Living on Less – A Slow Cooker Meal for a Busy Day

Are you feeling a little crazy with all of the things you have to get done for Christmas?  Between the gift buying, parties and trying to keep up with the normal tasks of work, home and family, you may be tempted to eat out a lot at this time of year.  Instead, when you have a stressful week, plan a few slow cooker meals. 

Planning ahead helps to keep the costs down during the holidays as eating home is cheaper and many times healthier.  These recipes are for a simple meal and perhaps aren’t as frugal as some recipes that I use, but they are satisfying and can be used for company.  In the end after a long day of work or shopping, it feels good to come home to a meal that is ready, except for the salad and the vegetable. 

I own two slow cookers, as do a lot of people I know, so in this menu I used one for the main dish and one for the dessert.  Enjoy.

Savory Chicken and Potatoes

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 to 5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can golden mushroom soup or cream of mushroom soup

½ teaspoon dried marjoram

Arrange onion slices in bottom of the slow cooker; add potatoes, then chicken. Spread soup over the top; sprinkle with marjoram.  Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours until chicken and potatoes are tender.  Makes 4 to 6 servings. 

Serve the chicken and potatoes with some steamed broccoli. 

Simple Apple salad

The base of this salad consists of:

4 to 5 apples, diced (leave peels on)

Raisins – add as much as you like

To this you can add some chopped celery or grapes or some grated carrots or pineapple tidbits or mandarin oranges – whatever you like.  Then make a dressing of some Miracle Whip sweetened with about 2 teaspoons of sugar and thinned with a little milk.  Pour over the apple mixture, mix and serve. 

Triple Chocolate Delight

1 – 18 oz. pkg. chocolate cake mix

1 – 3.9 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix

2 cups sour cream

1 cup water

½ cup oil

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients well and pour into a greased slow cooker.  Cook for 6 to 8 hours on low.  Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.