Crockpot Spaghetti Squash

Evening guys! I thought I would share this amazing tip… cook spaghetti squash in your crock pot! I saw this tip the other day on TV, and I just had to test it out!

Crockpot Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients
1 large spaghetti squash
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

Directions
With a sharp knife or fork, poke your spaghetti squash a few times all around.
Place the entire squash in a large slow cooker. Add your liquid and cover.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

I am going to add some butter, Parmesan cheese, and possibly some leftover veggies from tonight’s dinner (recipe coming soon) and take for lunch tomorrow!

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Here is how I did it in the oven. https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/03/23/roasted-spaghetti-squash/

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken with Yellow Rice

Evening guys! Super busy week! I started coaching a girls’ running program called Girls on The Run a couple of nights a week. I basically get to spend the afternoon with 15 amazing middle school girls and other awesome coaches, have some girl talk, and help the girls get ready for a 5K in the spring! We do fun activities, run/walk, do yoga, and build each other’s self esteem. Girl Power!

So last night after practice, I prepared this in the crockpot. I turned it on this am before I left for work.

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken with Yellow Rice

5 Chicken Thighs
2 sweet peppers, sliced (mix of red, yellow, green, and orange leftover from Monday)
1 onion, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup broth/water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, and Italian seasoning
ground black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste
1 package yellow rice

Directions

Pour the olive oil on the bottom of the crockpot and add the chicken. Add peppers, onion, and top with in vinegar and herbs.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Stir and add on top of cooked yellow rice (or any grain of your choosing)

Best looking Crockpot meal yet!

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Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Almost Friday!!!!! So ready for the weekend! I looked at making a Throwback Thursday post today, but I just ran out of time. This time last year, I made some yummy French Onion Soup.  https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/01/29/french-onion-soup/

We had just had Snowpocalypse here in Georgia, so this soup was perfect. Today in my area, the low was 39 and the high was 59, so I was happy for some sunshine and milder winter temps. Still too cold for me, though. The girls and I were all bundled up to meet the bus, and they were taking turns putting their hands around my hot coffee cup. We were shivering and trying to remember how hot we were last summer; We are always wishing for flip flops, tank tops, and swim suits!

Here is another great winter comfort food…Chicken and Dumplings*** I researched this recipe for almost a week. I wrote down tons of ideas and finally came up with this to try. It turned out pretty delicious, if I do say so myself. I had to do a few changes along the way, so hopefully if you give this a try, you will love it.

***crockpot meals are not the most photogenic…this one is no different. Taste wins out against pretty pictures pretty much always.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

2-3 carrots, chopped

2 small garlic cloves, minced- or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 golden potatoes, cut into chunks (or 4-5  new potatoes cut in half)- no peeling necessary (if you have Idaho or baking potatoes, I would peel and cut into small chunks).

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I think thighs would be awesome in this, so use those if you want)

1/2 tsp. salt, pepper, poultry seasoning

2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons butter

about 2 containers no/low sodium chicken stock

1 can biscuit dough

Directions

Make your homemade “condensed cream of chicken soup”. You could skip this step and the half and half that comes later and just buy a can of cream of chicken soup. Have you read the ingredient list on one of those cans? On medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour. Cook 2-3 minutes to create your roux. When it looks like wet sand, add 2 cups of chicken stock. Stir well and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of a large crock pot, layer onion, carrots, and potatoes. Put the chicken on the top. Add your seasonings. Pour  soup on top. You can do all of this the night before if you wish and add to your crockpot (cool the soup just a bit first before adding it to the chicken). If not, doing all of it in the am is still pretty easy. It took me less than 10 minutes to make the soup and add it.

Add enough chicken stock to cover. My crockpot is kinda small, so mine was almost to the top.

Heat on low for 6-8 hours. High 3-4 hours.

Now… my crockpot is small, so I suggest you transfer the cooked chicken and veggie soup to a stock pot/large pasta pot/etc. after the allotted time. Stir and shred your chicken with a fork. This should not be hard at all. Like butter =) Stir in your half and half. Add in cut up biscuit dough and cook for about an hour or until biscuits are not raw in the middle.

Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

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Crockpot Turkey Chili

Happy hump day! Here is an easy, healthy recipe you can use for a busy weeknight meal. You can throw all the ingredients in one pot and let it cook on low all day. When you come home, you will have dinner waiting on you. How easy is that?

Crockpot Turkey Chili

Ingredients

3/4-1 pound ground turkey
1 can each of black beans, kidney beans, and cannelloni beans- drained and rinsed
1 small can green chilies
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 small can diced tomatoes
3/4 container or so of stock (turkey or chicken)
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.
Add turkey into your crock pot; stir in the rest of the ingredients until well blended.

Cook at HIGH 4 to 5 hours or at LOW 6 to 8 hours. Top with crackers, cheese, sour cream, etc

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Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Hey there! Happy Thursday!

Wait? WHAT??? Is it only Monday? Darn it! I thought for sure we were at least to Thursday. Oh well…

All kidding aside, I decided to try to make at least one crock pot meal a week, especially on a crazy weeknight. I plan on making more meals in my crockpot these next couple of cold and crappy months. As my friend Bonnie calls it, JanFeb. JanFeb. is a summer loving beach bum’s worst nightmare. When I am dreaming of bikinis and flip flops, JanFeb. wakes up my warm blanket smothered body and slaps me in the face with ice and wind. I actually have to leave my warm bed and freeze my butt off the rest of the day. Blah! Eat some of this…then go to the gym in case you still want to fit in that bikini…

So today, Monday, Jan. 5, I decided that I will use my crock pot at least once a week. I am not even going to bother putting it back under the counter. Be on the lookout for for more crock pot recipes these next couple of months.

This one of my family’s favorites.  I tried to take a better end picture as well, but no such luck. I actually find food from crock pots very hard to photograph. Everything has cooked all day together and mashed their flavors together. Good for your tummy, but not really photogenic. Maybe one day I will be able to capture a perfect picture of it!

But until then, these cute little sous-chefs make up for it!

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Easy Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

Beef sirloin cut into chunks or strips
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced in half
1 medium onion, sliced or diced into medium sized pieces
1 bag frozen pas
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth- reduced sodium or so sodium is best
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
3 crushed and finely diced garlic (or 1 tablespoon garlic powder)
1 package of cutup cream cheese (room temp.) or sour cream (or a combo)
1 package wide egg noodles
Season the beef with salt and pepper and let stand (in refrigerator) as you prepare the other ingredients – let stand for up to two hours.

Directions

Brown the meat in your pan. Let it cool and add it to your crock pot. Cook your chopped onions, garlic, and sliced mushrooms in the beef drippings with a few shakes of olive oil. You can prepare this part the night before and put in your fridge until the morning.

In the morning, add your Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Near the end, add your peas. Make a slurry by whisking your flour and a tablespoon of the liquid from the crock pot together. Add that and your room temperature cream cheese (or sour cream, or combo of each.

Cook egg noodles and add all together at the end.