6 Slow Cooker Recipes for the Busy Mom

My slow cooker has been working double time. I've been using it at least three times a week, trying different recipes. I don't want to sound like I'm the first person who has ever used a slow cooker, but seriously, this thing is changing my life. I spend 10 to 20 minutes prepping dinner when my toddler goes down for his nap, and then I have the rest of the afternoon free. No more spending the later half of the afternoon stressing over what to make and trying to throw it together. It's dinner for lazy people, and I LOVE it.

Now, before I share the results of my experiment with you, I just want to make a couple of things clear. 1) I am not a foodie, nor do I pretend to be. Rather, I consider myself a reluctant (sometimes begrudging) chef who is simply trying to make dinner work for our family. I have a tumultuous relationship with food, and I married someone who couldn't care less about food--so we're kind of stuck with whatever I come up with.  2) I'm not one for taking pictures of my food. You've seen food before. Use your imagination.


I've been scouring the Internet and checking out numerous slow cooker recipe books from the library because I'm working with a NARROW set of parameters, here. I am dairy (save for a sprinkle or two of hard cheeses) and soy intolerant, and my husband won't eat beans or mushrooms. Without dairy, soy, or beans, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to be true vegetarians, so my goal is simply to eat clean, healthy, whole food. I also have another restriction: the recipe can't include too many ingredients or ingredients that require a special trip to a health food store. I must be able to find everything at my local supermarket. We're going for simplicity, here, which is why I wanted to share my findings because I think anyone with kids is looking for simplicity. Now, for the food:

1. Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers. I've made this recipe twice so far, and it's a hit. My husband said "When you make this, you're going to have to make more so I can have seconds," which is 100 times better than the usual "It's okay." For my toddler, I scoop out the filling, cup up the pepper, and serve it to him in a little bowl. I made this with 1/2 pound ground turkey instead of the beans, and then sprinkled beans on mine and my son's servings after they came out of the slow cooker. To make life easy on yourself, cook up ground turkey and rice ahead of time, so all you have to do is throw stuff in a bowl and stir.

2. Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore. My husband said that my pasta/chicken cacciatore ratio was off (too much pasta), but the recipe was otherwise good. I might serve over rice next time.

3. Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken: We tried this one tonight, and although I was skeptical, it came out well. You can really taste the cilantro and the lime. However, I used three chicken breasts and cut them into bite-sized pieces, and then cooked on high for 3 hours. I find that when the chicken is cut up, it absorbs the flavor. If you just stick the whole breast in there, only the surface of the chicken retains flavor--the inside is still bland chicken. I served over rice with a side of broccoli. You really can't get much simpler with the ingredients.

4. Chicken Curry in the Slow Cooker: We are afraid of flavor in this house. My mom raised us on chicken, rice, and veggies with some Mrs. Dash if we were lucky, so flavors like curry didn't enter my diet until adulthood, and only then with great caution. BUT, we all liked this one--even the toddler! If I were to do it again, I'd either cut up the chicken before adding it to the slow cooker and reduce the cooking time, or shred the chicken after it is cooked to make sure that the chicken absorbed as much flavor as possible. My husband suggested using this sauce with ground turkey and serving it over pasta. And again--the ingredient list is so simple, you can't go wrong. I have another chicken curry recipe I'd like to try in the near future. I'll keep you posted.

5. Slow Cooker Quinoa Corn Chowder: I wouldn't go so far as to call this chowder; stew is a more appropriate term. I was hesitant about it, I think because of the texture, but it got a good review from my husband. The toddler didn't have any complaints either. And it's a vegan recipe that does not have beans in it, so it met everyone's restrictions and made me feel like I was doing the Earth some good.

6. Blueberry and Chia Quinoa: Have breakfast already made when I wake up? Why, yes, please. Surprisingly, our supermarket recently started carrying chia seeds, so score one for me! The only recommendation I have is to add the blueberries when you wake up in the morning. The slow cooker destroyed the blueberry flavor and left lifeless blueberry skins floating around in our breakfast. But add them fresh in the morning and let them cook for maybe half an hour, and you'll have a delicious blueberry treat. And there is no reason you can't get fun and add bananas and fresh strawberries, too! My son gobbled this down and asked for seconds, but I'm pretty sure the husband ate it out of obligation (the texture isn't quite like oatmeal).

It's amazing how just a little planning and a device that cooks for you while you're playing outside can take so much stress out of your life. I'll keep the experiment going, and please feel free to share your slow cooking hits here!!