The crock pot is an excellent tool for creating flavorful, tender meat and vegetable dishes with minimal effort. Here are a few ideas for delicious and healthy crock pot recipes featuring both meat and vegetables:
### Beef and Vegetable Stews
Beef stew is a classic crock pot meal, perfect for a hearty and comforting dinner.
Ingredients often include:
* Meat: Cubed beef chuck or stew meat.
* Vegetables: Potatoes (Yukon, red, or baby), carrots, onion, celery, and peas. Some recipes also include mushrooms.
* Liquids & Seasonings: Beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, flour (for coating meat and thickening), garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, dried thyme, bay leaves, and sometimes Dijon mustard or soy sauce for added depth.
Basic Steps:
1. Sear the beef: Browning the meat in a skillet before adding it to the crock pot adds a deeper flavor.
2. Combine ingredients: Add the seared beef and chopped vegetables to the slow cooker.
3. Create the sauce: Whisk together the liquids, seasonings, and any thickening agents (like flour or cornstarch slurry) and pour over the meat and vegetables.
4. Cook: Typically, cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until the beef and vegetables are tender.
5. Thicken (optional): Some recipes suggest adding a cornstarch slurry towards the end of the cooking time to thicken the stew.
### Other Meat and Vegetable Crock Pot Recipes
Crock Pot Roast with Vegetables: This is a complete meal with a chuck roast, potatoes, carrots, onion, and celery cooked together. You brown the roast, then combine it with the vegetables and a liquid mixture (water, Worcestershire, bouillon, basil) in the crock pot and cook on low for about 10 hours.
Crockpot Beef and Broccoli: A healthier take on takeout, this dish uses flank steak (or sirloin, hanger, or top sirloin) and broccoli florets. The beef is cooked in a sauce made with beef broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, and chili-garlic paste. The broccoli is added towards the end of the cooking time to ensure it's tender but not mushy.
Slow Cooker Asian Beef with Vegetables: Flank steak strips are tossed with cornstarch and cooked with soy sauce, brown sugar, water, ginger, and garlic. Carrots, bell peppers, green onions, and zucchini are stirred in during the last 30 minutes of cooking. This is often served over rice.
Slow Cooker Pot Roast: This comforting meal often includes chuck roast with vegetables like carrots and potatoes, and a rich gravy.
Healthy Slow Cooker Meatloaf: This one-pot meal incorporates a vegetable purée (scallions, carrot, garlic, parsley, thyme) into the meatloaf for flavor and moisture.
Tips for Crock Pot Cooking:
* Browning Meat: For beef dishes, searing the meat beforehand can significantly enhance the flavor.
* Adding Delicate Vegetables: Add softer or quicker-cooking vegetables like peas, bell peppers, or zucchini closer to the end of the cooking time to prevent them from becoming too mushy.
* Thickening Sauces: Cornstarch mixed with cold water is a common way to thicken sauces and gravies in the crock pot, typically added in the last 15-30 minutes of cooking.
* Seasoning: Don't forget to season with salt and pepper to taste, and adjust other seasonings as needed.