Easy Crockpot Cowboy Casserole

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You will want to give this Crockpot Cowboy Casserole a try for dinner this week. A simple Crockpot slow cooker dinner recipe that is warm, filling, and your family will love. After you brown the ground beef all the ingredients go in the slow cooker and dinner is ready for you when you are.

The original recipe is from The SouthernLady Cooks. I made a few changes for items we had in our pantry and I will note the changes below.

A perfect side dish that is kid-friendly is a quick delicious fluffy cornbread. Take a look at my Simple Recipe for Easy Cornbread.

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When planning dinner on a busy weeknight I was looking for a ground beef recipe that used mostly pantry ingredients that I already had in the house. I buy my ground beef at Costco and always have a few pounds in the freezer.

Costco ground beef comes in 6-pound packs and I know I will not use it quickly. I measure out 1 to 1 1/2 pound package, put in freezer bags marked with the amount, and the date. That way I always have a protein in the house to make dinner.

I also did not want to make dinner at the end of the day. You know what I mean. You can tell by noon that you just will not have the energy to stay joyful while making a full meal for the family by late afternoon. When this is my mood I always reach for my Crockpot.

The Cowboy Casserole was the perfect answer that I found from Anne and Leigh Walkup at the Southernladycooks.com. After you brown your ground beef it all goes in the Crockpot.

I started by chopping the onion and peppers and browned my beef when I was munching on my lunch. After the meat was mostly cooked in the Crockpot went all the ingredients. Then I did was set the timer, and dinner was done after my long day.

Substitutions – Make it Your Own

You too can make this recipe your own. I made a few substitutes based on what I had in the house. Take a look at the recipe and see what you have. If you only have black beans or white beans that will work just as well. If you only have hot sauce and not chili powder just add as much hot sauce as your family likes. Here is how I made some substitutions.

• The recipe calls for 1-14.5 ounce of diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water or broth. I have our homegrown tomatoes that we can each year. The tomatoes are in 1-quart jars, so I substituted one jar of canned stewed tomatoes for the above. Our tomatoes have a lot of liquid so I did not add the water.
• Because our tomatoes have a lot of liquid I also added one can of tomato taste to make the recipe thicker and not watery. It was delicious topped with a dollop of sour cream.
• We also grow peppers lots of sweet peppers, I used 5 sweet peppers instead of just 1/2 cup peppers in the recipe.
• After a search of my fridge, I did not have any white or red potatoes. I did have a large sweet potato. The sweet potato makes very little change in the taste.

Tips on how to Make Cowboy Casserole

• Check your pantry and gather all ingredients.
• Prepare and chop all the veggies before you begin, that way you will not feel rushed.
• Cook the onion and peppers first and set aside.
• Start the recipe in the morning when you are fresh and may have a quiet moment to get everything ready.
• Do not be afraid to add or subtract ingredients as you check what you have in the house.
• If the recipe is ready before your family is to eat, set the Crockpot to warm, this recipe keeps well.
• The leftovers taste just as good or better the next day.

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