When You Really Hate Cooking: 3 Easy Crockpot Recipes
I attempted Whole 30 for a hot second in January. I lasted approximately 6 hours until I gave in to my brain’s begging for a mocha (hello, I have an addiction). My roommate, on the other hand, is killing it with some straight-up BALLER home-cooked meals, and I respect the bejeezus out of her putting so much time into cooking and for drinking her coffee black for an entire 30 days. What a hero.
Related: I’m not much of a cook. I don’t find solace in the kitchen, chopping onions while browning meat while mincing herbs for hours to a happily-hummed tune. There are about 27 things, IF NOT MORE, I’d rather do than cook. This list includes laundry. However, as an adult, I know that I must do the adult thing and feed myself. As an adult on a tight af budget, I know I must do the adult thing and feed myself food that I have cooked. Sadly, P.F. Chang’s takeout can’t always be my answer to “What’s for dinner, Ally?”
Enter stage left the crockpot—a gift from our dear Lord above for the cooking-adverse humans like myself. You literally throw foodstuffs in it, set the timer, and come home 8 hours later to a home-cooked meal. It’s like having your own in-house chef, barring the fact that okay, you do have to chop some veggies every now and then for it. BUT STILL.
I wanted to share three of my favorite crockpot recipes that are easy as pie (even though pies are not easy to make so, um, who came up with this saying?!), because we’re all in this whole “gotta feed yourself food other than pizza” post-grad life together.
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STEW
Serves: 5
Time: 15 minutes prep, 6-7 hours cooking
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1.5 lb potatoes, diced large
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 can tomato paste (8 oz.)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Instructions:
- Add the browned turkey, carrots, onions, and garlic to slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion power, and oregano. Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker.
- Stir.
- Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours without opening the lid during cooking time.
- Enjoy, applauding yourself for the little to no effort that went into creating this deliciousness.
TACO SOUP
Serves: 12
Time: 15 minutes prep, 6-8 hours cooking
Ingredients:
- 2 cups shredded chicken, cooked
- 2 cans ranch-style beans
- 2 cans whole corn
- 2 cans diced, stewed tomatoes
- 1 can Rotel tomatoes and chiles
- 1 pkg Ranch Style Dressing Mix
- 1 pkg Taco Seasoning
Instructions:
- Put all ingredients in crockpot and stir.
- Cook ingredients on low in crockpot for 6-8 hours.
- Serve with grated cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips.
- Say a prayer of thanks for the invention of the crockpot.
CHILI
Serves: 6
Time: 15 minutes prep, 6 - 8 hours cooking
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef/turkey
- 1 can stewed tomatoes
- 1 can chili beans
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- Pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions:
- Brown ground beef or turkey in skillet, then drain excess fat.
- Combine remaining ingredients with ground beef in slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Eat with the satisfaction of knowing you didn't spend hours make something that you're going to consume in less than 10 minutes.
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[Photo by Julie Bloom.]
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A cardstock print sits propped against the lamp on my desk: a taupe watercolor swipe outlining a peakside Saguaro, the sun a tiny ring above. Beneath this minimalist illustration are these words in typeface: “I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
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