Cooking is a Crock

Do you cook? I try.. sometimes.

I've always like the idea of cooking, but have found the whole follow-through part of it tough. :) Mostly I never thought it was worth it to spend hours cooking for myself (when I was single) when I was perfectly happy eating a sandwich or cheese and crackers or a bowl of cereal. Since I've been married, I've tried to cook more and more, but it still gets overwhelming for me at times. All those ingredients! Sheesh! 

Anyhoo, one thing I have utilized lately is my crock pot.  I love that I can throw something in there in the morning and come home to a delicious smelling house and dinner basically just waiting for us. Here are a few crock pot recipes I've tried lately that I definitely recommend. Both were discovered on my virtual BFF, Pinterest.

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

I cut this whole recipe in half- we don't need 10-12 servings around here. Though you could probably freeze half of it... Hmmmm. Note to self.

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic, whole
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 16 oz cream cheese (I used 8oz regular and 8oz lowfat)
- 1 TBS seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning (I use Aunt Cora's Soulful Seasoning)

Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Green onions

Directions:
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Remove and puree the garlic cloves along with 1/2 to 1/3rd of the soup, and then reintroduce to the remainder in the crock pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir every 10-15 minutes until soup is well blended.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

Yields about 10-12 servings.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken 

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used 2 chicken breasts)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Mix soup, salsa and taco seasoning in the bottom of your crockpot. Sink chicken breasts into the mixture, covering completely. Cook on low for 5 – 6 hours depending on size of chicken breasts.

2. Remove chicken, shred and return to the crockpot. Add sour cream and mix well. Heat until everything is warmed through. Enjoy.

I served over tortilla chips. YUM!

You should definitely try these out. Perfect for a rainy, fall day like today. Let me know if you do and like them! Any great crock pot recipes up your sleeve that I should try?  Please share- clearly I need help in the kitchen! :)