Summer Harvest Crock Pot Dinner

With the girls back in school and the start up of our extra curricular activities, it's time to get back into the routine of using the crock pot on a weekly basis. It looks like Wednesdays are going to be our Crock Pot Night. We have to eat in shifts because my middle one has gymnastics over the traditional dinner hour. Having a meal ready in the crock pot means she can eat a bit more heartily when she comes home from school before she leaves for gymnastics, and the meal can wait on the warm function until the other four of us are ready to sit down around the table.

A friend recently shared some of his garden harvest with us, and this Crock Pot Dinner was a great way to use some of the produce (potatoes, onions, beans) he had shared with us. We actually had this meal a couple of other times over the summer when we picked up produce at the Farmers' Market, and all three girls cleaned their plates. The simple combination of potatoes, sweet onions, smoked sausage, and green beans makes for a tasty dinner. The fact that it can be prepped and put in the crockpot in under 10 minutes is a bonus. Hearing my pickiest eater say, "I love that dinner!" when she peaks into the crockpot upon coming home from school makes this meal worthy of repeat on our family menu plan.

You can use red or white potatoes without too much variation in the overall taste. We like skinless smoked sausage, and I try to buy the turkey kind when I can. This particular batch was made with the John Morrell smoked sausage that was on sale last week for $1 each at Meijer making this a very budget friendly meal. You can use canned, frozen, or fresh green beans. If you use fresh or frozen, you may want to add just a little bit of water to the pot (1/3 cup or so).

We like to pair this dinner with sweet fresh fruit and bread or corn muffins. Some fresh corn on the cob would be a great accompaniment if you can still get your hands on some fresh corn from the fields or thought ahead to flash freeze some for your freezer.

Here's the recipe:

Summer Harvest Crock Pot Dinner

1-2 tsp olive oil
8-10 small red or white potatoes, cut into halves or quarters
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 sweet onion, cut into chunks and separated into pieces (about 1/3 cup)
1 1/2 lbs smoked sausage, cut into chunks
3 cups of green beans (2 cans, 1 bag of frozen)


1. Drizzle 1-2 tsp of olive oil in bottom of crock pot.
2. Place potatoes in bottom of crock pot.
3. Sprinkle with salt.
4. Place onion chunks on top of potatoes.
5. Place sausage on top of onion.
6. Place green beans on top of sausage. (drained if using canned)
(Pour water over the top if using frozen or fresh, about 1/3 cup)
7. Put lid on and cook on low 3-4 hours until potatoes are tender.

Serve straight out of crock pot or separate into different serving bowls.



Summer Harvest Crock Pot Dinner
Add some fresh corn on the cob and garden tomatoes,
and this is the perfect summertime garden harvest meal!



 

What's your favorite Summer Harvest Meal?