Crock Pot Thursday… Because I can’t do it ALL!

Thursdays could not be any busier for me than they are right now. Starting at 4:00, I have to be in 4 different places. One at 4:30 the other 3 at 5:00. If I time it perfectly and the stars line up, the moon (well sun) does a dance, everyone in Katy gets out of my way and I have an electrician waiting at every red light to turn them green upon my arrival I can pull this off with no screaming, sweating or late children. Probably not going to happen so I do the best I can with what I have. This madness continues until I pick the last one up at 8:30! What I don’t have time for during this ridiculous afternoon is grocery shopping and cooking. I have decided to make Thursdays Crock pot days so I can dump it all and go. This also allows us to eat in shifts, and the food is warm for each shift of eaters.

I have shared with all of you my new obsession with Pinterest, but what I didn’t realize is that this obsession could actually come in handy. For the past two nights I have cooked recipes from my “food and beverage board” and they have all been super easy and delicious. I thought I would share this with you so you could try them as well. Notice the time? 6:15, I have about 30 minutes before I head out again and dinner is done and waiting on the first set of vultures… Hope you have a good rest of the evening.

This first recipe is the only crock pot one, the other two are fast and easy

Easy Crock pot Creamy Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients 1 lb cubed beef stew meat 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup 1/2 c. chopped onion 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1/4 c. water 4 oz cream cheese Egg Noodles

Directions 1.In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water. 2.Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving. 3. Cook egg noodles separately per package. Serve stroganoff on top.

Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake (Not a crock pot recipe but easy and great!!!) adapted from myrecipes.com (Printable Recipe)

1 (16-ounce) package penne or elbow macaroni 2 (10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese 2 garlic clove, minced 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 cups mozzarella cheese Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir together all ingredients except mozzarella cheese. Spread mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Golden Graham S’more Bars (My kids are making themselves sick on these) Source: CDKitchen.com

Ingredients: 1 10 oz. bag mini marshmallows (Approx. 6 cups) 1 12 oz. package semi sweet chocolate chips 5 tbsp. butter (I used 2 1/2 tbsp. butter & 2 1/2 tbsp. smart balance to save even more calories) 8 cups Golden Graham cereal (one 12 oz. box) 1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Directions: Place package of chocolate chips in the freezer to chill. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan, set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add in 5 cups of marshmallows and stir until almost completely melted. Stir in vanilla if desired. Remove from heat and transfer butter mixture to a large mixing bowl and add cereal, stirring to coat. Once cereal is coated, remove chocolate chips from freezer and add to cereal mixture. Also add in the remaining cup of marshmallows. Gently stir until evenly distributed.

Press cereal mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover and refrigerate until set. Turn out onto cutting board and cut into squares. Keep stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator.Makes approximately 20-24 bars depending on how big you cut them.

Enjoy! Now do tell -what are your favorite crockpot recipes????