Picante Beef Roast

Last weeks "new recipe".  Alas, the CrockPot came through again! I noticed that all of my recipes so far have mostly been with chicken so I thought I would try some beef.  :) It turned out pretty good but it's probably not one of those that I will make on a regular basis.  Don't get me wrong I liked it, it's just not going on my top 10 list.  Still definitely worth sharing though!

It was a meal of "new" recipes actually.  I also made Cream Cheese Deviled Eggs and Carrot Mashed Potatoes.  Yes, carrot mashed potatoes.  They looked really unique in the picture.  I thought orange mashed potatoes...awesome! That should add some color and well they just looked cool, but they didn't turn out so great.  Might be ok with some tweaking...ha.

Again, I cut the recipe in half and it fit perfectly in my small CrockPot. NOTE: The measurements for the ingredients below are for the full recipe. 

Ingredients: 1 beef rump roast or bottom round roast (3 lbs.), trimmed, 1 jar (16 oz) picante sauce, 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, 1 envelope taco seasoning, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/4 cup water. 

Note: Before putting the roast into the CrockPot, trim off the fat to avoid having a "greasy" gravy. I got a 3 lb. roast and cut it in half, using one half and freezing the other.  After trimming, place the roast in the CrockPot.

In a bowl, mix together the picante sauce, tomato sauce and taco seasoning.  Pour this mixture over the roast in the CrockPot.

Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until the meat is tender.

After it is done cooking, remove the meat and place on a plate or serving platter. Transfer 3 cups (or 1 and 1/2 if you cut the recipe in half) of the sauce to a small saucepan an bring to a boil.

While sauce is heating, mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture to the sauce and bring back to a boil, stirring continuously until the sauce has thickened.  It only takes a couple of minutes for the sauce to thicken. 

Slice the roast and serve with the gravy.  Enjoy!

The written version of this recipe can be found here.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - CrockPot

I made this soup this weekend, it's sooo good! I love cooking in the CrockPot because it is so easy.  Like everyone else says, you just dump the stuff in, turn it on and forget about it for awhile.  Or get it going in the morning before work and you have supper ready when you get home!  

I cut this recipe in half and used a small 1.5 quart maybe 2 quart CrockPot. The measurements I used are in yellow.  I cooked this overnight.  If you are starting it first thing in the morning it is helpful to lay out all the ingredients you will need the night before on the cabinet (except for the ones that have to be refrigerated of course) and then you just have to dump them in the CrockPot the next morning.  You can chop the onions and drain the beans the night before and just refrigerate in plastic bags or containers for the next morning.  I find this saves on time in the mornings. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup - CrockPot
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed --1 chicken breast
2 cans rotel (lime and cliantro is the best) --1 can rotel
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained -- 1 can black beans
1 can red or kidney beans, rinsed and drained --I omitted these because I used the full can of black beans.
2 cans chicken broth -- 1 can or 12-16 ounces chicken broth
1 can corn -- used about 3/4 cup of frozen corn
1-2 cups water -- 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
1 onion, chopped -- 1/2 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder**
1 tablespoon chili powder**
1 tablespoon ground cumin**
1 tablespoon dried cilantro -- used 2 cilantro cubes
** Instead of using these spices, you can use a packet of taco seasoning.  -- used 1/2 package taco seasoning.
tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded chedder cheese

Cut the chicken breast in half or into large chunks.  Mix all of the ingredients except for the chicken breast together in the CrockPot.  Add the chicken breast last and make sure it is covered in the liquid.  Cover and cook for 8-9 hours on LOW or 6-7 hours on high.  About 30 minutes before the cook time is up, remove the chicken and shred (it might just fall apart on its own).  Place back into the CrockPot and continue cooking 30 minutes.  Serve by covering the bottom of a bowl with the tortillas chips, add soup and top with sour cream and shredded cheese.

I found this recipe here.

Note: I'm not sure why some of the text is black.  I didn't do that purposely, I can't figure out how to fix it.