My girlfriend loves cooking and I, on the other hand, love to eat and taste her food. I may not be a great chef or enjoy working my way around the kitchen, but I do realize that I have knack for identifying the different ingredients used for a certain dish. It also works for desserts; I realized that when I taste a new “dessert” I can specify the kind of chocolate used and many other things. I find it fun and fascinating every time I guess the right ingredient in a dish, and my friends and family enjoy watching my face or seeing my reaction after trying out a new meal.

I have observed that cooking can really be a delight to many people. It can be a way to relieve stress and can also help them focus and put their attention at something on hand, rather than focus on problems or complicated situations going on in life. However, reality hits that there are just days where you don’t have the time to bustle around in the kitchen because of the pressing needs of work or everyday life.

So what is a great solution in order to have a scrumptious meal at the end of the day? Well, I would say it would be having a Crock Pot. For those of you who do not know what a crock pot is, it is basically a slow cooker that you can place on your counter instead of your stove. There is an A/C cord and a vented lid. There is only a low and high temperature, because the temperature will just increase through time and will automatically turn off when the meal is cooked.

So you may ask, “What is a good meal that can be cooked in this crock pot?” Well, a great dish that I would recommend would be a beef stew. So here are the ingredients to a beef stew crock pot recipe that you can make before leaving for work:

· 1 pound / 550 grams / .550 kg lean stew beef

· 1/2 cup all purpose flour

· 1 tsp. seasoning salt

· 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

· 1 tsp. garlic powder

· 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed into one-inch pieces

· 4 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

· 1 large yellow onion, chopped

· 2 cans (10 oz / 284 ml) sliced mushrooms, drained OR 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

· 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom and Onion Soup

· 1 can of Campbell’s Beef Broth Soup

· 1 can water

· 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

· 3 bay leaves

1.) Cut and trim any excess fat that may be on the beef and cut it into pieces whether in halves or smaller.

2.) On a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then coat each of the cut up pieces of beef with the mixture and leave in the bowl.

3.) Get the onions, carrots, and potatoes ready and put them into the cock pot. If you are using canned mushrooms, drain it and then put it in the pot as well.

4.) Put in the beef with the flour mixture on top of the vegetables.

5.) On another separate bowl, mix together one can of water and the Worcestershire sauce. Be sure to combine it well together and let it blend in so that there are no lumps. Then pour out evenly into the beef and vegetables.

6.) With your spatula, mix in all the ingredients together so that everything is completely blended in and combined.

7.) Push the ingredients off to the side of the pot, and place the bay leaves at three different areas. You can then cover it all up with the ingredients again.

So imagine this with me, you can now have a mouthwatering beef stew meal at the end of the day because by the time you come home from a long day at work or school, the meal will be complete and your stomach will be in for a treat!