Slow Cooker Beef & Root Vegetables

This is a great recipe to introduce fall and winter veggies such as red potatoes, carrots, turnips and rutabaga into your meals. Add a green salad, some whole-grain rolls and your meal is ready, while you have more time to devote to fun times with others. Enjoy!

Tried & True Tips for Slow Cooking

1. No peeking! Unless the recipe instructs you to stir or add ingredients – leave the lid in place! Each time you lift the lid, it costs you 20 to 30 minutes of cooking time and you have to wait longer to enjoy your meal.
2. Make sure the lid is snug and in place to prevent loss of steam and to create a water seal.
3. Since dense vegetables (carrots, potatoes, or rutabagas) take longer to cook than many meats, place such veggies in the bottom of the slow cooker. Then layer other ingredients on top of the dense vegetables.
4. Consider expanding your recipe, freezing extras, and using for a quick ready-to-eat meal at a later date.
5. Do not allow cooked foods to remain at room temperature for more than 2 hours; promptly refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
6. Reheating foods in a slow cooker is not recommended. You may reheat food on the stovetop or in microwave until it reaches 165° F and then put it in a slow cooker to keep hot for serving. The slow cooker may also be used to keep foods warm on a buffet table. Food should be kept at least 140° F as measured by a food thermometer.
7. By all means, read your owner’s guide for your particular slow cooker in regards to programming, cleaning, frequently asked questions and answers, tips for cooking various food and adapting recipes for this method of cooking.

Recipe

Slow Cooker Beef with Root Vegetables

Ingredients

• • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 small red potatoes, cut each into 8 pieces
  • 2 carrots, peeled & sliced (1-inch pieces)
  • 2 turnips, peeled, cut each into 8 pieces
  • 1 (4-inch diameter) rutabaga, peeled & cubed (1-inch pieces)
  • 1 (3-pound) eye of round roast
  • Salt & ground black pepper (not included in nutritional analysis)
  • 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz) brown sugar
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions

1. Trim top & bottom of carrots, turnip and rutabaga, then peel with vegetable peeler. Arrange onion, potatoes, carrots, turnip, and rutabaga in bottom of slow cooker. Season beef all over with salt and black pepper. Rub flour all over beef. Place roast on top of vegetables in slow cooker.
2. Wisk together tomato sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over beef. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours or on HIGH for 6 hours.

This recipe keeps well and is delicious as leftovers.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 6-10 hrs
Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional analysis per serving: calories 460, calories from fat 80, total fat 9g,
saturated fat 3g, cholesterol 90mg, sodium 430mg, total carbohydrate 39g,
dietary fiber 5g, sugars 18g, protein 54g, vitamin A 60%, vitamin C 60%, calcium 8%, iron 35%

Reference: Everyday Slow Cooker and One Dish Recipes, Taste of Home 2009

Courtesy of Tyra M. Carter, PhD, RD, LD