I can't remember what commercial product I'm quoting, but my view of Crockpots is that you toss in a bunch of ingredients, "set it and forget it" and then come back to a beautifully cooked meal.
My first try at using the Crockpot resulted in a tasty beef stew (one of my favorites).
Admittedly, this picture probably doesn't look too appetizing but it sure tasted good! And I was amazed at how six hours in a crockpot turned tough stew meat into delicious, tender pieces of beef that fell apart at the touch of a fork - yum!
I used Kyle's Favorite Beef Stew recipe from Allrecipes.com (minus the mushrooms and adding corn and an extra pound of baby carrots) - it was good, but the only thing that I wasn't a fan of was the strong onion taste. Don't get me wrong, I love onions in all form but I think the two envelopes of onion soup mix were a little strong. Next time, I'm going to try searching for a recipe that allows more of the red wine to shine through.
