I'm A Crock Star!

I have pretty much given up on real cooking. If I can't fling it in the crock pot, we're probably not eating it. Seriously, it's less mess, less standing there chopping, stirring, backing etc. etc. etc.

I know part of the problem is that it's really no fun trying to do any extensive cooking (or anything else, for that matter) with a 22 month old under foot. So, if I can literally fling 7 things in the crock pot by 12 noon and know that not only will we have a hot dinner, but I will also likely have the energy to clean up afterward? Uh, yes please! Sign me up for Monday through Friday. Well, not Tuesday. My step-mom cooks for us on Tuesday. I know, how lucky am I?

Yesterday I fed Chloe kidney beans and corn for lunch. Well, I should say I served it to her. She mostly threw it on the floor, resulting in more time out than lunch. Are we having fun yet?

Anyway - needless to say there was plenty of leftover beans and corn, so I thought I'd make some rendition of taco soup or something similar. I have had a bag of bean juice (broth from making black beans in the crock pot to freeze) in my freezer for, let's say, awhile, so I thought that would be a good base. I popped that in there and cranked it to high. Once that was about thawed, I added the kidney beans, corn, a can of tomatoes with green chillies, and a can of black beans. I put in a tablespoon each of cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder. I put a chicken bouillon cube in there too. I had planned to brown some ground beef, taco it up and fling that in there, but I had two very old, very freezer burned ziplocks of beef that were past the point of no return. Probably because I started browning my beef before freezing it, so of course, I always use that instead of raw. We went ahead and said bye bye to the bad beef.

Hmmm... Veggie soup? Not sounding terribly filling. I pulled out a few boneless skinless chicken thighs and let them thaw for a few. I diced a red onion and sauteed that and the chicken, which I cubed when it had thawed a bit, in olive oil. I then put the entire contents of the pan into the crock pot cranked it back up to high to finish cooking the chicken and about 2 hours later? All three of us cleaned our bowls! I had no idea what to expect, but it was delicious! I just had to write it down, so I can be sure to fling it all together again someday!

I also made my rendition of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Here's the recipe. Prepare to swoon:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix these ingredients well in a large bowl. Once combined, add:

6 tbs. very cold butter and work it in with a pastry blender or a large fork. You want it to be the texture of coarse meal.

Next, add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and stir.

Finally, add 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of milk. You want very moist, though still sticky dough. You will then drop the biscuits about 1/4 cup each onto a baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the begin to turn a golden brown.

Once they come out of the oven, using a pastry brush, brush each biscuit with this mixture:

This is where the magic really happens:

3-4 tbs. melted butter

1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

These biscuits are delicious and really go perfectly with this soup or anything similar.

Enjoy!