Come to the Dark Side

I am trying really hard to like dark meat.  I thought I would start with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, because they are easy, and they were on sale.  This is actually supposed to be a beef recipe (hence the beef broth, and not chicken) but I have a cold and I was confused.  It happens.

The chicken cooked very nicely and fell apart, which is always lovely.  Be careful that you don't overcook your broccoli, because that's just gross.  The original recipe called for thawing the broccoli first, but I don't see why that's necessary.  Plus, it would affect the texture, I think.

I served this with some brown rice, and a smile.

Asian Chicken and Broccoli in the Crockpot
adapted from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 c. beef broth
1/3 c. soy sauce
2-4 cloves garlic or 1 tbsp garlic powder
1 onion, chopped
pepper to taste
1 tbsp. brown sugar
16 oz. bag frozen broccoli (you know, or more; it's your dinner)
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Chop chicken into 1"-ish cubes.  Combine broth and soy sauce in slow cooker.  Add chicken, garlic, and onion.  Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.  One-half to one hour before this is done, combine the water and cornstarch and stir it into the pot.  Add the broccoli at this point, as well.  Add pepper to taste.


I would make this again, because it's freakishly easy.  And I LOVE that.  It definitely needs something.  I think next time I will add some honey and ginger, at the very least.  But I didn't hate it, so that's a win!  Everyone else in the house really, really liked it.

Turkey & Lentil Chili

So my kids suddenly think they hate beans.  And this makes me so sad, because beans are (a) cheap, (b) good for you, and (c) pretty tasty.

I thought I would try lentils.  I mean, they cook to mush if you let 'em and they fit all the bean criteria listed above.  Plus, I had this ground turkey and needed to do something with it.  Hub won't eat meatloaf (I know, right!?) and it was only a pound so not enough for really much else anyway.  Have I told you that there are a lot of us?

Turkey & Lentil Chili
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb. ground turkey
1 32 oz. box chicken broth
2 c. lentils, rinsed (I used red but any kind would work)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
pepper to taste

Brown the meat with onions and celery in a skillet.  Toss mixture into crock pot.  Add rinsed lentils and remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

You really don't need any salt here since you're using canned broth and canned tomatoes.  But I suppose if you want, you could add some salt at the end.  Just taste it first.

This went over way better than chili with beans.  It was more soupy than stew-like, and I have adjusted the broth amount accordingly so that you might avoid that problem.

Taco Soup

I love my crock pot.  I love it because it's hands-off cooking (mostly) and sometimes I am just too lazy to cook. I know you relate, otherwise, we wouldn't all order so much take out.  This is SUPER easy and there's really no excuse not to make it.  My version is pretty simple and the original is even easier.  Give it a shot.  Ole!

Taco Soup
from crockpot365.com
See original recipe here.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 c. or more if you want)
2 cans (I used home-canned pints) diced tomatoes with liquid
2 generous handfuls of frozen corn
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (any beans that you like would work)
1 c. water
1 packet ranch dressing mix (seriously)
1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp garlic powder OR 1 packet taco seasoning

Brown the ground beef with the onions and drain.  Add to the crock pot.  Sprinkle the ranch mix and taco seasoning or spices over top (feel free to adjust the spice amounts to make yourself happy).  Add tomatoes with juice, corn, beans, and water.  Stir.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

We topped our's with some freshly shredded cheddar (you know how I feel about pre-shredded cheese) and sour cream.  And we happened to have some tasty cheddar-jalapeno bread too.  It's good to be us.  This was so very tasty and I will make it again.

I'm a saucy girl

I've been making my own spaghetti sauce for a few years now.  I'm not talking about chopping and saucing tomatoes, as I feel that's way too much work and I like my tomatoes to be turned into salsa.  This recipe is SUPER easy.  Really, it's kind of lazy.  It's very good and also cheap.

Easy Pasta Sauce

2 giant cans of crushed tomatoes (I mean the Costco/Sam's size, here.  Mine are 105 oz. each)
whole head of garlic (yes, all the cloves from a whole head.  I guess if you hate garlic, you have bigger problems.)
pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
oregano (I used dried, about a tbsp)
basil (Again, I only had dried, about a tbsp)
1 tbsp. sugar

if you like them, and if you have them:
chopped onion (at least one whole onion, or more)
chopped peppers



I usually don't saute the veggies, as that seems like work with this recipe.

Combine it all in a giant crock pot.  I think mine is 6 qt, so obviously (I hope), you may want to halve this recipe for your crock pot.

Turn it on low and put the lid on so it gets hot.  Once it's hot (about 20-30 minutes), fix the lid so it's ajar in order to let steam evaporate.  I cook mine overnight for about 8-10 hours.  Once it cools, freeze in ziploc bags.  They'll stack nicely in your freezer.

By the way, these cans of tomatoes cost $2.69 each at Costco.  We'll say I've used $2 worth of other ingredients.  Maybe.  (I didn't have peppers this time.)  For less than $5 you can have something much better than you can buy at the store, and in greater quantity.

Lazy Dinner

I know some people don't know how to cook.  I can almost understand it.  Almost.  Maybe your parents didn't teach you.  Maybe you didn't take home ec.  I don't know.  But this here is a lazy, from scratch dinner.  You can do it.  It's one of the first things I ever learned to make.  It's a forgiving recipe, and I've included some ideas for making it your's.

No, not the prettiest dinner.  But easy and delicious.

Pot Roast in the Crock Pot (aka Yankee Pot Roast)

1 roast of your choice -- Now right there, you might be panicking.  Relax.  Your local grocery store probably has some roast on sale right now.  My personal favorite is rump roast.  You could go with a chuck roast or a sirloin roast.  Anything will work.  The photo is of a rump roast, which often has this string netting over it.  You can cook it with the strings on, then just cut them off at the end.  What weight should it be?  Whatever you think will feed your family.  Mine is probably a good 5 lbs.  We might eat it all.  If we're lucky, there will be leftovers for Hub for lunch.

carrots -- I had 2 small bags of carrots from a local farm, so I put them all in (scrubbed and left whole, as they were only 3-4 inches long).  I usually put in at least 1 lb. of carrots.  You can add more if you like them.  Somehow, meat-flavored carrots are just extra yummy.  You could just halve them and they'll be fine.

potatoes -- Again, I had some red potatoes from the farm and most were small.  I scrubbed them and just threw them in whole.  You could use any potato, though something like a red or new potato would hold up better than a russet in the crock pot.  But any kind works.  You can halve them, too, or quarter them.  Or leave them whole if they are smallish.

onion -- I used a medium purple onion.  Need more onion flavor?  Use more, or use a different type, like a yellow or white onion.  Want a sweet onion?  Go ahead with the Vidalia or Walla-Walla.  (I just wanted to say Walla-Walla).  I peeled, then halved, my onion.

seasoning -- This is a lazy dinner.  So while I could've gone all fancy, I didn't.  I used the Costco version of Mrs. Dash.  And some kosher salt.  

Place cut veggies in bottom of crock pot.  Top with roast.  Again, if you have a rump roast, you can leave the string on.  Sprinkle seasoning over top.  I probably used about a teaspoon, maybe a bit more, of the fake Mrs. Dash and just a light sprinkling of salt.  I'll taste it when it's done and season it again if need be.

Add about 1/2 cup water (or beef broth) to the pot.  Put the lid on and set on low for about 8 hours or so.  Remove meat and veggies to a platter or bowl.  Don't forget to taste it all again.  Often, the veggies will need a bit more salt as most of it went on the meat.

If you're feeling crazy, you can use the juice in the bottom of the pot to make gravy.  But that's another post.  I usually just spoon some over top of the meat.

Asian Pot Roast

I warn you now, I failed to photograph the roast. But really, use your imagination. It looked like meat. Cooked meat. It wasn't that pretty anyway. But it was tasty.

Asian Pot Roast

roast (I used one 1.5 lb. bottom round and one approximately 2 lb. chuck roast)

If you have a normal family, obviously you could use less. I am feeding 6 plus I want leftovers.

1/2 c. soy sauce (I used tamari; I'm like that)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced or about 2-3 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. honey

scant sprinkle of allspice

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. hot chili oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

Combine in crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours. However long you want. It's a crock pot. It's very forgiving. I had wanted to toss some sesame seeds in this at the end, but I forgot.

Anyway, here's how I finished it:

I had leftover red peppers and onions from yesterday. They were already sautéed. So if you want to add them, you'll have to sauté them toward the end. I am pro-veggie, so I really do recommend you add something. Some steamed broccoli would be good, too, just served with it.

I pulled the meat out of the pot (I threw out the fat) and shredded it in a bowl with two forks. If you are smarter than I am, you would add the seeds here. You could even toast them in a dry skillet. Man, I am so mad I forgot! Then I reheated the peppers and onions and mixed them into the liquid from the pot. I poured the liquid with veggies over the meat, and combined it. I served it all over some tasty brown rice.

You can really play with the seasonings here--more or less garlic, ginger, or add pepper. I was afraid to add pepper with the chili oil, but it could've been spicier. I just would not add much more allspice. I don't know what even possessed me to put that on the meat, but it was good. But I am pretty confident that no one wants their roast to taste like pie. So be careful!

Make it Homemade!

We're coming to the end of crock pot week around here. I always loved my crock pot, but I learned this week how I really have little to no excuse for not making dinner! Thanks to the FlyLady plan, my kitchen is clean. This used to be the biggest hindrance to my cooking. When I would survey the sink full of dirty dishes and counters cluttered up with toys and papers, I would just think, "ugh, why bother?" Then I would order pizza. And I don't even like restaurant pizza as much as I like my own. Seriously. I don't like sacrificing taste.

Anyway, so now the kitchen is always clean, or about 2 minutes away from being clean. As a result, we are spending far less money on going out to eat mediocre food. Because let's face it, most kid-friendly restaurants aren't that good. Though all of that being said, I will still go out, and I will still enjoy it. I just want to be more selective. You have to eat to live. But you have to eat everyday, and, for me, I figure we might as well like what we eat.

Back to the crock pot. It does require planning. I've always been a bit of a meal planner. I used to do a month at a time, as Hub only gets paid once a month. I have gotten much better at budgeting, and we no longer feast weeks 1-3 and scrounge during week 4. Point is, I like planning out our meals. I only plan one week at a time now, though. I find I am much better at sticking to it.

How do I meal plan? I start by looking at the calendar for next week. Monday nights we are gone from 3:45-6:45. I almost always use the crock pot on Mondays, or make something like tacos before we leave. Then when we get home, I just heat up the meat and we just assemble them. Tuesday is errand day, which means grocery day. Tuesdays I like to cook with a lot of fresh veggies, while they are still fresh. So I plan accordingly--grilled chicken salad, stir-fry, etc. You get the picture. I look at the week, and I plan dinner from there.

I also plan breakfast and lunch as well. Again, this really goes back to the monthly paycheck, so I have to be aware of the food situation. The breakfast and lunch plans are more loose, as I don't really care which day we eat each of the meals. I just know that I have all those foods in the house. Monday might say mac & cheese, but if we want to eat Thursday's planned pb&js on Monday, we will. We can have mac & cheese another day.

I'm the wife and mom around here. In our home, this makes me not only the cook, but the nutritionist as well. I want to provide healthy meals for our family. Not everything I make is 100% healthy. But at least I know what we're eating. I know how much fat, salt, dye, corn syrup, and chemicals we're putting into our bodies. Yes, sometimes we are going to eat Oreos, and we are going to like them. But, you can't tell me that an elf makes a better chocolate chip cookie than I do.

Oh yeah, all this meal planning saves you money too!

Okay, I am stepping down off my box now. Here's today's crock pot recipe:

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (Thanks to Betty Crocker for this one. We can't all be gourmets!)

1 lb. dried black beans (2 cups), sorted (you're looking for little stones or funky shriveled beans), rinsed

1 large onion, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (minced is fine)

2 bay leaves

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with liquid

5 c. water

2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil

4 tbsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. finely chopped jalapeno (I don't have a fresh one, so I am using a few sliced pickled ones)

1 tsp. salt

3 c. hot rice for serving

Mix everything but the rice in your crock pot. Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours until beans are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaves. Serve over rice.

Estimated cost of this whole meal is about $4. (6 servings)

My kids eyed this with great suspicion. Hub and I thought it was tasty. I ended up freezing the rest to mash up and mix into enchiladas or taco pie. I will hide them under cheese so the kids won't complain as much. They just don't know what's good sometimes.