Slow Cooker Kraut Suppe

I don't profess to speak German. I would love to, but I have a hard enough time speaking English. My heritage however, is German (by way of Russia), and every once in a while I get a craving for something involving cabbage and ground beef.

I have very fond memories of both my great Grandmother and Grandma making the most heavenly Kraut Brot growing up. Kraut Brot is like a beef, onion and cabbage filled hotpocket, only way better. No one to this day could pronounce the name of them correctly, and in fact I still have a recipe card from around age 10 when I was copying what Grandma was making in the kitchen, titled "Grabroke". I remember asking over and over, time and again for years, how to pronounce it...there were rolling Rs, and maybe a G in there, I could never tell...finally I just gave up & spelled it how it sounded.

I've made those little pockets of yum before, and they're a lot of work, because I'm not much of a "baker" - and all the work is in the dough. So to meet the current need for something cabbagey, avoid the hassle of dough, and continue my 2012 soup/stew theme, I made Kraut Suppe:



1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
4 small potatoes
1 medium carrot
1/2 small head cabbage
1 lb ground beef (cooked on top of stove first, fat drained)
2 c hot water
S&P

Chop all veggies first, throw everything into the slow cooker, and cook on high for 3-5 hours (or low for 5-7). Since the meat is pre-cooked, all you really need to do is make sure the potatoes are cooked through, so this could also be made on top of the stove quickly in a stockpot.
This would be amazing (and even more Kraut Brot-like) with croutons sprinkled on top*