From ground beef to steak, beef makes an excellent crockpot or slow cooker ingredient. From Swedish Meatballs to Round Steak Bake, these recipes are sure to be a hit with your family. The Swedish Meatballs can be made small for appetizers or larger as an entree with rice or mashed potatoes. The Veggie Meat Loaf is aptly named as it contains onion, bell pepper, and celery. Then potatoes cook around meatloaf providing your basic meal in one pot. The Round Steak Bake also provides the meat, mushrooms, and potatoes all in one pot. These recipes make preparing meals a snap!

CROCKPOT SWEDISH MEATBALLS
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Mix above ingredients together well; form into meatballs. Brown meatballs on all sides in a large nonstick skillet. Remove from skillet and drain off any excess fat. Place meatballs in crockpot or slow cooker. Make the following sauce and pour over meatballs in the cooker:

Sauce
1 cup catsup
2 tsp vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

Mix all sauce ingredients together to combine. Pour over the meatballs in the cooker. Cover and cook on low 3 to 4 hours or until heated through.

VEGGIE MEAT LOAF
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 slices bread, crumbled
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp chopped celery
4-6 medium to large potatoes, quartered
1 to 2 tbsp butter, melted (enough to coat potatoes)
ketchup
2 or 3 bell pepper rings for garnish, if desired

Mix the egg, milk, salt, and bread crumbs; allow to soften. Thoroughly combine the mixture ground beef, bell pepper, celery and onion. Shape into a loaf and place in slow cooker or crockpot. Melt the butter and toss potatoes to coat. Arrange the potatoes around the meatloaf. Top the meatloaf with ketchup and two or three bell pepper rings, if desired. Cover and cook on high from 45 minutes to an hour. Turn heat setting to low and cook for approximately 8 hours.

ROUND STEAK BAKE
2 lbs round steak
4 large potatoes, peeled & quartered
2 cans (6-oz each) mushroom (do not drain)
1 pkg dry onion soup mix

Cut the steak into large pieces to fit into the crockpot or slow cooker; place in cooker. Sprinkle the dry soup mix over the steak.

Place the quartered potatoes evenly over the steak and pour the mushrooms with liquid over the potatoes and steak.

Place lid on cooker and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or on low 6 to 8 hours until the meat is tender and the potatoes are cooked through.

Yield: 4 to 6 serving

Enjoy!