Slow Cooker Steak in Golden Mushroom Cream Sauce

My mother has been making cubed steak in cream of mushroom soup gravy in the slow cooker ever since I can remember.  It's pretty much the most-requested "birthday meal" within our family.

For my version, I use two different kinds of mushroom soup and add in some fresh mushrooms.  I've made this with cubed steak, thin slices of eye of round or even thin-cut, boneless pork chops.  I've, also, used this sauce to make meatballs in the slow cooker many times. 

This is the perfect Sunday dinner.  We love serving the meat and gravy over mashed potatoes.  And, a big loaf of homemade bread is a must ... perfect for sopping up the velvety, rich gravy on your plate.

This will serve 4 - 6 people ... depending on how many pieces of steak you use.

One Pot Tomato & Basil Pasta {A Martha Stewart-Inspired Recipe}

 

One skillet + five minutes of prep time + twenty minutes of cooking = a super quick and easy pasta dinner.

I was amazed at how this dish turned out for being so simple and basic to make.  The only liquid that is added is straight H20, so I was concerned that there wouldn't be much flavor or a good consistency to the "sauce" that is created as this cooks.  But, something amazing happens.  Just the few ingredients that are added bring great flavor to the dish while the starches in the pasta release into the water so that it thickens almost like cream was added.

I came across a Martha Stewart recipe for One Pot Pasta (video of recipe preparation included) that totally intrigued me.  I did alter a couple of things when making it myself, but I pretty much kept with the basic method she used.  Next time, however, I will use a little less crushed red pepper flakes.  Her recipe called for a half of a teaspoon, but I got ambitious and used probably around 2 - 3 teaspoons!  Yikes - it was pretty darn spicy, but still a fabulous dish!

NOTE:  I used a combination of regular spaghetti noodles and whole wheat noodles.  I like the healthful benefits of adding the whole wheat pasta, but it did make the sauce a weird brownish color at the end of cooking.  I would recommend not using a brown-colored pasta if you would like the sauce that is created to stay a creamy, white color.. 

Yields  4 - 6 servings.