Japanese-style Beef Curry Rice

This recipe comes from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook - the original recipe calls for cubed beef but I did it with ground beef instead - either way it is a great beef stew/hamburger soup alternative!

Japanese-Style Beef Curry Rice

Ingredients:
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
3-4 medium carrots, sliced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups beef broth
2 cups water
3 tsp curry powder
1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Directions:
-Put potatoes in the slow cooker. Layer sliced carrots on top.
-In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, drain well and place in the cooker. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel to remove most of the leftover grease.
-Heat the oil in the same skillet, add the onion and garlic, and cook until softened. Add the curry, salt and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes more. Transfer to the cooker.
-Pour the broth in the skillet, bring to a boil and scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Pour into the cooker and add water.
-Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hrs. Serve over rice.

***optional: if you like the stew thicker (best when using stew meat instead of ground beef), skip adding the curry to the onions. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a small skillet. Add 3 Tbsp flour and cook, stirring, until it becomes brown (about 5 minutes). Add 1 Tbsp curry and stir for another minute. Remove from heat. Turn your slow cooker on HIGH. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the liquid, and add to the flour mixture, stirring until there are no lumps. Slowly add this mixture back into the slow cooker (stir carefully, don't break up the potatoes). Stir in frozen peas. Cover and cook on high about 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.

Total Cost:
Potatoes: $0.50
Carrots: $0.40
Vegetable oil: $0.03
Beef: $2.00
Onion: $0.30
Broth: $0.60 (free if you made your own!)
seasonings and garlic: $0.20


Grand Total: $4.03 for 6-8 servings!