Saved by the Crock-Pot

So the last couple of days have been lazy as far as cooking goes.  On Sunday we ate out, had a fabulous meal for lunch at Brandon Ale House.  Sunday night we continued our eating out trend and had Burger King for dinner.  That meal was not so fabulous.  We had a horrible experience, the order was all wrong, and we waited forever in the drive-thru.  I actually complained and filled out their survey.  Their solution?  A coupon for a free Whopper.  Yeah, let me jump all over that.

Yesterday, we had a gourmet meal of frozen corn dogs.  (I told you I had been lazy.)  Monday night was filled with homework for a project that was due tonight (Tuesday) in my class.  Needless to say, that is where my focus was rather than in the kitchen.  I did, however, manage to prep my crock-pot meal last night so that it could cook on low all day today.

Tuesdays are my long days.  I leave my house for work around 6:15am and get home from class around 8:15pm.  (Come this Fall, I will be longing for those hours when I have classes until after 9:00pm.)  I knew that if we were going to have something other than fast food for dinner tonight, I had to be prepared.  Last night I threw together a concoction that sounded good in theory, and tasted better than I expected.

Here is what I used:

1lb Beef Stew meat (frozen)
3 medium red potatoes, cut in quarters
1 red onion, cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
1 can of sliced mushrooms (do not drain)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 packet of beef stew seasoning
1 1/2 cup of water

I sprayed the crock-pot with pam, and put the frozen beef in the bottom.  I seasoned with garlic salt, onion powder and pepper.  I then sprinkled the package of beef stew seasoning over the meat.  I added the potatoes, onions, carrots and can of mushrooms.  I spread the cream of mushroom soup over the top of everything, and poured the water over the entire mess.  This sat in the fridge overnight, and I set it on low before I left for work.  This cooked ALL DAY LONG, and turned out great.  The beef was super tender, as well as everything else.

I need lots of simple crock-pot ideas for the nights I have class.  I tend to just throw together things that I think will taste good together.