Butternut Soup

I had 1/2 of a butternut squash in the fridge; my measures are approximate because when I am experimenting like this I never measure.

In Crock Pot
1/2 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 whole large onion
1 tsp. vegetable flavored Better than Bouillon (or vegetable bouillon cube)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. garan marsla
1/2 tsp. Black strap molasses
(+/-) 2 cups distilled water--enough to cover vegetables

Cook on high for a couple of hours, then turn to low (or cook on low all day, whichever is convenient).  Just before serving, use immersion blender to blend until creamy. Stir in about 1/4-1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2.

I served it with Dill Havarti grilled cheese sandwiches on multi-grain bread, but it would be a very nice addition to any meal as a starter course.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

I bought some stew meat the other day and didn't want to spend any time in the kitchen but thought beef stroganoff sounded good. This recipe uses only the crock pot--no boiling the noodles!--and a fairly small number of ingredients I already had on hand.  I am just putting down what I did--you can alter it in any way that suits you!

1# beef stew meat
2 cups beef stock (I used distilled water mixed with 2 tsp. Beef Better than Bouillon)
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 small cans mushroom bits and pieces, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. dried thyme

Put ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. I started it at 7:00 AM to eat for lunch, but if you were cooking all day, cook it on low.  About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve it, add

1/2 small bag of egg noodles to the crock pot, stir and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Stir noodles again and add

2 T flour mixed into 1/2 cup water and
1/2 cup or so sour cream.  Cook for another 10 minutes until noodles are done and sauce is thick and bubbly.

Roast with Onion Soup

The bountiful crop of onions from my garden inspired this attempt at "healthy" French Onion soup.

1 Arm roast --grass fed if available (the one I used was about 2 lbs. before I trimmed off the fat)

10 small onions or three large ones

2 large cloves of garlic- or more if you like

3 cups filtered water

2 tsp. "Better than Bouillon" Beef flavor

1/4 tsp. whole cumin seeds

2 whole bay leaf

Trim all visible fat from roast, and place in bottom of crock pot. Slice onions and put on top of meat. Press garlic on top. Mix Better than Boullion into water with fork or whisk, then add cumin seeds. Pour water over meat and onions in crock pot, toss in bay leaves, cover and cook for about 7-8 hours on low. Makes about 6 servings, depending on how much fat is trimmed off the roast.

Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot

Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot

(Recently I found some Bison Loin steak on sale, and decided to try this instead of my old beef tenderized steak. I don't know how it will taste, but we like ground bison in everything we used to make with hamburger, so I imagine the results will be acceptable. I asked the butcher to run it through the tenderizer for me, which he happily did.)

1-2 lbs of tenderized steak (however much you need for your family)
1 can stewed tomatoes (two if you are making a lot)
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and chopped in bite sized pieces

Put all in the crock pot and cook all day on low.