Today's meal is brought to you by busy fall days, when all you want to do is cozy up by the fire, but all you have time to do is run around and put fires out. Slow cooker meals are perfect for busy moms who may have a few minutes here or there during the day to dump ingredients, then forget about them. You can come home after a hard days work and dinner is done. This savory filling soup is perfect for a cold fall evening. 

Ingredients: 
1 large chicken breast (frozen is fine) 
2 tablespoons butter
3 cans chicken broth, (approximately 6 cups) 
3/4 cup wild rice
1/2 small onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp lavender
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Dump all ingredients into crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours, or until chicken can easily be shredded and rice is cooked through. 

Couldn't be easier! 

Enjoy!

When I think of Peggy's cooking, the last thing I think about is a crock pot. She probably dies a little inside every time this blog has a slow cooker recipe on it. But lets get real, in today's busy fast paced life, sometimes you only get 20 minutes in your day to throw a meal together, and it most likely isn't near meal time. So a crock pot can be a life saver for busy moms. Just tell the foodie inside of you to look the other way. This recipe will certainly not go down in our blog history for most beautiful, but it is definitely delicious. And coming together in less than 5 minutes of prep? How can you say no to that? 

Ingredients: 
2 frozen chicken breasts
2 cups salsa
2 cups chicken broth 
8 ounces quinoa 
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ears corn, trimmed
1 cup cheese, shredded 
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 avacado, diced
2 tsp cilantro, minced
1 lime

Directions: Place your chicken breasts in the slow cooker, add your salsa, broth, quinoa, beans, corn, cheese, salt, and pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours. Pull apart your chicken into bite sized pieces. Mix in the juice of 1 lime. Top with avacado and cilantro. 

This dish is super simple, so fast, and extremely flavorful. 
Enjoy!

Rounding out this weeks recipe theme of easy week night meals for two, is this super simple slow cooker meal. When I am out of creativity at the end of a long day, or more importantly out of ingredients, The Lavender Apple's Herbs De Provence is a life saver. This little $5 bottle will last you several months and will save your dinner more times than you would like to admit. This herb blend has such amazing flavors, and will turn bland boring chicken into delicious morsels that will have you licking your lips for more. Whenever I'm throwing together a last minute meal, I usually am not hopeful for great results, but this herb saves me so often and has me thinking "Wow! This is amazing!" 

Tonight's easy meal for two idea is a quick crock pot meal for herbed chicken and potatoes. Any time you have a free second during the day, throw in some frozen chicken breasts, pop in a few red potatoes. Coat the entire thing with olive oil, salt, pepper, and then add the Herbs de Provence. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Adjust seasoning as needed. There you have it, a delicious and filling meal that took you less than 5 minutes to put together. Hope these easy meal ideas are helpful to all you busy momma's out there! 

Does using a crock pot feel like cheating to you? It totally does to me. But with a busy 3 year old son and an always gone medical student for a husband, I'm often running around very busy around dinner time. Crock pot meals typically won't yield the depth of flavor I want when I cook. But on days when your time and sanity is short, having a few good crock pot meals you can count on can really save the day. Today's recipe is a super simple fool proof crock pot asian orange chicken. 

Ingredients: 

4 chicken breasts (frozen is fine) 

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

1/3 cup orange marmalade

3 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 1/2 cup white rice

1 head brocoli

Directions: Place your chicken breasts in the crock pot on high for 2 hours until cooked. Cut your chicken into bite sized peices and drain the juice.  Place back in crock pot. Add your barbecue sauce, marmalade, soy sauce, and cook for an additional 1 hour on high. Mix with steamed brocoli and serve over white rice. 

This meal is satisfying, simple, and a sanity saver. Please don't judge me for using my crock pot. Bust yours out once in awhile. I promise you'll like it.