Crock Pot: Chicken and Black Beans

Talk about easy breezy!

Here is what you need:
Black Beans (uncooked, not from a can)
Chicken
Chicken Broth
Packet of taco seasoning
Can of tomatoes (whole, diced, chopped, whatever!)
Rice or Tortilla

Here is what to do:

1. First, stand in your kitchen and take a deep breath. This five minutes of preparation is going to produce a healthy and tasty dinner tonight with very little effort and hardly any clean up!

2. In your crock pot add the following:
*Black Beans that have been rinsed and drained. You do NOT have to let them soak overnight as long as you have a good 8 hours to let them cook in the crock pot today.
*Uncooked Chicken
*Can of tomatoes with the juice
*Box of broth
*half a packet of taco seasoning

3. Stir

4. Allow the crock to cook the meal all day long. Eventually the beans will soften perfectly and the chicken will become so tender that you can shred it with a fork, which is what you want to do before serving.

5. About 45 minutes before dinner cook your rice. We use brown rice, which takes a bit longer than white rice. (But, has added texture, taste, and health benefits!)

6. Serve the chicken and black beans over the rice. You can add a bit of sour cream or taco sauce to taste it up even more.


This meal was received very well by my family. I do think that when I make it again I would use the entire packet of taco seasoning and I might chop and cook an onion in the crock too.I did not freeze the leftovers, simply stored them for lunch tomorrow which we will serve with tortillas.

Tuesday: Crock Pot Potato Soup

What you will need:

5lbs. potatoes; peeled and chopped
1 sm. onion; chopped
8oz. cream cheese; softened
3-14.5oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth (or frozen broth!)
1 can cream of chicken soup
As Garnishes you can use:

* crisp bacon; crumbled
* shredded cheddar cheese
* sour cream
* sliced scallions


What to do:

1. Put potatoes & onion in crock-pot after peeling and chopping.
2. Combine the cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup & the pepper. Add this mix to the crock-pot.
3. Cover & cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
4. After cooking time, mash the potatoes if you want the soup to be thicker.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish!


This recipe made a lot for our family. We served it with sausage roll-ups. I was able to take half of this recipe and freeze it for another day. It smelled wonderful while cooking and received good reviews from the entire family, especially with the garnishes.

Meal Plan December 1-4

I did not anticipate meal planning for this week as I thought I might be having my baby. However, here I am coming up with a last minute meal plan as the baby seems pretty content to hang tight for a while longer. I don't want to use any of my freezer meals that we prepared last week. I am saving those up for the days after the baby is here when I just need to thaw and heat meals as opposed to preparing anything!

My son and I are filling our days this week doing lots of fun things together. I am wanting to prepare his little heart and spirit for the arrival of his first sibling.
Three days this week he and I will be out of the house all day long. I thought this might be a great opportunity to test out some crock pot meals.

None of these are my own creation. I will post a link so that you can see where the recipes came from! Simply click on the meal and it will take you there!

Tuesday: Crock Pot Potato Soup
Wednesday: Crock Pot Black Bean Chicken over Rice
Thursday: Ham Split Pea Soup
Friday: Asian Beef with Mandarin Oranges


I have never made these before so I can not tell you yet how well they freeze or can be doubled. I will find out this week and report back!

A Desert or Snack: Strawberry Flax Yogurt

I put flax seed into the yogurt that I feed my family. My son will eat this, but is always a bit hesitant. I found a fun trick that not only he enjoys, but all of us love.

We take basic vanilla yogurt, Stonyfield Farms Organic is what we buy. We mix a bit of strawberry jam into the yogurt and then add the flax seed. Just a tiny bit of the jam turns the yogurt into a sweet and strawberry treat. The flax adds important omega-3's and fiber that we all need.

This is a common desert item in our house as the jam does wonders to basic yogurt. And,this is an easy and very popular afternoon snack around here.

Pumpkin Tomato Soup

I have posted a similar recipe to this before, but as we have just had it again I wanted to share it once more. I am blown away by how easy this is and how delicious!

Instead of giving you an exact recipe I am going to provide you with the ingredients and your task is to prepare the soup anyway you want it based on the ingredients. This is my favorite type of cooking, estimation cooking, where there is not a real right or wrong.

Here is what you will need:
Onion
Carrots
Canned Tomatoes in Juice
Pumpkin Puree
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Milk/Cream
Broth (I used vegetable)
Garlic

Step one: Peel your carrots and onion. Place into a food processor and chop up until small. Place them into a pan with a bit of butter. Cook them, filling your kitchen with a wonderful aroma. Add a hint of garlic.

Step two: Meanwhile, place your tomatoes into the food processor. I used a jar of tomatoes that I had canned this past summer. Chop them until they are all blended and pureed.

Step three: In a soup pan add your tomato puree and your pumpkin puree together. Stir and begin to heat.

Step four: Add in your carrots, onion, garlic and stir together. Add in your vegetable broth. Add enough to make the soup the consistency you desire.

Step five: Heat this soup for a good hour. Stirring frequently. Add milk/cream (I used a cup of half and half) at the last ten minutes of cooking.
Salt, Pepper, and Basil to taste.


We eat this soup with whole wheat toast and apple slices. We love it, especially the second day when the flavors have all blended so well together.

Thanksgiving Meal Plan

Due to the holiday, travel, and the anticipation for a delicious Thursday the actual meal plan for this week is easy breezy. Plus, I am the size of barn so I am happy to take it easy until this baby is born!

I am talking relaxed and fast.

Monday Night: Salad made with spinach leaves, cranberries, chicken pieces, tomatoes, pineapple chunks, and sprinked with wheat germ. We serve the salad with whole wheat rolls and pumpkin butter.

Tuesday Night: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Wednesday Night: Breakfast for dinner (Whole Grain Waffles and Scrambled Eggs)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday~ Thanksgiving and leftovers!!!!

Thursday: Baking Day #1

In anticipation of our second child's arrival (sometime in the next two weeks~ oh my word!) I have set up two consecutive baking days. Yesterday I completed the organization, which was done at night on the couch with cook books open and some fun sit-coms on in the background. Today, I completed the grocery shopping and round one of the baking.
I planned on taking pictures of each meal as I made it to show you step by step directions, but I left the camera in my hubbies car. So instead I will list what I made today and then post each recipe in the coming weeks.

I used, for many of these meals, a great resource called: Once a Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborn. The meals that came from this book will have a astric by them.

Baking Day #1

Six Chicken Packets*
12 Calzones*
Marinara Sauce
Sweet and Sour Chicken*
Lasagna
Stuffed Shells
Beef Stroganoff
Three loaves of bread
4 pie crusts


Wowowowowowwo!! I am proud of myself. Here, I am doing a cartwheel in celebration. Okay, wait a minute I am nine months pregnant so I will skip the cartwheel and do a celebratory jig instead. Here it goes...jig...jig...jig...


Tomorrow Sarah (Frugal Table) will be here with me.
We are cooking/baking the following:
Meatballs
Ham, Broccoli and Cheese Quiche
Bacon and Cheese Quiche cups
Granola
Sausage Rolls


Everything I baked today I put into ziplocks/containers, labeled and froze. Having a dishwasher and a deep freeze makes baking day a breeze for the most part. I am looking forward to the comradery of tomorrows baking day with Sarah.

Will post recipes soon!