I don’t know about you, but I’m often walking in the door late in the evening with my kids asking, “Mom, what’s for dinner tonight?” Here I am scrambling to make a late dinner…again. I rush to thaw, prepare, and cook a meal before 8:15pm (if I’m lucky). By the time dinner is done and eaten, the kids are ready for bed, and the kitchen is cleaned, it’s after 9pm! And I finally plop on the couch for a few minutes before I have to shuffle off to bed to do it all over again.
Even when my husband tries to help, I often spend more time trying to explain what’s in the meal, than it would just to do it myself when I get home (poor guy he really does try to help). I have so much time in other parts of the day, why can’t I just make dinner in the mornings?? I don’t think my kids or my husband would be on board with the idea of a cold dinner every night. So what can I do to try to get myself out of this crazy evening loop?
Well my first idea is weekly meal prep. But doesn’t that mean spending an entire Sunday cooking and prepping meals? That idea sounds exhausting and time consuming.
I guess the next best idea is using the glorious CrockPot for meals. Since my biggest window of free time is in the mornings, it occurred to me to meal prep then and have it ready to toss in the pot before I leave the house or even ready for me to cook when I am home in the evening. The best part of this idea is if I can’t get it cooking before I leave, then it’s all set aside and ready for my husband to start when he can. Ideally this means hot meals ready to go at a decent time whether I’m home or not, leaving my actual evening to eat, relax and enjoy my family. If a little preparation on my part can give me back my evenings then it is so worth it!
So this morning I pulled out one of my recipes, prepared the vegetables and sausage, put them into containers, mixed my seasonings in a little cup, and set aside anything that can be left out. Essentially everything is ready to be tossed into the pot. If I have time the day or evening before, I could always do as well since everything will keep in the refrigerator overnight. This only took me about 30 minutes to do. It will likely take 10 minutes to put in the pot and I’m out the door. I have two CrockPot meals that my family loves and ask for again and again. They are easy, packed with nutrition and are great balanced easy meals! I hope these easy to prepare meals give you time to eat well, relax and provide more ideas for other great dishes! - Coach Ilene
Sausage and Veggie Medley Soup
Ingredients
2 Packages - Sliced Chicken and Apple Sausage (8 sausages total)
16oz Carrots, Chopped
1 Yellow Onion, Diced
1 Bunch Kale, Chopped (smaller pieces the better for easier eating)
4 Red Potatoes, Diced
1 Red Pepper, Diced
1 tsp. Thyme, crushed
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
½ tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Garlic, Diced
24oz. Chicken Broth, Reduced Sodium
Directions
Empty contents into a crock pot and cook for 2-3 hours on High or 4-6 Hours on Low -OR- 20 Minutes on Manual High Pressure in an InstaPot with quick release.
Cook until carrots and kale are completely soft, let cool before serving, it will be HOT.
Shrimp Vegetable Chowder
Ingredients
12-24 oz Shrimp, deveined and tail off (Frozen precooked will also work)
1 Bunch Kale, Chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Diced
4 Yellow or Red Potatoes, Diced
1 Yellow Onion, Diced
1 Cup Cut Green Beans - cut to 1in pieces
16oz (1 lb) Carrots, Shredded (OR Matchstick precut bag)
12oz Corn (frozen, canned, or fresh)
2 Cups Heavy Cream (more or less depending on desired fat added to meal) (Try full fat coconut milk if you’re dairy free)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Rosemary, fresh or dried
2 Tbsp Garlic diced
2 Basil leaves (fresh) or 1 Tbsp dried and crushed
½ tsp Ground Chili Pepper (for a little heat, add more or less depending on taste)
32oz (4 cups) Vegetable Broth, Low Sodium
Directions
In a large pot, heat and add olive oil, add in potatoes and onion, brown slightly until potatoes are becoming soft.
Add in carrots, green beans and kale along with 8oz of broth.
Simmer and allow the contents to soften, usually about 5-8 minutes.
Add in peppers, thawed corn, garlic, and seasoning and mix well.
Add in remaining broth and bring to a simmer
Add shrimp and cook until pink
Lastly add in the heavy cream. Incorporate cream slowly to simmering soup to avoid curtailing (I like to warm it slightly in the microwave so it’s room temp before adding).
Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.
Check kale and potatoes to ensure they are completely soft before serving. Add additional seasoning to taste.
Top with chopped green onions for taste.
*This can also be done in a crockpot:. Add everything except cream and shrimp. Approximately 30 minutes before you want to eat add shrimp and cream. Allow shrimp to cook (until pink) and mix in cream slowly.