Another FULL Disclosure - These were delicious!!!  Thanks to Missy Smith who sent the recipe to me.  We had them last night and received thumbs up all around


3 lb beef chuck roast
16 oz beef broth
1 can french onion soup
6 oz. red wine 
1/8 cup of Worceshire 
1 tsp Garlic powder/ or I used squeeze of fresh from tube
salt and pepper
sliced provolone or swiss cheese (whichever you prefer)
good sub rolls 

Trim fat off of meat and season with salt and pepper. Pour broth, soup, wine and garlic into crockpot. Place roast in pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Slice meat very very thin or chop into bite sized pieces. Put meat on yummy sub roll, top with cheese and broil for a couple minutes to melt cheese.

Use the "soup" from the crockpot as the Au Jus for dipping. 

OK so full disclosure:  It's been a crazy week/weekend full of sports and I just didn't find time to create/try a new recipe to feature for today...SOOO I went back into the archives and found this one that we love for week's just like this - originally on blog last November but hey who's checking :)

In a large crockpot with a liner add:
6-8 chicken boneless/skinless breasts
1 bottle italian dressing
1 jar mild peperonchini (do not drain first - add whole jar)

Cook on low 8 hrs.  Remove chicken and shred.  Add some of liquid (discard peperonichini) from crock to keep moist.  Serve on buns of choice with bbq sauce or sauce of choice.  Tangy and delicious!

This week's recipe is courtesy of my Facebook follower Missy Smith who passed on this great comfort food - family friendly meal.  

• Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
  
  6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
  3 Tbsp butter
  2 cans cream of chicken soup ( I used cream of chicken with herbs)
  1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of Mushroom with roasted garlic)
  1.5 cups of chopped onions (I used frozen)
  3 (10 oz) pkgs of buttermilk biscuits - torn into pieces
  Chicken broth
  
  1. Place chicken, butter, soups and onion in slow cooker. I added some spices as well - cumin, seasoned salt, pepper, parsley. Fill with enough chicken broth to cover the chicken.
  
  2. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours. After 3 hours add the torn biscuit dough to the pot. Continue cooking for the remaining 3 hours.
  
  3. When finished - take out the big chunks of chicken and shred.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
  

Another week of sports so into the crock pot the following went today for easy dinners this week:

Into a lined crock:

1 package boneless/skinless chicken thighs

1/4 c each of: honey, low sodium soy sauce, apple cider vinegar

1/2 c. diced pineapple from can

2 T. Spicy mustard

Squirt of ginger and garlic paste from tube

Cool on low 4-6 hours, shred chicken and serve with sauce from crock in tortillas with green onions or toppings of choice for an easy meal on a busy night.

It's the start of another busy but fun week filled with clients and sports for the kids.  I'm smiling because my crock pot is full and cooking dinner for me while I'm out doing other things.  Here's what cooking today:  Line your crock and add:  
1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can no salt added corn (dump in don't drain)
1 can rotel
1 can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 8oz package cream cheese (can use chive and onion also)
1 pouch ranch mix - My new FAVE is Mrs. Dash as its salt free, no MSG or other chemicals.  Look on a reg packet and you'd be mortified what's in there.  1 tsp. Cumin and Chili Powder each
Hot sauce to taste

Cook on low 4-6 hours.  Shred/Break up chicken and serve with toppings to suit your taste. Great for lunches too :)

Well kids are back to school so we've been trying to come up with some new lunch ideas.  They need to be quick, tasty and healthy.  The Buffalo Wings my boys love don't meet any of the above so I created a version that is for the crock pot that is lunchbox friendly.  Line your crock and add simply a package of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs  - free range chicken preferred and a half bottle of your wing sauce of choice.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  The chicken will be falling apart and easy to shred.  I made a batch last week and then made wraps for lunches.  Using a whole wheat fajitas size wrap we smeared bottom with chive and onion cream cheese, added chicken and topped with ranch or blue cheese dressing. The possibilities are endless for your wraps based on your taste :)

The boys only have 8 more days left of school - I'm not sure where the year has gone but gone fast it has!  Since October I've been doing the Crock Pot Mondays feature because 1)  I love mine and trying new recipes and 2) I am convinced it's one of the best multi-tasking tools for anyone's home out there - let it cook dinner while you get to do other things:)

With that being said as we come up on high grilling season - I have to say I'm going to take a break from the Crock Pot Mondays and start back up in the fall...Mind you - I still use the crock pot all summer long.  In the heat of the South the last thing I want to do is turn on an oven but ideally we do grill a good bit and I'll be trying to do that as much as possible.

I've been working on some great projects with great clients recently and blessed to say Life is Good!!  I'll still be blogging this summer about organizing and other household ideas:)  Check out the Before and After pics tab for some new projects.  If you are in the Alpharetta GA area and need help - I'd love to help you start gaining!  Go to the contact tab to get in touch via the website.

My family - even the kids love Indian food so I'm always on the lookout for a new dish...this one is actually the combination of two different recipes I found on the net and picked the pieces from each we liked and tweaked the rest to suit us.  It came out fantastic!!!!!! Hope you enjoy it!  Use a large, lined crock:


1 1/2 cups lentils (I use the tri-colored mix)
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2  red onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped or generous squeeze from tube
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger or squeeze from tube
1 tsp. Cumin powder
1 tsp. Chili powder
1 tsp. Curry powder
½ tsp. Cayenne powder
1 tsp. Coriander Chutney (optional – found in Indian grocery or section of
store)
1/2 cup red wine
1 14-ounce can low sodium diced tomatoes
¼. C. Tamarind/Date Sauce (optional – found in Indian grocery or section of store)
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

Wash lentils in cold water in a medium bowl until the water runs clear; drain and spread in an even layer in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Place chicken on top of the lentils.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add spices and chutney and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping the onion mixture from the bottom of the pan, then stir in Tamarind sauce and tomatoes with their juice.

Add the onion mixture to the slow cooker on top of the chicken, then pour in broth. Cover and cook until the chicken is falling-apart tender, 4-5 hours on High or 6-7 hours on Low. Stir the stew to combine.


 

Some Italians call it sauce - some call it gravy - either way you'll call this delish!  Use a large lined crock and plan to have containers ready as this freezes well.  Also - this actually tastes better if you leave it a day after cooking to let the flavors deepen so great as a make ahead item and then ready to reheat on a busy night over your favorite pasta. 
Step 1:
1 lb. Good quality/Organic ground beef 85/15
2 links (take casings off) Italian Sausage - either mild or hot to suit your taste
1 yellow onion diced 
Brown meat and onion in large skillet, drain off fat, and add to
crock.

Step 2: Then add to crock:
2 cans Italian Style diced tomatoes with garlic/seasonings
2 cans tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste 
3 cloves garlic – crushed, pressed or cheat like me and squeeze from tube
2 carrots chopped fine (these give a great sweetness to the sauce)
1 red and 1 green bell pepper chopped fine
2 T. Italian Seasoning Herb dry mix
½. C. red wine (optional but deepens the flavor and alcohol cooks off)

Cook on low 6 hours.  Can be served then but better if you park in in fridge and reheat the next day.  Freezes great and makes for a quick meal on a busy night.

I'm calling this breakfast since you can put it all in late night right before bed and have a great breakfast ready in the morning but I gotta tell you this makes a great dessert served over ice cream as well...

In a large lined crock place 4-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced.

In a bowl combine the following: 
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. granola of choice (plain is fine but there are lots out there so pick what you like!)
1 T. Apple Pie Spice
1/2 pouch from 3.5oz box - butterscotch pudding mix 
Handful of raisins or craisins (optional)
Combine these ingredients and the cut 1/2 c. cold butter into small chunks and cut into dry mix so it looks like coarse crumbles.  Sprinkle this mix over apples.  Cook on low 5-6 hours.