How My Slow Cooker Changed my Life

So when we first got married. I had a hang up. When we started our wedding registry for some reason I felt obligated to register for a slow cooker (and I got not just one but two of them at my bridal shower!). It just seemed like something every wife needs, but for whatever reason, for two years of our marriage I steered clear of the slow cooker. I didn't really want anything to do with it, so it sat in our pantry out of the box, but still protected with the styrofoam. That all changed a few weeks ago.

Life has been really busy, exceptionally so and meal times have been a throw something together as fast as you can and hope for something that actually tastes good. Hannah, started off her first few months of marriage doing a crock pot meal almost once a week and really inspired me (and did I forget to mention everything she made smelled so good?!). So I broke it out and tried a recipe. I wasn't crazy about it at first and for whatever reason I gave it another try and it was amazing. I'm hooked!

I'm starting to meal plan for two weeks and not only has it changed my life as far as meal preparation goes, using my slow cooker on nights we go to the gym has been such a blessing. I come home from work and workout and dinner is ready to go on the table. No measuring ingredients, pulling things out of the fridge, chopping up this and that. Victory!

So my weekly recipe posts are now going to include recipes for the slow cooker now and then (and gluten free too!).

Enjoy this one from Martha this week...

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

1 tablespoon cornstarch
8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
6 potatoes, cut into chunks (I added these in)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1. In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Add carrots and onions; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
2. Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 10 hours).
3. Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish; pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices.

Truth

“It is a mercy that our lives are not left for us to plan, but that our Father chooses for us; else might we sometimes turn away from our best blessings, and put from us the choicest and loveliest gifts of His providence.”- Mrs. Charles H. Spurgeon

I was going through some old notes today and I came across this quote from Charles Spurgeon's (a favorite dead guy of mine) better half and it so encouraged my soul. In the midst of circumstances that I don't understand and learning to trust God for His perfect timing, I need to be reminded of this truth. All the blessings that I have received have been given from a faithful and generous Father, they always arrive never late, never too soon, always on time.

How easy it is for me to wander from the truth and place my confidence in how I "feel." In seasons like this I often find myself coming back to these verses (do you ever have sections of Scripture that you feel like you never wander far from?).

Psalm 16 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

James 1 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Hat Tip

I'm a sucker for a good deal. If you find me in the Target clearance aisle wandering alone (Seth usually grabs my hand and keeps me on track) I can usually be found perusing the piles in search of the best deal in the store. There is no feeling quite like finding something that was originally $14.99 marked down to $3.74 or more recently while in Nordstrom Rack I found a onesie for a friend having a baby for $0.01 (yes, a penny!). How can you leave deals like that behind?!

In an effort to save money (aren't we all right now?) but not entirely cut out the fun stuff every once in awhile, I have been using a site called Travelzoo. Don't write it off or think its like one of those cheesy sites that finds cruises for $199/person and takes you on a horrible adventure. I don't use the site for everything, but thus far, their top 20 Deals have been well worth the email subscription. Signing up is completely free, they send out updates every Wednesday, with deals from the Ritz to the Greenbrier, to resorts all over the world, to flights to London and back. I have been able to use this site to book rooms for more than half off at times. I can't say every Top 20 deal has been something to rave about, but all in all I haven't felt like I have been spammed every Wednesday when it arrives in my inbox.

New Things

I am a horrible blogger. But what can I say? My life is boring.

Well not totally... but the laundry is piling up, I can't remembed the last time I vacuumed the house, and meals have been on the fly, thus blogging has not been too high on the priority list.

But, a few weeks ago Seth and I (and I include Seth on this because he helped me make them so we could spend time together) made Gluten Free Popcorn Chicken Bites and they were amazing.

Here is the thing, I like to eat pretty healthfully and I honestly can't remember the last time I ate Chicken Selects at McDonalds with Buffalo and Ranch sauces, but I have to admit sometimes those kinds of foods just really hit the spot. Ask me how I felt after I ate them and its a different story, but there is this place in my mind where I imagine what it would be like to be able to eat them again, and now I can (thank you Rachel Ray for cooking with something other than flour!).

Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites

Vegetable oil, for frying (we used Corn Oil for half the batch because I ran out of Veg. Oil)
2 1/2 cups complete pancake mix, any brand, divided (I had a gluten free biscuit and baking mix on hand and it worked great, TJ's carries a GF pancake mix though)
1 1/4 cups water
8 teaspoons hot sauce, divided
1 1/4 pounds chicken tenders or chicken breast cut into small bite-sized pieces
1 cup store bought, good quality refrigerated blue cheese dressing (GF'ers steer clear of the blue cheese, many kinds actually contain gluten, we used ranch instead)
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper, 1/3 palm full
Cut celery sticks, store bought

In a deep sided skillet heat 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil over medium heat. If you wish to test the oil, add a 1-inch cube of bread to hot oil. If it turns deep golden brown in color in a count of 40, the oil is ready.

While the oil is heating make the batter. In a wide mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the pancake mix, 1 1/4 cups water and about 6 teaspoons hot sauce. Place the remaining plain 1/2 cup pancake mix in another wide mixing bowl. Arrange the batter and the bowl of plain pancake mix near the cook top and the heating oil. Line a plate with a few sheets of paper towels and keep within reach.

Once the oil is heated and ready, toss the chicken pieces in 2 teaspoons of hot sauce then toss in the plain pancake mix, coat evenly and shake off excess. The plain dry pancake mix will help the batter stick to the chicken pieces. Add some of chicken to the batter, you are going to want to work in 3 to 4 batches coating and frying. Using a fork, toss the bites in the batter. Remove the first batch from the batter, shaking off the excess batter as you carefully add them to the hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes on the first side, or until the first side is a deep golden brown, flip and continue to fry for another 2 minutes or until deep golden brown all over. Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towel lined plate, season with salt. Repeat until all the popcorn chicken bites are fried. Serve immediately with refrigerated, good quality creamy blue cheese prepared dressing with chopped scallions and black pepper stirred into it for dipping. Garnish platter with celery sticks.

It is kind of an intense process, but it is totally worth it.