Beef Stew

On those hot summer days where the outside temperatures are 80+ degrees, the last thing I want to do is use my kitchen oven. One way you can still serve hot cooked dinners to your family is by using stove-top recipes.
All of these recipes take less than 45 minutes from start to finish. The first two utilize lean ground beef and the third one uses beef strips. You could serve the main dish with a healthy fresh garden salad to make a full meal.
Beef Stroganoff
2 lbs. lean ground beef
2/3 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
cooked pasta noodles
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, drain grease. Stir in the water and soups. Reduce heat to low. In a small bowl combine sour cream and flour until blended, add to meat. Cook on low stirring often until sauce thickens. Serve over cooked pasta noodles.
Optional: If you don't have any pasta on hand, you can serve it with cooked rice.
Hamburger and Chili Macaroni
1 lb. lean ground beef
6 oz. can tomato paste
3 1/4 cups hot water
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onions; drain grease. Stir in the tomato paste, water and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Stir in macaroni, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Pepper Steak with Rice
2 green peppers, cut into strips
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/2 stick of butter
1 lb. round beef steak
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
cooked rice
Trim fat and cut round steak into thin strips. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Add beef strips and brown on all sides. Turn heat to medium-high, add sugar and soy sauce, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add green peppers and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Mix cornstarch with water and add to skillet. Simmer for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over cooked rice.

Shelly Hill has been working from home since 1989 in Direct Sales and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking for her family and friends. You can visit Shelly online at: http://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com or her recipe blog at: http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com

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If you have bought a crockpot recently, you probably have one of the newer models. A lot of these have a saute feature, which means you can saute meat or vegetables in the crockpot itself.

This is obviously preferable to sauteing on the stove, then having to transfer the sauteed ingredient, plus everything else, to the crockpot. A crockpot is a great investment because you can cook everything from beef stew to French onion soup in it.

Converting Stove Top Recipes to Crockpot Recipes

A lot of people wonder how to make their favorite stovetop recipes in the crockpot. A low crockpot heat is about 200 degrees F and a high crockpot heat is about 300 degrees F. Fifteen minutes on the stove equals about an hour and a half in the crockpot on a high heat or four hours in the crockpot on a low heat.

Thirty minutes on the stove is about three hours in a crockpot on a high heat or six hours in a crockpot on a low heat. An hour on the stove is about four hours in the crockpot on a high heat or eight hours in a crockpot on a high heat.

These figures are approximate. It depends very much what you are cooking. You should also only use half as much liquid when converting a stovetop recipe to a crockpot recipe because water cannot evaporate from a crockpot like it does from a pot on the stove. The exception to this rule is when you are cooking pasta, beans or rice, because these soak up lots of water, whichever cooking method you use.

How to Make Crockpot French Asparagus Soup

If you like French onion soup recipes, perhaps you would like to try the following French asparagus soup recipe. Asparagus has a unique flavor and the following recipe combines it with onions, potatoes, chicken broth, and seasoning, for a healthy and delicious crockpot soup recipe. You will have enough French asparagus soup to feed four people and it is nice served with warm bread for dunking.

What you will need:

• 2 pounds fresh asparagus


• 2 big potatoes


• 5 cups chicken broth


• 6 green onions


• A pinch each of salt and black pepper


• Sour cream and chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Snap or cut the ends off the asparagus, then cut the spears into one-inch lengths. Finely chop the green onions. Peel the potatoes and cut them into half-inch cubes.

Put the broth, potatoes, asparagus and green onions into a crockpot, cover it and cook for about six hours on low, or until the potatoes are tender.

Puree the vegetables using a hand blender or transfer them to a blender or food processor with some of the liquid, then put the puree back in the crockpot.

Stir in some salt and pepper, put the lid back on, and cook on high for about thirty minutes. Serve the French asparagus soup garnished with a swirl of sour cream and some fresh parsley. Bon appetit!

As the parent of 4 boys, onion soup is a meal starter that gets rave reviews. One of the things my wife is asked often on her website about this culinary delight is what types of onion are used in making a delicious French onion soup. She has helped take the guesswork out of knowing what the different onions are in a comprehensive guide to onions.

A crockpot is a huge help in the kitchen. You can easily convert many stovetop recipes to crockpot recipes. You can also make the most wonderfully flavored soups. If you enjoy French asparagus soup, what about trying another delicious soup, like a French onion soup recipe?

Find the best crockpot recipes for this classic dish at FrenchOnionSoups.com

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