Laziest Slow Cooker Tacos

This is one of those meals that was born out of desperation. It was the start of a busy day, I was supposed to go to the grocery store, but knew I wouldn’t have time. I also knew that no one would be home until 7 and we would be starving and ready to eat.

I frantically tossed what we did have left in the fridge in the crock pot and hoped for the best. Not only was the result edible, it was a husband favorite. He now requests it almost weekly- which is fine by me since it’s basically a night off cooking 😉 Enjoy!

Lazy Slow Cooker Tacos:

Toss in your slow cooker:

Chicken Thighs (1 per person)

1 can diced tomatoes with peppers

I packet taco seasoning

And thats IT! Seriously, it’s too easy. Normally I toss in a few more toppings towards the end- our favorites are diced red onion and frozen corn. If you do this about half an hour before you eat it gives everything time to warm through. We then spread refried beans on tortillas and top with shredded cheese. An easy dinner for those crazy weeknights!

Easy Sausage Penne

This is one of our all time family favorites! It’s one of those meals that seems really fancy but takes under 30 minutes to throw together. It’s perfect for last minute dinner guests or when guests come in from out of town. You can even make the sauce the day before and re-heat when you are ready to eat! Just as good.

For Easy Sausage Penne you will need:

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium Onion, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb sweet Italian sausage

2/3 cup Vermouth

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup heavy whipping cream

6 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 lb penne pasta

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

Melt butter with oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute until brown and tender- this should take about 7 minutes. Add sausage and brown until cooked through ( break up the sausage as you saute with a spoon). Drain the excess oil. Add vermouth and boil until almost all liquid evaporates. Add tomatoes with juices and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add cream, summer until the sauce slightly thickens. Stir in 4 tablespoons of parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over cooked pasta and toss to coat. Top with remaining parsley and parmesan cheese.

 

I hope you love this recipe! I promise you won’t be able to stop eating 😉

Slow Cook Pesto Chicken Pizza

A few months ago my mom cut out an article from her newspaper with slow cooker recipes. She brought it to me insisting that I try them- I was still working full time and she thought the answer to our evening craziness was slow cooked recipes. I assured her I would try them and stuffed the article into a cookbook and forgot all about them.

GUYS. I rediscovered them a few weeks ago and OH MY WORD. They are amazing. SO tasty, SO easy- it’s like a joke. They definitely seem too good to be true. We now eat one of these recipes at least once a week. ( There are 8 to choose from- don’t worry I will share them all eventually 😉 )

The first one is one of our favorites- Pesto Chicken Pizza!

The beauty of all these recipes is that you start each one with the same base. In the morning you put in your slow cooker:

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 diced medium yellow onion ( the only thing you need to prep!)

1 cup chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

Then set your slow cooker to cook either 4-5 hours high or 9-10 hours low.  You can tell it’s done when the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily with 2 forks. The recipes differ with the

last steps which occur right before serving.

my BFF busily making my dinner while I catch up on KUWTK

For the Pesto Pizza:

Shred chicken in slow cooker. Add 1 jar of pre-made pesto to the slow cooker. Replace lid and let pesto warm through. Spread mixture evenly across 2 pre-made pizza crusts (this amount makes 2 medium pizzas- you could also make your own crust but for really quick weeknight dinner, store bought is great!). Add thinly sliced red peppers and shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake until crust is crispy and cheese is fully melted.

Slice and enjoy!