at home with ann

I loved this recipe!  Every night we ate it, the leftovers tasted even better.  I must have said, "This is so good.  SO GOOD," to Jon about 200 times.  Most definitely a keeper. It takes a bit more prep work than I usually like to invest for a crock pot meal, but it's absolutely worth it.  Marinating the chicken in the yogurt mixture and searing it beforehand, and then cooking the vegetables and getting all the flavor from the pan give this dish an amazing depth.  Sometimes crock pot meals can sort of all taste like one thing because it's all been cooking together all day, but these additional steps really helped maintained the individual flavors.  As is often the case with Indian recipes, clear some room on your counter top, because you'll be taking out nearly the entire contents of your spice cabinet and pantry. Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala slightly modified from Tasty Kitchen  Serves 6 Ingredients: Chicken: 1 package (I think m...

If you've been reading for a while (or a week), you know that tacos are the number one requested food around here.  This recipe combines tacos and the crock pot, it's a match made in easy-dinner heaven. These met with rave reviews from my two taste-testers, although Matt scoffed at my cheapo-crock pot and declared his much better.  I am going to give his a try and see if it really is better with it's fancy digital timer and locking lid and auto-shutoff.  I don't see why you wouldn't want a crock pot that has a lid that rattles when steam tries to escape so that you think there is an animal rampaging around your kitchen.   Colin even helped get them started around noon, by which I mean he didn't totally freak out when I put him in his chair in the kitchen so I could deal with raw chicken. I hesitate to call this a recipe because it's so unbelievably easy. Shredded Chicken Tacos 1 package chicken breasts (mine was about a pound) 8 ounce can tomato sa...

We brought back the crock pot this weekend.  After the great crock pot bender of March, it took a brief hiatus.  What better way to bring it back than to make good old pulled pork barbecue?  Pulled pork in the crock pot is one of the easiest recipes of all time.  After some very quick prep, you let it cook all day until your house smells like barbecue and the meat is tender and shredded.  A light vinegar slaw is the perfect accompaniment for some slightly sweet, slightly sour, crunch.  Crock Pot Pulled Pork 3 lb. boneless pork butt (you can get any size you want, as long as it fits in your crock pot) Canola oil 1/2 sweet onion, thickly sliced 3 Tablespoons pork rub (optional) 1 bottle barbecue sauce (I used about 3/4 bottle of Stubb's Spicy) In a large pan or pot, heat canola oil over medium high heat. Sear the pork on all sides until a brown crust starts to form, a few minutes each side. Place onion slices in the bottom of the crock pot. Tran...

I may have mentioned before that raw chicken scares me.  I've made great strides against this somewhat irrational phobia in recent years, but I still avoid touching it if possible.  That is why this recipe is perfect for me, I don't have to touch anything raw and at the end of the day I get a tasty and healthy meal.  That's a success in my book.  I've made vegan Tortilla Soup before , which was great, but I was feeling something a little heartier. The only injury sustained while making this soup was burning my tongue while I was taste testing.   This has become something of a pattern lately.  I'm either eating at lightening speed because we are on the verge of a baby meltdown, or it takes me hours because I keep getting pulled away and grab a bite as I walk through the kitchen.  Even eaten a little too hot, this was delicious, definitely a keeper.  Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon ...

Another crock pot recipe, you say?  Another reddish/brownish bowl of mush?  I know, crock pot stews don't photograph particularly well, but they are delicious and this one is also super nutritious.  I hope you aren't totally bored of crock pot ideas, though, because I have another one cooking away for dinner tonight.  Plus, this is just another opportunity to make crock pot jokes.  Not only that, this is a very affordable recipe, it yielded 8 servings for us, barely over $1 per bowl. Who doesn't need some more convenience in their cooking once in a while, right? Crock Pot Butternut and Kale Stew recipe based on Eat Live Run 1 onion, chopped 1-2 carrots, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 jalapeno, minced 2 tsp garam masala 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes in tomato juice 2 cups vegetable broth 1 cup red lentils 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/2 bunch kale, ripped into bite sized pieces salt and pep...

Crock Pot Beef Stew is comfort food at it's best. It really is amazing to walk into the house at the end of the day and smell dinner, or walk back into the house after getting the mail, if you're me.  I've become a bit of a recluse in my post-having-a-baby world.  I'm more than ready for warm Spring weather so going outside doesn't involve bundling up in one of Jon's jackets over both me and the baby.  This takes slightly more prep work than some of my other crock pot meals because it involves searing the beef.  This step is totally worth it, even if you pour wine into your screaming hot skillet and it spatters all over the stove.  Maybe don't do that last part if you can avoid it. You can, of course, add in different vegetables here.  Sliced mushrooms would be good, and a couple handfuls of frozen peas tossed in near the end.   Crock Pot Beef Stew 2+ pounds beef (I used pre-cut stew meat because I couldn't deal with meat slicing, but any stea...

I've shared my version of red beans and rice with you before .  But that was almost a year ago, and I found a way to simplify it even further.  My crock pot (are you not supposed to say crock pot? Is that like kleenex and scotch tape?  I can't be bothered) has come in very handy in the past few weeks.  I don't know when I'll have time to cook during the day, but I can almost guarantee it won't be between 6-7 in the evening.  Around 11 in the morning my little guy is usually asleep in the sling, so I can carry him and work in the kitchen at the same time.  Perfect timing for setting up the crock pot.  Of course, you can do all the prep the night before or first thing in the morning if you're fancy and have a job that requires you to dry your hair and wear clothes not made out of yoga material.  Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice Serves 6 as a Main Course Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked brown rice 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 2 stal...

It's been a whole month since I've checked in, I hope a few of you readers are still around!  I took my little guy to his one month checkup today.  He's in the 84th percentile for weight, this kid likes to eat!  Just like his mom.  My sidekick doesn't always feel like hanging out in the kitchen, so I've been doing a lot less cooking these days.  I have been doing a lot of one-handed eating, however.  New mom tip: Drink your soup out of a mug.  Don't bother trying to mess with a bowl and a spoon, you'll never get to eat lunch. Yesterday I did a little cooking for the Super Bowl (we will not be discussing the outcome...).  On the menu was buffalo chicken nachos with blue cheese, pico de gallo and guacamole.  Sadly I didn't get a chance to photograph the nachos due to the aforementioned sidekick who was feeling a little fussy, but they were delicious.  I made the chicken in the crock pot.  One package of chicken breasts into the ...

If something only has two ingredients can you really call it a recipe?  This was so good that I'm going to go ahead and say yes. As you can probably tell, I have been all about the crock pot lately.  I had it in the back of my mind to do a pulled pork or chicken dish, but every time I ventured near the pork section of the market, I shrunk back in dismay.  Something about the huge, fatty cuts of meat were just not doing it for me.  Then, I remembered that chicken breasts make excellent barbecue as well.  There are many variations on this recipe that range from using a spice rub, homemade barbecue sauce, coke or root beer for cooking and pan searing.  While they all sound good, I did none of these things.  Instead I put the uncooked chicken in the crock pot, topped with my favorite jarred barbecue sauce, and cooked it for 7 hours.  Let me tell you, it smelled amazing around here. Crock Pot Barbecue Pulled Chicken 1 1/2 pounds chicken  ( I ...

I make a lot of soups in the winter, in case you haven't noticed.  Warm, healthy, and easy, all the things I look for in a recipe.  When I can throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and be done, that's just an added bonus.  I had intended to save some of this soup and stick it in the freezer for post-baby time, as I've been doing a lot lately, but we managed to eat it all. This was likely due to me eating it directly out of the crock pot for pre-dinner snack the night Jon came home late. Slow Cooker Peanut Stew recipe from Peas and Thank You 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 sweet potato, cubed 1 1/2 teaspoons curry poweder 1/2 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon cumin 1 Tablespoon minced ginger (I used fresh and grated it) 2 teaspoons minced garlic dash of cinnamon 1 14 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice 1 can light coconut milk 2 cups vegetable broth 2 Tablespoons peanut butter 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed Add all ingredients to t...

I love my Crock Pot.  Not only does it make a delicious dinner ready when you get home at night, but you get to say "set it and forget it" as many times as you want while it's cooking.  Or maybe that's just me.  This is one of those especially easy Crock Pot recipes that requires hardly any work in advance.  You do need to plan ahead to soak your beans, but that's just putting beans in water overnight, so as long as you remember, it's not tough. Crock Pot Spicy Black Bean Soup 1 pound dried black beans, soaked overnight 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1-2 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes in juice 1 Tablespoon chili powder 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sea salt and ground black pepper ~4 cups vegetable broth or water To soak beans - rinse dried beans in cold water.  Put in a pan or bowl with a lid and cover with s...

Risotto is one of my favorite foods.  I love everything about it.  It can, however, be a bit rich, and not exactly health food.  You all know that doesn't stop me, though, I adhere to the "everything in moderation" school of thought.  It can also be a bit time consuming, so unless you want to spend 40 minutes standing in the kitchen stirring (this is only ok when you have a kitchen buddy and a glass of wine in hand), it's not the best for a weeknight meal.  This is my long-winded way of saying that while Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto is one of my favorite meals of all time, I was intrigued when I saw this recipe for a healthier, easier alternative.  Butternut Squash Barley Risotto recipe from Good Housekeeping 2 Tablespoons butter 2 shallots, sliced (I used half an onion) 2 springs fresh thyme (I used 1/2 teaspoon dried) 2 cups pearl barley 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth 2 cups water 1 butternut squash (2 1/2 pounds, or so), peeled, seeded...

I love my crock pot.  It does all the things it claims to, and never fails in making a perfect dish.  From pulled pork or chicken, to beef stew, to mulled apple cider with rum.  It's all good.  This chili recipe takes about 15 minutes of prep time, and then you can ignore it for the rest of the day.  You can even do the prep the night before, put the whole thing in the fridge overnight, and cook it the next day.  As with many of my recipes, you can alter this any way you want by switching up the vegetables or beans to suit your tastes.  Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno, chopped 2 Tablespoons ground cumin 2 Tablespoons chili powder 1 Teaspoon oregano 1/2 Teaspoon salt A few grinds black pepper 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 2 14 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed 1 14 oz. can small red beans, drained and rinsed 1-2 cups water Optional...