* Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Hotpot

On Sunday we decided to steal a march on the Christmas shoppers and not go Christmas shopping at all. Read it again. It makes complete sense.

Instead, we decided to see if we could hunt down the perfect flooring for our bedroom - which we are in the midst of decorating - from a wood floor specialists in town.

I didn't want to have to muck about sorting a dinner out when we got home, so for the very first time I loaded up the slow cooker and... left the house...

... I never, ever, do this. Not with anything. Not the dishwasher, not the washing machine, the dryer...  nothing. Stuff happens when I'm not in the house. Things flood, break, block up, fall over, fall off, seize up, singe... leaving the slow cooker on was a real risk. REAL. RISK. I walked super fast through town to get to the shop, ran around the shop dismissing all but one type of flooring, asked for a sample and was handed a whole plank of wood... a whole plank of wood... who does that?!?... then literally ran through the high street home, leaving the plank of wood in a passing bin because it was just too random, even for me.

When I fell in the back door a couple of hours after I'd left.. with Neil following at a leisurely "What is wrong with you, woman?" pace behind me... my Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Hotpot was very gently bubbling away, minding it's own business. The dog was guarding the floor space directly in front of the kitchen counter that it was sitting on - just in case it happened to explode and leave the kitchen covered in minced beef and vegetables - ready to perform clean up duty... and the cat was sitting on the shed roof wondering where we'd been and what was all the fuss about?

Our flooring hunt might have been a dead bust, but dinner certainly wasn't.

The poor dog was disappointed, yet again.

This recipe is linked up on Foodie Friday at Simple Living and Eating, so please pop over and see what other wonderful recipes you can find!

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Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Hotpot Recipe

Serves 4

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 4 hours 10 minutes
Total time - 4 hrs 20 minutes

You will need
A slow cooker
A large non stick frying pan/skillet

Ingredients
1lb or 500g minced beef
1 large onion - peeled and chopped
4 medium carrots - peeled and chopped (or thickly sliced)
1lb or 500g potatoes - chopped (I don't peel mine but you can if you choose)
2 tbsps tomato puree/paste
2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce
14fl oz/400ml beef stock (or 7fl oz/200ml beef stock and 7fl oz/200ml Guinness)
salt
pepper
14oz/400g can baked beans (I use Heinz)
small bunch flat leaf parsley - chopped

Method

• Place the minced beef in the pan and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the onion, carrots, potatoes, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock.
• Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
• Pour the beef into the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on MEDIUM.
• Stir in the baked beans and cook until warmed through - about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the chopped parsley, reserving some for garnish.
• Serve with slices of fresh, warm bloomer loaf and/or green veg.

EAT

Adapted for slow cooker from Good Food Magazine