Chicken tortilla soup!

A go to favorite around these parts is Chicken Tortilla Soup!
Since I do LOVE my crock pot, I usually throw things in in the morning and and viola! finished and ready to serve in the morning. But the other day we had all been out running around- grocery shopping- and 6pm rolled around when the kids started to melt down and hunger melt downs kicked in.

-Side note----- Why is it that one goes grocery shopping to get food for dinner and by the time ones arrives back home with said food, one is entirely to exhausted to make any of what was just bought?! Tell me I'm not the only one guilty of this!
Ok, back to my woo's about hunger melt downs. As I was saying, this soup is often requested at our house and ALL 5 of us enjoy it! WORD. All 5! I will include the crock pot recipe and the 'got to eat in 10 minutes before I waste away to nothing' recipe.


Crock pot for 5 with left overs:
- A few handfuls of cooked shredded chicken ( I usually cheat and get one of those rotisserie chickens from the store and use some of that yummy meat)
- A cereal bowl full of mixed dry beans that I have soaked over night before adding. I use whatever is on hand but like black beans.
- 1 Can of diced tomatoes. I use plain because of the kiddos but you can use a can the ones that have diced chili in them if you like more kick!
- 1 packet of dried mild taco seasoning.
- 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup- optional, just makes it more creamy.
- Water to cover everything.
- A handful of chicken bullion cubes or a few cans of chicken stock.
- Handful of frozen corn.
Cook on low for 8 hours or so and serve with shredded cheese, smushed up tortilla chips, and sour cream!
BAM!

Must eat like yesterday recipe- for 5
Stove top- 1 large can of canned chicken chunks ( I use Sam's club brand)
1 can of corn
1 can of condensed cream of chicken
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1/2 packet of mild taco seasoning
Water
Bring to a boil, cool down, and garnish. 10 minutes and done. I have also added a handful of uncooked instant rice before boiling to soup. Delish!

Lasagna slow cooker

Slow Cooker Lasagna
This is one of our favorite recipes that I blogged about last year...

I'm in love with my slow cooker. So much in fact that my honey bought me a new fancy one for Christmas to go along with old faithful. Since I'm a nurse who works 12 hour shifts and has a young family, I love my slower cooker even more! Tonight I tried lasagna. I have always been a little nervous about cooking noodles and other "oven" type meals in my cooker. My thought was that the noodles would get over cooked and soggy. Not true. I was so impressed! With a little more prep than my average Crock Pot meal, it turned out to be a winner with everyone in my family of 5.

What you'll need:
1 lb of ground meat cooked- we used buffalo
1/2 onion, diced to hide
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
handful of frozen mixed veggies- to make me think we are healthy!
2 cans of your favorite pasta sauce- we used canned Hunt's
garlic, basil, house blend- to season to your families taste
1 1/2 C of Ricotta cheese, give or take
1 1/2 C cottage cheese
3 handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 can of water- mix in with sauce
1 box non cook lasagna noodles

1. Cook your meat. I added the garlic, onion and spices. Since we used Buffalo meat there was no need to drain fat, but do so if needed. 2. Add pasta sauce and all other veggies. 3. Simmer for a few minutes while you spray your slow cooker with non stick spray. 4. While sauce is still simmering, mix all cheese ingredients in a different bowl. This all should take less than 10-15 minutes. I already had cooked the meat and it was actually a left over. 5. Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker. Then a layer of your uncooked non bake noodles. Then I did- sauce again, cheese mixture, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles... until I ran out of noodles and other stuff. 6. Top last layer with sauce and a few handfuls of mozzarella cheese. 7. Bake on low for 3-5 hours or until noodles are soft. You can add more or less to this recipe- that's the fun.

YUM!