You come home from a long, exhausting day, and as usual, you are RAVENOUSLY HANGRY. You only had time to scarf down two bites of your lunch, and as for breakfast? You don’t even know what that is anymore. But then, you remember. The slow cooker…dinner is ready!
Nothing is more magical than having a hot homecooked meal waiting for 
you. Especially in the winter. Unless, of course you have me in your kitchen cookin’ ya a week’s worth of food. Now that’s magic. Ha! Nowadays, you can put anything in a slow cooker (aka crockpot). There are recipes for cakes, baked ziti, stuffed peppers, breakfast quiches. You name a meal and there is most likely a slow cooker recipe for it.
Unfortunately, sometimes these recipes give about 10 (ok, not really 10) steps of cooking before it actually goes in the darn slow cooker. But I have a hard and fast rule about that. If it’s going in the slow cooker, I’m not doing any prep beforehand. The slow cooker is supposed to save me from slaving over a hot stove, so why the heck are there all of these prep steps?!?! Well, call me a rebel but I don’t care what the recipe says. I literally throw everything in there and turn it on. And guess what? It still comes out amazingly delicious.
Here are some tried and true recipes where I literally have thrown everything in:
Jamaican Style Jerk Beef Stew
Tired of your traditional beef stew recipe? Cozy up with a bowl of this on a cold winter day. The cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice give it a nice twist of flavor. C’mon just try it, Mon!
http://www.closetcooking.com/2016/10/jamaican-style-jerk-beef-stew.html
Slow Cooker Sweet & Tangy Beef
Okay, I actually thought this recipe was going to prove my dump and dash theory wrong. The recipe calls for cooking frozen cranberries (and other ingredients) on the stove to make a sauce before going into the slow cooker. To my surprise, everything kind of blended together while cooking all day and it was delicious! By the way, if you don’t already, follow the Fit Slow Cooker Queen on Instagram. She has some great recipes, especially for my Paleo Peeps and the Whole 30 bunch!
http://fitslowcookerqueen.com/slow-cooker-sweet-tangy-beef/
Slow Cooker Chili
This is for my meat lovers out there. It calls for beef and sausage. Need I say more? Enjoy with a baked potato or baked sweet potato. That’s right, take the chili and pour it right over your potato. Dee-lish-ous-ness!
http://fitslowcookerqueen.com/slow-cooker-chili/
Give it a try – and then share your adventures in slow cooking!
