soccer mom suppers :: simple recipes

With soccer season upon us, it’s a great time to put that slow cooker to use! So far it’s not quite cool enough here to have soup. Although that is my favorite when we’ve been out in the cold and our noses’ and toes’ are all frozen. For now we’re doing simple suppers like roast and potatoes, chicken to go with salad, and sometimes even breakfast for dinner. Here are a few of my favorites from around the web as well as some at the bottom that I’ve been making for ages.

This roast recipe, which was shared earlier this year on SIMPLE, is delicious and really easy to make. When I make it I use any kind of roast that I can find on sale and add potatoes, onions, carrots, and whatever else happens to be in the fridge.

Sausage-Egg Breakfast Casserole and Grits – We are big fans of brinner (breakfast for dinner), although sometimes I use bacon instead of sausage.

Chicken and Salad – I don’t use the browning sauce (as suggested in the recipe). For the salad, I usually use one of the prepackaged spinach kits.

Chicken & ‘Taters with Browned Butter Broccoli (or Beans)
Okay so the picture is of a grilled pork chop. I realize that, but I didn’t have a picture of the chicken. The pork chop was really good, too. Just rub it with hamburger seasoning (whaaa?) and grill. Easy Peasy! (But not as easy to get on the table quickly).

This is one of my absolute favorite slow cooker meals to make. So simple and so full of flavor. It does require 2 slow cookers and about 10 minutes of work at the end of the process (for the veggies to finish cooking). But I can generally walk in the door and have it all ready to serve in about 15 minutes. The prep time isn’t a lot for any of these either. Maybe 20-30 minutes total.

Cheesy Bacon Chicken
This isn’t a particularly pretty dish, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in taste! You’ll need to either butterfly 6 chicken breasts or pound them until they’re about 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle one side of the chicken with salt and pepper. Then add a few thin slices of ham and a slice of muenster cheese. Roll chicken jelly-roll style and then wrap with a slice (or 2) of uncooked bacon. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 170º.

Taters
Sometimes I do sweet potatoes, sometimes I do regular baking potatoes. The process is the same either way. Use your favorite oil (I favor olive or sunflower) to rub down the potatoes. Add a few simple seasonings. For the sweet potatoes, I usually use a tiny bit of brown sugar and cinnamon. For the regular potatoes, I often use a little salt and pepper. Wrap them up in tin foil and pop them all in the slow cooker. Cook them on low for about 8 hours or high for about 4ish hours. Make sure you have all those yummy toppings to make them really “healthy”! You know, things like butter and cheese and sour cream and (more) bacon. Or you can mash them up and

Browned Butter Broccoli (or green beans)
Have you ever cooked with browned butter? Oh my stars! Why did no one ever tell me about this before??? I honestly thought it would be a lot more difficult than it actually was, but it’s simple and absolutely delicious! Start by adding butter to your pan. Just real, regular butter. Not margarine or oleo or any of those other kinds of non-butter butters. Let it start to heat up. Let it almost come to a boil and make sure you’re stirring it round and round. Watch as it goes from white-yellow to (you guessed it) brown. Once you start seeing it break down a little bit, pull it off of the heat. (If you want to add sliced or slivered almonds, now would be the time). Now add either steamed broccoli or steamed green beans. (Both of those can be cooked ahead of time). Once you’ve coated all of the veggies, put it back on the burner for a few minutes until they’re warm.