Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes-- Pintrest Review

Simple, easy, yummy, cheesy! These are all words that describe this slow cooker potato dish. It will go perfectly with your next meal! Make them ahead and freeze them for cheesy potatoes anytime!!

I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes on Pintrest. It was posted by Six Sisters Stuff. They have an awesome website, I love all the recipes they have. Since this is their original recipe I'm not posting a recipe of my own for this, but rather a review. 

First of all I doubled the recipe. My idea was to make a couple to put away in the freezer and make later. In one batch I used frozen potatoes and in the other I used fresh potatoes that I diced. 

After you mix up one batch put it in a labeled gallon size freezer bag, push out all the air, and store flat in the freezer. When you're ready to make, thaw them in the refrigerator the night before. The day you cook them pour the contents of the bag into a greased crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. 

These are yummy and cheesy potatoes! I give them 4 out of 5 stars! It's a great recipe because it's super easy and it takes good! The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is I felt that maybe it lacked a little seasoning (nothing some salt and pepper added at the end won't fix). Also the potatoes seemed somewhat more "mushy" than I was hoping. That aside, my husband loved them and said the recipe was a keeper. 

I garnished the potatoes with some green onion and a little extra cheddar cheese. YUM!! You know what would make it even better? Some crumbled bacon bits right on top! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Mrs Crafty Cook

Think you might like this? Try my recipe for Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus to pair along side your potatoes. 

Double-Berry Nut Pancakes

These sweet and tart pancakes will make your taste buds happy any day of the week! 

A couple weeks ago my husband and I got to go blueberry picking at a church friend's house. He has 16 (I think) blueberry bushes. The set up is lovely. The bushes are in an enclosed space, to keep the majority of the critters away, and they are tended to everyday! There were big bushes, small bushes, and every size in between. AND THE BERRIES. Oh me! I had no idea there were so many differences in berries! Some bushes produce plump, juicy, sweet berries... while others produce a smaller tart berry. Picking is so pleasant. Just barely rolling a berry between your fingers is about all you have to do to get them off the branches. 

A huge difference from the wild blackberry bushes in my yard. Ouch the thorns!! 

So when it was all said and done we probably had over a gallon of berries from an hour and a half of picking. 

We froze 3 bags worth of berries, PLUS had a huge glass bowl worth of berries. Now... what to do... what to do... 

PANCAKESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

Yes. Oh yes. 

Who doesn't love these flat little cakes? I know I sure do. But I'm always searching for more with pancakes. I get bored easily with food. I can't just have a plain pancake with syrup. Nope. Gotta have chocolate chips, toasted sweet pecan syrup, homemade whipped cream, nothing plain or "boring." 

So when I have fresh blueberries, you know I'm going to step-up my pancake game. 

Remember the wild blackberries I mentioned... yeah gonna throw those in here too. And how about some almonds for crunch? Yeah, yeah... Hummm we could throw some homemade whipped cream on top to be even more crazy... Yep. Let's DO THIS!! 

Ingredients:

·         1 cup Bisquick (or make a homemade base)

·         1 egg

·         ½ cup almond milk (or whatever you have)

·         ½ tsp baking powder

·         Cinnamon to taste (I like a lot!)

·         ¼ sliced almonds, and more to garnish

·         ½ cup blueberries

·         ¼ cup blackberries

·         Toppings: whipped cream, syrup, butter, powdered sugar, etc. 

Directions:

Measure out Bisquick into a large mixing bowl. Mix in next four ingredients (egg, almond milk, baking powder, and cinnamon) and mix until combined. If it’s not coming together add in more almond milk until it reaches a pourable consistency. Fold in sliced almonds.

On med-high heat butter a large skillet or griddle, pour about ¼ cup batter onto griddle for small pancakes. Place your berries on top while the bottom side is cooking. When bubbles start forming at the edges, carefully flip your pancake over. If it doesn’t move easily under your spatula wait a little while longer until it does. Cook on the other side until done.

I place my pancakes in a toaster oven (set to warm) while I finish using the remaining batter.

Plate pancakes and top with your favorite toppings. Whipped cream with extra berries and nuts makes an amazing topping. 

Printable Version!

Since my husband and I couldn't consume all these pancakes on our own, we froze the leftovers. When you are ready to eat, warm them in a microwave or toaster. They are still yummy, delicious, and perfect for a quick breakfast :) 

Enjoy!!! These are so delicious!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Mrs Crafty Cook

Greek Marinated Chicken (Freezer Friendly Recipe)

It’s no surprise that I love Greek food. Hummus, tabuleh, feta cheese, greek salads, all of it! This Greek marinated chicken recipe is an easy way to get my Greek fix anytime! It can be frozen after prep for an easy freezer meal that is at your service when you most need it.

As far as freezer meals go, this one is about average for prep time. I’ve had some that are ridiculously easy and others that make me question why I’m doing it in the first place. This one falls somewhere in the middle, but I’m telling you it was so nice to have it at my disposal… especially since I haven’t been to the grocery store to get any entrée worthy foods lately. 

To start this meal gather up all your ingredients. I love that we aren’t working with too many items for this recipe. It really makes prep fly by. If you visit the blog where I found this recipe (Budget Bytes) you will find prices for all the items used to create this recipe. And as the blog title suggests, it’s a budget friendly meal, which is always a plus in my book. I went ahead and made two freezer meals (doubling the recipe), it just seemed like a no brainer. 

For the marinade mix together, yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a medium sized bowl. Next take your lemon and zest the top layer of skin. If you don’t care for lemon I’d suggest zesting half. If there was one prominent flavor in this recipe it’s definitely the lemon; although, I didn’t feel like that was a bad thing… it’s just that if I made it for company I would tone down the lemon. You also add the juice from about half of the zested lemon to the yogurt mix (again use less if you aren’t into lemon). Go ahead a give it a stir before you add the chopped parsley, then stir again. 

Next add your chicken pieces into a gallon sized freezer bag that you have dated and labeled (include oven temp and cooking time). Equally divide chicken pieces if you double the recipe. Join the marinade to the bag(s) and remove as much air as possible before sealing the bag. You can massage the chicken if you’d like to make sure all the pieces are coated. 

I put my bags in the freezer, but you could use this recipe as soon as 30 minutes. Just keep it in the refrigerator while waiting. Viola! You have a wonderful freezer meal to use when you slack on grocery shopping. ;) 

To cook: thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, add chicken to a 9 X 13 baking dish, and cook for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken registers at 165F on a meat thermometer. But feel free to cook a little longer and get the tops of your chicken golden brown. Nothing better than that crispy skin… even if I only eat a tiny tiny sliver. 

Meal Idea: Serve this freezer friendly meal with a fresh salad, pita bread, and hummus. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Mrs. Crafty Cook

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