Marinara Sauce in Slow Cooker

Oh November!  Time moves so quickly these days..but I'm not to upset.  I love November and December.  There's a lot of food and deliciousness, family and friends, sweaters and coats, bundling up to go outside, or just snuggling inside with some wine (or tea, hot cocoa, or beer).

For November I decided that I am going to write down something (or several things) that I am thankful for from that day.  Just little things. I mean unless something really huge happens that day then obviously I will write that as well.  But most of the time, it's the little things that make my day.  If we all stop to think about the things that made us smile during the day instead of the things that made us mad, or stressed us out, I'm sure we'd all be a lot happier.  I got the idea from this blog:  Savvyeat- the-little-things.  I started a little late, but it's never to late to be thankful.

To keep track of all the things I am thankful for, I am using the smart phone app thankfulfor.  You can also use their website thankfulfor.com, write it in a journal, or use one of the creative ways Julie suggests.

Anyway,  this marinara sauce was really delicious and so easy to make.  It also makes a pretty big batch.  I used it for spaghetti for 2 one night, then lasagna for 10 a couple days later.  It can also be frozen.

Marinara Sauce in Slow Cooker

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 c chopped onion
5 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 c fresh basil chopped
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dry oregano
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook on high for 2 hours, then low for 1 hour.  If you want your sauce to be smooth, you can pulse it in the food processor.  Serve on spaghetti, in lasagna, as pizza sauce..the options are endless!

Mexican Chicken Chilli in Slow Cooker

So Halloween weekend!  I've never been 'gung ho' Halloween.  I mean I love candy and parties...But dressing up is just a pain for the most part and it stresses me out!  We are going to a Halloween party tomorrow and I do have my "costume", except for my wig  If it's not in the mail tomorrow, I don't know what I'm going to do.  Also, my costume is kinda silly and people (except for the people at this party) won't even know who I am until they see me with John, and even then, it's very much a 2011 costume.  I'm doing it for John though based on his "favorite" song (Don't ever say I'm not a good wife :P).  Maybe I'll post a picture later if it all works out.  Are you dressing up for Halloween this year?  If so, what are you being?

I totally failed in posting this on Wednesday like I had planned. Oh well, regardless of when I posted it, it is still delicious!  This is modified from a Weight Watchers recipe that I found on Photo a Day, so that goes to show that it is low in calories too!  But still so hearty and fulfilling!

Mexican Chicken Chili in Slow Cooker

-1/2 c onion
-1 16 oz. can black beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 16 oz. can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
-1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
-3/4 c chicken or vegetable broth
-2 c frozen corn
-2 chicken breasts
-1 packet taco seasoning (If you have an ethnic aisle in your grocery store, there are so many options)
-1 tbsp cumin
-1 tbsp chili powder
-a dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook for about 5 hours on High, or 8 hours on low.  Shred chicken, then cook for an additional 15 minutes or so.

Spicy Chicken Sauce in the Slow Cooker

I'm writing a post for crock pot Thursday...on Wednesday.  So you can make it on Thursday.  I started crock pot Thursday because I don't get home from work until about 6:30 and thought it would be nice if dinner was pretty much ready when I got home.  Also, our favorite TV shows are on that night so it gives me more time to relax and enjoy the good ol' TV.  The Big Bang Theory and The Office are the shows I am referring to by the way.  They just crack me up every time.  We have also been watching Whitney.  I'm still not sure what I think about it but it's funny enough.  I watched one of her stand up routines earlier this summer and thought it was pretty dang good, so thought why not watch the show?  I'm still eh about it though.

So as I was just reading the word "crock pot", I wondered if I should use the "slow cooker" instead?  It's kind of like the whole tissue/Kleenex thing.  I don't even know if my slow cooker is actually a crock pot or not.  So I will just say slow cooker from now on.

Anyway, I made this Spicy Chicken Sauce for dinner last Thursday.  I got the inspiration from the September 2011 issue of Rachael Ray.  However, that recipe wasn't in a slow cooker, and I made quite a bit of changes.  I also would typically serve this dish over quinoa, but this time I served it over whole wheat pasta with spinach because I knew John was hankering for pasta (he always is).  So do whatever you are hungry for...it was delicious with pasta, but it would be with quinoa, rice, plain, or wrapped in a tortilla as well!  This recipe served 2 of us with leftovers.  And we eat a little more than a normal serving size so it could potentially feed a family of four.

Spicy Chicken Sauce

-2 chicken breasts, chopped
-1 small onion sliced, about 1 cup
-1 jalapeno chile chopped (seeded and de-ribbed unless you want it super spicy)
-3 cloves garlic minced
-1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (You can also use plain diced tomatoes if you prefer)
-1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
-Salt and Pepper
-Juice from 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.

My slow cooker cooks pretty fast so this was done in about 5 1/2 hours on low.  However, all slow cookers cook differently.  Typically I would cook this on high for 5 hours and low for 8.  You probably know how your slow cooker works so do what you think would work best based on how your slow cooker cooks and your schedule.