Tasty Tuesday: Crockpot Pepper Beef Goulash

I love the simplicity of a dinner that can be made in the crockpot.  It's just so nice to be able to toss everything in and then go about your day, knowing that in just a few hours you'll have a perfectly cooked delicious meal waiting for you.

I know I've mentioned several times that we've been trying to use more beef because we bought 100 lbs of beef from Eric's cousins who own a farm in western Nebraska.  While it's not impossible to come up with meals using beef, I occasionally find it difficult to come up with new and interesting ways to use it.  I mean, sure we could have pasta with meat sauce and shredded beef burritos multiple times a week, but, as much as I enjoy those things, I need variety.

Enter today's recipe.  It uses beef, and it's made in the crockpot ... So basically it's the perfect lazy day meal for us.  It's seriously so easy to make, and the flavors are rich and a little tangy.  While it isn't a traditional goulash, it's worth a try if you're looking for a new way to use beef in your cooking.

This is definitely one of the better crockpot meals I've made!

Crockpot Pepper Beef Goulash

Adapted from a recipe on Taste of Home.


Ingredient List:

• 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp dry ground mustard
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 cups cooked rice (I used long grain white rice)

Instructions:

1.  Spray the inside of the crockpot with cooking spray.

2.  Add the beef stew meat, tomato paste, diced white onion, diced green bell pepper, water, white vinegar, garlic salt, cornstarch, dry ground mustard, chili powder, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to the crockpot.  Stir a few times to make sure the meat and vegetables are well coated with the sauce.

3.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6 hours.  (I wouldn't recommend cooking this for longer than 6 hours because you want the meat to be tender, but not falling apart.)

And that's seriously all you have to do.  I served this over long grain white rice with a side of Steamfresh green beans.