slow cooker

Meal Prep the easy way with What a Crcok!

Abby H.

Y’all know I love me some meal prep. And I know most of you are super busy, which is why I wanted to share What a Crock.

I learned about What a Crock a couple years ago when I was looking for a way to send some meals to a family member that lives across country after surgery.

I scrolled through meal kit websites, but I needed something easier. When you are recovering after surgery, you don’t want to chop veggies, brown meat, or stir a pot.

Enter What a Crock.

No Subscription needed. You can choose exactly what meals you want to receive with no commitment necessary.

Got a big family, or is it just two of you? You can buy as many servings of each meal as you need!

Don’t have a slow cooker? Many of the meals can be cooked in an Instant Pot, air fryer, on your stovetop, or simply boiled in a bag.

What I like most is the variety: Stews, soups, casseroles, even desserts and baked goods!

And I’ve got two coupons codes to help you save extra money on your What a Crock orders!

Family Recipe: Calico Beans

Abby H.
Beans, Beans…

This recipe is one of my favorite Fourth of July favs.

Calico Beans. Easy to make, so good, gets better as leftovers (if there are any).

This will be one of the few recipes I will not change, so vegetarian/vegan/GF friends, scroll on.

Calico Beans -Makes a crockpot full

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef, crumbled, cooked, and drained
  • 1 package (12 ounces) bacon, chopped, cooked, and drained
  • 1/2 onion, diced (Or use 1/4 cup dehydrated onions)
  • 2 large cans of Campbell’s Pork & Beans
  • 3 cans of beans, your choice (Great Northern, Black Eye, Cannelli, Kidney, Butter Beans are all solid choices) DRAINED AND RINSED
  • 1/4 c brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

  1. Put all of the ingredients into a crockpot.
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

These beans are amazing. They are so filling, and taste like summer (at least to me). A friend of my grandfather always brought these beans to potlucks and swore it was a special secret family recipe.

It’s not. This recipe, or a variation is in almost every midwestern church cookbook. Gatekeeping family recipes is a no-no in my book. If you don’t share recipes, the food is lost to your family and friends when you pass. Share the recipe and your memory and the happy memories of eating your food will live on!

 

 

Recipe: Honey chipotle chicken thighs

Abby H.

This is a recipe I recently made. I wanted chipotle chicken but with veggies and sauce.

I looked online for a recipe, however, there was nothing that fit the bill. I headed to the kitchen and started cooking.

This meal turned out AMAZING.

Chipotle Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • Chipotle sauce from a small tin of adobo pepper in chipotle sauce
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 3T. Hot honey
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 large bell peppers or 3 medium bell peppers, cleaned and sliced into bite-sized pieces 
  • Dash cumin
  • Dash salt and pepper
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2T. Corn starch
  • 1/3 cup water

Directions:

  1. In a crockpot, combine all ingredients but corn starch and water.
  2. Cook on low for 5 hours, or high for 3 hours.
  3. Strain sauce into a saucepan, and heat over medium until boiling. While sauce is heating, mix water and corn starch and slowly pour into boiling sauce. Stir until thickened, add back into meat and veggies.

Serve with rice, beans, and tortillas. 

If you want extra smokiness, chop 1-2 chipotle peppers and add to the sauce while it thickens on the stovetop. 

This freezes well as well- If you have leftovers.

What a Crock: Free Meal Bundles with Purchase!

Abby H.

Y’all know that I love my slow cooker. It’s the workhorse of my kitchen, especially when we are really busy.

If you want to start using your slow cooker, but are pressed for time and don’t have to meal plan, check out What a Crock! They have locations on the East Coast (so you can order online and pick up in-store), but for us out here in California, What a Crock ships!

I can’t wait to give What a Crock a try, I’ve heard so many great things about it from my friends in Pennsylvania.

Now through May 3rd, all customers can receive a bundle of meals worth up to $82 for FREE! To participate, they will simply need to reach a cart value of at least $99 (not counting the price of the bundle, which will be removed), then add the applicable bundle to their cart and enter the applicable promo code at checkout. More information can be found at this link!

What a Crock sells soup, casseroles, dips, and so much more! I love that What a Crock also sells gift cards- The gift of dinner is a great time saver! New parents, bereavement, illness, or “I’m thinking about you”- Any occasion is great to send meals or a gift card.

New Recipe: Italian Pot Roast

Abby H.

I got a roast the other day because I really wanted something beefy and comforting, but I didn’t want to make Moosie’s Pot Roast, because while it’s so good, it’s a tad heavy.

I wanted to make something beefy, flavorful, and rich, but not heavy. I pulled out a few cookbooks, looked through the cupboard and the cooler where the veggies are chilling (pun intended), and came up with this. It’s like Oso Bucco, Bolognese sauce, and beef stew had a complicated tryst. All of the fresh vegetables came from our Yasukochi CSA Box.

 

 

 

 

Italian Pot Roast

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 Chuck Roast (2-3 lbs)
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 T. Olive Oil
  • 1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced
  • 1 Bell Pepper, sliced (I used Red, but use whatever you’ve got)
  • 2 Carrots, Peeled and diced
  • 3-5 cloves garlic, diced
  • 6-8 fresh tomatoes, chopped (You can substitute 2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes if you don’t have fresh)
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 T. Italian Seasoning

Directions:

  1. Salt and pepper the roast and set aside. I recommend allowing the roast to warm up to room temp before searing it.
  2. In a large pan, heat 2 T. olive oil, and saute onions, peppers for about 10-15 minutes, until soft and browned.
  3. Add in carrots and garlic, and allow them to cook for about 5 minutes. Garlic will be slightly browned and fragrant.
  4. While veggies are cooking, chop up tomatoes and add to slow cooker.
  5. Add tomato paste to slow cooker.
  6. Add cooked veggies, bay leaf, and Italian Seasoning to the slow cooker.
  7. Add remaining 2 T. olive oil to the previously used large pan, and allow to warm.
  8. Sear the roast on all sides.
  9. Add roast to slow cooker.
  10. Pour wine into the large pan and turn heat to medium-high. Scrape all browned meat and veggie bits with a wooden spoon. One wine comes to a brief boil and all browned bits are scraped off the pan, pour liquid into the slow cooker.
  11. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  12. Put roast beef from the slow cooker, and shred with forks. Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir. Cook for an additional hour.

Serve with mashed potatoes or pasta/noodles of your choice.

5/23/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg

The fridge was fixed on Tuesday and I filed claims for the lost groceries through the warranty, however, the check hasn’t yet arrived yet.

I have yet to shop for groceries this week, but at least I know what’s in our CSA box that arrives tomorrow.

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

I’ll be hitting up the grocery store this afternoon. Today I’m making a big batch of bolognese sauce today- I’ll be using it a few times this week, and freezing the rest for future use.  Tomorrow once the CSA box arrives I’ll prep the veggies and fruit for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Bolognese Sauce, pasta, roasted cauliflower
  • Monday:   BBQ chicken, salad, texas toast
  • Tuesday:   Soup Night: Soup, biscuits, fruit salad
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
  • Thursday:   Baked Ziti (with bolognese sauce, cheese, and veggies: zucchini, carrots, onions, celery)
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

5/10/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg

Last week on Tuesday night our fridge started acting up, and by Wednesday afternoon, it was no longer blowing cold air. the fan was broken. Thankfully we have the extended warranty, so they came out Thursday afternoon and repaired the fridge (replaced the fan).

As a result, we lost most of the food in the fridge, including all of the condiments. The meal plan for the rest of last week was scrapped.

I hit up the store to replace what was lost, but I wasn’t able to replace all of it, for some reason, there are some food shortages, probably because some items are made overseas and there are some countries that are seeing surges in Covid Cases as of late.

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Take out (It was Mother’s Day after all)
  • Monday:   Big Ol’ Salad, fruit, protein shakes
  • Tuesday:    Salsa Chicken, Rice, roasted veg
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
  • Thursday:  Steak, potatoes, roasted veg
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Frugal Recipe: Beef Machacas (Slowcooker recipe)

Abby H.1 Comment
Look at the delicious marbling!

This is an easy recipe, and it is divine! You may already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen too!

It’s pretty flexible when it comes to the meat- You want a good roast with some marbling. Chuck Roast, Tri-tip, Round Roast, Rump Roast are all good options. This recipe cooks low and slow all day. Break out your slow cooker my friends!

Let’s dive into this beefy, delicious recipe!

Machacas

Imgredients

Directions

  1. In a heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet or dutch oven, heat canola oil, add beef, and sear each side for 5-8 minutes. You want a nice brown crust on each side. If the piece is large, cut it in pieces to fit into your slow cooker.
  2. As the meat is searing, in your slow cooker pour frozen vegetables.
  3. In a mixing bowl, mix tomato sauce, salsa, and spices.
  4. Place the meat in the slow cooker, and pour water into the pan that browned meat. Stir and scrape off any browned/burned bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour that water into the sauce bowl and mix thoroughly.
  5. Pour sauce over meat and cook on low in the slow cooker for 10+hours.
  6. Pull meat out, and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker, and keep simmering on low until the sides are ready to eat.

I serve this meat with beans, rice, tortillas, Corn and Avocado Salsa, and a green salad. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and you can freeze it as well. It’s also excellent in the morning with eggs in a breakfast burrito.

10/12/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays, but yesterday was a busy day (swimming reservation at the Y, a special needs conference, and lots of playtime), so I didn’t have a chance to post.

It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

I’m hitting up the store this morning for some last-minute items that I thought we had (note to self: Do not put empty cereal box back in the cupboard). I’m thinking about making a batch of cookies today to have a sweet dessert for the kids.

Thanks to some local deals, offers, and the school lunches the kids bring home, I have been able to keep our grocery budget to $60 per week for the past 3 weeks! It’s amazing. The extra money is going into our holiday savings account.

If you have kids between 2-18, check with your local school to see if they are offering free lunches and/or breakfasts. You can also check the USDA Website– but it might be a little out of date.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being. The big kid has lunch at school, so it’s whatever he chooses from the lunch box in the cupboard, plus some fruit and juice or milk. Since the little girl is in the morning cohort at school, she has lunch at home. Buttered noodles, yogurt, apple slices, and a popsicle are her go-to lunch.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:   Salsa Chicken and veggies ( I didn’t end up making it last week like I had planned)
  • Monday:  Entrees & Salad
  • Tuesday:  Chick’n nuggets (vegetarian nugs for our buddy) and fruit
  • Wednesday:   Sausage and Peppers in the Crockpot, noodles, and veggies
  • Thursday: Chicken Tika Masala, rice, veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

10/5/2020 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays, but yesterday was a busy day, so I didn’t have a chance to post.

It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

I didn’t have a chance to shop over the weekend, so this morning after school drop off, I’m hitting up Food4Less for a few things. I stocked up on fresh fruit last week (there was a produce giveaway locally, and that filled both fruit bowls). Big Kid has requested home made apple sauce, so I’m going to make it this morning as well as Kodiak Chocolate Muffins.  The free school lunches that our school is providing gives us some yummy stuff the kids like (baby carrots, milk, and apple slices to name a few), and the stuff that they don’t care for or contains meat we share with some of our friends who have kiddos that aren’t able to stop and pick up free lunches.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being. The big kid has lunch at school, so it’s whatever he chooses from the lunch box in the cupboard, plus some fruit and juice or milk. Since the little girl is in the morning cohort at school, she has lunch at home. Buttered noodles, yogurt, apple slices, and a popsicle are her go-to lunch.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Leftover Extravaganza
  • Monday:  Entrees & Salad
  • Tuesday:  Pancakes and fruit
  • Wednesday:   Patty Melts made with Veggie Burgers
  • Thursday: Salsa Chicken and veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner  (I’ve been itching to make blueberry waffles with vanilla ice cream)

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?