slow cooker chicken & dumplings.

last night, something wonderful happened in my crock pot.

after reading a few different recipes, and throwing things in the crockpot (though half of the time, it was more like yelling directions into the kitchen while i fed the baby--thanks, ash!), we had a pretty fantastic dinner. oh, and did i mention? no condensed soup.

it's definitely a keeper.

slow cooker chicken & dumplings
serves 6

ingredients
3 chicken breasts (mine were frozen)
4 cups of chicken stock
2/3 cup lowfat milk
3 tsp flour
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium potatoes, cubed
1 can simply refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, quartered
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp onion powder (or substitute chopped onion)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of ground thyme
salt & pepper to taste

directions
1. spray crockpot with nonstick spray. add in carrots and chicken breasts, and half of the spices. pour in half of the chicken stock.
2. in a small saucepan whisk together milk and flour on high heat. once it begins to boil, turn off heat and whisk continually until it thickens. then mix with remaining stock and pour into the crockpot. cook mixture on high for 5 hours.
3. add potatoes halfway through cooking.
4. when done, shred chicken with a fork and add quartered biscuits and peas. cook an additional 30 minutes.

serve, and enjoy!

love.

slow cooker pot roast

I love fall. Every year it comes around, I'm freshly reminded of how glorious the crisp air and bright colors are.  And how comforting the feel of walking into your warm house can be. Oh, and of course how close Christmas is (I might love Christmas too much).

I also am reminded of how much I love cooking in the fall.

Summer is best for produce and freshness--something I miss in the other months. But oh, I love comfort food. And so does this baby. So I've been thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to pull out my slow cooker more often than not and make something rich and savory for dinner.

Last night, I made pot roast. And Nick commented multiple times on how good the house smelled, and how tasty it was. That's a win in my book.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Adapted from the Pioneer Woman's (found here)

Ingredients
3-5 lb. chuck roast
2 large onions, halved
1/2 bag of baby carrots
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 packet onion soup mix
2-3 cups beef broth
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Heat olive oil in large, nonstick pan. Season meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and brown chuck roast on both sides (about 2 minutes each). Remove from pan and put in slow cooker. In the same pan, brown onion halves, and place on plate. Do the same with the carrots.

With the heat still on, pour a little bit of beef broth into pan to deglaze it. I use a whisk to make sure all the flavorful stuff on the bottom comes up. Pour liquid into the slow cooker.

Empty the onion soup mix packet onto the roast, spreading as evenly as possible. Dump veggies in, and add salt & pepper. Then pour enough beef broth in to cover the roast about halfway or so.

Cover and cook on medium for 6 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes & bread.

slow cooker chicken & green bean casserole

Here is fair warning: this is not a healthy recipe. I rarely used condensed soup while cooking, if ever. But I found two lonely cans in the back of my pantry that needed to be used, so I went for it. I'm sure I'll try to recreate this recipe without using condensed soup eventually. But until then, I had to share this.

Because it's good. So good.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Green Bean Casserole
serves 4

Ingredients
1 1/2-2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 can of reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/3 tsp. garlic powder
1/3 tsp. onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
1 can of fried onions
frozen green beans
2 cups rice, cooked separately

Directions
Spray or coat your slow cooker with olive oil to prevent sticking. Place chicken in bottom. Sprinkle a layer of fried onions over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, whisk together both cans of soups, soy sauce and spices. Pour over chicken and onions. Repeat with another layer of fried onions. Cook on high for 4 hours, low for 6-8. An hour or so before serving, pour frozen green beans on top.

Serve over rice, with fried onions on top.

This is comfort food done right, for sure. I may have eaten the rest of it for lunch today.

The baby wanted it.

love.