Our househelp will go on vacation two weeks from now. She will be gone for a week. Three months of not cooking because she was the one who did everything for me in the kitchen has made me not look forward to her vacation at all. I actually plan to have her buy one week’s worth of produce from the market before she leaves and have it half-cooked. I’ll just put them in canisters and reheat them in the microwave. I know it might seem lazy for some but I am really swamped with work every week. Add to that is the fact I am trying to be serious at losing weight so I have a different food that I have prepared than the usual food I let my kids eat. The kids have been fattening up because I can focus on feeding them than cleaning the dishes (Or cooking). Easy Cooking Recipes should be on top of my list when she goes on  vacation. In fact, I think I should start planning the menu right now. On top it would be fried chicken and spaghetti. Spaghetti is their favorite, it can last all week and can be reheated several times. They snack on it all the time too.

Or the slow cooker or crockpot will be my best friend. You just put everything there and wait for it to cook!

Here is a recipe I would like to try:

Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
1 medium onion, cut into ½-inch chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into ½-inch chunks
1 medium sized turnip, cut into ½-inch chunks
6 baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water

Preparation:

1. Layer the carrots, onion, celery, turnip, and potatoes in a 5-qt. slow cooker

2. Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add stew meat; seal and toss to coat evenly

3. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil in batches

4. Once browned, place meat over the vegetables in the slow cooker

5 .Sprinkle salt and pepper over beef and veggies. Pour crushed tomatoes and water over top

6. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 1 ½-2 hours or until meat and veggies are tender