Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Welcome to 31 Days of Slow Cooking

#write31

Right now, I’m feeding not only my family but also my mom.  Since I get home at 4:30 and dinner needs to be on the table for Hubby between 5 and 5:10, the easiest way to cook dinner is by cooking it in the slow cooker.  I know that we are going to have a healthy meal.  The majority of the meals if not all of them will not have any cream of whatever soup in them.

Now if I could only get my 13 year old from being so picky about what he eats, the slow cooking process for our dinners would be perfect.  However, there are many times he ends up eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of what we eat.  (He has food aversions which can be difficult to work around.  When it’s something I know he won’t eat, I’ll tell him to make the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I do have him eat deconstructed meals at time.  Or I have him eat what I cooked.  It all depends.)

Any who, I’m going to be sharing recipes and tips and tricks for the slow cooker throughout the month of October 2016.  This is my second year participating in the Write 31.  Last year, I had so much fun with sharing slow cooker recipes so I’m doing it for a second time.

Also during October, I’m going to be preparing the majority of my meals using the slow cooker.  I find that October is a busy time for us so it’s a good time to pull out the slow cooker.

Disclaimer:  We’ve tested out the recipes prior to the month.  So not only am I going to share the recipes, I’ll be sharing throughout October.

Here is a list of the recipes and other blog posts for this month:
(These are subject to change.)

• Introduction to Write 31, 2016, Review of last year’s Write 31
  
• Equipment that I use at my house
  
•  Slow Cooker Granola (2 separate blog posts)
• Peach BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
•  Coca Cola Ranch Wraps
  
• Sloppy Joes
•  Ranch Chicken Tacos
  
• Chicken Corn Soup
• Veggie Beef Soup
• Secret Recipe Club (Maybe a Brief Intermission from the Slow Cooking Meals)
• Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
• Barbecue Pork Chops
• Crockpot Meatloaf
• Coca Cola Ham
• Honey and Apple Pork Roast
• Cafe’ Rio Chicken

• Beef and Noodles
• Balsamic Pork Roast
• Chinese Pot Roast
• Cranberry Chicken
• Apple Pie Pork Chops
• Cashew Chicken
• Johnny Marzetti (My mom’s favorite childhood meals)
• Lemon Bars
• Peach Cobbler
• Freezer Meals
• Other Crockpot Meals from my blog that can be freezer meals
• Bulk Cooking Hamburger
• Tips and Tricks
• Other Blogs with Crockpot Recipes
• Secret Recipe Club and a Wrap Up of the Month (2 Separate blog posts)

Here is a link to last year’s Write 31.

Social Media

You can follow me during the #write31 via:

Yummly

A year ago, I made the decision to restart using my blog.  It’s been a roller coaster year but I am glad I made that decision.

 

#Secret Recipe Club

Every month, I’m assigned another blog to check out.  After checking out their blog, I’m to find a recipe to make, photograph, and then post.  Since I’m in group B of the secret recipe club, I post my Secret Recipe Club on the second Monday of each month.  

This month I’ve been assigned to Lemon and Cheese.  Nicola is a librarian in London.  She enjoys lemon and cheese hence the name of her blog.  

Nicola has a list of books that are related to cooking.  The list contains both fiction and nonfiction books.  So if you want to read a book related to food or cooking, check out her list.

The Recipe that I Choose

I enjoyed looking through Nicola’s blog.  I finally decided on a Cajun chicken pasta dish.   My mom is currently staying with me so I’m trying to find dinners that everyone will enjoy.  While I was cooking up the chicken, she was cutting up the bell peppers and onions.for me.  The Imaginative One only wanted to eat the plain pasta and the Wee One wanted to eat only the chicken.  The three adults in my family ate and loved the dish.

I made a few small adaptations from the recipes.  I added some cheddar cheese to the dish before serving it.  Since my mom was helping with cutting the veggies, I had her dice the onions and peppers instead of cutting them into slices.  I also left the second pepper out because Hubby is not a big bell pepper fan.

Thank you Nicola for a great recipe!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Stars of the recipe:

• 2 large chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• 1 box small pasta
• 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Steps:

1. Place the chicken in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. of the Cajun seasoning.  Toss the chicken to coat.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Cook the pasta as directed on the box.
3. Meanwhile, heat the pan over medium heat.  Add the oil.
4. Saute’ the chicken until lightly browned and cooked through.  Set the chicken asie.
5. Add the onions and peppers to the the pan.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Set the onions and peppers aside.
6. Turn down the heat to medium low.  Add the tomatoes, 1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning, and the cream cheese cut into smaller pieces.
7. Stir the sauce until the cream cheese has melted into the tomatoes and had created a creamy sauce.
8. Add the chicken and veggies back into the pan.  Stir until combined.
9. Add the pasta into the sauce.  Stir until combined.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
10. Serve!

 Other Recipes

Other recipes that I found interesting on Nicola’s blog.

Oatmeal Brownie Bars

Chocolate Mug Cake

White Bean, Mint, and Lemon Dip

Zesty Macaroni Salad

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

For more Secret Recipe Club recipes, click on the blue frog.

Let’s connect on social media:

Instagram – @Believeinthemagictraci
Facebook – @imhungry15
Pinterest – @imhungry75
Yummly

I hope you have a great day.  Thanks for reading my blog post.  

Happy eating,
Traci

This post has also been linked up to Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday.