SHARING MEALS: RECIPES FROM Y'ALL

photo: Mattheus Spinelli for our Thanksgiving dinner with Grub Market

With three growing boys in the house (yes, I'm counting Joel, too!)-- it seems I can never get enough ideas of easy ways to create a meal. I'm hoping to start a whole new section of this blog in 2018 with interactive ways to share ideas on cooking. After discussing the slow cooker in these posts HERE and HERE,  I loved getting emails, DMs and comments from some of you with your favorite recipes! I'm sharing a few of them below! If you have one you'd like to share, please send to me in the comments section below or email it (with a picture, if you have one!) in the comments section. THANKS EVERYONE!

---

FROM MARY B.

PORK CHOP WITH MUSHROOM SOUP

- 4 pieces of pork chop
- Large can of Cream of Mushroom soup

I use about 16 oz. of the cream of mushroom to cover the pork chops and cook on high for 4 hours and then serve it with rice (pilaf, etc.). So easy and my husband and kids love it!

Thanks for sharing your chicken taco recipe. My daughter wolfed down the tacos! For the tortilla soup, I added the below ingredients to the remaining salsa since we like more veggies in the soup (still easy):
- 1/2 ts pepper
- 1 ts ground cumin
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
- 1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Cook on low for 4 hours and then add remaining shredded chicken and cook for another 30 mins. Serve with tortilla strips.

---

From AMY B.

One of my fams current faves: Healthy, super easy, super yummy: CHICKEN ROPA VIEJA

Ingredients
1.5-2 lbs chicken (I use breast)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 TBSP oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 med yellow onion
1 med green bell pepper
1 med red bell pepper
One 15 oz can diced tomatoes
3 TBSP tomato paste
Salt to taste (I actually don't put any in)

Instructions
Trim fat off chicken, place in bottom of slow cooker. Mince garlic (though I cheat b/c time and use already minced), put on top of chicken. Sprinkle oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, and pepper over chicken. Slice onion and peppers into strips, place on top of chicken. Add can of diced tomatoes w/juices, dollop tomato paste on top. Cook on high 4 hours. Shred chicken, stir all together. Serve in a bowel, over rice, or in a warm tortilla.

---

Name: Susan K.

Message: Hi Ashley -
Wanted to share a super simple Crock Pot recipe my kids love....

Slow Cooker BUFFALO CHICKEN SANDWICH

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (@ 17 oz bottle of your favorite buffalo wing sauce- divided)
1/2 of a 1 oz package dry reanch salad dressing
2 tablespoon butter
6 of your favorite rolls (whole wheat, whole grain or plain hoagie)

Directions:
Place clean chicken breast into slow cooker and pour 3/4 wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Once chicken has cooked, shred the chicken finely with two forks. Add the butter and mix well.
Pour over rolls and serve.

A great "game day" party meal - I add a salad and your done.

---

If I can make it....! The easiest recipe.

I recently wrote a post about the re-discovery of the slow cooker. I'm continuing that thought process here...IF I CAN MAKE IT, SO CAN YOU! My mom makes a roast with carrots and potatoes for the family. Joel has his own version. I now have mine. I had no idea how easy it was to do (sad to say, I realize) with a slow cooker! The meal always looked so much more complicated than it is. So, recipes on this blog are really for people like me -- if you are a seasoned chef/cook, this will seem too basic! Greatest part of it all is that you can prepare it so quickly, then leave the house and it's done when you return. Joys of slow cookers. If you're only cooking for 2 people, you can easily cut the recipe down and cook it for a shorter period. The pot will (should) turn itself to warm at that point and it'll be ready when you get home! 

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING ROAST

You'll need:

• 3-4 lbs of meat (I like the leaner cuts- for our family we used 3 lbs.)
• 3 potatoes sliced (we bought a bag of small ones and cut in half)
• 3 carrots (or a bag of baby carrots)
• 1 stalk of celebry
• 1 red onion
• 1 small can of Rotel (optional)
• salt and pepper

If you look at our pictures, we're the lazy preparers! We barely chop anything. We put the carrots down first directly in the pot of the slow cooker (we use this version of the slow cooker ---on sale right now), then put the meat directly on top. Wash all veggies before cutting. Add the potatoes, celery and onion. Salt and pepper (I'm generous with the pepper). Then, empty the can of rotel on top (you could do this half way or from the beginning). Cook on low for 4 and half hours. That's all we did. Joel likes to test the temperature of the meat to make sure it's thoroughly cooked. 

And, of course, this makes excellent leftovers! Sometimes it's better the second day! Scroll through the gallery of pictures below to see more. Oh and ps- Joel wanted two options for the pot inside the slow cooker. So he bought this one we used today to have on hand....ceramic white insert.

.....and last but not least- I'm collecting recipes you all have sent via DMs or emails or comments here on the blog. Stay tuned for post written by you all. I love sharing recipes now, so this is really fun for me. 

xoxox

---

RECENT POSTS:

SLOW COOKER EASY RECIPES!

Hello!! A quick couple of things... I've started wanting to cook more, but a) am not great at it and b) hard to find the proper time needed. If you follow me on INSTAGRAM and watch the stories, you've seen us trying out new things in the kitchen... from Hello Fresh delivery system to the slow cooker. I've trying to learn the best new ways to be time efficient and healthy. I'm not so good at it all, but the intention is there! I recently discussed it all in a new column for Soap Digest, too. ps-This post was suppose to go up over a week ago. Somehow, it never got published. So, forgive the delay, please, and thank you for your patience. 

Photo by @Ographr

My girlfriend Willa Ford (@wfordinteriors) shared these simple gems with me below. I'm just starting out discussing more food items on the blog, so bear with me here. Not caught up yet on great photos and such, this is a work in progress. If you're well versed in the kitchen and with the crock pot type dishes, this may seem remedial. But, maybe you'll find a new twist on an old faithful recipe. Hope so!

SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS - so easy, it doesn't seem right.  You will need:

• 4 chicken breast

• 2 large jars of Pace Picante Salsa

• tortillas

• Your favorite toppings-- mine are shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, low-fat sour cream, diced avocado

Put chicken breast on bottom of slow cooker. Pour the salsa on top. Cook on slow for 8-10 hours or high for 6 hours. If frozen, cook on slow for 12 hours.  Remove chicken when done and shred in a different bowl. 

Make tacos as usual. I can't get enough of these. It's so easy and the salsa gives you so much bang for your buck!! Tastes much more gourmet than it is.

For extra credit: Use the juice left to make chicken tortilla soup. Add potatoes, carrots to thicken soup. Cook another 3-4 hours. 

MEATLOAF 

• 1.5 lbs of ground beef or turkey

• French onion soup packet

• Chicken stock

• Bread crumbs

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp of minced garlic

• Chopped onion

Mix all ingredients together. Make two smaller long dome shaped loafs. Put in crockpot. Smother the tops with ketchup. Cook on slow for 6-8 hours. Voila! 

Here are two options (high and low) for slow cookers:

I will be adding more recipes! I enjoyed getting recipes from you all, so I added THIS POST.  I'd LOVE to SHARE MORE OF YOUR favorite slow cooker recipes and photos of the finished meal. Please feel free to contact us sharing your favorites (or post in comments below). Happy Weekend!