Easy meals

I know most of us are pretty busy, whether it's running a house, working a job, raising a family, or running around to various activities everyday. I had been struggling earlier in the year with homeschooling and balancing all the other household duties that I needed to accomplish throughout a day. And so I determined that I was going to become super disciplined and plan out my meals, two weeks in advance, so I could do my shopping and I would wake up each day knowing what I was making that day for our big meal, which we eat at lunchtime. So trying to homeschool and get that done in a morning was sometimes difficult.
Well, two things that really helped me was the Gooseberry Patch Super-Fast Slowing Cooking Cookbook, and  the Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites cookbook. The Once-A-Month cookbook was actually featured on a Focus on the Family Radio program last year, and I ordered it right away, and it's made my life lots easier.
Anyway, I thought I would share some of the recipes I have found that are super easy and don't take up tons of time. I especially loves those that I can just throw into the crockpot and forget about until dinnertime! This is what I made yesterday:

BEEF GOULASH

2 pounds extra lean beef ( I use stew meat, and cut it up into small pieces)
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup sliced carrots
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/3 cup catsup
1 TB worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco sauce (I don't usually add this)
1 14.5 can beef broth
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
4 medium potatoes (I don't use this either)

Brown the ground beef, chopped onion, and red pepper in skillet on medium heat. Drain and cool. Mix all ingredients together and put into crockpot. Make sure potatoes are under liquid. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.

If you use the stew meat, you don't have to brown the meat. I usually make rice to eat along with it, and we eat it in a bowl, rice first, then goulash and sometimes we sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. It's so filling and good on those cool winter days. I can just throw it in the crockput in the morning and by lunchtime, we have dinner!

This recipe is from the Once-A-Month cookbook by Mimi Wiilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg, and can be found on page 28.

And something that I have found helpful, is when I am at the grocery store, I will stock up on lots of onions, carrots, celery, peppers, bring them home and chop up a bunch to store in my freezer, so when  a recipe calls for them, I can just pull them out. Saves LOTS on time, which is a precious thing. I'll try to post some more as I think of them. I know I love to get new ideas.