Recipe of the Week #6.

Now that Taylor is in pre-school it is getting a little busier for us during the week. We do have some additional chores twice a week. These include homework, picking out the right outfit for school (always a dress so far), picking her snack and packing her backpack. While my schedule is hardly as hectic as many working mammas with multiple kids in school and activities, I still need some time savers in the kitchen. I have recently started trying several crockpot recipes to have something that is easy to cook and hearty to eat for our fall dinners. While these take hours to cook, crockpot dishes really are time savers as they are almost "fix it and forget it". I have minimum interaction with the dish once I get it started. Some dishes are in fact a whole meal which is even easier!

Of the the three new crock recipes that I have tried so far, the one from last week was the favorite I think. This came from wishingstar who posted it on the Southern Living Message Board. I have added my tweaks below.

Swedish Meatballs in Sauce
1 1-lb package frozen plain meatballs (not the Italian kind)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can French onion bouillon (or 1 cup beef bouillon)

1 cup sour cream

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 dash Tabasco sauce

1/4 cup milk

Cracked black pepper

Mix sauce ingredients together and mix in meatballs. (I did this on the stove to get it almost to a boil then I transferred it to the crock pot.) Cook on low until heated through. (I cooked on low for 4 hours) Serve with noodles or rice.

*If not thick enough add a small amount of cornstarch with cold water and heat on high until desired thickness.

I did the almost boil on the stove method then transferred to crockpot and cooked on low for 4 hours I added the milk and cream in the last hour. I also added canned mushrooms at the beginning. Instead of just using milk I used 1/8 cup cream and 1/8 cup milk to make it a little richer.