My husband just read this post and said, “what is it, Leftovers Week”? Sometimes daddies just don’t understand the brilliance of turning one meal into four. If you’ve been tuning in the past few days, you know I make a Chicken in the Crock Pot at least once a week for my family. Without fail, we always have chicken left over, which is a huge bonus for any busy mom. Sometimes I use it to make Mac, Chicken and Cheese Bites or Mexican Enchiladas, but lately I started preparing this chicken salad, and the kids just love to eat it. With just a few slices of vitamin-packed avocado along with some chopped pickles for crunch and a slightly salty flavor, this Chicken Salad Wrap is not only easy to make, but also a great use for cooked chicken. Let’s hear it for Leftovers Week!

Chicken Salad Avocado Wrap (Makes 4 Wraps)‬‬

1 Cup Cooked Chicken (about 1 large chicken breast), cooked and chopped fine
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise or Veganaise
2 Tbsp Parsley
Juice of 1/2 Small Lemon
2 Tbsp Dill Pickle, chopped fine
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 Avocado, Cut into fourths
4 Tortilla Wraps

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix.
2. Warm a tortilla for about 30 seconds on each side (you can do this on top of the stove or in a microwave for 15 seconds in between moist paper towels).
3. Place 1/4 of an avocado, cut into slices, on the half of the tortilla nearest to you.
4. Spread 1/4 cup of Chicken Salad on top of the avocado.
5. Roll the wrap away from you and cut into halves.
6. Serve.

**Letting the salad sit in the fridge for a couple of hours enhances the flavors more and makes it even more yummy!

Pulled pork sandwiches are a popular summer recipe, but these Shredded BBQ Chicken Sammies are a lot healthier and SO easy to make. My family loves BBQ. I eat barbecue sauce on everything from shrimp to chicken to baked potatoes, so it’s no surprise to me that my kids are into it too. I find that once you find a barbecue sauce that your family enjoys (preferably one made without corn syrup), it will become one of your best friends in the kitchen.

As you know from this past Monday’s post, I love whipping up Crock Pot BBQ Chicken for Sunday night dinner. What I didn’t tell you yet is all the great things you can do with the leftovers. I like to shred them for sammies for Monday’s school lunch and for quesadillas on Tuesday. That covers three meals with one easy to prepare recipe. When you’re able to make cooking this easy on yourself AND your family loves what you make, it makes for seriously good times!

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sammies (Serves 4)

2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 Cup Juice from the Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Recipe
Accompaniments: Barbecue sauce, rolls or sandwich buns

1. Using 2 forks or your hands, pull the chicken into bite size pieces.
2. Combine the shredded chicken with the 1/2 cup of juice from the crock pot.
3. Place 1/4 of the mixture on a bun or roll, cover with additional barbecue sauce and serve.

The heat all over most of the U.S. this past week has been oppressive. It’s been so hot here in southern California that the mere thought of turning on my oven to sweat even more while I make dinner holds absolutely no appeal. That’s a drag because it wouldn’t be summertime for our family without barbecue chicken. Thank goodness for one of my favorite pieces of kitchen gear: the crock pot!

Now we get to enjoy BBQ without me having to go outside and stand over the grill in 100 degree heat. All I do is place the chicken and sauce in the pot, coat it well, cover the lid and within 2 1/2 hours I’ve got chicken that’s so juicy and tender you won’t believe it takes so little effort.

I toyed around with making my own barbecue sauce for this recipe, but these days there are so many great zippy and tangy sauces on the market made without corn syrup, that I decided to go with a bottled brand. That saved me even more time. With the kids running around out of school and tons of summer activities to attend, I’d much rather be spending the few free moments I have with the little ones than in the kitchen. And this way, no matter how hot it is outside when you put this Crock Pot BBQ Chicken on the table, everyone inside your house will think you’re cool.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken (Serves 4-6)

4 Chicken Breasts, bone in, skinless
1 Cup Barbecue Sauce ( I use Smokin’ Willie’s)

1. Place the chicken in a crock pot.
2. Pour the barbecue sauce over the chicken and coat the chicken WELL with the sauce.
3. Cook the chicken on low for 2 1/2 hours.
4. Serve.

*Save the juice from the bottom of the pot if you want to make Shredded BBQ Chicken Sammies

Grandparents are the best! Thank goodness for the days when I’m totally overwhelmed and they come to pick Kenya up and take him on an outing. It’s been quite a while since my dad hung out with a 3 1/2 year old, but he’s really stepped up to the plate and surprised me with his love and time playing with his grandson. There have been adventures going to see trains, the zoo and even to the golf course (I think I know who has more fun on that outing). What always accompanies these little jaunts is a meal or two. Quite often when Kenya comes home he’ll have in his hand a half eaten cheese sandwich on the most dreaded, whitest bread I’ve ever seen. There have been trips to the car wash where I’ve later found a pack of half-eaten chewing gum or a 16 ounce bag of sugar coated gum drops (I let out a little squeal of terror when I discovered those). When Kenya came home 2 weeks ago holding a pulled pork taco, I looked at my dad as if he had two heads. “Really dad, you got a 3 year old a pulled pork taco”? I figured there was no way that Kenya would ever want something like that, but my dad had reassured me that this was Kenya’s doing, he had ordered it on his own (oh yeah, blame the kid)! To my amazement though, Kenya sat down at our table and chowed the entire thing in no time flat. He even asked if we could go get another one!

This all leads me to my obsession with recreating the pulled pork from our local taco stand (which is amazing, by the way). What do they put in it to make it taste so good? I finally realized it isn’t the ingredients so much as it’s the WAY they cook their pork. Soft, tender, juicy, it must take hours to get that “fall off the bone” texture. I don’t know whether they use a crock pot, a slow cooker or just a cast iron pan in the oven, but I do know that I’ve now made this dish several times over the past two weeks (I use a slow cooker) and I can’t keep the leftovers around long enough to enjoy them for myself they disappear so fast. The best part is there is next to no work for me except to enjoy my family and the final results!

Thank you to all the grandparents in our lives that are not only nurturing and caring for our precious little ones, but hopefully turning them on to foods and adventures that we may not always have the time to ourselves.

Pulled Pork Tacos (Serves 6-8)

1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Chili Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Salt
1 3 1/2-4 Lb Pork Shoulder, rinsed and cleaned
1 16 oz Jar Mild Salsa (I used Pace Chunky Salsa)
1 Pkg. Tortillas, corn or flour tortillas

Condiments: Salsa, Big Kid Guacamole, cilantro, diced onion, shredded cheese, sour cream

1. Place the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and mix.
2. Place the pork shoulder in the Crock Pot (slow cooker) and rub all over with the seasoning mixture.
3. Pour the jar of salsa around the pork shoulder.
4. Cook on low heat for 8-12 hours.
5. Remove the pork to a plate and using 2 forks, shred the into bite size pieces (I like to remove the visible pieces of fat).
6. Pour a scoop or two of the juices into the pork and stir to combine (If you want to remove the excess fat from the juice you will use, pour it into a cup and refrigerate it until the fat solidifies and can be easily scooped out. Only the juices will remain).
7. Place the pork into the tortillas.
8. Serve with desired accompaniments.

Every Sunday at our local farmer’s market, I buy a whole chicken from the great folks at Healthy Family Farms (we also get our eggs from them). I like to make a Simple Roast Chicken every Sunday, but several weeks ago the farmer that sells the me chickens asked if I had ever tried cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker. I had not. I listened as she told me just how easy it was to prepare, but I was still in disbelief at how simple her description was. No oil? No butter? No broth? Just a few herbs, lemon and salt? Really?! I immediately went home that afternoon and with practically no effort, prepared a chicken that was about as good as any I had ever tasted. My whole family was wide-eyed as we took our first bites — the chicken was moist, tender and juicy and the consistency is almost like pulled pork because the meat literally falls off the bone.

This recipe is embarrassingly simple and incredibly healthy, but the best part is that it essentially cooks itself. There’s almost no work involved, and I love that I can cook a whole chicken and then keep the meat in the fridge to make Weelicious Mac, Chicken and Cheese Bites, Chicken, Bean and Cheese Quesadillas or Chicken and Rice Burritos throughout the week!

Not only did Kenya, our friends, my hubby and I fall in love, but guess who ate more then her fair share of chicken? That’s right, baby Chloe. She was like a little chicken eatin’ machine, putting piece after piece into her mouth.

If cooking a whole chicken has always seemed daunting to you, try this version. It’s so simple, you’ll have a hard time finding reasons not to. Check out this video if you want to see how we did it.

Chicken in a Crock Pot (Serves 4)

1 4 Lb Whole Chicken
2-3 Thyme Sprigs
1 Lemon, cut in half
Salt (preferably kosher salt)

1. Stuff the chicken with the thyme and lemon halves and sprinkle the outside with salt.
2. Place the chicken in a crock pot (also known as a slow cooker).
3. Place the cover on the crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours (3 1/2-4 hours for a 5 pound chicken).
4. Using a meat thermometer, make sure the chicken is cooked to 160 degrees (the times on different slow cookers may vary).
5. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into pieces (this allows the juices to redistribute and the chicken to remain extremely juicy).
6. Serve.
*The skin on the chicken won’t be golden because this is more of a steaming method, but the meat will be outrageously moist, tender and juicy.

Do you have little time, but still want a nutritious, delicious and easy meal everyone in your family will enjoy? Chicken in a Crock Pot only takes minutes to prepare and basically cooks itself. If you’ve never cooked a whole chicken, you have to try this method!

* Make sure to follow the recipe above as the recipe reflects a longer cooking time then the video!

Growing up in Kentucky, we ate a lot of pork. Whether it was bacon, chops or tenderloin, I loved it. My mother was always a healthy cook and considered pork “the other white meat”, and pork tenderloin was one of her favorite things to make.

When you’re looking for a healthy recipe that basically cooks itself, turn no farther than this dish. Just pull out your slow cooker, quickly sear the pork, and place everything in the pot. While you’re running errands, playing with the kids or helping them with their homework, this meal will do all the cooking for you.

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Sauerkraut (Serves 6-8)

1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Oil
2 Pork Tenderloins (about 1 lb. each), trimmed of any fat and silver skin
3 Apples, peeled, cored and sliced in eighths (I use an apple corer)
1/2 Cup Apple Cider
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme or 1 Tsp Dried Thyme
16 oz Sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat.
2. Season the pork with 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Add the pork to a saute pan and evenly brown all sides for a total of 4 minutes.
4. Transfer the apples and remaining ingredients to a slow cooker, stir, and top with the pork tenderloins.
5. Cook on low heat for 2 hours or until pork reaches 155 degrees on a meat thermometer.
6. Remove tenderloins and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Slice the meat and serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Oxo Good Grips Apple Corer and Divider

In my quest for new and interesting flavors for Kenya, I focus in on one flavor and obsess about how I can introduce it to him in order for him to love it, but not be overwhelmed by it. At the same time, I’m always trying to create a dish the whole family can eat (plus leftovers for a few days). This week, chili powder was my focus.
It’s hot, smokey, a little spicey and delicious. Most people wouldn’t dream of a 10 month old liking something so intense, but I feel like babies palates are ready for anything as long as it’s not over powering.
There are 2 tablespoons of chili powder in the recipe which sounds like a lot, but the recipe also serves 16 people! When I say I like leftovers, I mean it. When the chili is finished, I put 2 cups in a Cuisinart and whiz it up for Kenya to have over the next next few days. It’s packed with all the things he needs in his diet.

Vegetarian Chili (Serves 16)

1 16 Oz Cans Organic Chopped Tomatoes
2 32 oz Boxes Vegetable Broth
6 Cups Raw Mixed Beans (Lentils, Yellow Split Peas, White Beans) (If using large beans, soak the night before)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, minced
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
6 Celery Stalks, chopped
6 Carrots, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sweet Paprika
1 Large Bunch Dinosaur Kale, chopped

1. Place the first 3 ingredients in the Crock Pot.
2. Heat olive oil over medium flame and saute onions for 5 minutes. Lower heat if they start to brown. Add garlic and continue to saute another 2 minutes. Pour the onion mixture into the crock pot with the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Cook on high for 12 hours.
4. Serve.

**Allow to cool, place in appropriate container or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or place in pot and heat through under low-medium heat.

I admit, this isn’t exactly a dish that would come to mind when you think of “baby food,” but my little guy sure does love it. Yes, it’s 70 degrees in Los Angeles, which doesn’t make you think of pulling out the crock pot to make a slow roast, but I disagree. Last weekend at the Farmers market I trudged out in the rain (it does rain here once in a while), and realized that I hadn’t purchased the delectable Bison that’s sold there in quite a while. Packed with more protein and Iron than even beef, it’s a perfect meat for everyone in the family. This is one of my favorite 1, 2, 3 dishes that takes little effort and is packed with flavor. As soon as its ready just puree a cup for baby and you can enjoy the rest.

Baby Bourguignon (Serves 6-8)

2 lbs. Bison (or Beef, Preferably Grass Fed, Roast)
1 Onion, chopped
4 Stalks Celery
16 Oz Baby Carrots
1 Bay Leaf
2 Cups Mushrooms, halved
1 14 ounce can Chopped Tomatoes
1 Cup Pomegranate Juice or Wine (only if you’re making for adults only)
2 Cups Water
1 Tbsp fresh Thyme
3 Cloves Garlic
Salt (after you remove portion for Baby)

1. Put all the ingredients in the Crock pot and cover.
2. Set to cook for 6 5-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.
3. Remove 1 cup portion for baby and puree.
4. Salt the dish to taste for adults and serve.

*You may also heat 1 tbsp oil in a saute pan and sear the roast on all sides for several minutes before putting in the crock pot. Do not “cook” it, though.