It’s Back to School time once again and my schedule is totally in chaos.  I am never going to get used to that 6 am alarm and the child zombies I have to wake up for school.  Coffee has yet to be made or consumed before the school bus comes, so I feel like it’s a mini celebrations every morning when we get to the corner on time!

But there is something so indulgent about the 7 am hour now… it’s quiet.  I can take just a few minutes to get all the food into the crock pot and have dinner started for the day. If your chaos continues until you go to work/gym/meetings/etc. you can prep parts of this meal the night before, to make it even easier. Cut the veggies and refrigerate. I’m a big fan of measuring out all of the seasonings and putting them in one of these so you can just dump them in the morning with much less effort. (THIS IS ALSO A GREAT TRAVEL TIP– PRE-MEASURE SEASONINGS AND STORE IN THESE CONTAINERS FOR MEALS YOU ARE MAKING AWAY FROM HOME!)  I’m also in the habit of using crock pot liners so I don’t have to even deal with a messy clean-up. After dinner, I just throw the bag away and wipe out the crock pot… this is a huge benefit when I’m using the same crock pot multiple days in a row.

You can vary what veggies you put in this dish; we like carrot and onions, but you can also add cut up celery, frozen peas or green beans if you’d like. It will make the dish more like a pot pie, but there is nothing wrong with that! Having no veggies is totally acceptable too!

I try to cook from scratch, but I did opt to use one cream soup in this dish. It just helps with the flavor and thickening the sauce. If you prefer, you can buy organic concentrated soup to keep the ingredient list limited to words you can pronounce. You can also substitute chicken stock for the water, but it’s not necessary. If you do use boxed stock, I would recommend leaving out the teaspoon of salt.

This dish is great for a weeknight meal that also doubles as delicious leftovers for lunch. It also freezes well, so go ahead and make a full batch and save the excess for another time.  Hope your Back to School chaos is manageable and those early alarm clocks someday get a little easier. At least dinner is set to be low and slow!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4-5 hours

Serves: 6-8

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

1/2 lb baby carrots, cut into thirds

1 t. prepped minced garlic or 1 clove, minced

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried thyme

1 t. dried dill

1 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 c. water

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approx 4 pieces)

For dumplings:

2 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 T. softened butter

3/4 cold milk mixed with 1/4 cup cold water

1 t. dried parsley flakes

1 t. dried dill

Put veggies, seasonings, condensed soup and water into the crock pot and give it a stir to combine.  Place chicken pieces in next and push down to submerge as much as possible.  Cook on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred in a bowl, then add back to crock pot and stir. Set to high for another hour and bring back to a simmer while you make the dumpling dough. Combine all dumpling ingredients in a separate bowl and then slowly drop by tablespoon into the crock pot. Do this step quickly so the crock pot retains as much heat as possible. After all dumplings are dropped, put lid on a cook for 20-30 minutes. Dumplings should plump up and be soft and moist. Serve 1-2 dumplings with each bowl of dish.

 

 

Hello from South Carolina! This is my first post since relocating to Hilton Head Island and I’m so glad to have my crock pot unpacked and start getting settled in. I don’t know about you, but after eating out for days on end, we start to miss our favorites dishes.

Nothing warms my heart more than hearing my kids ask me to make specific meals. Our first meals when my kitchen “re-opened”? My youngest asked for pasta carbonara (because it’s a good belief in life that bacon makes everything better!). My oldest asked for taco night; hard and soft tortillas are a requirement– it needs to be both or none at all.

But then I got to pick! I wanted something easy to make and easy to clean up. So of course I used my crock pot!

This recipe seriously only has four ingredients. And after a day of low and slow cooking, you can serve a whole freaking chicken.  If you’d like to play with the flavors, try using different root vegetables as the “edible trivet” or rubbing the bird with different seasonings.  By perching the bird on top of the veggies, the meat won’t be soaking in liquid while it is cooking and the drippings with flavor the meat with all the delicious goodness.

Other recipes recommend rubbing the skin with oil or butter, like you would if you baked the chicken in the oven, but I disagree. The skin is not going to really crisp in the crock pot, so the added calories of the lube are really not necessary.

When you try this recipe at home, please post it to the Dinner Is A Crock Facebook page and let us know how you tweaked the recipe to make it your own!

Crock Pot Whole Freaking Chicken

Time: 6-8 hours

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6

3-4 lb whole chicken, skin on, giblets removed

6 whole carrots, peeled

1 sweet onion, quartered

1 T Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning mix

Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water and then pat dry with paper towels. Shake the Mrs. Dash seasonings on the outside of the chicken and also on the inside. Wash your hands. Arrange the carrots on the bottom of the crock pot like you are making an edible trivet. Then add the onions as additional perches. Place the bird on top of the vegetables and make sure the lid sits comfortably on top of the crock pot. If the lid doesn’t sit flat, adjust the veggies under the bird until it fits better. Be cautious as you reconfigure the lid and the contents so that you are not contaminating the handles with raw chicken juices. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove bird carefully and carve. The vegetables also make a delicious side dish!

My favorite season is sunshine. I don’t really care what month of the year it actually is… if the sun is beaming and I can feel the warmth on my face then it’s my favorite season, for sure.  Fall brings lots of sunshine– and rain– and over programming of school functions, sports, travels, holidays, and chaos. That’s why I desperately need that sunshine to keep me warm and happy! 🙂

Since days like today have a full agenda and to do list, I’m taking advantage of leftovers in my fridge and making an easy low-fat crock pot meal that we can all sit down to as soon as we get home from today’s events.  It’s tempting to drive through or order delivery when the day is so full already… but I’d rather have dinner ready in the crock pot and just get home, sit down, and eat. Sure, there are a few dishes to do after the kids go to bed, but it’s so much healthier and less crazy for me to plan ahead and just have it done and ready to go.

We ate stuffed peppers pretty often growing up. I like the simplicity of meat and veggies and it is a great way to use up leftover rice. I can also totally sneak in extra veggies because it’s really like a pretty pepper stuffed with a huge meatball! You can either cut the bell peppers in half or just cut the crown off and stuff them whole and standing up. I make that decision based on the shapes/sizes of the peppers and how they will fit best in my crock pot. If I use the whole pepper, I like to use this insta pot or one that is more vertical… but if I’m cutting them in half, then this is definitely the one to use.

My kids like the filling, but not the peppers, so when I make this at home I save half of the filling and bake it in a loaf pan instead of stuffing it into peppers for the crock pot. I don’t usually like to make two separate meals for dinner… but if I give them the stuffed peppers they just eat the middle out and leave the fleshy and bright veggie to throw out. That makes me sad! So I have compromised and bake it separate for them to eat.

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Crock Pot Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5-6 hours

Serves: 6

6 medium bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, or green)

1 lb. ground turkey

2 c. cooked white rice

1 c. diced sweet onion

1/2 c. shredded carrot

1/2 c. canned corn kernels, drained

2 T. tomato paste

8 oz. can of tomato sauce

2 T. brown sugar

Cut the tops off of the peppers and pull out seeds and pithy parts. In a separate bowl, mix the meat and veggies. Form into balls and fill the peppers; the meat can be pressed in firmly. In another bowl, mix the tomato paste and sauce with the brown sugar, then pour the mixture over the tops of the peppers. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

A few years ago, I published this watered down version of my favorite Thai soup. I was just learning to experiment with Thai cooking and didn’t have access to the necessary ingredients for this recipe, so I made it with the closest things I could find.  That recipe was FINE. It satisfied my craving for this delicious chicken and coconut milk soup, but I recently decided that I wanted to up the ante and do it correctly, with the legit ingredients. I accepted my own challenge and I’m thrilled with the results. The old version tasted good, no doubt. But this recipe tastes AUTHENTIC.

I can’t really explain what makes this soup so good, other than it’s ingredients I don’t usually cook with at home. Please use fresh herbs, it makes all the difference. You can find fresh lemongrass and Thai basil at some grocery stores and at many international grocery markets. Thai basil is not the same as regular basil- make sure you grab the correct ingredient!

I am blessed to have an amazing neighbor that is gifted with a green thumb; she shares fresh herbs with me and I, in turn, share the foods with her. It’s a great exchange and I am grateful for her friendship. I am envious of her ability and patience to garden and someday, I’ll be motivated to do more than just putting fresh herbs into mason jars on my bay window!

Try this recipe and see how it compares to your favorite local Thai restaurant. You might figure out that eating at home is just as good, if not fresher and better!

Crock Pot Tom Kha Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Serves: 4

2 c. vegetable or chicken broth

1 13.5 oz can coconut milk

1 12″ stalk fresh lemongrass, greens removed; bruise the stalk and then cut into 3″ sections

1 2″ fresh ginger root, peeled and slice into 6 quarter-sized slices

1/2 lb fresh oyster mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 T. fish sauce

1 t. sugar

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 t. Thai chili paste

1/4 c. fresh kaffir lime leaves

1/4 c. fresh Thai basil leaves

1/4 chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, cut into wedges

Put all ingredients except cilantro and lime wedges into crock pot and stir. Cook on low for 5 hours. Before serving, remove all kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil leaves, and lemongrass stalks (optional to remove ginger slices, too).  When serving, add chopped fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedge on top. Serve with bowl of white rice.

You’ll often hear me say that food isn’t just about sustenance, but also satisfaction. Entertainment. Emotion. Nutritionists focus on the content of food.  Dietician focus on the balance of food.  But when I sit down to eat– or more importantly– serve a meal to family and friends, it’s about the experience and the memories we create around the table. Your food will be through your system in less than 24 hours, but the feeling you had when eating it will last a lifetime.

That’s how I feel about this soup. It’s based on a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid. We ate dinner as a family, almost every night. It’s just what we did. And we didn’t do it in front of a television or on the run, but it was quick and easy meals and meant to create an atmosphere for conversation.

Mom’s meals were much like this one– a basic recipe with few ingredients that when combined received minimal complaints! We called it winter vegetable soup because nothing really is fresh during an Ohio winter. She could keep all of these items on hand and whip this meal up in about half an hour. I prefer to cook it low and slow, of course, and add a few more seasonings. But overall, it’s the comfort of home in a cup.

Crock Pot Winter Vegetable Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Serves: 8

2 12 oz. packages frozen vegetables- broccoli, cauliflower and carrot combination

1 32 oz. box of vegetable broth

3 T. butter

1 t. minced garlic

1/2 cup crock pot caramelized onions (or substitute 1/2 sweet onion, diced)

1/2 t. each: dill weed, celery seed, basil, parsley, salt, black pepper (ALL DRIED SEASONINGS)

1/4 c. corn starch

3 cups cold milk (2% or whole is preferred)

Pour frozen vegetables into crock pot, followed by broth, butter, garlic, onions and seasonings. DO NOT ADD CORN STARCH OR MILK YET. Cook on high for four hours. In a separate bowl, dissolve corn starch into COLD milk and then add to crock pot. Cook on high for another hour. Soup will have thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste preference.

 

Thank you for following my kitchen renovation, week by week! If you started following from the beginning, you might remember my boring almond and oak colored kitchen.  Actually, you probably don’t. I hid most of it from pictures and only showed you the edges of my Pfaltzgraff dishes.  So we gutted it. Like, down to the subfloor. And now we’ve spent the last three months rebuilding it into this beautiful, functional, spacious kitchen. Don’t be fooled… it’s the same square footage it was before, but the landscape is so much more welcoming and the storage is accessible and workable.

In WEEK ONE, we did demolition. It was like free therapy, we took our aggressions out on every wall. While it was intimidating to start, it was actually pretty easily and required a minimal amount of tools.

In WEEK TWO, we celebrated Thanksgiving by installing our hardwood floors. This was a fun challenge that required a little booze, a lot of manpower, and no guests for the holiday! And yes… I crock potted our Thanksgiving dinner.

WEEKS THREE AND FOUR were exciting because our cabinets arrived early. I was naive enough to think that meant that the kitchen would be done three weeks early. NOPE. That’s not how it really works.

I was also reminded how thankful I am that my boys are good eaters. This whole process included meticulous meal planning and a balance between crock pot cooking, fresh produce, and easy microwave foods. Not everything was healthy, but not every decision is life-changing… sometimes a meal just has to be filling and easy. Ramen noodles are still food, just ask any college student!

I would be happy to forget about WEEK FIVE. I shared with you my meals each night in hopes that we could all forget about that horrible incident with that undesirable creature.  Pretty sure I’m going to have nightmares again now, thanks to myself.

A lot of progress happened quickly in WEEKS SIX THROUGH EIGHT, but then it came to a halt.  Cabinets were installed, electric was run, plumbing was prepped and then countertops were measured. And then because the quartz needed cut, we had to update and wait.

I tried to be patient, I really did. But caffeine sometimes prevents that virtue from shining! I was anxiously waiting for the install, and every day of waiting seemed like a thorn, but ultimately it really wasn’t an extended time at all.

WEEK NINE was the culmination of everything. Except for one day of snow that slowed our progress, this week was crazy! Electric. Plumbing. Tile. Countertops. HVAC. Paint. Amazon Prime delivery! Oh my! My dream kitchen became a reality. Like, legit reality. I can cook and clean and start creating again– new recipes, new posts, new video, and even new cooking classes (locally only, but please reach out if you are interested in having me as a guest speaker!).

Thanks so much for your support in this new adventure! Let me help you save time and cook slower.

 

 

I am pleased to present the new Dinner Is A Crock kitchen! It’s been months of hard work, intense labor, and intricate planning, but I am thrilled to welcome you to my home and get back to creating new and exciting recipes to share.

Week NINE– let’s break it down and see how the transition unfolded…

Tuesday: Carolina Custom Surfaces did a beautiful job installing my new countertops on a very cold day. The guys were courteous and skilled. I love it when people show up to work but take a minute to just step back and admire the progress before they begin. This isn’t just an office, this is my home, too.  I appreciated that the guys asked me my opinion, like on faucet preferences, and even had great recommendations for counter cleaners (they totally recommended THIS and THIS to keep my quartz clean and pretty.)

My counters were installed perfectly, my house was kept clean, and my kitchen is one step closer to complete. They did such a good job that I’m starting to think about using Carolina Custom Surfaces to update the bathrooms and get a few custom cutting boards!  (TACOS FOR DINNER USING MY LAST BATCH OF FROZEN COOKED TACO MEAT)

 

Wednesday: My cabinet installer came by this morning to finish up some last little details. Any man that wants to bring me a crown is fine by me… even if it’s just the molding to go up against the ceiling. 🙂

This afternoon, the tile backsplash was installed under cabinets behind where the hood will go. The subway has never looked this good.

What a difference in the dimensions of the room with the refraction of sunlight from the tile and countertop! I feel shiny and pretty. (BOLOGNA SANDWICHES AND CROCK POT TOMATO SOUP FOR DINNER.)

 

Thursday: Today was all about regaining functionality. After nine weeks, I think I am most excited to have running water in the kitchen again! Yes, I realize that I had it in other places in the house, but I am so done with washing dishes in the basement bathroom! (SHOUT OUT TO MY HUBBY SINCE HE DID MOST OF THE DISHWASHING!!) My sink and dishwasher are up and running. And– so are my electrical outlets! I can plug it to a gazillion different places now, so you can anticipate seeing crockpots lining the kitchen at some point in the near future. Haha! (GRILLED CHICKEN AND KALE BURGERS AND FRESH ZUCCHINI TONIGHT…AND A FEW OTHER THINGS IN PREPARATION FOR THE SNOW TOMORROW!)

 

Friday: Oh snow, you ruined my perfect finale. But we made it so close! Kudos to Piedmont Natural Gas  for braving the roads and still coming to install my range today. I’m super impressed with your commitment to deliver and follow-through for your patient (and slightly crazy) customers. It’s in! I’m good! Just one more thing to go. (CROCK POT POTATO SOUP FOR DINNER AND A GARDEN SALAD. NOTHING TOO EXCITING.)

I also want to give a shout to to Primo Water— I actually designed the cabinets around my refrigerator to house the bottom-loading water cooler. I love it for easy access to clean water! I use it for hot tea at least once a day. My boys go to it all day for cold water (or room temperature, depending what your teeth prefer!). I also feel good cooking with it. With all the crazy stories on the news right now about tainted water, I feel really good about getting big jugs of Primo for my family instead of tap water. (The bottles are easy to exchange at places like Harris Teeter, Kroger, Lowe’s Home Improvements, etc.)

 

Monday: (I’m playing Pomp and Circumstance music as I type this…) The hood has been installed and it’s like fireworks going off in here. Not like electric short-circuiting or anything like that, but like we’ve reached the culmination of this project and the applause is going wild. Unicorns are seen jumping in the backyard and leprechauns are scurrying around stocking my fridge. Ok… maybe not quite. But when my LG oven reaches full temperature, it does actually play a cute little ditty, so that will have to do for now. (DINNER TONIGHT: ROASTED CHICKEN AND ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS! ROASTED, PEOPLE! LIKE, IN AN OVEN!!)

There are some small details to still finish (like painting the bay window), but overall, I could not be more thrilled with THIS:

 

Thank you for staying with me on this adventure! I hope it’s helped provide some guidance and guilty pleasure of commiserating with me through these 10 weeks. I can’t wait to share new recipes with you very soon! #nokitchennoproblem… it’s time to save time and cook slower. Welcome to the new and improved Dinner Is A Crock!

 

Fall is almost here… Starbucks is already is serving up pumpkin spice lattes and football seasons have officially started, that means the weather should start to cool off, even here in the South, and the leaves should start to change.

I love making pulled pork, but everyone likes their BBQ sauce a little different, usually depending where you live. THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE. Some like it sweet and smoky, some like it vinegar-based, and others (like my kids) just want to top every kind of meat with ketchup. Yes, that actually happens in my house, but at least they are eating protein, right?!

So this recipe is a great SIMPLE way to make pulled pork in the crock pot and then you can decorate it however the hell you want! It’s a great meal for football parties, tailgates, birthday parties, and all other fall festivities. Throw it in before you go pick that perfectly round pumpkin. Decorate your table with pretty leaves and then serve a bowl of this deliciousness for the table of fall fans to devour. I don’t care how you eat it, it’s easy to make and easy to eat. Isn’t that the point?!

You won’t believe that this is only three ingredients. Here’s the catch– not all crockpots cook at the same temperature, so watch the meat the first time you make this and don’t let it dry out. Your meat will release enough juices to let it cook low and slow without any excess. But if your cooker is too hot, it will scorch the meat and dry it out. Don’t do that. ONLY COOK THIS RECIPE ON LOW. LOW, I SAY!

Happy Fall. Yay Football! Pass that caffeinated cup of fake gourd goodness.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4-6

1.5 lb pork tenderloin (a little more or less is ok too)

1 large gala apple, sliced into 1/3 inch strips, skins left on

1/2 sweet onion, sliced the same thickness as the apples

Put all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours. ONLY ON LOW. Then, using two forks, shred the meat in the crockpot and stir the apples and onions throughout. Top with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve on squishy white bread buns accompanied by bread and butter pickles or coleslaw.

 

We are almost a month into school, some of you are just starting out post-Labor Day, and I’m pretty sure we can all agree that mornings are rough!  (BTW- If I have to see one more picture on social media of some super mom decorating chalkboard coated cookie sheets announcing the new grade and “what I want to be when I grow up”, I’m seriously going to get one of those old school bumper stickers that said “my kid beat up your honor student”.)

Sorry about that rant, I digress easily… back to the recipes! I celebrate my crock pot by cooking breakfast overnight so that in the morning, I can just scoop up a bowl of goodness or maybe throw it into a thermos for a hot lunch at school.  It’s even easier to manage that pouring a bowl of cereal and remembering to buy milk.

Here are a few ideas to try to alleviate the stress from your morning routine. Let’s not be ugly before coffee and the school bus arrive!

Crock Pot Cherry Pie Oatmeal

Crock Pot Purple Oatmeal

Crock Pot Fruity Oatmeal

Crock Pot Escalloped Apples

Crock Pot Grits

Crock Pot Blueberry Cobbler

Crock Pot Tapioca Pudding

What are your favorite ways to make it through the school morning routine??

The sun was beaming in the window when I finally opened my eyes this morning. I had to look around for a minute and remember there wasn’t school or camp or work or anything to rush off to this morning. Today’s to do list included the pool and the beach. I was pretty sure I could accomplish those tasks so I rolled back off to sleep as the sun soared into the sky and the light in the room subdued. Granted, it was only another hour or so before my kids were knocking at the door and ready for breakfast, but I awoke again with a great calm and a readiness for an adventure.

One thing doesn’t change no matter where I sleep– my desperate need for coffee in the morning. Lucky for me, Ooh La La‘s kitchen was totally equipped. Every appliance (COFFEE POT AND KEURIG!) needed was readily available and the cabinets were full of the comforts of home– not just dishes and cups, but tupperware, travel mugs, grill tools, fruit baskets. I was completely at home even though I was still uncaffeinated!

After an easy breakfast, I skipped off to the grocery store, categorized list in hand. Oh, you missed that in the last post? HERE YOU GO. But whoa— I must warn you… the grocery store was full of crazy people without a plan. It was like playing Supermarket Sweep but with a Hunger Games approach. Despite my greatest organization, it still took longer than anticipated to get through the store, but the good news is that everything I needed was in stock.  Since I brought all of my basics and non-perishables with me, I didn’t really need the aisles, just a lap around the perimeter of the store.

While I know that I’ll be at the local Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, I still needed some produce today. We were planning on a BBQ tonight with hamburgers and hot dogs, so I decided that I would steam some veggies in the crock pot as my side. The good news was that the store also had great little packages of fresh herbs and I totally stocked up.

The groceries and prep work for dinner tonight took just over an hour and then it was off to the pool! The house seriously has it’s own swimming pool. I want to live here. Like, not just this week, but from here on out. The pool is just big enough for all the kids and grown ups to get in and play. The youngest played on the stairs mostly and the oldest kept trying to see if his cannonball could splash over the fence. Oh wait– you thought I meant my oldest kid? Nope, that was my husband trying to tsunami the pool!

After the pool and a light lunch we crossed over the sand dunes to the beach. There is something about the waves that is so cathartic. I feel such peace at the waves, listening to them crash and then pull everything negative away.  There is something that reaches my soul when I stand at the waves and realize I have to relinquish all control. I can’t make them stop. I can’t make them crash. I can’t protect my sand castle or demand that the water fill the mote. I can just breathe and trust that none of it is my handiwork and that the water will continue to rise and fall and I don’t have to do anything. Much like dinner tonight– there is nothing left to do but breathe and enjoy.

 

 

Crock Pot Steamed Summer Vegetables

Serves 6-8

4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise

1 lb asparagus, rinsed and woody ends removed

1 package button mushrooms (doesn’t matter what size package, they are mushrooms, they’ll fit!)

6-8 twigs of fresh thyme

3-4 twigs of fresh rosemary

1 c. water

Layer vegetables and herbs in the crockpot– I put in zucchini first, then 2-3 sprigs thyme; add asparagus and a couple sprigs of rosemary; then the mushrooms and the remaining seasonings. Pour in the cup of water around the edges so that the water covers the bottom of the crock pot. The vegetables will release enough additional liquid to continue the cooking process. Cook on low for 4 hours, then serve. You can remove the herbs or use them as garnish.