Last week I reached an all time low in my efforts as a homemaker.
"Honey, how hungry are you tonight?" In my shame to admit that I simply didn't feel like cooking I tried to get the Hot Italian to volunteer that he really just wanted cereal for dinner.
We never eat cereal for dinner. We eat leftovers all the time, but never cereal.
"You can just say that you don't feel like making dinner tonight," my sweet hubby reassured me.
I had a bowl of Golden Grahams. I don't even know what the Hot Italian had.
I do enjoy cooking most of the time, but I am a simple cook. Our dinners usually consist of two dishes; three dishes is fancy, and four is unheard of. The Hot Italian usually appreciates this because he is the dish washer at our house.
Several weeks ago I happened on a new website with a treasure trove of crockpot freezer recipes on Pinterest. I'm a little wary about recipes on the internet because they seem pretty hit and miss, but I was able to find several that fit our eating habits so I decided to give them a try. Of course I made this decision on the night that the Hot Italian was at school, so I towed the little one to the grocery store with me to pick up a few things and then spent a couple hours in the kitchen with the babe in the Bjorn to keep him content during the meal prep.
I tried five recipes and I only made one batch of each because I didn't want to be stuck with anything I didn't like.
Mexican Chicken Soup
I made this recipe with a few modifications. I had some precooked turkey breast from Costco, so I put approximately one pound of diced turkey breast in place of the chicken. I also used a can of diced tomatoes in place of the tomato juice. We had this last night and it was definitely one that I will repeat.
Turkey and White Bean Kale Soup
I used a pouch of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix and again used the precooked turkey breast. This was our least favorite of the recipes we tried. I might try it again with turkey sausage and see if I like it more or I might just stick with the ones we know we like. I feel like it needs more seasonings to make it really good.
Honey Sesame Chicken
I made this one with no modifications. It was good and we'll make it again. I've already got another batch or two in the freezer.
Red Pepper Chicken
This recipe has a southwest flair. We both liked it and we've had it a few times. I was surprised that you didn't have to add any liquid in this recipe. The second time I made it I added a few canned stewed tomatoes and it was good that way too.
Beef Roast and Carrots
This was the ultimate comfort food. The carrots turned out sooo yummy. I used two tablespoons of McCormick Mesquite Seasoning as our seasoning and it was perfect. Again I was surprised that no liquid was required and it cooked up so moist and tender.
The only thing I have to remember to do is put it in the fridge the night before and get it in the crockpot before I leave for work in the morning.
Labels: Cooking, Hubby's favorites, Reviews, Simple Living