Instant dinner maker

My love for the crockpot has grown over the past month. A crockpot meal is on our meal plan at least once during the week. The instant dinner maker is a blessing after work. Typically I come home pretty hungry and ready to eat. I also love coming in our house filled with delicious aroma.

This week I made two crockpot meals. I picked up pork chops and whole chicken because they were on sale last week. Monday I made crockpot and apples. The apples are coated with brown sugar and cinnamon. The pork chops were seared first then placed on top of the apples. I especially like this recipe because it doesn't call for any canned items! One negative about crockpots is there need for liquid to cook. Canned items work best, but I feel like the healthful aspect of the meal is taken away. The apples make enough juice for the meat to cook perfectly. No dry pork this time! We also enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans later on in the week (and we still have leftover meat!). Two meals with one recipe makes it a winner in my book!

If you ever want to feel like a domestic housewife buy a whole chicken and cook it. For some reason having a whole chicken cooking in my house made me feel like Pioneer Women. My man removed the giblets for me. I couldn't handle it. I used to gag (okay small exaggeration) when my mom de-gutted the turkey for Thanksgiving. I guess some things never go away. Anyways, after his bravery I seasoned the chicken overnight. I added onions and carrots to the pot and the chicken cooked for 6 hours. I am planning on making chicken stock with the juice and extra bones. Talk about really feeling domestic. I have two other meals lined up for my chicken. I might go with a different stronger seasoning next time around. Regardless, the chicken was tasty!

If you have any delicious crockpot meals let me know! I'd love a cheap and healthful soup recipe.