Baked Potatoes

The Ingredients:

--potatoes

--foil

11 medium sized potatoes completely filled my 6-quart oval rival.

The Directions:


--wash potatoes
--let them dry

(because if you don't the foil then gets a little bit rusty and the potatoes become a bit discolored. Don't ask how I know this...)

--prick a few times with a fork
--wrap in foil
--put them all inside your crockpot.





don't add water.

trust me.

they will cook.

they will not explode.

it's not weird.




cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 6 or until desired tenderness.

Tortilla Soup

The Ingredients:

--3 cups of chicken broth (homemade or packaged)

--1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I had leftover chicken in the freezer)

--1/2 onion

--1 cup frozen roasted corn

--2 green onions

--28 oz can of tomatoes and juice

--1 cup chopped up vegetables that you have on hand (celery and carrots in my case, plus I had the end of the roasted vegetables I froze)

--4 cloves of garlic ( I am STILL out of fresh garlic)

--1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

--1/2 t cayenne pepper

--1 t cumin

--salt to taste (especially if using a no-salt broth like I was)

optional garnish:

--tortilla chips

--parmesan cheese

--sour cream

The Directions:

--dice all veggies into fine chunks

--dump everything into the crockpot

--it's okay if you have frozen stuff. My broth, vegetables and chicken were all frozen.

--totally okay to assemble the night before.


--cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 6 or so.



before serving, add whatever garnish you choose. We were out of tortilla chips, so I used a bit of parmesan and fat free sour cream.



The Verdict:



I ate this for lunch 4 days in a row. The liquid absorbed a bit, so it was more chowdery than soupy after the first day, but still amazingly good, and much healthier than taco bell for my Mexican Food Fix.

16 Bean Soup Recipe

The Ingredients.

Alecksandra's version:

--1 bag of soup mix

--1 onion

--1 packet of onion soup mix

--water

--cook on low all day long

I didn't have any onion soup mix in the house. And since I wasn't expecting any woodland creatures yesterday, I made due with what I had in the pantry.

--1 bag of soup mix (if it comes with a flavor packet, throw it away. The ingredients are scary.)

--1 onion

--3 cloves chopped garlic

--2 t of your favorite spice rub

--can of Italian-style tomatoes

--water

--salt (add the salt at the last minute, a teaspoon at a time, according to taste)

It is up to you how much water you use. I did not measure, but covered the beans completely and filled the 6qt oval crockpot two to three inches from the top. If you want more broth, use more water, if you want it thick and beany, use less.

The Directions.

cook on low all day. Soup tastes the best the longer you cook it, and it tastes even better the next day.

The Verdict.

this was healthy, filling and flavorful. I am thrilled to have lunch for the next week. The kids picked out their favorite beans and liked that I sprinkled parmesan on top. I can't wait until they can yield a knife like Alecksandra!

I served the soup along with these little guys.

Overnight Breakfast Potatoes with Sausage

The Ingredients.

-- bunch of red potatoes
-- 1 yellow onion
-- package of breakfast sausage (I used uncooked maple chicken sausage from Trader Joe's---I wish it had been pre-cooked so I could have chopped it up...)
-- 2 T olive oil
--a sprinkle each of kosher salt and black pepper

The Directions.

--wash potatoes well, and chop them into chunks. I didn't peel them because I am lazy. And it was already 11:15 at night and I turn into a pumpkin at 8:45 pacific time.

--chop up the onion (this you have to peel. if you have already taken your contacts out, your eyes will burn and water. you might need to play the "hey can you chop this onion cuz you're just so big and manly and onions don't bother your eyes" card.

--toss the veggies with the olive oil, salt and pepper.

--layer the sausage on top. 

--cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

--wake up to breakfast!

--act astonished that you remembered to load the crockpot but not the coffee maker...

The Verdict.


Waking up to breakfast is always awesome.