I’ve probably mentioned before how much I love my Crock Pot/Slow Cooker. There’s nothing better than throwing your meal together, walking off and leaving it, then coming home to a house that smells wonderful! This slow cooker recipe for Swiss Steak makes a great meal even when you’ve got company coming.

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Make dinner time easier

Slow cookers are a busy cook’s dream come true. But to use one effectively does require that you’ve planned your meal in advance so that you start with thawed meat. That’s where using a meal planning sheet comes in handy

With a meal planning sheet, you sit down once a week and decide what’s going on the menu for the next week. This will give you time to thaw any meat that will be the starter for a slow cooker meal, and it allows you to make all your meal decisions at one time. No more standing in front of the refrigerator wondering what you’re going to cook tonight.

Personally, it’s not the cooking that I dread…it’s making the decision of what to cook when I’m tired that is the problem.

That’s where having your meal plan solves that problem. Just make a date with yourself once a week, grab your favorite beverage (wine anyone?), your recipe binder, favorite cookbook, or open your Pinterest account and make your choices. If you’ve got an inventory of what’s already in your pantry this process is even easier and you might just be able to skip a trip to the grocery store.

If you don’t want to go to the work to write out and create your own pantry inventory, I’ve got one available that’s super cheap.

Recipe for Slow Cooker Swiss Steak

I am a huge fan of slow cookers. In fact, my family makes fun of me sometimes because I use mine so often. But I do have to admit a certain satisfaction when my daughter asked for her own slow cooker when we moved her into her first apartment. Score one for mom!

other recipes you’ll enjoy

• Chicken Frito Pie
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Cranberry Pork Chops
• Mexican Roast.

Slow Cooker Accessories You May Find Useful

1. Whenever you need to take a dish to any kind of gathering this Crock-Pot Travel Bag is what you need. It holds a slow cooker that ranges from 4 to 7 quarts and keeps it warm till you arrive.
2. My least favorite part of cooking (in any kind of dish) is the clean up. Using these slow cooker liners makes clean  up super easy.
3. We finally had a knob to the slow cooker we’d used for years come loose (after about 10 million uses!). If that should happen and you don’t want to spend money on a new cooker then a replacement knob solves the problem. We replaced the knob on our lid for just a few bucks and the cooker is still in use – which saved me the money I’d have spend to buy a new slow cooker.
4. If you’re cooking any kind of meat that you want to shred then these BBQ Bear claws are perfect. They are a great little tool whether you’re shredding pork, beef, or chicken (or anything else!).