Okay, so I'll be the first to admit that I am not the best cook in the world. Truth be told, I actually HATE cooking. I really wish I enjoyed it, but it's so not my thing. If I could have my way, we would all eat cereal for dinner every. night. of. the. week. Unfortunately, that won't fly with my husband--or my kiddo's for that matter. And with a growing family and limited budget, going out, or ordering in each night isn't an option either;) So over the years, and as our family has multiplied, I've been forced to learn the "how to's" of cooking. Not just how to follow a recipe, although that's part of it, I really mean the planning, the shopping, the preparing, and the making of a meal for my family. One of my new years resolutions this year was to get better at this whole process. My goals this year are to cook budget conscious, healthy meals, that can be prepared QUICKLY (that's really important), and that my family will actually eat!!
I HAVE used my crock-pot a lot over the years, but became bored with the recipes I had. That was until I found THIS blog. I have seen this before, but kind-of forgot all about her. She is so my new super-hero!!! All I can say is "bye bye" to humdrum dinners and "HELLO" to delicious, QUICK, and healthy meals!!! Seriously y'all, I have rekindled a love affair with my crock pot!!!
I put everything in it in the morning, smell it simmering all day long, and by dinner time all I have to do is whip up a few side dishes and I'm DONE!!!!
I put everything in it in the morning, smell it simmering all day long, and by dinner time all I have to do is whip up a few side dishes and I'm DONE!!!!
I'm LOVIN' IT!!!!!!!
I did my meal planning this month using A TON of her recipes, and have yet to be disappointed!
Here's a peak at our family's meal calendar for the month...And here's the list of ingredients needed for the meals I am making.
I won't necessarily use all these meals listed in the month. Things come up and life happens, but knowing I have something planned and the ingredients on hand is a huge stress relief! Also, some nights we may have a lot of left overs which we can always heat up and eat the following night.
I won't necessarily use all these meals listed in the month. Things come up and life happens, but knowing I have something planned and the ingredients on hand is a huge stress relief! Also, some nights we may have a lot of left overs which we can always heat up and eat the following night.
If you've tried any of these recipes I'd love to hear how you liked them. Most of these are new to me, so it's going to be trial and error. Up until now though, everything has definitely been a keeper!!!
**UPDATED...I have gotten several emails that you are not able to view the menu or list of ingredients. I'm not sure why. If someone could help me figure this out then PLEASE let me know. Thanks y'all***
***I think it's been fixed!***
**UPDATED...I have gotten several emails that you are not able to view the menu or list of ingredients. I'm not sure why. If someone could help me figure this out then PLEASE let me know. Thanks y'all***
***I think it's been fixed!***
17 comments:
Oh, I am so excited about this crockpot blog. Our day goes so well when I know I have something already cooking. Oftentimes, if I wait until just before dinner, I'm way to tired and overwhelmed to cook anything. I had never seen this blog before. Thank you! I'm going now to spend some time there ;)
Jenny Thank You so much for sharing this crock pot recipe! I'm soo excited to try the meals I'm always looking for different dinners and crock pot cooking always is great on my budget with a growing family of our own ! Thanks! Oh and I tried to click on your link for the meal plan and it needed permission so i submitted the email hope thats ok aspenbergfam@gmail.com!
thanks again
Blessings Stacey
I do know about that 365 blog! It is fabulous! When my children were growing up, I relied on my crockpot a lot!
Do you know how many times I have asked or answered that question? I actually started a food blog to help deal with that exact question. I have A TON of recipes on there. I've followed the 365 crockpot blog (I think she is doing a book now). There are a lot of great crockpot recipes out there!
April@Party of Five
My food blog (in case you need some ideas)
Meals For Real
http://www.mealsforreal.blogspot.com
Oh I LOVE you. I am always in love with new recipes. I do the same you do with meal planning. I plan out 2 weeks worth of meals and go to the store once every 2 weeks (or at least that's my goal!). I do TONS in the crock pot. I do pork roast, beef roast and a turkey roast (the Jenny-0 kind that is in a foil pan that goes in the oven, I just take it out of the foil pan and stick it in the crock!!) all with potatoes, carrots and onions with either chicken broth or beef broth. It's a hit with our family!! Also try fajitas meat with the crock! Yum! If I do a pork roast one night, I'll make pulled pork sandwiches the next night. Another thing is that I have really tried hard to prep for meals. If I cook hamburger for say spagetti, but we're having tacos later that week, I'll do it all at once, seperate and season and then put the taco meat in the fridge for later. Check out http://www.e-mealz.com/ too. They have low fat, healthy, budget/family friendly meal ideas and meal planning for a low, cheap price!! Thanks for sharing all your info!
you have got it together!! my roommate and i are both in grad school and are trying to save a little bit of money by eating in more often - crockpots are the way to go! thanks for some new ideas :)
Here is a favorite in our house...I use the leftover chicken for quesadillas, salads, tacos, etc...
1 whole chicken
1 large onion
4tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2tsp garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
In a small bowl mix all the spices. Remove all the yuck from the chicken. Cut onion into large chunks put in bottom of the crock-pot. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken, coating evenly. Place chicken on top of onions. Cook on low all day...it is the yummiest chicken!!!!
I rarely comment but one of the other blogs I follow had some crock-pot recipes this week, so I thought I'd share the link. :) Thanks for sharing yours as well!
http://www.savingsuppersolutions.com/2011/01/suppers-for-week-131.html
I totally visit that blog too! Tonight we are having her mashed potatoes for dinner and last night we had a beef recipe that was really similar to beef stroganoff. Steve's parents were terrible at cooking and didn't enjoy it so Steve has a fear of the crockpot. These recipes have helped him to overcome that fear!
It really is a small world!
Love crock-pot meals too! If you ever want to branch out, I started using Relish! when I got married(www.relishrelish.com). It's amazing! You can set it to how many mouths you'll be feeding AND they have kid friendly recipes as well!
P.S. I think you know my sister-in-law Holly...I found your blog randomly awhile back:-) And saw her blog on your page. Small world!
Love that website! You are my inspiration! I SOOOO need to get better about monthly meal planning...and if I made new year resolutions, that would ALWAYS be on my list...unless maybe I follow your lead & get it together this year! ;-)
Oh, I couldn't get the links to your menu & shopping list to work...did anyone else have trouble?
Nevermind...I tried those links again & they work now! Blessings!
I'm going to have to look into that blog as I hate cooking too. Well, I don't mind so much the cooking (although, it's not my favorite), but the planning and shopping are what I dread the most. And I'm with you on the cereal every night thing. In fact, that's what we had tonight...ha! Going to have to dig my crock pot out of the back of the cabinet now.
You are so inspiring me!! And maybe God is speaking through you to me and I am listening...this is what my mom did throughout my childhood. After my dad and mom divorced, my mom raised us girls on a very limited budget and planned out every meal. I really can't believe how she fed us on the grocery budget she had! I know I need to do this with my own family: Make a meal plan and shop more consciously. I love to cook, but so much has fallen along the wayside since my cancer diagnosis. Thank you for the inspiration. As we try to cut down our grocery budget, I know this will help! Now I just have to do it....with God's help, I know I can!
Thanks for the blog link and sharing your month's menu.
Way to Go!
Much love,
Stacy
So, I found a difference!
I LOVE to cook. But, I do find the whole process (meal-planning, grocery-list-making, shopping, etc.) very challenging, especially with four little ones. The cooking part is easy--that other part, NOT so much!
I do want to thank you for sharing this link of not only your meal plan, but also your ingredient list! That is fabulous, and I thank you! I'm going to grab a new recipe or two to make soon!
I love the crock pot, too...it can be a real life saver! Love the Year of Slow cooking site, I've gotten several things off of her list and I have yet to be disappointed!
Anyway--thank you again for putting all of this together and for sharing with others!
Thanks for sharing the crock pot blog! I LOVE mine and can't wait to check out all the new recipes!
Make her Buffalo Chicken Lasagna! Sooo good!
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