This appliance is your friend--say hello to the slow cooker!

There’s probably nothing worse about winter than days when you miss out on seeing the sun completely. You leave for work when it’s still dark, and by the time you head home the sun has already set. This does weird things to your circadian rhythm, and is the first cause of Seasonal Affective Disorder. For me, it kicks me into hibernation mode, and if it’s dark at 5 pm I’m going to want to be in pajamas and enjoying a warm, cozy meal pretty much as soon as I’m home for the evening. This is why crock pots are THE BEST thing to have in the colder months. You can prep your meal hours in advance and just allow it to slow cook all day long, creating a huge variety of delicious, warm, slow simmered meals that welcomes you with a sumptuous smelling hug as soon as you make your way in from the cold and unforgiving darkness. You can even make desserts in the crock pot: brownies and cobblers that cook themselves! If you don’t have a crock pot, they are not terribly expensive to invest in, and will save you so much time and energy! You can set your cook times to anywhere from 4-10 hours, so you don’t have to worry about it overcooking and burning down your house while you’re out.

I saw these uber-adorable 2.5 QT slow cookers from Crock Pot and for the first time I wished I didn't already have one! Only $23!

Here are a couple of classic crock pot recipes I will be using heavily this fall while Liam and I are both in school—sometimes we’re not home until 9:30, and it is such a godsend to have dinner already waiting for us. Otherwise I’m pretty sure we’d be surviving on pop tarts and pizza.

My crock-pot is huge—we got it as a wedding present and it can make a meal to serve a dozen or so people, so I will make big batches of things and have lots of leftovers. These meals tend to freeze pretty well, so you can make meals for days with one morning’s effort!

Crock pot turkey chili

(This is a recipe for 10-12 servings...if you’re making a smaller batch, adjust accordingly.)

FYI, this can just as easily be a vegetarian chili if you substitute a package of Morningstar Farms ground crumble instead of turkey meat. Fabulous!

Goodness, how delicious!

1 lb ground turkey meat

2 16 oz. cans dark red kidney beans

1 24 oz can of tomato sauce

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

1 4 oz can of tomato paste

1 box Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Chili kit (or any kind, but I like this one.) <pic>

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, diced-- if you’d like!

Just dump it all in. Seriously, just go for it! I don’t add any oil because the fat in the turkey will cook out and mix with all the other ingredients, and there are enough liquid ingredients that you won’t risk it drying out. The Carroll Shelby’s mix comes with an additional packet of cayenne spice, which I add unequivocally. Even with the jalapeno, I feel like it can use an extra kick. It also includes a packet of masa flour to help thicken the chili up if it’s a little watery, but I would hold on to that until closer to the end to see if you actually need it. Most of the time I don’t, especially when using the slow cooker.

I always make a loaf of Jiffy’s cornbread to go with it, and another fun addition if you have the time is to bake the cornbread right in the crock-pot with the chili. About 40 minutes before serving, mix up the cornbread mix, egg and milk and drop spoonfuls of dough atop the chili mix, interspersed like dumplings. It may help to place a paper towel on top to absorb some of the condensation, then return the lid and cook until firm.

Now all you need to do is chop up a red onion or some chives, grate a little cheese on top and you’ve got a low-fat, wholesome, cozy meal barely an hour after you got home!

Crock pot beef stew

(Serves 10-12)

The chunkier the better. Baby carrots make it even easier!

2 tbs olive oil (or vegetable oil, I won’t judge you.)

1 lb stewing beef chunks

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, diced

3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped

1 large parsnip, scrubbed and chopped

1 ½ cups baby carrots

4 stalks celery, chopped into biggish chunks

1 cp button or baby bella mushrooms

2 cps beef broth

¼ cp flour

1 packet McCormick’s stew seasoning

1 yam, peeled and chopped

Fresh rosemary or thyme, if you have it. I like to steal it from my neighbor across the street.

This takes one extra step before you can get started, but it helps set the meat in chunks and will be worth it by the time you get a whiff of this hearty, nourishing stew.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on the stovetop. Find a good plastic bag, like an old bread bag or grocery bag, and dump the flour and beef chunks in together. Twist it up and the top and give it a good shake, to thoroughly coat the beef in the flour. Once the oil is hot, add the floury beef chunks and stir, keeping the meat moving. The flour will absorb most of the oil, but keep stirring it around on medium heat until the meat is browned on all sides. Then dump in into the crock pot, along with the rest of your ingredients! Give it a good stir, and cook for at least six hours.

Just before eating, heat up a loaf of hearty bread in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, then serve! Soooo rewarding and delicious. I recommend pairing it with a pumpkin beer because, come on. You can’t beat that for a fally dish.

Crock pot brownies

This recipe came from Martha Stewarts Everyday Foods collection. Note: unlike most things you'll find here, this recipe is NOT low fat. I have yet to try my fat-free brownie recipe in the crock pot...I'll try it out soon and let you know how it goes. 

Completely, unbelieveably moist! Photo from smashpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Coat the inside of your crock-pot with cooking spray.  Line the bottom with parchment paper and coat the top of the paper with cooking spray.  Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring after 30 second intervals, until chocolate is melted.  Add in sugar and mix well.  Then add in eggs and mix well.  Set aside.  

In another bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Add in walnuts and chocolate chips and mix well.  Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  Pour into crock-pot and smooth top.  

Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.  Uncover and cook for 30 minutes.  Insert a knife edge around brownies to loosen and place the crock (out of the pot) on a cooling rack to cool for 20-30 minutes.  Turn out brownies and re-invert on cooling rack to continue the cooling process.