Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Cook Beans in the Crock Pot

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Cooking beans is crazy easy. It’s remembering to soak them the night before that is the hard part.

My morning brain and my night brain are two completely different beasts. My morning brain is like, “Wooooo yeah! We gonna cook all day and do school work with the kids (let’s do art today!) and organize ourselves completely and make all the phone calls and make 20 quarts of applesauce and finish the laundry and write two blog posts! Let’s do this!”

As the days wears on, I knock out about three of my twenty lofty goals (because my time and energy always run out before my to-do list ends –  and also because I hate making phone calls). After a full day of thinking hard and working hard and loving hard, my night brain is like, “I’m not speaking to you right now.”

This is why it is hard to soak beans.

The irony is that I never forget to grind coffee beans at night to put into my coffee pot for easy coffee making the next morning. Obviously, I have my priorities. Perhaps my two bean worlds could collide and I could let my coffee beans trigger a reminder about my pintos? It only makes sense.

On the rare occasion I do remember to soak beans, I feel so accomplished when I get into bed at night. Forget all the other stuff I did for 15 hours all day long. I totally put my beans in a pot with water! I am so very amazing!

Once the beans have been soaked, we can put them into a crock pot to cook all day for our dinner that night.

How to Cook Beans in a Crock Pot

How to Cook Beans in a Crock PotYum

1. At night before bed, put about 4 cups of any variety of beans into a pot with 6-8 cups of water.

2. Splash in a little vinegar. It’s supposed to help with the toots. I offer no guarantees.

making beans1

3. Let the beans soak overnight.

4. Strain and rinse them in the morning. Put them into a crock pot and cover them with fresh water.

5. Add a couple of chopped onions to the post for flavor. This is optional but yummy and recommended.

6. Cover and cook the beans on low for 8-10 hours or until they are tender.

multitasking 5

At this point, you can enjoy your beans in any way you enjoy beans. Our favorites are:

What are your favorite ways to eat beans? Please tell me about your morning brain vs. your night brain. Which works better for you?

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We Can Bake Quick Breads in a Slow Cooker!

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It’s a new way to bake quick breads!

You Can Bake Bread in a Crock Pot!

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I had no idea that this was an actual thing. Did you?? I came across this idea here and am ever so grateful.

I’ve been baking potatoes in a crock pot for several years, but I did not know a person could bake quick bread this way too. (And also yeast bread, but I’m trying to perfect that idea before posting about it. You can look forward to that…as will I if I can ever figure out how to do it right.)

This is going to change how we eat this summer. No more avoiding bread on hot days since I never want to turn on the oven. However, since I only have one crock pot, I can obviously only do one loaf of bread at a time. This is a little bit limiting for my family of huge eaters. But all I’ll have to do to remedy this is scramble up a bunch of eggs and make a blender (or two) full of smoothies to go with our loaf, and we’ve got a meal.

I’ve tried this idea with two different types of quick breads – Chocolate Chip Bread and Snickerdoodle (it was a recipe experiment). Both worked great! This leads me to believe that any quick bread recipe will work. (Actually, I’m not sure about gluten free breads. Anyone have experience with this?)

How to Bake Quick Bread in a Crock Pot

How to Bake Quick Breads in a Crock Pot

1. Turn your crock pot onto “hi” to preheat.

2. Mix your quick bread as usual and put it into a buttered loaf pan. (I used glass as I’m not sure about using a stone in my crock pot. Any have experience with this?)

3. Wad up two pieces of tin foil and place them at the bottom of your crock pot. This will offer some space under your bread pan which will help your bread bake better.

bread in crock pot 2
4. Set your loaf pan into your crock pot. (Mine is actually barely the right size, so it didn’t fit all the way in thus negating the need for wads of foil. As you can see in the pictures above, my pan sat on the edge of the top of the crock. It worked perfectly.)

5. Place the lid on your crock pot slightly off centered so as to allow a little bit of steam to escape during baking.

6. Leave the bread to bake in the crock pot for about 2 hours. You’ll be able to watch it baking from the outside into the middle, making it quite easy to see when it has finished baking.

bread in crock pot 3

How excited are you to learn this fun trick?! What quick bread are you going to try baking in your crock pot first? I’m asking because I know you are going to try this right away, this minute, today, as soon as you stand up.

P.S. Look through our quick bread/muffin recipes here.

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Breakfast Crock Pot Casserole

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Every once in a while I think to myself, “Surely someday I will run out of recipes and ideas to share on my website.” But after blogging for almost six years, I have decided that no – the ideas will never run out. Why? Because when food meets internet {splat} – recipes, tips, ideas, and suggestions are never ending. I learn something new, I share it with you. You learn something new, you share it with me. As we all ask questions, learn from others, see new ideas, remember timeless ideas, or come across an idea quite by accident – and we share it with each other via this awesome tool called the internet – our healthy eating journey together continues on a fun and delicious path.

Case in point:  On my own, I would never have thought to make a breakfast casserole in my crock pot. I freeze my Easy Breakfast Casserole and for an easy breakfast to bake in the morning. But this crock pot idea is even better, because we can roll right out of bed and eat a hot, hearty meal within minutes.

A big thanks goes to Karli who sent me this idea. We’re lovin’ it! (So much that I named this recipe after you, and included it in my free Healthy Breakfast Made Simple eBook.)

Karli’s Breakfast Crock Pot CasseroleYum

1 pound turkey sausage
6 cups hashbrowns
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
12 eggs

Brown turkey sausage. Butter the inside of a slow cooker, then stir in cooked sausage, hashbrowns, pepper, onions, and cheese. Whisk together milk and eggs, then pour mixture over the top of the contents in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low overnight – about 10 or 12 hours. Serves 8-10.

Crock_Pot_Casserole

I thought it was funny that the sausage didn’t show up on the plate. It’s in there, I promise. :)

This recipe is very versatile – mix and match any veggies, meats, or cheeses that your family likes or that you have available.

How is the Getting Ahead for Breakfast Challenge coming for you?  I love that there are so many ways to get ahead for breakfast, and not all of them involve putting food in the freezer. This crock pot casserole is a great example. As is the Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packet recipe and the Dark Chocolate Almond Granola recipe. And the Homemade Grape Nuts Cereal. And the Freezing Muffin Batter idea. Oh wait. That one does involve the freezer. I guess I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring it up again.

I also wanted to mention that I’ve had great feedback from people taking the Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen eCourse. Families are finding new ways to get ahead in the kitchen, saving time, saving money, and becoming healthier. I LOVE it!

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How to Bake Potatoes in a Crock Pot (without foil)

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Your crock pot is here, once again, to save the day! Allow me to fill you in on the great and easy way to bake potatoes in a crock pot!

baked_potatoes

In an effort to avoid turning on my oven this week to bake potatoes, it occurred to me that maybe I could bake them in my crock pot. Am I a genius or what?

Or what.  My online search told me that others had already been there done that – and blogged about it too. So others are the geniuses, and I am a few years late in learning this wonderful potato baking method.

I will, however, take the credit for figuring out that you don’t have to mess with wrapping each potato in foil. All of the instructions I found online included wrapping each potato lovingly in foil. I tend to skip this extra step in an effort to save time and to avoid putting aluminum on my food. Could foil-less potatoes be baked in a crock pot? I decided to try and see.

I won’t keep you in suspense, because surely you’ve never wondered something so much in your life and the title of this post didn’t give away the answer even a little bit. You can, indeed, throw a plain ol’ potato in the crock pot and let it bake without foil. You don’t even need to poke the potatoes first. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

Bake Your Potatoes in the Crock Pot

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Here is the detailed break-down of the oven-less, foil-less, poke-less, practically effort-less crock pot baked potato…

How To Bake Potatoes in a Crock Pot

1. Scrub dirt off of potatoes (I always use red or gold potatoes as they tend to work much better, plus they are more nourishing.)
2. Place potatoes in crock pot
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender

You can cook as many potatoes as you need. You can use any size or variety of potato. And if possible, I would suggest making extras so that you can use your leftovers to make Homemade Hashbrowns.

How should you serve your baked potato? Well, I personally love mine with lots of butter and sea salt. I’m sure you’re shocked. Sometimes we sprinkle on some cheese and call it lunch, along with a side of veggies and fruit.

But if you really want a good baked potato meal, which is super easy and perfect in the summertime (now that we know how to avoid heating our ovens for this fine item), Taco Potatoes are awesome.

taco_potato_1

Or, how about topping your baked potato with chopped ham, chicken, or turkey, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and broccoli. So, so good.

baked_potato_3

What’s your favorite way to top a baked potato? Ever tried making baked potatoes in the crock pot?  Yeah, I bet I know what you’re having for lunch tomorrow…

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I always make extra baked potatoes on purpose. Here’s why:

7 Ways to Use Baked Potatoes

Do you love the idea of regularly putting Simple Meals on the table like we do? Become a Simple Meals member and we’ll do all your weekly meal thinking and planning for you! Get all the details here!

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Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

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This is one of the easiest recipes in the world. Forgot to thaw the chicken? No problem. Have some random tidbits of lettuce or beans in your fridge you need to use up? Perfect. Planning to be out of the house all afternoon and need something ready to eat when you get home…but you only have five minutes before you need to rush out the door, you forgot to make a dinner plan, your daughter can’t find her left shoe, the delivery man knocks on the door, and your toddler is running toward the toilet with your cell phone?

Chicken Tacos to the rescue.

This idea came from my friend Emily. She’s an awesome mom of two little ones. I admire how she is always working to put healthy meals on the table, while trying to save time in the process. Hmmm, kind of sounds like the majority of us, huh? We need easy, fast, tasty…and we want it to nourish our families too. That’s why I thought you’d like hearing this recipe idea.

You simply put chicken breasts into your slow cooker, dump on a jar of salsa, and walk away. (I hate to discourage you or add to your work load, but you do have to plug in the machine and turn a knob. Try not to break a nail.)

My family loves these because they can build their tacos however they like. I love this recipe because it’s adaptable based on what I have in my fridge and pantry. If I don’t have whole wheat tortillas made, but I do have some organic corn chips on hand? That’s how we eat it. And last week, I decided to fry some corn tortillas in palm shortening and have Chicken Tostadas with this recipe instead. Incredibly delicious.

Crock Pot Chicken TacosYum

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 cups salsa
Instructions
  1. Place chicken (frozen, thawed, upside down, whatever) into your slow cooker.
  2. Pour salsa over the chicken.
  3. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours.
  4. Shred chicken mixture.
  5. Serve with any of your favorite taco fixin's.

chicken_tacos_2

What is your favorite way to top a taco?  Last week when we had these, I asked Asa (our oldest) to make his famous Spicy Avocado Dip. It was so good with this chicken!

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Crock Pot Beef Stew ~ Real Food Dollar Menu

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Here is another healthy meal that is super easy, quick to make, and low in cost. There is really nothing fancy about this meal. But it’s comforting and warm and perfect for a chilly evening.

Crock Pot Beef Stew with Cornbread Muffins

1 pound stew meat, cut into bit-sized chunks
2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion or 2 Tablespoons Onion Soup Mix
1/2 cup water
Sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

The cost of this meal, including the cornbread, added up to $8.29*. It fed 9 people. Cost per plate (um, bowl) =  $0.92. I love this price!!!

beef_stew

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for many more recipes and ideas for our Real Food Dollar Menu!

*I calculated my cost based on the food sources and prices I have available to me. Most of the ingredients I use are organic. Your cost may be slightly more or less depending on where you find your ingredients.

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Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken – Real Food Dollar Menu

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It might sound kind of silly for me to say this, but I’ve typically thought that making a meal of Barbecue Chicken Breasts is a bit of a “splurge” for us. Why? Because hardly ever do I just cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts as our “main dish” without spreading them out within a casserole to make them “stretch”.

Even so, this meal costs just a tiny bit more than one dollar per plate. Sweet! I’m so glad to know the price breakdown on this, because we love it. Plus, this meal is super fast and easy to prepare. I’m talking five minutes tops. I can quickly throw chicken breasts and homemade barbecue sauce into the crockpot on a Sunday morning before church, or right after lunch on a weekday – and a few hours later, our main dish is ready! Add a veggie or two, and maybe some bread, and your meal is complete.

We used (free) green beans from our garden for this meal, but to be fair to those who don’t have garden beans in their freezer, I included the price of purchased, frozen beans as I calculated the cost of this meal. Altogether with the chicken, sauce, beans, and muffins, this meal ends up being $1.09/plate. (I calculated my cost based on the food sources and prices I have available to me. Most of the ingredients I use are organic. Your cost may be slightly more or less depending on where you find your ingredients.)

In case you’re wondering – I use Smart Chicken Brand boneless skinless chicken breasts in recipes like this. That is the best I can find around here – and I wait for them to go on sale. (My friend recently got me a case at a great price from her local store. Smart Chicken breast for just $2.71/pound…so exciting!)

Crock Pot Barbecue ChickenYum

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken - Real Food Dollar Menu
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • ½ recipe of Homemade Barbecue Sauce (about ½ cup)
Instructions
  1. Cut chicken breasts into portion sized pieces.
  2. Place in a crock pot, top with barbecue sauce, and cook on low for about four hours or until meat is no longer pink.
  3. BONUS: Don't have time for the crock pot? Simply put the chicken and sauce into a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. Cook for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. Serve!

Here’s my Homemade Barbecue Sauce recipe. :)

crock_pot_bbq_chicken

Do you often use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for a main dish…or do you typically try to “stretch” them into more meals?

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

 

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Real Food MakeOver: Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake (and Cake Boys Episode 7!)

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Have a recipe you’d like me to try and make over? Submit your recipes on this Real Food Recipe Makeover Submission Page.
 

Remember that cake I tried to make in a crock pot that ended up being tedious and difficult? After that, my friend Jenny emailed me a recipe for Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake, figuring that I could surely make over the ingredients to make this a healthier recipe.
 

I was excited, yet given my experience with cake in a crock pot, I couldn’t help but wonder:  Would this cake be a lot of work? Would it be tasty in the end?
 

The answer to those questions are:  No, this cake is not a lot of work…and YES this cake is incredibly tasty.
 

I actually handed the recipe to the Cake Boys (aka Justus and bros) to make this for Matt’s birthday last week. It was so easy for them to adapt that they did it without any help from me. Yes indeed, this Real Food Makeover is brought to you by the Cake Boys. :)

 
You simply pour the batter into the crock pot, then drizzle over a layer of boiling water/cocoa/sucanat. The cake bakes in a crock pot for two hours, and when it’s finished, the cake has baked over the top and a layer of fudgy pudding is on the bottom.
 

This cake is dreamy, rich deliciousness. We all loved it!
 


Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake

 
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sucanat
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter (or coconut oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 
Combine flour, cocoa, sucanat, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Make a well in the center and add milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir well, until batter is smooth. Stir in peanut butter (heat if needed, to thin). Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into a well greased slow cooker. Make the topping:
 
Topping:

 
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup sucanat
1 1/2 cups boiling water
 

Mix cocoa and sucanat, whisk in boiling water until smooth. Gently pour over batter in crock pot, but don’t stir. Cover and cook on HIGH until puffed and the top layer is set, about 2- 2 1/4 hours. Turn off crock pot and let stand, covered for at least 30 minutes. Serve the cake (which is now on top) with ice cream or whipped cream and drizzle the fudgy pudding from the bottom over both.

 
Makes 6-8 servings

 

 
And now, you can enjoy Episode 7 of Cake Boys, which includes a ridiculous commercial break by Asa. Wow, our boys have tooooo much fun putting these together. Also, I should note:  Justus says that he added “shortening” to the cake. He really added butter. He was just reading the original recipe when he recorded. :)  And then we had a little lesson about what shortening is and why we don’t eat it unless it’s Palm Shortening. But anyway…

 

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Fiesta Chicken

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Since yesterday’s Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake in the crock pot really isn’t a great crock pot recipe, here’s a great one for Fiesta Chicken. This was a hit with our whole family!

Crock Pot Fiesta ChickenYum

2 Tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (or one teaspoon garlic powder)
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 – 14 1/2 ounce can of Mexican style diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano

In a skillet, cook the chicken pieces in the olive oil until browned. Remove chicken, and saute onion, pepper, garlic, and jalapeno in the juices and oil. Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve over rice, or on a soft tortilla. Top with cheese, olives, lettuce, sour cream – or any toppings you choose. Add frozen corn and/or black beans to the crock pot if you’d like.

The houseful of company I told you we were having? They started coming in today. The fun is just beginning!

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake

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While searching for crock pot recipes, I came across one for a Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake. Cake in a crock pot?  With peanut butter and chocolate chips? Sweet…sign me up! I was excited to recreate this recipe using healthier ingredients.

Without a doubt, this cake is delicious. But aren’t crock pot recipes supposed to save me time? Isn’t that the point? This recipe took extra steps and caused me to have to stand on my head while pulling a muscle to search in the back of my corner cabinet so that I could find a baking dish that would fit down into my crock pot. And then it took four hours to bake. 

FYI:  Laura does not make recipes that take lots of time. Laura likes to eat healthy and save time.

And apparently, Laura occasionally talks in third person like Elmo.

Anyway, while this cake recipe is very easy to mix up, I think it would be even easier if I threw it directly into a cake pan and baked it in an oven.

When might I want to make this cake in a crock pot? Maybe if I need to go somewhere and want to come home in four hours to a freshly baked cake. Or maybe if I’m having company and am busy, I could get the cake put into the crock pot so that I could then focus on the roast beef. Or, I could see the crock pot being an option if it’s really hot outside and I don’t want to heat up my house by using an oven. Yes, those would be the times I would use my crock pot for this. Otherwise, it’ll be a conventional oven at 350° for me.

Here is the recipe, with both crock pot or conventional oven options. (Because Laura thinks it’s nice to have options.)

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter CakeYum

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sucanat
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I use homemade peanut butter)
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Soy Free Chocolate Chips)

Cream together melted butter, sucanat, and peanut butter with an electric mixer. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Blend in baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and flour until well combined. Fold in 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.

To Bake in a Crock Pot:

  1. Line crock pot with foil. 
  2. Pour batter into a 2 1/2 or 3 quart baking dish that will fit inside your crock pot. Spread batter into the baking dish, then set it down inside the crock pot. 
  3. Sprinkle on remaining chocolate chips. 
  4. Cover loosely with 4 layers of paper towels, leaving the lid off the crock pot. 
  5. Cook on high for four hours, testing doneness with a toothpick.

To Bake in a Regular Oven:

Pour batter into a greased 8×8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle on remaining chocolate chips. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

And now, I can not get the sound of Elmo’s voice out of my head. 

Laura is not a big fan of the sound of Elmo’s voice.

What would you do with this recipe? Bake it in the oven or in a crock pot?  Feel free to answer the question in third person. ;)

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