Crockpot Swiss Steak

My best friend and I have been swapping recipes lately. Running kids from different afternoon activities that seem to end *right* at supper time when everyone is starving as soon as the activity is over, has caused me to need more quick and easy recipes. Of course, cheap recipes are also a plus too!

Crock Pot Swiss Steak from the Betty Crocker website

-1 1/2 lbs, boneless beef steak of your choosing (I used beef stew meat, already cut up).
-3 T flour (to make GF, use corn starch...which I did and it worked!)
-1 tsp. ground mustard
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 TBS olive oil
-1 can stewed tomatoes (I used 1 can chopped tomatoes with success)
-2 garlic cloves, minced (The can of chopped tomatoes had garlic in it, so I skipped this).
-1 large onion, sliced (Substituted one cup of frozen chopped onion).
-1 large green bell pepper, sliced (Substituted one cup of frozen chopped green bell pepper).

Cut beef into 6 servings pieces (or use beef stew meat like I did, which will make the dish kind of "stewish" since some of the meat will fall apart while cooking...yummy!). In small bowl, combine flour or corn starch, mustard and salt. Coat the beef in the flour mix.

In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook beef in oil for about 15 minutes, turning once until brown. Place beef in a 3.5-6 quart slow cooker. Top with onion and bell pepper. Mix tomatoes with garlic and pour over the beef and veggies. Cover and cook on  low for 7-9 hours.

I served this with mashed potatoes. My hubby said it would be equally tasty over rice or egg noodles. My boys prefer mashed potatoes over rice and I can't eat egg noodles, so it was mashed 'tators for us.

Yesterday morning, I got this in the crock pot, then peeled and chopped my potatoes in small pieces. After that,  I put them into the pot, covered with a lid and set it on the stove top. While hubby and I were out shopping (I *really* think I'm needing a cute scarf for a t-shirt I have:), I called the boys to remove the lid and turn the potatoes on med-high. About 20 or so minutes later, we arrived home and the potatoes were almost ready to be mashed. *Easy* and delicious, especially if you have a teen at home to help out a little ahead of time while you are out looking for the perfect scarf to dress up an ordinary ole black t-shirt.

If anyone decides to make this with mashed 'tators, we prefer the Gold potatoes. They have a buttery taste before you add any butter, which is even yummier when the butter is added.