Slow cooker love...

Right before the Superbowl, I blogged about a yummy chicken dish that I whipped up and had my family wishing for more.  After that, I was reminded just how easy the crockpot is - what an invention!  I can throw some veggies and meat in a pot at the beginning of the day and it will actually make it look like I've got it together?  So, I did a little research and found some yummy recipes using the 'ol wonder machine and here are a few yummy recipes that I'm excited to try!  Check out the blog, A Year of Slow Cooking for some amazing and easy recipes!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken with Apricots and Dates 

1 1/2 pounds chicken meat (boneless, skinless thighs are the best. If you're going to use chicken with bones, fish them out about halfway through cooking)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried pitted dates, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice

The Directions
Put the chicken into the bottom of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker. My chicken was frozen solid. If you are using fresh chicken, shave off about 90 minutes or so of cooking time.

Add diced onion, and spices. Sprinkle on the apricots and dates. Pour the broth and orange juice evenly over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 3-5. The chicken should be quite tender and shred easily with a fork. If your chicken isn't tender enough, stir well and cook for a bit longer on low.

Serve with quinoa or brown rice with the juices----the broth is delicious!

 

Crockpot Rocky Road CANDY?

One bag of chocolate chips

One bag of mini marshmallows

One bag of chopped walnuts

Release foil

The Directions:

Pour whole bag of chocolate chips into stoneware

Turn on high, set timer for 30 minutes to check

Stir chocolate after 30 min, re-set timer 15-30 minutes as needed.

Prepare two cookie sheets with Release foil.

When chocolate is all melty, stir in a bunch of marshmallows. I didn't measure how many I dumped in, but I like a lot of marshmallows. I used at least half the bag. Mix with a big spoon and add chopped walnuts (or whatever nuts you prefer).

Remove stoneware from heating element.

Use two spoons and drop mounds of chocolate-marshmallow-nut gooeyness onto the Release foil.

Place cookie sheets into the refrigerator to cool and harden.

She has other great recipes on her blog including Baked Oatmeal!  In my opinion, I'm all for making life a little easier and tastier!  


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