Slow and steady: Busy day? Throw these recipes together and let your slow cooker do the rest

Slow cooker beef stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds top round steak, cut into strips

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 onion, chopped

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (8-ounce) can canned mushrooms

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon dried chives

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cube beef bouillon

1/4 cup white wine

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Place the beef in the bottom of a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place onion on top of beef, and then add mushroom soup, mushrooms and water. Season with chives, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and bouillon.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the wine with the flour. Pour over the beef.

3. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Stir in the sour cream and parsley and continue cooking for 1 hour. Serve over hot buttered noodles. Makes six servings.

Source: allrecipes.com

Chicken and cornbread dumplings

Ingredients:

CHICKEN

3 skinned, bone-in chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)

6 skinned and boned chicken thighs (about 1 pound)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 pound carrots, sliced

1/2 pound parsnips, sliced

4 celery ribs, sliced

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 (10.75-ounce cans cream of chicken soup

1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth

__DUMPLINGS__

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup self-rising yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Prepare chicken: Rub chicken pieces with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Place breasts in a 6-quart slow cooker; top with thighs. Add carrots and next 3 ingredients. Whisk together soup and broth until smooth. Pour soup mixture over vegetables. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork. Remove chicken; cool 10 minutes. Bone and shred chicken. Stir chicken into soup-and-vegetable mixture. Cover and cook on high 1 hour or until boiling.

2. Meanwhile, prepare dumplings: Whisk together flour and next 3 ingredients. Make a well in center of mixture. Add milk, butter, thyme and parsley to dry ingredients, gently stirring just until moistened.

3. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls into simmering chicken mixture, leaving about 1/4-inch space between dumplings. Cover and cook on high 30 to 35 minutes or until dumplings have doubled in size.

Source: Southern Living magazine

Beef barley vegetable soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat

1 cup green beans, sliced in half

3/4 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup uncooked barley

2/3 cup fresh frozen corn kernels or 2/3 cup fresh frozen corn kernels

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup sliced carrot

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 small bell pepper, chopped

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans ready-to-serve beef broth

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in 4- or 5-quart slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on low setting 8 to 9 hours or until veggies and barley are tender. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Source: food.com