Slow-Cooked Barbacoa Beef

This is one of those staples we all need for busy nights, guys! Get it going in the slow cooker in the morning and by dinner time you’re left with tender, savory, perfectly seasoned shredded beef that is just waiting to be devoured! Honestly, it’s giving Chipotle a solid run for their money:)

Use it for salads, tacos, nachos, burritos, or our favorite: piled high on a tostada with queso fresco, pickled red onion, hot sauce and guacamole. So stinking yum! Continue reading

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Bowls with Avocado-Cilantro Dressing


Happy New Year, friends! I hope your 2018 has been off to a great start!

Nothing like starting the year off with a bright, healthy, oh-so-yummy new meal to add to your rotation, right? This time of year meals can get so mundane for me. I love a good soup or stew, don’t get me wrong. But with the lack of fresh ingredients available the inspiration for new dishes can just be way more challenging. But I’ll take the challenge…because this one is a sure thing!

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Roasted Cabbage Ruben Stacks

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Now what in the heck was I supposed to call these things, you guys?  They are the most random twist on one of my all-time favorite sandwiches and this name was all that my tired, pregnant brain could come up with.  If you can come up with a better one, please do share.

Now heres the deal.  If you love a good reuben sandwich and you love cabbage you might go wack-a-doodle over this combination.  It’s a reuben gone healthful and light…but you won’t for one second miss that bread and cheese, I promise.   Continue reading

Slow-Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Cups

SONY DSCHow much do you love appetizers?  Give them to me for every meal, friends.  There’s really nothing like trying a bunch of different small bites.  And with the Super Bowl coming up I think these little Enchilada Cups are going to come in pretty darn handy.

We made these just last night for dinner.  I wanted to come up with an appetizer recipe to share with you guys that would be just perfect for you to share with friends for Sunday’s big game.  I’m pretty sure I accomplished my goal…but turns out they make a pretty stellar dinner, too.  My kids devoured them and requested they be added to the “make-often-because-these-are-our-favorite” list, which is pretty much music to my ears.  And I would feel safe assuming Nick and I could win awards for our ability to consume large amounts of these as well; so stinking yummy! Continue reading

Honey Garlic Meatballs + Other Easy Holiday Appetizers

What are the chances that you are either hosting a gathering in the next few weeks or that you are responsible to take a “dish to share” to someone elses home?  Pretty good, I would assume.  Tis the season for cocktails, appetizers and gorgeous, festive finger food and friends, I’ve got the hookup right smack dab here.

So, without further ado, I present to you the most merry, yummy, gorgeous little ditties south of the North Pole.  Happy App’ing!   Continue reading

Slow Cooker Reuben Melts

 

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When I first moved up to Minneapolis I waited tables at this place.  There was a reuben on the menu that they were sort of known for at the time.  But it wasn’t like any other reuben I’d ever had.  The corned beef was braised.  So the results were not a slice of dry beef, but the most tender, pull-apart, juicy bliss.   It was basically like a love child between a pot roast and a corned beef brisket.

Fast forward about a bajillion years and here I was, just this past weekend, standing among a St Patricks Day haven at the local market:  a giant cooler full of corned beef briskets.  Score!  Totally trying this reuben thing at home.   Continue reading

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

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I suppose we are due for a Super Bowl friendly recipe, no?  Sunday is the big day-I have no idea who is playing in this game.  I also have no idea where this game is being played. One thing I do know, tho, is that I look forward to the commercials.  And I also know of the perfect recipe to pair with this hyped up event.   Continue reading

Slow Cooker Smokey Ham and White Bean Soup

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I’ve got a thing for a good ham and bean soup. It’s old school.  A staple.  Nostalgia central.   It’s like a really fantastic,  super old pair of Chuck Taylors, or that worn in sweatshirt with all the holes in it.  Solid.  Legit. Classic.  Always in style.  So this recipe?  My jam.

I’ve tried simmering this stuff on the stove for hours.  I’ve soaked the beans overnight.  I’ve used beans from a can.   I’ve seared the ham before slow cooking it.  I’ve added roasted garlic.  The list could go on.   I’ve fussed around with ham and bean soup in every way, shape or form and this ridiculous, itty bitty, hardly-any-work-or-ingredients recipe is by far the best I have done to date.   Continue reading

Slow Cooker Chicken and Poblano Stew

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Slow Cookers.  They can be such a time and sanity saver.  But, as you know, I’m really finicky about what I put in them-I believe it’s my controlling food nature.  When I put something in the slow cooker I’ve lost control.  There’s no seasoning as you go, there’s no stirring, there’s no adding this or that.  It’s a hands off,  no-control zone for me.  So recipes I put in mine have to be precise…and special…and worthy.  This ones there.   Continue reading