Crock Pot Indian Spiced Chickpea Stew

That is quite a long title for quite an easy dish. This isn't the easiest crock pot thing I make because it requires (wait for it) the chopping of TWO vegetables.  So seriously, it is pretty easy in the scheme of things. I like to make this while my kids eat breakfast and let it simmer on low all day long. By lunch my house smells like our favorite Indian Restaurant downtown.  I will definitely include the link to the original recipe. I had to modify a bit yesterday because I didn't have all ingredients on hand, but that is the beauty of this recipe - you can really make it to fit your style.

Here's What You Need:

• 2 cups water and 2 cups veggie broth (or really just 4-5 cups of liquid)
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 medium sweet potato, chopped
• 1-2 stalks celery chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric 
• (Ok I messed around with these because they are my favorite spices - check the original recipe for other alternatives)
• salt, to taste
• 

Crockpot Steel Cut Oats

Well hello there!

Team ACT has been holding down the fort here at OurGreeneHome while I finished baking the bun in the oven.  That's right, Little Two was born about 2 weeks ago!  This pregnancy was a little tougher than the last, but the adjustment period afterwards has been a TON better!  We are so in love with our newest addition!

That being said, it's now time to break out all of the freezer meals I prepped before Little Two's arrival... way back in December.  This morning it was some steel cut oatmeal I made in the crockpot.  Not last night.  Not this morning.  But waaaay back in December.  And all I had to do this morning was reheat my serving in the microwave and add my favorite topping!  Super easy - super delicious and nutritious!  

Make these beauties one afternoon, freeze, and have a hearty oatmeal breakfast any day of the week!

Slow Cooker Cornbread Casserole (did you say it was vegan?)

I love when I try a new recipe and it ACTUALLY WORKS. This was one of those times.  I do crock pot meals on Tuesday and Thursdays because I teach a class at our YMCA and get home late. This is the only way to stay sane at dinner time. I walk in the door from the gym and dinner is ready - perfection.  However, I felt like our crock pot meals were on repeat so I decided to venture out and try a new one. I'll be honest, on the way home I thought - if it is nasty we will order pizza.  But no need because it was just right.

Vegan Crockpot Quinoa Chili

I made this chili the other night as part of my Crockpot Tuesdays.  I really liked HOW EASY it was - I mean super simple. The only problem for me was it was too spicy. I have zero tolerance for spice (my hubby said it wasn't spicy at all).  Either way, I cut the spice down to half from the original recipe and I still had to add a lot of ranch to get it down.  So I will do this again but will let hubby spice his own afterwards. The recipe made a ton so we have had it for left overs for several days (love it when that happens!)

The original recipe called for chicken but I turned this into a vegan style dish.

Freezer Friendly: Homemade Crockpot Chili

Hi there :) Missed you guys! But, do tell.  How much are you loving the easy and delicious recipes from Team ACT?  I tell you what... I am SO glad she is a part of my team! In honor of Fall being Just . Around. The. Corner - let's get some chili cooking!  Set it - forget it - and enjoy it after a long day. I've tried many crockpot recipes for chili.  Some have been better than others, but this one has been my favorite so far.  And it makes a LOT.   I had plenty to serve for dinner to 4 adults and have enough to freeze for later.  We LOVE LOVE LOVED it served over baked potatoes with some cheese sprinkled on top.  This recipe was also the first in which I made my own homemade chili seasoning.  The recipe I found and used was delicious and had a little kick.  The best part about making your own is being able to control the amount and type of ingredients - I used less salt and more hot peppers for the kick.  YUM.

Cheap Crock Pot Beans and Rice

People have commented to me that we eat a lot of beans and rice...they would be right.  We eat beans and rice a ton around our home because they are healthy, filling, versatile, easy, and CHEAP. That's right - we are penny pinchers and beans help us with our budgeting.  So here is yet another of our favorite beans and rice recipes.  I can prep this meal in less than 5 minutes (literally).  No chopping is involved. The most you will do is open a few cans.  

Here is what you need:

1 15 oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 15 oz can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)

1 C of rice (I use brown rice - not the quick cook kind)

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 tbls olive oil

1/4 tsp salt (depends on your tastes - we use this or less but you can definitely do more!)

1 tsp Italian seasons (I was out last night so I used 1 tsp of thyme but any Italian seasoning will be good)

1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder

2 C vegetable broth

If you compare my ingredients to the original you'll see some differences. Those are there because I didn't have what she used and decided I liked my substitutions. You can definitely play around with this and see how you like it. My ingredients picture doesn't include the veggie broth and tomatoes because I forgot them!  Sorry!!!

Update: Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup: Freezer Friendly

I forgot to take a picture, but this is definitely worth a mention. I made my 2nd bag a while back of Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup I had stashed in the freezer.  This time I made some adjustments and it turned out better than the first time I made it! At the time of cooking, instead of adding uncooked chicken, I added some shredded precooked chicken I already had on hand in the freezer.  I usually pull off the dark meat from a rotisserie chicken and stash it away in the freezer for another day, such as this one!  I also added a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.  I cooked this on low for 3 hours. An hour before I wanted to serve it, I broke up sticks (into thirds) of whole wheat linguine pasta - about a fourth of a box.  Cook an additional hour on low. Serve hot. And boy is this a hearty, warm soup for a cold, rainy, miserable, "I don't feel good", or otherwise crummy kinda day ;) And the best part is - all you had to do was pull it out of the freezer and pop it in the crockpot to cook!  I love make ahead meals!!

Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup: Freezer Friendly!

We're supposed to get a blizzard tonight.  Yes.  You read that right!  There's just something about the warning of snow that makes me crave soup.  I made this soup from Mama and Baby Love's ecookbook - you can find yours here!  It's the first ecookbook I've ever purchased and I wasn't disappointed.  All of her recipes are freezer friendly and 95% of her recipes are grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free.  Annnnnd it's only $9.99.  Totally worth the splurge in my book!

Try this recipe of hers and you'll be hooked.  Although hers called for making it with a whole chicken, I used some cubed frozen chicken breasts I had on hand.  It was hearty, made the house smell heavenly while cooking all afternoon, and most importantly was scrumptious to eat.  Love. 

Mama and Baby Love that is ;)

Cranberry Chicken: Crockpot & Freezer Friendly!

Yesterday, I posted about Mama and Baby Love's ecookbook.  Here's another of her recipes today.  I prepared it along with her Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken - chop once, make as many things as you can!

Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken: Crockpot & Freezer Friendly

Earlier this year I bought my very first ecookbook.  It takes up no space and is available wherever my computer or smart phone go --- which is, one or the other, always with me.  I think I may be in love.  It's this one from Mama and Baby Love and the cookbook is well worth your money.  It's chocked full of healthy freezer friendly meals!

This happens to be the first recipe I made of hers and it was delicious!  Can I tell you that I stretched two chicken breasts into four HUGE meals (1 dinner, 2 people + 1 lunch, 2 people) for my family.  You should try this one too!  And can I say... I'm stoked that the recipe made 2 big bags for my freezer... because one is waiting on me when I want to do nothing after this busy holiday season ahead!!

Honey Glazed Spiced Chicken: Crockpot & Freezer Friendly!

I am was so stinkin' excited to try this new chicken dish.  I am always looking for a new and different way to do chicken because we eat a lot of chicken around these parts.  Unfortunately this is one of the dishes I lost thanks to Miss Sandy.  Thankfully it's so easy I can whip it up again really soon!

- Stay tuned for finished pictures! - 

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder: Pinterest Love ♥

I have been on a freezer cooking frenzy lately.  I've been inspired, thanks to Pinterest.  And I can't advocate enough - one afternoon (or two... with a little one ;)) of cooking has given me enough food to fill my refrigerator's freezer.  We now have meals on the ready - and this month is a crazy one for us!  Follow along - I'll be posting the recipes that are in my freezer.  I hope you can find them useful for the upcoming holiday seasons!

This recipe isn't a freezer meal, but one I found while browsing.  And it was perfect for our first rainy, didn't get out of the 60's kind of day!  I've also read that you can easily adapt this to a crockpot version.  I will be keeping a close eye on this one in the coming months!

Sausage, Peppers & Onions: Freezer Friendly

Another hit for the freezer friendly recipes I've been trying lately!  Even DH agreed that this was one of the best ones yet.  And I'm telling you - it smelt amazing cooking this afternoon.  I'm really glad that I have another one of these sitting in my freezer.  Hope you enjoy this ridiculously easy and incredibly tasty meal :)

Spaghetti for a Crowd! Freezer Friendly :)

My last and final recipe to make one / take one and it sure was a crowd pleaser!!  I hope the sweet family enjoyed it as much as we did last night!  This Spaghetti for a Crowd recipe (the way I make it) would feed 6 adults easily.  I was amazed at how much it made.  You're taking one jar of spaghetti sauce and stretching it in unbelievable ways! Haha!  DH and I both had huge servings, have enough for both of us to have lunch... and we still have a hearty serving left over that I'm going to stick in the freezer for one of those nights that you need dinner ready real quick - you know like 5 minutes ago? ;)  A big huge plus is Little One enjoyed the sauce!  He's not big on the texture of pasta - weird, I know! - but gobbled up the sauce since it is hearty.  It's super easy to throw together!  I love meals like these.  I hope you enjoy it too!  

Cilantro Lime Chicken: Freezer Friendly

Another great recipe... make one, take one!  We had this one night this past week and I just dropped off the frozen one to sweet family #2 this morning :)  I hope they like it as much as we did!  I'm telling you what - I'm totally into these meals I've been doing lately where I pull out all the ingredients one time and have two meals when I'm done.  Let's talk about that math!  Does 1 = 2?  For sure this time around.  Hope you enjoy this spin on annnooootther chicken dish!

Freezer Cooking first: Teriyaki Chicken

I'm taking a meal to a sweet family with a new addition.  Build your own tacos to be exact.  You know, meat, taco shells and all the fixin's.  I decided I would take them something to stick in their freezer too.  I mentioned this website in an earlier post and pulled it out finally to use this weekend.  The recipe makes two bags {read: batches} and was oober easy to throw together. For two batches: medium - large bag of carrots (I used 3 large handfuls of carrots for each bag) red onion cut into large chunks 2 large cans pineapple, undrained 4 garlic cloves (I used a heaping teaspoon of garlic for each bag - I was running low!) 4 chicken breasts (I added an extra  small chicken breast to her bag since it was going for a family of 4, not including precious baby :)) 1 cup teriyaki sauce 2 gallon sized freezer bags Directions Prepare your two bags.  First, write directions on the bag. (Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce {or water} to crock pot. Cook high for 4 or low for 8.  Serve over rice.) Then split the ingredients into each bag.  Shake it up.  Remove as much air as possible. Seal.  Put in the freezer.   To use from the freezer:  Remove from freezer the night before you want to use.  Let it thaw in the refrigerator over night.  Then prepare in the crockpot. Hers is ready to be delivered to her today.  I kept it in the refrigerator so that she could decide whether she wanted to place it in the freezer or not. Mine has found a home in the freezer for future use! The Verdict To be determined...  I'll let you know how it tastes! As far as ease of preparation, I'm super stoked at how easy it was! I've never made a complete crockpot meal to stick in the freezer before.  The lady from the blog swears by it and freezer prepares her meals a month in advance.  Wouldn't it be nice to have that much freezer space! Stay tuned!

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

Please join in the collective "Ahhhh".  My DH got me a new camera for our anniversary!  Isn't she a beaut?  I'm slightly in love.  Alright.  More than slightly!  I took 800+ pictures with her the first weekend I had her.  Really.  I'm slightly ashamed by that vast number in 5 days.  Hey! At least it was a long weekend!?!  Anyway - this is the first time I have used her for taking food pictures... and I must say... I'm smitten!  It's amazing what a good camera can do with poor lighting.  And I'm amazed, too, because you can see the water droplets on the washed bell peppers!  Yes you can! Wowzers!  So regardless of how this recipe turns out, I'm posting it because I used the camera for the first time.  The recipe got rave reviews on Stephanie O'Dea's blog.  In 8 hours, we'll find out if the Greenes give it rave reviews too!

Hawaiian Chicken

50.  That's right folks, my daddy is currently vacationing in his 50th state: Hawai'i!!  A goal I hope to accomplish too one day.  So in honor of my parents mini vacation, today I give you Hawaiian Chicken - a spin on the lazy chicken recipe.  

Here's how easy it is - Easy as 1 - 2 - 3:

1) Pull out a can of crushed pineapple and a bottle of barbecue sauce out of the pantry and 3 frozen chicken breasts out of the freezer.

2.  Dump everything together in a crockpot.  Cover and heat on high for 4 hours or low for 8.  (I usually do low for 4 and high for 2, depending on how much time I've got.)  

3.  Go do whatever else you need to do.  And dinner is ready when you are!

The Verdict:

This is one of our standby recipes because I usually always have the ingredients on hand.  Sometimes I shred the chicken in the sauce and sometimes we eat it whole.  I usually always serve it over rice and with some kind of microwavable vegetable.  Now I have to be honest, I didn't love the Hickory Smoke flavor of the barbecue sauce.  Our favorite to use is John Boy & Billy Barbecue sauce, but we can't find it where we live now.  Regardless, this sweet and tangy dish leaves the chicken moist and the sauce is a great companion!

Pork Tenderloin with Broccoli and Gorgonzola Polenta

This was one of the first recipes I made in our new home.  It didn't turn out as great as I'd hoped so I was just going to skip posting it.  But, for better or worse, right?!  This meal wasn't bad, it just wasn't the fantastic thing I'd hoped it would have been.  The reason?  The red wine made the pork tenderloin look purple.  Weird color.  Maybe next time I'll try white wine instead, haha!  And let's be honest, I was just having one of 'those days'.  It probably could have been a four-star dinner and I still would have found a way to pick out all its flaws.  Don't you just love that?  Let's be real.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  Am I the only one who feels the need to be perfect? The quest will drive you crazy. Trust me.  Let's just take a moment to thank the good Lord that we don't have to be perfect. AMEN. I shredded the meat and was able to get past the color.  And once I did, I realized this was a pretty tasty meal!

"Lazy Chicken" Salad

I made this recipe Wednesday.  Have I mentioned how crazy it is to get Little One back on schedule after being gone?  Oh yeah, and we're moving in a few weeks.  Why do I like to do all the crazy life events at one time?  Haha!  Anyway... I was wanting something light, quick, and easy.  So this recipe hit me and it is in honor of Auntie Lo.  We were talking about chicken salad while we were at home and she likes hers with grapes.  I didn't have any grapes on hand, but I certainly substituted an alternatively sweet fruit... apples.  Hope you enjoy this crazy easy, refreshing, sweet and savory recipe! Homemade, gourmet chicken salad - and it couldn't be easier!