Crockpot Asian Beef and Noodles

This crockpot meal was another winner from my friend Colleen. There is nothing better than dumping stuff into a crockpot and sitting around a delicious-smelling house while an appliance cooks dinner for you!


I tried to heed her advice about finding a low-sodium stir-fry sauce, but alas, I was also unsuccessful. Later, I googled a recipe for making my own, so I will try one of them next time.

Saltiness aside, this was absolutely delicious, and I'll definitely make it again!

Sidenote: I've never before had Ramen noodles. I've heard people mention how cheap they are and how it's the major food group of college students and starving artists, but I had no idea exactly how cheap they are. Dude, I got a package of 6 for 99 cents! Wowzers!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen stir fry vegetables
• 2 - 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle stir-fry sauce, any flavor
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, broken
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Coat a 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place frozen vegetables in the bottom and top with stew meat. In a medium bowl, stir together stir-fry sauce, water, and red pepper. Pour over stew meat and vegetables in cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 4 1/2-5 hours (I recommend low, it will help to break the meat down more).

At the end of cooking time, discard spice packets from ramen noodles. Stir noodles and green onions into meat mixture. Cover and let stand 10 minutes more. Stir before serving. This can be kept on warm for 1-2 hours.