I always love easy to make slow cooker recipes. I love being able to throw together a few things in the morning, and then have supper ready for that evening. Like tonight, Bill was over an hour late, but the kids and I were able to eat.

1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I used Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce)
1 tsp oregano leaves
1 lb beef stew meat
4 potatoes
1 bag baby carrots (16oz)
1 large onion, cut into chunks
3 tbsp tastefully Simple Bacon Bacon Seasoning (A couple pieces of chopped up bacon should work too)
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp water

Mix broth, dressing, BBQ sauce, and oregano in a bowl. Put all remaining ingredients in the slow cooker except for the flour and water.  Pour bowl mixture over the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 8 - 9 hours (or 4 - 5 hours on high).

Fifteen minutes before you want to serve, use a slotted spoon and transfer meat and veggies to a serving bowl.  Cover with foil.

In a bowl, mix the flour and water until well blended.  Stir into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes.  Spoon over meat and vegetables.

Image via Wikipedia

To toast almonds, place them on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned which will be around 5 minutes.  Stir once to keep the nuts from burning.

When you have a husband who doesn’t get home at the same time every night, you need some good slow cooker recipes in your back pocket.  This easy to make slow cooker recipe is a winner in my house. It also will leave you with leftovers to eat and enjoy.

1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 (12 oz) package of lasagna noodles
12 oz cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

In a skillet, cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic until brown.  Stir in the the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, and oregano.  Cook until heated through.

In a bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Spoon a layer of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker.  Add a double of layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles.  Break to fit the noodles into the slow cooker if needed.  Top the noodles with a portion of the cheese mixture.  Repeat the layering of sauce, noodles, and cheese until all the ingredients are used.

Cover and cook on low heat in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours.

I had pictures of this easy to make recipe, but I can’t find the cable to get them off the camera!  That being said, this recipes tastes as good as stroganoff with beef cubes.  You can make this in the slow cooker too!

2 lbs ground beef
2 onions chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 can mushrooms drained
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups hot water
6 cubes beef bouillon
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups cold water
4 tbsp all purpose flour

Heat ground beef, onions, garlic, and mushrooms in a large skillet. Saute until the onions are golden brown. Season with salt and black pepper. Drain the grease off.

Stir in 2 cups of hot water, bouillon cubes, and tomato paste into meat mixture. Stir together 1 1/2 cups cold water and flour in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into skillet. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for one hour.

Serve over hot noodles.

This easy to make recipe is again from Prego. I made a few changes to it and made it my own. It also said to cook with a pizza pan. Unfortunately, pizza pan had holes in the bottom. I figured that wouldn’t work too well, so I talked to Elizabeth over at MomCooks, and she suggested a cookie sheet. That worked great. If you don’t have a pizza pan, definately use a cookie sheet instead. Like the last Prego recipe I did, this again will feed a family of 4 for under $20 (actually, I think the total for this recipe was $14.71). In this economy, we can all use recipes like this.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion chopped
3 oz mushrooms, sliced
Vegetable cooking spray
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cooked corkscrew pasta
1 1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1 jar (26 oz) Prego Italian Traditional Sauce or Prego Tomato, Basil, and Garlic Italian Sauce.

Follow the directions on the pasta. While that is cooking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions are tender. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Spray a 12 inch pizza pan (or small cookie sheet) with the cooking spray. Stir the egg, milk, pasta and 1/2 cup of cheese in a large bowl. Spread the pasta mixture in an even layer on the pizza pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Spread the sauce on the pasta crust. Top with the onion mixture and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 more minutes or until the cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.