Busy Mom’s Cooking Hacks: 5 Unbelievably Easy Crock Pot Foodie Meals PLUS Bonus Reader Recipe
It’s days like this that make me want to kiss my crock pot on the mouf. My crock pot is ever so faithful. My crock pot never lets me down. My crock pot doesn’t complain about the food that I make and then throw it on the floor within the first five minutes of dinner.
The cool thing about crock pots is that they can be used for almost anything if you can find a recipe for it on the vast Internet. Since being a foodie has become a thing, I thought to myself, I bet I could make some really bomb ass shit for a fancy dinner party in my CROCK POT.
And I was right. On top of that, one of our lovely readers submitted a fancy-delicious-easy recipe that goes perfectly with a five star crock pot dinner. Behold, crock pot foodie meals made easy:
1. Just Saying Slow Cooker Mushroom Crostini Makes You Fancy.
2. Pretend You Are At A Food Truck And Eat This Yum Slow Baked Crockpot Mac And Cheese.
3. Ooh La La, I Am French, And I Just Made Crockpot Coq Au Vin.
4. Nom These Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks Because Food And Wine Magazine Says So.
5. Polish Your Michelin Stars With These Slow Cooker Vanilla And Red Wine Poached Pears.
BONUS READER SUBMISSION: Blendable-Yet-Commendable Roasted Red Pepper & Sweet Potato Soup
By Jen Russon, Food Blog Editor @From Nana’s Kitchen with Love
Prep Time: About 35 minutes
Serves: 6
All you need is a blender and stock pot to pull this one off. In fact, you don’t even have to roast anything””a jar of roasted red peppers works just fine. So long as the sweet potato is soft enough to mash, you’re in business. This recipe makes a huge batch of creamy (thank the mashed potato flakes!), spicy soup that looks extra fancy with a squirt of Sriracha sauce!
Ingredients:
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, rinsed and quartered
- 1 (12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, drained
- 4 cups almond milk
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper
- Sriracha sauce and pine nuts, optional garnish
Instructions:
- In a stock pot, boil the sweet potatoes until tender enough to pierce with a fork, about 30 minutes. Pour 1 cup of the almond milk in a blender, adding the sweet potatoes next. Pulse until smooth. Pour the contents of the blender into a large stock pot.
- You won’t need to clean out the blender for step 2. Simply pour in 1 cup almond milk, reserving the last 2 cups the recipe calls for. Add the roasted red peppers and pulse until smooth. Pour the contents of the blender into the stock pot.
- Turn the stove on high and heat contents of stock pot until boiling, about 5 minutes; reduce heat to simmer and add the curry, chili powder, mashed potato flakes, salt and pepper and rest of the almond milk. Stir, giving ingredients a chance to marry and thicken, about 5 more minutes.
- Serve with a garnish of sriracha sauce and toasted pine nuts!
As always, share your fancy crock pot recipes in the comments because, YOLO.
(Image: AlenD/Shutterstock)
