Easy Ground Beef and Veggies in a Crockpot

Easy Ground Beef and Veggies in a Crockpot

This recipe came together in a spur of the moment as I looked in the fridge and used what I already had at the house. Ground beef, cabbage, shredded carrots and a can of diced tomatoes! Oh and did I mention it had to be done when we got home from the gym? And had to be kid friendly?

Let me start by saying that for the longest time I did not own a Crockpot nor had any desire to have one. I did not grow up with one, as a matter of fact I didn’t even know they existed until I was 18. So when I was first introduced to the concept, I was very skeptical. You see, I have been using a pressure cooker for as long as I can remember so why cook it all day when I can cook it in 30 minutes. And another reason for me not liking it, was that every recipe that I saw started like this: open a packet of this, with a can of that, and a bottle of this special sauce on top of the protein and let it sit there for 8 hours. I seriously did not consider that cooking.

That is until we were eating dinner at my best friend’s house and she knew how I felt about it and was determined to show me different. So she cooked this most delicious pot roast and I had this light bulb go off. There’s got to be a way of cooking from scratch while using a Crockpot. Shortly after that we moved houses and lo and behold guess what the previous owners had left behind? A CROCKPOT! I actually tried to get a hold of them without success, I had come to terms that it was meant to be. I must say, I don’t use it a lot, since it doesn’t come naturally to me, however it comes so handy at times that I would not be without one anymore.

You see, I have come to terms that my time is ever so precious and with 2 kids, time is of the essence, but I will not compromise real food made with real ingredients for the sake of convenience! Yes, I did use canned tomatoes, but I use BPA-free can of organic tomatoes. I’m sure you could use fresh tomatoes if you had them on hand.

This recipe is super easy and you can make it ahead, freeze it and just pop it in the crokpot whenever you’re ready. It’s healthy and low carb. I like serving it with white rice, but you can easily serve with quinoa or even with a baked potato.

 

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Easy Ground Beef and Veggies in a Crockpot

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Author Cris Wang

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef lean
  • 2 strips bacon cut into small strips
  • 2 medium onions small dice
  • 1 clove garlic (I used a garlic press)
  • 3 cups cabbage shredded
  • 1 cup carrots shredded
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes NOT drained
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  1. In a separate skillet saute the bacon and the diced onions until the onions are soft.

  2. Add the pressed garlic mix it and then add the ground beef.

  3. Add salt and pepper to your preference.

  4. Cook it until all the meat is browned.

  5. Drain the fat and set aside.

  6. At this point you can wait for the meat to cool and freeze it for later use.

  7. In the crockpot, put the cabbage, carrots and bell pepper.

  8. Then add the meat mixture.

  9. And last the can of diced tomatoes.

  10. Season with salt and pepper.

  11. Cover the crockpot and set on High for 4 hours or Low for 6 hours.

  12. Once cooked, mix it all together and enjoy it over white rice!

Recipe Notes

The tomatoes that I used had some salt, but be mindful of it when seasoning. You can always add more salt at the end if you need it but you can't take it off.

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