Francie's Slow Cooker Variation of "Christy Jordan's Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!)"

Christy Jordan of Southernplate.com is one of my culinary heroes. She makes the type of everyday classic Southern food I grew up with, particularly in my Southern Baptist church. (Baptists might officially frown on drinking alcohol but we can out potluck any other denomination!) Her recipes are simple and easy to follow. And I love how she photographs each step of the recipe.

Christy's recipes are always spot on and I always get rave reviews when I use one of her recipes. She may be the only cook that I trust to make a recipe of hers, that I have never made before, and be beyond confident in serving it at a party or holiday.

But I also admire how open and confident Christy is in sharing her relationship with Christ on her website. I admire her positive attitude, her zest for life and her love and devotion to the various generations of her family. I appreciate that her sense of humor is evident in her posts. And I hope, that if God blesses me with the opportunity to be married and have children, that I will be half the wife and mother she is. She isn't perfect but I have found her to be a good example of a Proverbs 31 woman, the Southern version.

One of my absolute favorite recipes from her is "Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!)" I adapted it to a crockpot version. I use frozen veggies and onions instead of fresh because 1) it is easier and faster, 2) the frozen onions don't make my eyes water and 3) stew is a fall and winter dish when these veggies are out of season and over priced. I have seen a lot of mixed veggie combinations at the grocery store. So you can try out various combos.

I prefer using the low sodium Spicy V8 Juice because I can control the sodium better. I use lean ground beef to reduce the fat. (I imagine you could leave out the beef and use vegetable stock if you wanted just a vegetable soup. Or substitute chicken from the meat and stock.) I use the fire roasted diced tomatoes but for those who don't like tomatoes as much, I would advise the crushed tomatoes.

This is a great recipe to freeze and/or to share with friends and neighbors. Especially since it serves 8 people.

Francie's Slow Cooker Variation of "Christy Jordan's Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!)"

(Picture is from Christy's website)

 

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1-2 bags of frozen country mix vegetables (diced carrots, cut green beans, green English peas and corn) 
• frozen, diced Onion to taste (I usually use 1/2 a cup but I don't like onions)
• 1 bag of frozen country style hash browns (the cubes, not the shredded)
• 29 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1-2 Cans Spicy Hot V-8 juice (I try to get the low sodium Spicy Hot V-8 juice and use 2 cans)
• 2 C beef broth (or 2 C water & 4 Beef Bullion Cubes)
• 1 tsp salt
• Cornbread

Instructions

1. Break out the crockpot.
2. Layer the frozen vegetables. I start with the potatoes, then the onion and lastly the country mix vegetables. (But I don't think it really matters. You can dump it in as you wish.)
3. Layer the canned tomatoes and then the ground beef on top of the frozen vegetables.
4. Pour in the beef broth and the Spicy V8 juice.   
5. Add the salt.
6. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
7. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve with warm cornbread.