Tortellini Tuscan Stew

Yummy! And a crock pot recipe, so easy and delicious!

1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large zucchini, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 large yellow summer squash, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, cut in 1/2-inch dice
4 ounce(s) thin green beans, trimmed and cut in 2-inch lengths
1 can(s) (28-ounce ) crushed tomatoes
1 can(s) (14 1/2-ounce) vegetable broth
2 tablespoon(s) fresh oregano, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1 package(s) (9-ounce) fresh cheese tortellini
1 bag(s) (5-ounce) baby spinach
3 tablespoon(s) grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients, except tortellini, spinach, and Parmesan cheese, in a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours. Uncover; turn slow cooker to high and stir in tortellini. Cover: continue to cook 15 minutes, or until pasta is almost tender. Uncover; gently stir in spinach and Parmesan. Cover; cook 5 minutes until spinach is cooked down and tortellini is tender. Smile and enjoy :)

Homemade Baked Beans

Add the following in a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours
1 1/2 cups of dry beans (I used 1 cup kidney and 1/2 cup black because that is what I had)
3 cups of water (I also added 1/2 cup pork stock cause I had it-- completely optional)
1/2 onion grated
1/2 green pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic grated

The Flavorings: I searched a lot of recipes and sort of made my own up, feel free to adjust to suite your tastes. After you add these ingredients let them meld together for about another hour and then enjoy.
1/4 cup brown sugar (some recipes used white sugar, molasses, or honey)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup BBQ sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (some recipes used 2 tbsp, but I cut it to just one to keep it sweeter)
dash of salt
2 tbsp mustard (I used Dijon)
5 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled (again, just added cause we had it)
Splash of Honey Jack Daniels... yummmm

I'd take a picture, but honestly they just look like baked beans. Getting to play around with the flavorings was the fun part of this recipe :)

Creamy Italian Chicken

I got this recipe from Shayna who got it from someone she babysits for (Mary) who said it was one of their favorite crock pot recipes. Had to try it out and was not disappointed!

2 large chicken breasts (thats what we had in the freezer, the recipe called for 4 chicken breasts so use that if you can)
1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing mix
¼ cup water
8oz cream cheese softened
1 can condensed chicken soup (don't add the water)
2 cups mushrooms sliced thin

Put the chicken, water, and Italian seasonings into the crock pot and let it cook for 3-4 hours on low. Top with the sliced mushrooms and then place the cream cheese/soup mixture on top of the mushrooms and chicken (this looked gross... but don't worry!) Let it cook for another hour and then mix everything around. If you're hungry serve now or keep it on low till you're ready. Serve over rice or noodles (we used elbow macaroni). This meal was amazing! So many flavors, the chicken was super moist and could be cut with a fork, yumm yumm yumm! Thank you Shayna and Mary!

Pork and Sauerkraut

Early dismissal from school today gave me enough time to make a real meal in our crock pot! Had just about everything on hand which made things really easy:

5 Pork Chops (boneless, about 1/2 inch thick)
1 bag of Sauerkraut (I used the one pound bag from Giant)

1 large onion diced

1 cup of applesauce

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of Caraway seeds

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

5 Small to Medium Potatoes cut in halves or thirds

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl except for the pork chops and the potatoes. Put about a third of this sauerkraut mixture in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the pork chops and potatoes and top with the remaining sauerkraut and all the liquid in the bowl. Cook for at least 4 hours on high, more is even better. We also had a dinner roll and some delicious white wine :)

Snow Day Apple Oatmeal

I got the call at 5:09 am that my school was closed for the day so what better thing to eat on a snow day... oatmeal! Found this recipe online and tweaked it... and it was delicious!



Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal


- 1 cup of old fashioned oats
- 2 cups 1% milk
- splash of vanilla extract
- sprinkle of brown sugar
- 1 large apple chopped up (we used golden delicious)

Mix all the ingredients in your crock pot and cook on the high setting for 1-2 hours. Ours cooked for about an hour and a half and it was great. Jason and I both had a bowl and we have a serving left over. I could not believe how creamy and sweet it was. Top with cinnamon and enjoy :)

Things you could add that would probably taste good: chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup instead of the brown sugar, bananas instead or with the apples