Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Easter is over, and that means one thing: leftovers. So many leftovers. I had almost an entire bag of red potatoes sitting unused in my fridge, and absolutely nothing left in my grocery budget. That leaves one of my favorite {and cheapest} dishes on the menu...baked potatoes!

I have a special love of baked potatoes. When I was really young, money was tight around my house {as it usually is with young families}. Every Sunday, my mom would make baked potatoes and we'd pick up Whoppers from Burger King, back when they were $.99 each. We had that every Sunday after church for years, and with the exception of a terrible case of food poisoning from a Whopper about 5 years ago, it remains one of my favorite meals.

I hope you enjoy these and make some of your own baked potato memories!


Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Butter
• Salt and pepper
• Tinfoil
• Minced garlic {optional}

Directions:

Rinse potatoes well and remove any large "eyes" with a knife. Rip off pieces of tinfoil that can wrap around each potato. Poke each potato with a fork several times.

Melt butter and spoon some onto each potato.

Add some minced garlic, salt and pepper to each potato.

Seal each potato in the tinfoil and put inside crock pot. Cook on low anywhere from 5-9 hours, depending on how many potatoes you're making. The more potatoes, the longer it takes to cook.

Once potato is soft to the touch, remove carefully from the crock pot, unwrap, cut and add toppings. Serve and enjoy!

Love and potato memories,

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

I'm obsessed with this chili.

I was making it so much that Tim told me I had to stop. He needed a break. I promised him it would end. Eight days later, there it was again. Mysteriously in the crock pot, beckoning me to put on my sweats, turn on The Bachelor and dig in. But unlike The Bachelor, it's not a guilty pleasure. Seriously. It's not all that bad. It's actually really, really delicious.

So grab your sweatpants ladies {and gents}. It's chili time!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped {optional}
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 8 oz. block cream cheese {if you're counting calories, skip this step}
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro {optional}


Directions:

First, toss the chicken breasts in a crock pot. Mine are frozen, which is totally okay.

Drain both cans of beans.

In no particular order, pour all the ingredients into the crock pot and on top of the chicken. You can't see 'em all, but they're all there!

Mix it up. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 3-5 hours. The main thing here is the chicken. We need that to be fully-cooked.

Now, you have two options. Option 1: You can remove the chicken breasts, shred them and put them back in the crock pot, or Option 2: You can grab two forks and fish around for the chicken and shred it while it's still in the crock pot. I personally go with the latter, but that's your call.

Cut up the block of cream cheese and evenly disperse.

Mix well until the cream cheese is melted and the chili is smooth. I normally then put the crock pot on low and let it sit for a few minutes since the cream cheese is typically cold.

Serve with either tortilla chips or corn tortillas. Top with the cilantro, if you'd like.

This is just the skeleton of the recipe; you get to add the fat. Here are some other add-ins that would work really well with this dish:

• Lime juice
• Pinto beans {or any type of beans, really}
• Sour cream
• Fritos
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Avocado
• Grilled onions

You get the point. Good luck and enjoy!


Love and chili,

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