Slow Cooker - Humorous Homemaking

Crock Pot Hot Dog Chili

I think we can all agree on one thing. And that is this…no dog deserves to be naked.

Nakedness is illegal. Unless you live in a nudist colony…which isn’t all bad because, less laundry.

It ain’t a hot dog without chili. If you think otherwise, that’s okay…sometimes, you’re wrong. Admitting it is the first step to dressing your dog.

I’ve been making this hot dog chili for 12 years. Yes, 12 years. I got the recipe from my friend Kendra’s mom at a cookout after Barry and I were first married. I couldn’t stop eating it…it was rather embarrassing. [Read more…]

Lip-Smacking Good Cabbage Recipes!

Guest post by Julie of Domestic Contessa

If your only experience with cabbage is canned, overly salty sauerkraut or stale, bags of cole slaw mix… I can completely understand why you may not believe me that cabbage recipes could be lip-smacking good. But cabbage is affordable, nutritious – and yes, even delicious!

It’s incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed raw, sautéed, grilled, roasted, braised, steamed, or boiled.
Cabbage is available pretty much everywhere – and for really low prices! And since it’s in season during the fall and winter months, it is even cheaper than usual right now.
Cabbage has a long shelf life – it will keep for 2+ weeks in the fridge! Once you cut it though, it’s best to use within 4 days (before the vitamins start to break down).
Speaking of vitamins, green cabbage is very high in Vitamin K, Vitamin C and Potassium (one serving has 75% of your daily value!) and red/purple cabbage is also very high in Vitamin A.
Cabbage is the perfect low-carb food: one cup has less then 4 grams of carbohydrates and almost 2 grams of fiber. It would be a great addition to any healthy (or even Paleo) diet.

[Read more…]

20 Crock Pot Pumpkin Real Food Recipes

There’s something about turning leaves and crisp mornings that makes a feller want to make something pumpkin. Or maybe it’s just the fact that everyone else is doing it and it’s all over Pinterest so we get the subliminal message of:

THOU SHALL MAKE PUMPKIN FOODS

What is it with pumpkin anyway? Restaurants are all over it – ranging from Pumpkin Lattes to Pumpkin Milkshakes to Pumpkin Pancakes.

In just yet another area of life, I feel like a rebel. Because can I confess something? I’m just “okay” with pumpkin. I don’t scream and jump up and down when Pumpkin Spice coffee is back in the store. I can eat pumpkin any time of year, but I’m not cuckoo over it. [Read more…]

An Apple A Day, For Dinner! {Crock Pot Chicken with Apples and Bacon}

Post by Contributing Author, Julie of Domestic Contessa

Apple season is here! When apples are in season, not only can you find the juiciest, most crisp and delicious apples, but they’re available for really low prices. And I think we all know what that means… Apple Cobbler, Apple Crisp, Apple Pie, Homemade Applesauce, Apple Cookies. And as if all the sweet recipes popping up on blogs, Pinterest, and cooking magazine covers aren’t tempting enough, I’m here to share a few more ways you can enjoy an apple a day… for dinner!

In my house, we eat apples for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and snacks in between! And while I love an apple pie as much anyone, I would much rather prepare savory apple recipes. So today, I’m sharing with you some of my favorite ways to enjoy apples for dinner, including a super easy and delicious recipe for the Crockpot: Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Apples & Bacon. [Read more…]

How to Get Three Meals from One Chicken

A long while back, when I conquered my fear of cooking a whole, naked chicken in the crock pot (Crock Pot Baked Chicken), I felt like the world opened up to me! Behold! All those glorious Pinterest recipes calling for 2 cups cooked chicken would no longer add 20 minutes on to making a meal! A whole neeeeeeeeeeew worlddddddddddddddddddddddd! Come with me on my magic carpet.

So, today we’re talking chicken – and how you can take ONE of them and make three meals. First off, let’s clear the air: I’m only feeding 4 people here. So, if you’re feeding more than that, maybe this post should be called:

-1 Chicken, 2 meals OR

-1 Chicken, 1 meal OR

-1 Chicken Per Person

Honestly, we eat meat a lot, but we don’t eat a lot of meat. Is that clear as mud? I try to make sure vegetables and healthy whole grains are a bigger part of our diet than meat…mainly because I’m stinkin’ ~~cheap~~ frugal. [Read more…]

Crock Pot Cheesy Sausage Rotini

This isn’t my normal crock pot style of recipe. Most of the time you’ll find me using recipes that cook at least 4 hours and most of the time mine run about 8 hours. Honestly, I want my food to cook for 8 hours so I’ll have 8 hours to do stuff – 8 hours to go away. 8 hours to clean. 8 hours to be free from dinner. 8 hours so I’m less likely to burn it to a bloody pulp. But this is one of those pasta recipes that is a little different.

You’ll find this particular dish is done in only 2-3 hours. So, what on earth is the point? You could easily make this in a pot on your stovetop and be done in 30 minutes. Why would you want to pull out your crock, dirty it up, and be done in only 2 hours? [Read more…]

Crock Pot Maple Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I’ve been known to say that you can make dirt taste good by adding bacon. I stand by that statement. Bacon is like ketchup, but BETTER. If you want your kids to eat something, add bacon or ketchup. Or sometimes even both. Do you know that my brother in law puts ketchup on everything? E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Of course, we can’t really stand by his culinary genius, because he also wraps his Pop Tarts in cheese. So, he doesn’t count.

But yes, I am a bacon lover. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t have bacon in SOMETHING. Last night on Pinterest I saw someone wrapping their Cinnamon Rolls in bacon. Now that, my friends, is culinary genius. Chocolate Bacon. Bacon Bacon. Candied Bacon. The world has gone crazy over bacon. And I hate to say this…but I liked bacon before liking bacon was the cool thing to do. Of course, I was frugal before frugal was cool too – I hope eventually that OCD will also be cool and then I’ll really fit in. [Read more…]

Crock Pot Corn Chowder

The idea for this corn chowder recipe came from a church cookbook. Seeing as how I have about 20-30 of them, I get lots of ideas there. 🙂 Some of the ideas turn out good. Some of them don’t turn out at all and I have to scrape them out with the assistance of a chisel and a sledgehammer.

I used to feel bad about this fact – until I read that most great chefs get their groundbreaking ideas from something they see somewhere else. They just put their spin on it, add something new, or use a different technique. So, if a chef can do it, so can I! Take a seat, Chef Boyardee! After all, no recipe will ever come out that hasn’t been made before. I just have to Stacify them. [Read more…]

Crock Pot Teriyaki Boston Butt

I think I shall rename this post and call it: Don’t – stuff you shouldn’t do when trying to make a blog post.

1. Don’t make a blog post about butt.

Why? Because well, there are entirely too many jokes to be made about a big butt. Case in point: Fat on your butt. There’s a bone in your butt. Juicy butt. Rub your butt with honey. Make sure it’s big enough to fit your butt in. A little butt rub makes everything better. I’ll stop while I am ahead. [Read more…]

100 Crock Pot Dessert Recipes: Whole-Foods Style

With the popularity of my 100 Days of No Processed Foods: Crock Pot Style post, I’ve realized there is a huge need and desire for crock pot recipes that don’t call for pre-packaged foods. When glancing through Pinterest, it’s evident that most crock pot recipes call for mixes, boxes, and cans of stuff from the grocery store. That’s why I so enjoy posting wholesome, whole-food crock pot recipes each Friday.

I got an idea in my head that wouldn’t go away. I have a dream – my dream is a huge list and resource of crock pot desserts that don’t call for cake mix, pudding, and canned pie mix. Did you know that before today, there isn’t such a list (at least not one that I can find). Well, BOOYA, BABY! I spent hours compiling this list for you. And it was a lot of fun hours, because as we all know, I love list making. [Read more…]