Crock Pot Magic!!!!

First of all, I'm going to start this post with a big ol' shout out to the hubby.  This man is really something.  Every day he wakes up before me (I'm not really a morning person), takes his shower, gets dressed and starts working on the morning duty of packing lunches for both girls and starting breakfasts for all three girls... including me.  Today, he really stepped up his game and made me a breakfast that I SO should have taken a picture of because it was INSANE.  It's a highlight of my morning to get served something so amazingly satisfying and nutritious without me having to lift a finger.  Today it was an omelette filled with some leftover diced up pork, spinach, and peppers.  On the side was some sliced avocado and tomato.  Then, in a small bowl was cut up strawberries with walnuts and some shredded unsweetened coconut sprinkled on top.  THEN... he had my cup of tea steeping (with a plate on top, as to keep it hot) at my spot at the table waiting for me when I came down.  Honestly, how did I win that lottery???  It was a gorgeous spread on a normal Tuesday morning.  In hindsight, it's a good thing he did it because I had to physically restrain one of my students for a good 30 minutes today while he kicked and thrashed to keep him from running out of the school into the neighborhood like he did last time.  I bet it was the extra blast of coconut at the end that kept the firm hold.  HAHAHA!  (It's not funny, I realize that... but seriously I have to keep a sense of humor or else I'll lose my mind.)  The joys of being a school-teacher.  So moving on...

So here you have it... crock pot magic.  I am having kind of a crazy/busy week so I knew easy dinners were going to be a must.  When I did my meal planning I planned on some form of taco salads/taco boats for tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday).  Tonight was volleyball (WHOO HOO!) and tomorrow I offered to work for an hour at a local "fast food" place called Burgerville as a fundraiser for our school.  Now, truth be told... if I was like McTeacher Night or something like that, I probably wouldn't have gotten on board.  But of all the "fast food" places I know of, Burgerville is a little different.  They buy locally sourced food if possible and they have definitely made an effort to be a different kind of fast food.  Here is a quote from their website:  "Burgers here are made from pastured vegetarian-fed and antibiotic-free beef. The eggs on our breakfast biscuits are from cage-free hens that have never been treated with antibiotics. Salads offer mixed greens topped with smoked salmon and Oregon hazelnuts. Even desserts and sides rely on seasonal, local ingredients - blackberry milkshakes are only available in season, as are the hand-prepared buttermilk-battered onion rings made from Walla Walla sweet onions grown in Washington and Oregon."   I have to believe it.  Their food is better and I would feel pretty okay about my kids eating here as a treat.  (They also have pretty impressive employee benefits and put a heavy emphasis on being environmentally sound.  Anyway, enough about that... I'm busy.  I didn't get home till a bit later tonight and tomorrow I'll be even later.  Thursday will be late and then it'll blissfully be Friday.  So the plan was pork chops last night (check), today I planned on the crock pot salsa chicken.  I wanted there to be enough for lunches and dinners for two days.  This is honestly the BEST "recipe" in the world because you don't have to prepare ANYTHING ahead of time, and more often than not, you have EVERYTHING you need to throw in there without any planning.  Here's how it goes:

1. Take out as many chicken breasts from the freezer that you want.  I buy ours in bulk at Costco.  It's bonkers how much chicken we eat.  Anyway, today I took out five pretty good size chicken boobs and put them in... wait for it... FROZEN into the crock pot.  Seriously... frozen.  It's magical.  You don't even have to remember to take anything out of the freezer!
2. Then you cover the boobs with salsa.  Today I did a mix of verde and regular (whatever you have on hand!!!).  I probably did about 32 ounces?  I used Herdez salsa verde and mild Herdez regular salsa.  I went with neither spicy so the girls would eat it too.  You can always add spice in the form of fresh sliced jalapenos or hot sauce after the fact.
3. Then sprinkle (generously) with Cumin and coriander and I had some Goya "Adobo" seasoning with cumin added.  I put that on it too. 
4. Swoosh around the chicken so it mixes it all up a little bit and set it on low. 

It took about 4 minutes from start to finish including taking the crock pot out of the corner cupboard.  I came downstairs at 6:25 A.M., ate my beautiful breakfast, drank my tea, and as the hubby was plopping the chicken and salsa into the crock pot, I came in and seasoned with the cumin, coriander, garlic, and adobo... swooshed around, covered and VOILA... out the door by 6:55 A.M..  THAT'S ALL!!!!  Tonight at about 5:00 I came home and the hubby was sautee-ing some peppers and onions so I took off the lid of the crock pot, shredded up the chicken (which happens VERY easily), and then I left the lid off for a bit because it still had quite a bit of liquid, but it was FINE.  So our dinner was mini romaine boats with sauteed onions and peppers, shredded "dobi" (that's what my youngest daughter called it after hearing "adobo") chicken, diced tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.  They're pretty much like lettuce tacos and this mini romaine they're carrying at Costco right now has really stole my heart.  Taco night is one of my favorite regular meals.  I LOVE Mexican flavors and this one REALLY fits the bill.  I would probably devour quite a few tortilla chips if they were THERE... but if they're not, I really don't miss them.  I also love shrimp tacos in the romaine boats.  Well, I love all kinds of tacos... seriously... very equal opportunity here.  I even LOVE taco salad... I'm having visions of avocado dressing for tomorrow night, but chances are good I might have to let that go because I won't have time.  This particular round of shredded chicken tastes so much like Chipotle or something like that (their burrito bowls are FANTASMIC).  So try the crock pot magic.  And if you don't have a crock pot, WHY NOT???  They're absolutely incredible.  I have always loved the idea of a crock pot and have discovered some really exceptional recipes that work really well in here.  My aunt makes this macaroni and cheese in the crock pot that is PAINFULLY good.  Some day that I'm planning to really go "off the plan," I PLAN on eating that stuff.  I've made it a couple times for some school crock pot pot-lucks and everyone FREAKS for it.  There is absolutely NOTHING redeeming about it and it is sleazy and disgusting... and magical.  It is honestly something that my mac-n-cheese dreams are made of.  I don't care what people say, it doesn't matter how long you do this paleo gig, some things are just plain good and you just ignore the hell out of all the shitty processed stuff because sometimes, SOMETIMES you just want somethin' sleazy and ooey-gooey.  Until you get the urge to completely buck the common sense, try the shredded chicken, it's delicious and freaky-clean.  (Just make sure your salsa doesn't have added sugar... it's SHOCKING how many add sugar in some variety.)  

My belly was filled with:

Breakfast:  The incredible feast described above courtesy of my beau.

Lunch:  Leftover pork chop, brussel sprouts, and roasted carrots (I'll have to tell you more about these later... they're SO GOOD) and a grapefruit.

Dinner:  Shredded chicken crock pot magic taco boats.

One reason I'm loving this whole blogging thing... it keeps my hands and my mouth out the kitchen for after-dinner snacky-sweets.  Even fruit late in the evening is just kind of a sugar substitute.  I've also realized that... I would substitute one bad habit for another one.  Instead of having a little ice cream or cookie, I would have an apple with almond butter.  Is it the worst thing in the world for me?  No... Did I need it?  No... So I'm trying to stop with the after-dinner "splurging."  Not needed and if I can keep myself busy doing something else, I'm not hungry and I can go to bed excited about whatever breakfast wonder I have to look forward to on the following morning.  I can enjoy it that much more knowing I didn't have that "extra" thing the night before.  YAHOO for self-reflection.  hehe... Happy Tuesday... Hopefully Wednesday I won't have to hold anyone down unless I want to.