier ways, I just took a potato masher and mashed up the soup some in the crock pot, I like some potato chunks in my chowder anyway)

Add half & half or heavy cream and continue cooking, uncovered, for about another 15 minutes, until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe from the blog "Mama Loves Food."

Crockpot Hot Fudge Cake

I am giving you a MAGICAL recipe this week. I had intended to do a delcious soup, but our weekend became busier than planned, so I did not have the time I thought I would, which led me to try this recipe I had been saving to try, sorry for another dessert. Soup next week!

WARNING: this cake is EVIL. And it has super powers. Like magic, a whole layer of fudgey sauce appears at the bottom of your crock, with delicious, moist cake on top. The evilness of it is enhanced by the fact that it is made from basic staple pantry ingredients, and can appear to promptly be put into your belly in just 2 hours. My husband said, and I quote, "I have had fancy restaurant hot fudge cakes that aren't as good as this" while he was devouring it last night. Make it, you will love it. But don't blame me if you become addicted.

Crockpot Hot Fudge Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed and divided

1/4 c. plus 3 Tbl. baking cocoa, divided

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. milk

2 Tbl. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 c. hot water

vanilla ice cream!!!




Combine flour, one cup brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in milk, butter and vanilla. Spread evenly in a 3 1/2-quart crockpot. Mix together remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle evenly over top of batter. Pour in hot water; DO NOT STIR. Cover and cook on high setting for 2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted one-inch deep comes out clean. Spoon warm cake into bowls; top with vanilla ice cream. Serves 4-6.



Seriously, DO NOT STIR!!!!!! I know the ingredients and prep for this sound weird, but follow the directions exactly! I used my 4 quart crock, and cook time was about 1hr 50 min.

Recipe found on the blog "Eat Cake for Dinner."

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

This week's recipe is very helpful for those times when you want/need to use your oven for 2 different dishes for your dinner, but their cooking temps and times are much different. I hate that. So, instead of putting your scalloped potatoes in the oven, use your crockpot! Prep is minimal with this dish (although you do have to thinly slice some potatoes, but it isn't all that much), and it makes the potatoes so nice and tender. I have thought about adding some diced ham to this one time too, which would create a whole meal, not just a side dish.

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

- 1 cup sour cream (I used light)
- 1 can condensed cream of potato soup
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 lb small red potatoes
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese or cheese blend (can double cheese to make cheesier, many of you do live in Wisconsin, after all :) - 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives for topping

Thinly slice the potatoes into rounds, set aside. Mix sour cream, can of soup and worcestershire sauce together in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and stir until they are evenly coated.

Pour half of the potato mixture into your crockpot (I used my 4 quart crock for this recipe). Layer half of your cheese on that, then add the rest of the potatoes, and add the remaining cheese on top for the final layer. Cook on high for about 3 hours, or low for 6-7. If desired, top with the paprika and chives before serving, or just throw it on your plate and salt & pepper it like I do :) Makes 12 servings.