I love to crockpot and have a word file of hundreds of recipes. If anyone would like it my email should be in my profile. I’d be glad to send it off to you. They’re geared toward the WW points system but the ones I’ve tried so far have been easy and tasty.
Here is my favorite roast beef crock pot recipie:
Cranberry Pot Roast
Beef Roast
1 package onion soup mix
one large can jellied cranberry sauce
Place onion soup mix in bottom of crock pot . Place roast on top of soup mix. Spoon cranberry sauce onto top of roast. Cook 6-8 hour on low.
Do not add water. Do not take off the lid while cooking. No matter how tempted you may be. It will all work out in the end. Even if you don’t like cranberrysauce you will like this. I know because I don’t like cranberry sauce and I love this roast. It makes a nice thick gravy. I sometimes peel whole carrots and lay them along side the roast. I also sometimes cut russet potatoes in half and do the same. Do not cut veg smaller because they will become mushy with the long cooking time.
I would love that, but your e-mail seems to be disabled in your profile. Mine should be enabled, if you wouldn’t mind sending that file to me.
I have a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook that has a chapter on crockpot cooking, but my SO is a rather picky eater so I’m starting out with the basics. All the ones in my cookbooks are too fancy for him (involving actual interesting vegetables and spices and herbs, that is). My Fannie Farmer, Betty Crocker, Frugal Gourmet and Pampered Chef cookbooks are distinctly unhelpful.
Lute Skywatcher, I suspect the red potatoes might work better than the starchier Idahos. I’ll try those next time.
Rhiannon, that sounds pretty good. Maybe I cut my taters too small and that’s why they got mushy.
Check out the crockpot recipes at about.com. Or do what Silver Fire mentioned and work from a box. The first crockpot meal we tried was Banquet’s stroganoff and it was quite good. Especially after adding sour cream, as suggested on the box.
Oops. It’s been corrected. :smack:
I extend the offer to everyone… 
Thanks, Catsmeow! Got your e-mail, and what a great recipe collection! I can’t wait to try some of those.
Sorry to hear that your first experience wasn’t so great! Keep trying; like learning any technique it might take some experimentation to figure out what works best for you.
Using new potatoes will definitely eliminate this problem, because you can just throw them in whole. Idahoes tend to be starchy, which I think makes them better for baking than for stewing. You might want to try red or yellow potatoes, which are waxier, so they will hold their texture better. Also, like Rhiannon says, you should leave the vegetables in big chunks. Just peel the carrots and cut them into pieces 2 in long. Like I said, I just use the pre-packaged baby carrots 'cause I’m lazy!
And remember to save that liquid for the next time you make soup! It makes an excellent broth. I just freeze it in a gladware container, so it’s there whenever I need it.
I saved it, and it’s still in the fridge. Do I skim off the nasty white stuff from the top before I freeze it?
I never make soup, but I do make beef stew fairly often. This leftover liquid would be good for that, right? (So I can avoid the overly salty canned beef broth that I used to use.)
The white stuff is your beef tallow–the fat in your broth. You can skim it off, but I find that doing so greatly decreases the flavor and richness of said broth. To evenly distribute the fat throughout your saved broth, warm it just enough to melt the fat, stir well, and then put it in the containers.
It also sounds like you put your veggies in way too early and overcooked them. Try putting them in later next time.
Yeah, that’s fat. Throw it out.
Yes, it should be perfect for that purpose.
Ah, a Crock-Pot debate: skim the fat or keep it? I vote to keep it. CrazyCatLady is right, it does add richness and flavor.
Ha! Between me and CrazyCatLady, can you guess who has high cholesterol?
(By which I mean, who is the person who is watching her diet because she has a cholesterol problem, not to imply that CCL’s diet is inappropriate, because I’m sure that she looks after her own health, and . . .what was I saying again?)
I copied your post and sent to my wife via email. This was her reply:
*okay, I’m totally confused
is this a joke? a real recipe? what you want for dinner tonight? what you would like to pick-up at [insert local supermarket chain here] tonight? an email in secret code? evidence of your total disconnect from reality? evidence of your total CONNECT with your more domestic side? hmmmmmmmmm . . . :)*
LOL! I suppose a little context, or some words of my own to clarify might have helped.
Ok, regarding the skim/no-skim debate, I am trying to keep fat to a minimum here (the SO is packing on some pounds, while I remain svelte and slim 
). I’ll compromise and skim off half of it. I’m pleased that I now have beef stock (or broth? I can never remember the difference) that is lower in sodium than the canned stuff.
My crock pot came with a little recipe book. The ones in there are great, especially chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.
Here’s my roast recipe:
Season with kosher salt and pepper and brown a 2 lb. chuck roast in a cast-iron skillet.
Add roast to Crock-Pot with one (1) can of Campbell’s French onion soup. If necessary, add liquid so that majority of roast is covered (keeps it from being dry and crusty.) Cook overnight on low, but turn off in the morning. In the afternoon before supper, turn back on low and add veggies as desired.
I always want to save mine for beef stroganoff but it makes such good gravy that I never have any to save. My method is to put the roast in without browning or adding liquid, or vegetables, or seasoning and cook overnight on low. 2-3 hours before serving time I slice up a mess of onions and put them on top of the roast. When the onions have reached the desired tenderness I take everything out and drain the liquid into a saucepan. Then the roast and onions go back in the crockpot to keep warm while I make the gravy.
I always have leftover meat though and here’s what I do with that. I’ve never ever heard of anyone outside my family who makes this.
**
Roast Beef Salad**
Put the leftover meat through a meat grinder or in the food processor and chop it up. Do the same with some dill pickles. I save up pickle butts for this. I like about a 2:1 ratio of meat to pickles but that might be a lot for some. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise if you must) to make it spreadable. Make sandwich. Refrigerate the remainder and use within one or two days.
It’s best right when it’s made and still room temperaturish. If it’s refrigerated it’ll probably need a little more Miracle Whip to get it moist again. The meat absorbs a lot.
Oh, and shredded leftover roast beef makes the best enchiladas.
The first time I made it, I couldn’t believe it was going to turn out right. But my friend who gave me the recipie swore by it. My husband was skeptical as well. Now we have it once every two weeks or so now. It’s one of our faves. Even my 6 y.o. picky eater loves it.
As a lazy bachelor, my Crock Pot has been a godsend. Two words: corned beef!