Slow Cooker Black Bean and Chicken Casserole

I hate college alumni magazines. My least favorite part is the looks at me section also known as notables, people of note etc. I went to a very large undergraduate school and people seem to jump at the chance to laud on themselves in the alumni magazine. The worst is the magazine I receive from one of my undergraduate majors (I'll be nice and not name which one). It turns into an almost pompous one upmanship contest. I was published in such in such magazine, oh wait I won an award, and so on and so forth. I think that I am going to write my own write-up. It will focus on the fact that my kids actually helped me to move the trashcan back from the curb and picked up their toys from the floor in their bedroom. That has to be as exciting as reading another blurb about some former graduate who has become much more successful than I am, no thanks.

My kids have been in moods (not in a good way) due to the end of the school year. Tomorrow is the last day and I am so ready! Due to my kids attitudes I have trying to make meals that are quick and easy to put together. This week I tried a new recipe for Black Bean and Chicken Casserole from the May issue of All You Magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 4 and a half hours of total time, 12 minutes of which is active,  and makes 6 servings.  I only made a few changes to the original recipe. I used leftover chicken from a roasted chicken recipe I had made the previous night. It was a nice way to save money and use leftovers. Pre-shredded cheese is always more, so I buy big blocks and shred it myself. It saves a lot of money over the course of a year. Finally, I make my own chili powder. I prefer the taste to store bought and I can make a big batch at once. As I normally do I also make beans from scratch using dried beans and my slow cooker.

If you're looking for something quick and easy this is the recipe for you. It goes together very quickly and made enough for two meals for my family of four. The taste is mild enough that even my kids liked the dish and the slow cooker made the cooking work beyond simple. The flavors are simple, which during a busy week is fine with me.

For the recipe go to Black Bean and Chicken Casserole. 

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

I am so sick of spam comments. This week I had two major food sites spam me. I expect spam from small sites, but these were pretty major food selling sites that obviously set up fake accounts to leave fake comments with link backs to their sites. I expect more of larger sites, they should be able to get links without shady tactics. The funny thing is if they had asked for a review I would have done one with a no-follow link. However, PR companies have figured out that they can have follow links on sites by spamming in the comments. I really hate this practice and have thought about emailing the two companies that left their addresses as spam comments. I'm not going to name names, but they are big enough to know better. Maybe I should be flattered that a company that large decided to spam me for a follow link, but I'm not. I'm just annoyed.

On to lighter subjects, food! Last week was very hot so I used my slow cooker most of the week. I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Beans from the May/June 2014 issue of Eating Well Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active, and makes 12 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used dried navy beans, homemade chicken broth, and sweet onions. These are just personal preferences. Additionally I left out the bourbon. I don't keep liquor in the house except for cooking and I didn't want to have to buy a small bottle just for the the recipe. Finally, I found that my beans needed a little longer than the recipe stated. I always let my beans cook 8-10 hours on low, I like my beans very tender and this recipe was no exception.

As with any recipe with bacon in it, my kids loved this dish. The beans were sweet, without being overly so, and with 10 grams of protein per 1/2 cup they were a nice way of sneaking in beans to my family's diet. If you aren't a big fan of maple syrup or brown sugar you could try substituting other sweeteners such as agave etc. and the beans could be changed to great northern or switched to canned and the time cooking time decreased.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Baked Beans.

Slow Cooker Chicken Nacho Soup

I went grocery shopping last night with my two kids. We didn't get to the store until 9 and I was worried that the store would be crowded and my kids would be wild. Turns out I love Friday nights at the store. It was dead, no cranky women (like there always are on Saturday afternoons), very friendly cashiers, and my kids were perfect. It helped that they were tired and too sleepy to run around acting crazy. All I know is that it was the best grocery shopping trip I have had with my kids in years. I told my husband this morning that I am switching my shopping to late on Fridays, if nothing else it will help to keep my sanity the rest of the weekend.

It's been soup season in my house. Our spring weather has been all over the place. One minute it's 90 and the next we have snow. My oldest told me that the weather is drunk this year, it definitely has been a little off. Since I love soup year round (even when it's hot, weird I know), I tried a new recipe for Chicken Nacho Soup from the April issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 17 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active, and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used homemade chicken broth. This is the method I use for most recipes, it saves money and cuts down on the amount of sodium. For the cheese sauce I allowed it to sit for approximately five minutes. This allowed it to thicken and made it easier to pour over the soup. Finally, I added the chicken at the beginning of the recipe. I prefer to cook my chicken in the soup adding flavor. The meat came out very tender, so there was no problem with toughness.

We are big soup fans in my house and this recipe went over well. It was mild enough for my kids to enjoy, but with enough flavor for my husband and I. You can adjust the amount of heat by removing (or not) the amount of jalapeno seeds. The recipe states that this dish makes 4 servings, but it was more than enough for my family of four with leftovers for the next day.

For the recipe go to Chicken Nacho Soup.

Slow Cooker Curried Chickpeas and Spinach

My two kids are currently watching PBS nature shows. While most kids love movies, cartoons, etc., my kids love documentaries, history shows, and animal shows. At first I thought it was a phase, then the phase only got stronger. My oldest wrote about Christopher Columbus in his class journal last week. While most kids were writing about monsters, princesses, what have you, my child was writing a history paper. When his class goes to the school library he goes to the reference section and comes home with science encyclopedias, and he reads them cover to cover. Most of my kids odd behavior I blame on my husband and I. My favorite books are classics and I love social and medical documentaries. My husband was a history major and knows the answer to just about any history question you can ever ask him, and he doesn't just give a simple answer, he goes on for 30 minutes. Apparently my kids are following on the traditions that my husband and I started, hopefully they can find other people that share their same interests.

The males in my family love meat, I was a vegetarian for over ten years. To make everyone happy I make meat for dinner 5 nights a week. The other two nights I make vegan or vegetarian meals. Over the years my husband has grown to love many of the vegetarian meals we have tried and his cholesterol levels have stayed nice and low. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Curried Chickpeas and Spinach from the April 2014 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 4 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active, and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I ran out of curry powder so I used a tablespoon and a half of curry powder and a half of a tablespoon of garahm masala. For the cheese I used 8 ounces of Feta and increased the amount of spinach to 15 ounces. I microwaved the spinach and then rang all the water out before adding it to the rest of the ingredients in the crock-pot. Finally, I served the curry over brown rice.

The amount of salt in this recipe is perfect. The cheese adds just enough that it doesn't need to be further salted, which is nice since most recipes have to have a large amount of salt adjustment. If you aren't a fan of feta another type of cheese such as paneer would also work. My husband and I really liked this recipe. It was easy to prep in the slow cooker and made more than enough for two meals when served over rice.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Curried Chickpeas and Spinach.

Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole

Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole Better Homes and Gardens December 2013

I have a least favorite chore, laundry. Our washer and dryer is in the basement and with two boys I literally do laundry everyday. Before kids I never though that laundry was that bad, we had maybe 3-4 loads a week tops. Then my youngest arrived and the laundry started to pile up, and up, and up. After the arrival of my second son I decided that laundry was my arch enemy. Every time I washed something it just ended up being dirty again. Now part of the reason that we go through so much laundry is that I don't use paper towels. Instead I use cleaning rags and I clean my kitchen and bathroom top to bottom everyday. While that might seem extreme with three males in the house the bathroom would smell less than pleasant within two days, it's a must to have a full cleaning daily. The kitchen gets scrubbed since I cook and bake so frequently. If I don't stay on top of things in the kitchen it would turn into chaos. I also use separate washcloths and dish clothes when I do dishes each time (that's right no dishwasher in our house) so that adds to the mountain of laundry as well. Eventually my kids can start helping with the folding and putting away part of the mess, I am awaiting that day with glee.

There is a theme in my kitchen this week - the slow cooker. Right before holidays I tend to make a lot of crock-pot meals. They save me time and money and I love them. Plus I can eat the leftovers again in a couple of weeks making less work for me after the stress of the holidays. This week I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole from the December 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 40 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, since my kids were going to eat the recipe I used mild salsa. For the chicken broth I used homemade, which I don't salt, I salt at the table or in the recipe instead. I can't eat all-purpose flour so I substituted corn starch, which is a great gluten free alternative in soup and stew recipes calling for regular flour. I allowed the soup to cook or 8 hours on low in the crock-pot since I could start it in the morning and be done until dinner.

For a dump recipe (most ingredients are canned) this recipe turned out very well. It was delicious and the flavors worked really well together. My husband and two boys really liked this soup. It was mild due to using mild salsa, which made the recipe very kid friendly. If you like your posole on the spicy side I would recommend using spicier salsa.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole.

Slow Cooker Zesty Posole

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A easy slow cooker recipe for posole, only 9 ingredients. Can be modified to be vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Cooking Time: 3h, 30m

Total Time: 3h, 40m

Yield: Serves 6

Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor With All the Fixings

Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor With All the Fixings

I finally put up my Christmas tree today. For whatever reason I was unmotivated to do it earlier in the month. A large part of my lack of motivation had to do with the fact that going into our front hall closet literally takes hours. Everything is nicely organized, but it requires lots of moving of bins and when a 5-year-old is helping it seems to take 10 times as long. I also finished wrapping all the Christmas gifts that needed to be done. Granted some of them were customized by my youngest with 6 different gift tags, but they're done all the same. I wrapped everything in the same roll of wrapping paper, the idea of going back into the closet for the other rolls just wasn't happening. Regardless, the presents are wrapped, the tree is up, and I finished my meal plan and grocery list for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Overall, it was a productive day and I got it all done before my oldest got home for the last day before holiday break. Now I just have to hope that my two boys don't cause the tree to come crashing down or open all the gifts when I'm not looking (with two boys anything can happen).

I've been keeping my meal plans simple the last couple of weeks. My crock-pot has been used numerous times to save time and I love that I have leftovers for at least another meal. This week I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor with All the Fixings from the December 2013 issue of Southern Living Magazine.

Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor With All the Fixings Southern Living December 2013

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 20 minutes of total time (including crock-pot time), 20 minutes of which is active, and makes 8 to 10 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free beer instead of white ale. I bought one big can of pineapple tidbits instead of two smaller cans since per ounce the bigger size was a better deal. For the topping I used goat cheese, cilantro and avocado. My boys aren't big fans of radishes so I left them out.

This recipe made a lot of food. There was more than enough for my family of 4 plus leftovers for another two lunches. My husband absolutely loved these tacos. They were some of the best tacos he thought that I had made in a long time. I love that everything was done in the crock-pot, making for a quick and easy weeknight meal. The tacos are a little on the spicy side so if you like dishes milder or if you have kids you might want to leave out the crushed red pepper or reduce the amount of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Overall a great taco recipe that I would definitely make again in the future.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor with All the Fixings.

Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor With All the Fixings

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A flavorful pork taco recipe that is done completely in the crock-pot. Slow cooking the pork in pineapple and beer makes for delicious and easy tacos!

Preparation Time: 0h, 20m

Cooking Time: 8h, 8m

Total Time: 8h, 20m

Yield: Serves 8

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew

The temperature in my area dropped to the 40's today. I froze most of the day. I am not a cold weather person. While I love fall for the leaves turning colors, the baking etc I hate when the weather starts to turn towards winter. Growing up in Seattle it stayed mild most of the year. While it did get colder in the winter, it was no where near as cold as it gets here. When it hits into the single digits going to the bus stop with my oldest is just torture. Winter also brings about pneumonia and strep throat, just to name a few of the things that I have been fortunate enough to have the last two years (with hospital stays). I don't think my body was built for winter. My husband's is always turning the heat down since he roasts while I literally shake from being cold. I blame genetics, my dad is rail thin and freezes all winter also. Thanks dad.

One thing that I do love about colder weather is stew. There is something incredibly comforting about sitting down at the table with a giant bowl of steaming stew and a crusty loaf of bread. This week I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew.

Cabell County Courthouse Huntington, WV

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 30 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 8-10 servings. I made a number of changes to the original recipe. My local grocery stores refuse to stock currants, so I substituted equal amounts of chopped raisins and dried apricots. I could not find my turmeric (sometimes spices hide in my cupboards or simply somehow disappear) so I left it out entirely. Since couscous is not gluten free I served the stew over white rice. While I know brown rice is better health wise, I just can't eat it all the time. When you can't eat gluten free brown rice can become a little bit monotonous so I allow myself white rice when I want it. Finally, as I have talked about before I make my own chicken stock. This way I can control the amount of salt in the recipe and it tastes so much better! I allowed the stew to cook on high for 6 hours and served it with homemade Irish soda bread.

Ritter Park Rose Garden Steps Huntington, WV

Lamb stew is normally a hit in my household and this was no exception. The lamb cooked perfectly and the spices blended well. I did add cinnamon to the crock-pot along with the other spices listed in the recipe. I love the flavor of cinnamon with lamb and it was a nice addition. I used the same amount of cinnamon as the allspice, which worked out perfectly. I would recommend making this addition. Over rice this stew was delicious. It also re-heated well the next day served alone in a bowl with crusty bread. 

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew. 

The Huntington photos from today are from this summer. I wish it was that pretty today!! I miss the warm blue skies.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A flavorful slowcooker recipe for Moroccan Lamb Stew. Great with a loaf of crusty bread during the fall and winter!

Preparation Time: 0h, 30m

Cooking Time: 8h, 0m

Total Time: 8h, 30m

Yield: Serves 8

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from Taste of Home Magazine

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

This morning my youngest ran into the kitchen and announced "I love bacon". Then he ran away into the other room. That's how my household is, the three males in my house have a minor bacon obsession. As I was writing this post my husband went into a 5 minute one sided conversation about how he will only eat crispy bacon and that he judges Tudor's Biscuit World locations (a popular WV breakfast biscuit restaurant) by if they have crispy or chewy bacon. I should be used to this by now since growing up my father insisted on two things for Sunday breakfast, crispy bacon and fried potatoes. Neither of which I was allowed to cook, my bacon was never crispy enough and I have a bad tendency to over flip fried potatoes. A couple of weeks back I made a chocolate cake with bourbon glaze and chocolate covered bacon. My family is still talking about it and honestly I think it might be their favorite thing I have ever made. Maybe I should just cook bacon at every meal and then everything that I make would be well received. My youngest ended the day by informing me that he had seen a sign for bacon donuts and that he wanted one. It looks like I will be spending part of my weekend tracking down this alleged donut or I won't hear the end of it. While the rest of my family is bacon obsessed, I am obsessed with fall foods and in particular pumpkin and apples. Last week I tried a new recipe for Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from the September/October 2013 issue of Taste of Home Magazine.

Church in the Southside Neighborhood of Huntington, WV

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 4 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I made my beans from scratch. I prefer this method since I can control the amount of the salt. I also used my own chicken broth. I don't salt the broth to cut down on sodium. Finally, I didn't add cubed avocado since my kids refuse to eat it currently and I used grilled chicken thighs instead of turkey. I rarely have frozen turkey leftovers, but I frequently have leftover chicken so the substitution was a nice way to save money.

Julian's Market Southside Neighborhood Huntington, WV

With only 5 grams of fat this recipe has a lot of protein (16 grams) while being low in fat. Plus since it's all done in the slow cooker it's very easy to prep and makes more than enough for multiple meals. With fall being right around the corner this recipe will be great when the weather turns cooler.

For the recipe go to Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

Review of Sow Cooker Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from the September/October issue of Taste of Home magazine. Great for fall!

Preparation Time: 0h, 20m

Cooking Time: 4h, 0m

Total Time: 4h, 20m

Yield: Serves 10

Slow Cooker Asian Five Spice Meatballs

Slow Cooker Asian Five Spice Meatballs

It's the second week of school and I am already sick. I woke up this morning with a nasty cold, which only got worse as the day went on. My oldest had to miss school today as well. I love how I'm not sick all summer and then as soon as my oldest goes back to school, bam. I also am not a fan of the fact that I always getter sicker than anyone else in the house. My kids are sick for a couple of days, I get pneumonia, strep throat, you name it. Plus it's never a little bit of pneumonia, it's a hospital stay, or weeks of strep throat that doesn't want to go away. I seem not to be able to do anything part way, it's all or nothing. When I'm not feeling my best, I rely on my slow cooker. Slow cooker meals take little prep and are great when I don't have the time or energy to make a big involving meal. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Asian Five Spice Meatballs from Family Circle magazine.

Memorial Fountain Marshall University Huntington, WV

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 6 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free bread crumbs. I did not have low sodium soy sauce on hand, so I just used the regular that I already had. Veal is very hard to find near me, so I substituted ground Angus beef. I used 1/2 pound 93 percent lean beef, 1/2 pound ground Angus and a 1/2 ground pork. In total I ended up with 13 meatballs.

Memorial Fountain Front View Marshall University Huntington, WV

Changing recipes to gluten free can always be hit or miss. This recipe turned out perfectly. The meatballs stayed moist and the flavor was delicious. Since there wasn't enough sauce after the meatballs were done I made my own. I used 3/4 part grape jelly and 1/4 part sriracha. It had a nice spicy sweet flavor and was perfect to drizzle on top of the meatballs. Plus it pays tribute to West Virginia, since grape and hot pepper jelly with meatballs is an appetizer staple.

For the recipe go to Asian Five Spice Meatballs. (registration required)

Slow Cooker Asian Five Spice Meatballs

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A flavorful slow cooker recipe for Asian Style Meatballs made with 5 spice powder. Only 20 minutes of active time.

Preparation Time: 0h, 20m

Cooking Time: 6h, 0m

Total Time: 6h, 20m

Yield: Serves 6

Tuscan Chicken and Beans

Tuscan Chicken and Rice

West Virginia has taught me to slow down. Growing up in Seattle everything was always busy. I woke-up early, I worked long hours and I was always stressed. When I moved to West Virginia I stuck out. I didn't understand why it took a week for my paper work to be processed for my apartment or that when I went in to my work study assignment that the office had taken Friday off. After 10 years I have learned to love taking things a little slower. This afternoon my husband and I took my two boys and our dog around taking photos. In typical summer fashion there was a large summer downpour. Everyone at the park ran to their cars and waited. No one pulled away, we just all watched the storm and took a moment. It was perfect. There are many things that can be frustrating about life, but learning to sit on your porch and enjoy the summer warmth, say hello to your neighbor and just relax is something that we could all do with a little more of. So thank you West Virginia for teaching me that sometimes it's okay to just sit and wait, most things can sit at least a few minutes. With slowing down in mind, I made a slow cooker recipe today. I tried a new recipe for Tuscan Chicken and Beans from the September 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

Camden Park Wayne County, WV

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. The major change I made to the original recipe was to make my own Greek seasoning. I try to cut costs as much as I can and making seasoning blends is much cheaper. I already had all the ingredients so it was easy to put together. Instead of using an additional 1/2 teaspoon of thyme I increased the amount of seasoning to 2 teaspoons. The Greek seasoning that I prepared already had thyme so I found it unnecessary to add more. At dinner time I was unmotivated to go down to my garden to pick fresh oregano, so I left it out. The taste was delicious without it.

Camden Park Sign Wayne County, WV

My kids who have been horrible about eating dinner recently, loved this recipe. They ate their entire plates, which for them is a big thing. My husband was also very impressed, especially since he has been burned out on chicken thighs, but was very pleased with them in this recipe. The flavors work very well together and the chicken is fall off the bone tender. The recipe would also work well with lamb instead of the chicken.

For the recipe go to Tuscan Chicken and Beans. (registration required)

Tuscan Chicken and Beans

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A slow cooker chicken thigh recipe for Tuscan Chicken and Beans. Great flavor and easy to prep.

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Total Time: 8h, 15m

Yield: Serves 6

Pulled Pork Cemita Sandwiches

Pulled Pork Cemita Sandwich

My heirloom tomatoes have finally started to ripen. I wasn't sure if they were going to actually product fruit since we had so much rain for most of May and June. Luckily after lots of attention and pruning my tomato plants are growing like crazy. My oldest son, who helped plant all our fruits and vegetables this year is very excited. He already ate two whole tomatoes like apples for dinner tonight. Even my husband who isn't a big fan of tomatoes had to admit that the heirlooms were delicious. There is something so quintessentially summer about heirloom tomatoes, I love them. Our weather has finally cooled down so even though my tomatoes are in their full summer glory, my house has been much cooler. Even with the cooler temps I have been still using my slow cooker like crazy. This week I tried a new recipe for Pulled Pork Cemita Sandwiches from the May 2013 issue of Family Circle.

This recipe 13 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 10 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, I made my own hamburger rolls from scratch. They are much better than store bought and easy to make. Second, I was unable to find black bean spread so I bought black bean dip and boiled it down until it was thickened. For the tomatoes I used the heirlooms from my garden.

The pork in this recipe turned out very tender. I added a lot of the liquid back in the pork in order to keep it moist. My husband loved the recipe and ate three sandwiches for dinner the night I made the dish. I ate my serving over basmati rice since I can't eat gluten. If you like more heat in your recipes you increase the chili powder or decrease if you want it milder.

For the recipe go to Pulled Pork Cernita Sandwiches. (registration required)

Add Wholegrains to Your Breakfast Routine: Easy Overnight Oatmeal in the Slowcooker

Easy Overnight Crock-Pot Oatmeal

My oldest caught his first fish this week. While for many kids this wouldn't be a big deal, for him it's huge. He has never been a child that has excelled at sports. Over the years he has tried t-ball, tennis and swimming. They all ended quickly when he realized that he was not going to be a sports star. I was so ecstatic when my mother-in-law called and informed me that he had caught a ten inch bass, by himself. Of course now he has made my in-laws buy him a new fishing pole and buy fishing licenses. I'm just happy that he has actually found something that he enjoys and is good at. Since my oldest is at my in-laws fishing up a storm, my youngest and I have been left to ourselves for meals. During the week I am a big fan of healthy breakfasts that I can get on the table quickly. This week I tried a new recipe for Overnight Oatmeal from the Food Network.

This recipe has 5 ingredients. It takes a total time of 9 hours 10 minutes, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make significant changes to the original recipe. I ended up making the recipe twice, once as written and once with large changes. The first batch of oatmeal was too strong on the fruit, it almost tasted like a warmed fruit dish instead of steel cut oats. For the second batch I left out the dried food completely. Instead, I used 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. I followed the same amounts of half-and-half, water and steel cut oats as the original recipe. After I portioned the servings into bowls I added additional non-fat half-and-half. My oldest and I are fans of thinner oatmeal so this step allowed for the desired texture.

Putting the ingredients in the crock-pot the night before made for a very easy breakfast. The original recipe was too heavy on the fruit, but with my changes the oatmeal was perfect. If you aren't a fan of sweet oatmeal, you could try almonds, pecans or walnuts. Cinnamon or nutmeg would also work for flavor.

For the recipe go Overnight Oatmeal.

Coming Out From Behind the Camera: My Review is in the June Issue of All You Magazine

Slow Cooker Pork Loin with Cherries

Ever since I started this blog there has been one question that I get asked the most. It's not about food. I get emails, tweets, facebook posts about why I don't include a photo of myself on my blog. With my kids it's a matter of privacy, I am very protective of their online identity. With myself it's more of wanting a focus on the recipes and food. However, the longer that I have been blogging the more I realize that eventually I will have to come out from behind the camera. So with that in mind, you can find a picture of me in the current June issue of All You magazine.

As you all know I review magazine, cookbook and online recipes. All You has started a section high-lighting readers that have tried their recipes and a few question and answers about the results. I was flattered to be approached to be the first person for this section. If you look on page 9 you will see my review of All You's Slow-Cooker Pork Loin with Cherries (you can read my original review here). It really is a great recipe and one that I loved making. The section also includes a photo of me and a photo I took of the dish. No more hiding behind the camera.

My husband's only comment about the mention was that everyone is going to think that I'm 42 since my age states that I am 35. I promise I really am 35, but I guess I should start telling everyone that I'm 27. Only problem is that I don't think anyone would believe me!

Bring the BBQ Flavor Indoors: Cajun Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

Cajun Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

I ate popcorn for dinner tonight. The weather has been hot and sticky, making me not in the mood for most food. I did make a chicken recipe for my husband and youngest son, but nothing heavy for me. Every summer it's the same. It takes a couple of weeks after the weather gets warm for my body to adjust to eating normally. Even after I adjust I still eat far less than during the cooler months. I do eat a lot of salad and ice cream, not the greatest food options, but cool and refreshing none the less. The males in my family never seem to be affected by the weather, they eat a ton year round. BBQ is one of their favorite foods, they literally love it in the dead of winter through the summer heat. This week I tried a new recipe for Cajun Slow Cooker Pulled Pork from the June 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time (plus 8 hours in the slow cooker), 20 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, I made my hamburger buns from scratch. I gave up buying hamburger buns a few years back, it is so much cheaper to make them at home. Whenever I make meat in the slow cooker I always brown my meat first. Sear it quickly in a pan on the stove, browning it on all sides in a little bit of olive oil. This step allows the meat to seal in its juices and keep it moist during cooking. Make sure to add the meat fat side up, this will also allow the meat to not become tough.

My husband really enjoyed this recipe. He is a big fan of andouille sausage and this recipe does a great job of combining the sausage with the pork shoulder. The flavors blend well together and it is a nice change of pace from traditional BBQ recipes. Best of all it is all done indoors and the clean up work is very simple.

For the recipe go to Cajun Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.

Recipe for Sour Cherry Rice Pudding

Sour Cherry Rice Pudding

I love to read. Growing up my mother never watched TV, instead she spent all of her free time curled up on the side of the couch with a book. It was thanks to her that I read War and Peace in middle school. She always expected me to read for joy, not grade level and challenged me to read everything I could get my hands on. In college I already had a major when on a whim I decided to tack on a second major, English Literature. This love of reading has followed me to the current day when I have been known to stay up all night finishing a great book. Most of you also know that I love to cook. Cookbooks and food magazines are always all over my house. There is something great about finding a new recipe to try and scouring through pages to find the perfect fit for dinner. Slow cooker recipes are some of my favorites and last week I tried a new recipe for Sour Cherry Rice Pudding from the June 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 6 hours and 35 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make changes to the original recipe. First since I have a larger crock-pot I doubled the recipe. I used fat free evaporated milk and 100 percent cherry juice for the ingredients. For whatever reason my crock-pot never works with rice pudding on low. Instead I decreased the time and cooked the recipe on high for a little under 3 hours. After the pudding has sat to cool it will need to be fluffed back up and you can add more evaporated milk if necessary.

Using fat free evaporated milk worked well in this recipe and I like that there is 11 grams of protein per serving. My kids ate their servings with homemade whipped cream, which was a nice combination. If you want a richer pudding this would be delicious with shaved dark chocolate on top.

For the recipe go to Sour Cherry Rice Pudding.

Turkey Sloppy Joes Recipe

Crock-Pot Turkey Sloppy Joes

My youngest had the misfortune of getting his first bee sting this evening. I knew something was wrong when he told me he was playing with a bug. As soon as the word stop was out of my mouth he started screaming because he had been stung by the 'bug'. Luckily pain medication and a baking soda paste saved the day. He is now asleep and I'm pretty sure that he won't be playing with bees again soon. Luckily before the be incident my family enjoyed a family favorite, sloppy joes. For dinner I tried a new recipe for Turkey Sloppy Joes from the May 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I followed the recipe pretty closely to the original. I always have baby carrots for my husband's lunch so that is what I used in this recipe. Since I only had smoked paprika I substituted it for regular and Sunny Buns for the hamburger buns. Of course my youngest slightly smashed my photo bun before I got the picture, hence why it looks a little lopsided. I ate my serving over brown rice.

My kids loved this recipe. I did find that it only made about 5 servings, not the 12 suggested by the recipe. My husband thought that he would have liked fewer carrots, I thought that it was a little sweet. Overall though this was a very family friendly recipe and I like that it uses turkey instead of beef.

For the recipe go to Turkey Sloppy Joes. Registration required.

Recipe for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

My family loves beans. Three times a day my husband eats some type of beans as part of his meals. He is great about eating an array of beans every week and has lost over 30 pounds due to his good eating habits. My son and I try to eat beans at lunch every day, he loves black beans with feta and could eat them every day if given the chance. Since we live in West Virginia we also eat a ton of pinto beans, we love them. Given that beans are such a large part of our weekly diet I try to come up with new recipes and bean dishes so we don't get bored. Last week I tried a new recipe from the April/May 2013 issue of Taste of Home magazine for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 5 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I didn't make too many changes to the original recipe. For the beans I used cannellini beans since they were the type available. I allowed the beans to cook for 6 hours on low and used sweet onions for the onions called for in the recipe.

These beans turned out really well. They were a nice combination of sweet and spicy and made enough for three separate meals for my family of 4. My husband and I enjoyed the recipe the most since the spice from the jalapenos was a little more geared towards adults. However, my youngest decided to eat the beans over rice the next day and loved them. The only complaint I heard in my house was that my husband would have preferred if the onions were sauteed and caramelized before being added to the crock-pot.

For the recipe go to Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

Crock Pot Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno Corn Dumplings

Crock Pot Pinto Bean Stew with Gluten Free Jalapeno Corn Dumplings

Beans weren't something my mother prepared very often when I was growing up. She made terrific pasta and meat dishes, but beans were only a sometimes food. When I decided to become a vegetarian in high-school my stomach went into shock due to the sudden increase in bean consumption. Luckily I got used to it and to this day I eat a substantial amount of beans every week. My husband was born and raised in West Virginia and pinto beans were always a stable in his house. When we got married I had to learn to cook with pinto beans since I had only eaten black, white and navy beans previously. Now days we eat pinto beans regularly and my kids love them. This week I tried a new recipe for Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno Corn Dumplings from the April 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 20 ingredients. It takes 9 hours in the slow cooker, 30 minutes of prep and makes 8 servings. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I allowed my beans to soak overnight. The overnight soaking method is the way that I prefer since it takes less active time than quick soaking on the stove. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice four instead of the all purpose flour called for in the dumpling recipe. For the topping I let off the sliced radishes. My kids do not like them and my local grocery store didn't have them in stock. I let my beans cook on high for 8 hours and then another hour with the dumplings. I always allow my pinto beans to cook for at least this long. Beans in the crock-pot take a will in order to come out soft and flavorful.

The dumplings in this stew are the stars of this dish. The stew tasted like any other vegetarian chili and didn't leave a lasting impression. I thought that the pinto beans would be better cooked with a ham hock with the dumplings served on top. Pinto beans cooked in the slow cooker are delicious and the dumplings would work well with them as a topping. My two boys liked the chili (I seeded the jalapeno and used mild chili powder so it wasn't too spicy). They ate their servings and most of the leftovers.

For the recipe go to Pinto Bean Stew.