Syndicated Column from the week of October 1, 2012.
This article originally published in the Galion Inquirer on October 3, 2012.

Cooler weather means supper needs to be warm as well as filling. Beef and noodles fits the bill. Now, you may be an old hand at beef and noodle dinners. I know there’s a few churches around that host a beef and noodle supper. Those events are always very popular.

I had not eaten beef and noodles, let alone made a batch, until a few years ago. Somehow I always ended up at the church’s pancake supper and my family didn’t eat many mashed potatoes. The connection is that in this region, beef and noodles are served over a bowl of mashed potatoes. So my menu had been lacking.

Once I discovered how delicious a bowl of beef and noodles over potatoes was, I had to try a recipe. Then, when I learned how easy the recipe was, I wondered why on earth I was just learning about this food!

I like to use a beef roast, hopefully, one I have been able to find on sale. In this economy, the farther I can stretch my grocery budget, the better. My husband likes both the economic side of this menu almost as much as he likes the flavor side. And he is a big fan of beef!

Beef and Noodles

2 lb Roast Beef
1 lg. Onion
1 lg. Carrot
3 c. Water
1 pkg. Beef Gravy powder
1 (12oz) pkg. Noodles

Place the roast and water in the slow cooker. Chop up the onion and carrot, add to crock pot. Simmer on low for 6 hours. Remove the roast and shred the meat. Measure out 2 cups of beef broth from the pot.

Return the shredded meat to crock pot. In a small bowl, mix the gravy packet with the broth and add to the crock pot. In a large pan on the stove, boil some water and prepare the noodles according to package directions. Add the noodles to the beef. Stir.

Mashed Potatoes

5 lg. Potatoes
4 T. Butter
1 c. Milk

Peel and cut the potatoes into small chunks. Add to boiling water. Let cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the water from the potatoes. Return potatoes to pan and add butter and milk. Mix with electric blender until smooth. The longer you mix, the smoother the potatoes will be.

Serve the potatoes in a large soup bowl with a generous serving of beef and noodles over top.

Variations: replace the beef with venison, chicken or pork, if you have those in the freezer instead of beef roast.

Approximate Nutritional Information: Servings per Recipe: 10, Amount per Serving: Calories: 639, Total Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 516mg, Total Carbs: 90g, Protein: 34g.

Make it a Meal: add some green vegetables to round out the food pyramid and you are all set.

This meal is satisfying on several levels. It is warm. It is easy on the grocery budget. It is full of old fashioned flavor. It may bring back memories. It fills you up. Unless you are feeding a teenager, one serving will be enough for most of the family.

If you are feeding the football team, or any group of teenagers, you may want to double this recipe and fill up two crock pots. They will put a good dent in the food, but go away happy and you will still be able to afford the house payment!

Noel Lizotte is breaking free of corporate stress with convenience cooking! www.apronfreecooking.com. She also writes a monthly column at www.culinarychat.net. This recipe and others like it are included in her cookbook Apron Free Cooking available on her website.

Interested in one of the books pictured above? You can purchase on Amazon here.