beef, main dishes, recipes, slow cooker

Slow Cooker Carolina Pulled Beef

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I use to think it was difficult to cook a meal after working a 12ish hour day (ohhh attorney hours).  And then I had a baby.  Now I understand a new level of tired.   Given that JR wants to be constantly held from the second I get home until he gets laid down for bed, this makes cooking nearly impossible.  I have not mastered how to cut veggies and hold a one-year-old.

So yeah, you could say I am into slow cooker meals.  This pulled beef recipe does not disappoint.  There is minimal prep (a little rubdown required so you will need to put your baby down) and if you are lazy like me, you can make your significant other shred the beef.  But even if you shred the beef yourself, the extra work is completely worth the effort.  There is this great spicy but subtle sweet taste that makes the flavor right on the mark. Plus this is a great variation from the typical tomato-based bbq.

I made the beef last week, and Matt had three sandwiches in one sitting.  In fact, the beef was so tasty that I forgot to take pictures of the final meal.  But at least I was able to hold my preggo-self back before devouring the beef for lunch today. I am happy to report that the leftovers hold their own–makes some excellent lunches.

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beef, main dishes, recipes, slow cooker

Chinese Take-Out Beef and Broccoli

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I grew up in a small town with a Kozy Kitchen and two American fast food burger joints.  Any food that isn’t served in a diner is not served in my hometown.  So when I got my driver’s license, my best friend and I drove to the “big town” a half hour away and ate at a Chinese restaurant.  It tasted of freedom.  Salty freedom followed by a fortune cookie.  After three plates of chow mein, chicken, beef, and veggie dishes, we shoved 10 crab ragoons in our purses and munched on them on our parentless drive home.  Ever since, Chinese food has always had a special meaning to me.

easy beef and broccoli

This beef and broccoli dish is easy to make and easy to prep in your crockpot to enjoy after a long day of work.  The joy of a warm dinner with the freedom of no cooking.

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chicken, main dishes, recipes, slow cooker

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

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Do not let the slow cooker part confuse you.  This recipe is not a quick toss everything into the slow cooker and enjoy sort of recipe.  It’s a bit more labor intensive but oh so worth it!

Now that I have been cooking regularly for several months, I have been trying to modify and create my own recipes.  Many Italian recipes I have been finding online requires a jar of spaghetti sauce.  That is the first thing I eliminate from every recipe I try.  Instead, I substitute a can of tomato sauce.

I do this for two reasons.  First, with tomato sauce, I can control the level of salt and spices.  Spaghetti sauce generally is full of salt.  I can just add a pinch of salt instead of being subjected to the already mixed salty sauce.  Plus, my herb garden allows me to add fresh spices instead of the dried ones.  Second, a can of tomato sauce is far cheaper.  So with health and my wallet on my side, I haven’t missed the jar of spaghetti sauce in my recipes.

True to form, I have modified this recipe slightly.  Subbing out the spaghetti sauce and modifying some ingredients and prep.  This recipe was a huge hit.  It allowed us to enjoy the delicious taste of wings without the deep fried fat.

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chicken, main dishes, recipes, slow cooker

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

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The dreaded bar exam is lurking around the corner.  In 16 days, I’ll be sitting down in a crowded, stuffy classroom, surrounded by over-stressed, nerve-ridden students waiting to take a two day-12 hour exam that will decide whether or not we are fit to practice law in Minnesota.  Sounds great huh?  Bring on the fun!

While I wait in anticipation of this joyous event, I have been cramming every single piece of law I can into my over-sized head.  It’s gotten to the point that when I have conversations, they consist of me telling someone about a certain area of law.  “Hey! So you’re never gonna believe this crazy piece of information! You can use prior inconsistent statements to impeach a witness. AND it can come in as substantive evidence.” Yeah, I know. Crazy. But it’s true!!

So since I can only speak in legal jargon, I’ve decided to stick to crock pot recipes for the next two weeks.  Anything that takes more than 20 minutes to cook makes me feel guilty for reading something that isn’t cluttered with italic, Latin phrases. My poor summer fun reading list has been set aside (sorry Jessi Witkins!) And this recipe only calls for ingredients that most people have on hand at all times.  No need for a grocery run.

The heat index in Minneapolis has started to decline (we live in house without air conditioning. the last couple days were less than pleasant) so using the crock pot isn’t completely unreasonable.   Plus, after a full day of studying, a warm meal sure feels great! And hell, who doesn’t love chicky catch with some long ass rice (much love to my boy Tom Haverford).

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main dishes, recipes, slow cooker, turkey

Cremona Chili

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I LOVE chili.  Love it.  In fact, whenever I cave and decide I’m going to get fast food, I pick Wendy’s so I can get chili.  I have multiple different chili recipes, and I have yet to take a side on the noodles or no noodles battle.  But one thing I can definitively agree upon is using turkey instead of beef (or you can opt out of meat all together and make this vegetarian).  The beans and tomatoes serve as the prominent flavors so any distinguishable taste between turkey and beef is effectively muted.   For only 4 Weight Watcher’s Plus points per 1 1/2 cups, this chili is a healthy and filling meal.

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main dishes, pork, recipes, slow cooker

Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Sliders

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Finals are right around the corner which means more slow cooker dinners.  This pulled pork sandwich is a great meal after a study-filled day.  There is only a little bit of prep work, and the slow cooker does the rest!  Matt loved this meal so much that he ate two pork-stuffed sandwiches.  That’s my piggie!  For 11 Weight Watcher points per sandwich, it’s so filling that it’s worth every point!

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