Delicious and easy stew

Hobo Meatball Stew
Taste of Home Summer Slow Cooker Meals Copyright 2009 (Magazine)

1 pound ground beef
1-1/2 teaspoons salt or salt-free seasoning blend, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks I used Klondike Rose potatoes and did not peel them
4 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into chunks
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1-1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

In a bowl, combine the beef, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Shape into 1-in. balls. In a skillet over medium heat, brown meatballs on all sides; drain.

Place the potatoes, carrots and onion in a 3-qt. slow cooker; top with meatballs. Combine the water, ketchup, vinegar, basil, and remaining salt and pepper; pour over meatballs. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the vegetables are tender.

Yield: 4 servings.
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I usually try to resist buying these magazine-type cookbooks but I picked this one up at a discount in Costco. I have many slow cooker cookbooks but it's still hard to come by good slow cooker recipes. This magazine looked promising and this first recipe was all that I had hoped it would be and more.

I'm not usually a fan of meat-only meatballs but these turned out fine. I probably would add some bread or breadcrumbs next time I make this. It stretches out the meat a bit but it also just makes a more tender meatball, in my opinion. But like I said, these weren't bad. My son ate them with no prompting and without asking for spaghetti sauce or ketchup or anything!

I loved the vegetables and the sauce this made. The sauce was just right - not too ketchupy if you don't like ketchup. The vegetables came out perfectly. I used Klondike Rose potatoes for the first time and they were sooooooo good. I had never heard of them but my husband's grandmother ended up with them by accident and she only likes white potatoes (pickiest woman ever!) and she gave them to me. Their flavor was great but I especially liked the texture. They were creamy but they didn't fall apart or lose their skins in the stew, even after reheating it (I made this ahead of time, of course).

P.S. I am still finding old posts where Blogger has dropped tags. I'm not sure if these pop up in your readers when I fix and republish them but if they do, that is the reason.

Question of the Day: Have you discovered anything new in food lately?