Crockpot Happiness

I absolutely love cooking, but I don't have as much time for it as I used to. Since I spend most afternoons and evenings teaching piano and voice lessons, I am always looking for recipes that can be made quickly or in the crockpot, but are still healthy. That isn't easy to find since most quick recipes rely mainly on convenience foods (ie. high fat, high calories and lots of other crud.) Before we had Sam, I used to buy mainly organic and all natural. That isn't always possible now that we live on one income, BUT I still read labels and regulate the amount of chemicals, preservatives and added sugars in our food.
My grandma got me this wonderful crockpot cookbook for Christmas called "Make It Fast, Cook It Slow" by Stephanie O'Dea. You can check out her blog. All of the recipes are inexpensive, healthy and full of fruits and veggies. Last night, I made these chicken tacos and they were wonderful. Pedro and I each ate 4. I threw in diced green peppers and carrots in addition to the traditional taco toppings so I didn't feel so bad eating that many. We both had taco salads for lunch today and I still have enough of the taco meat left over to make Tortilla Soup tonight. Yum!
Right now, I am making homemade yogurt in the crockpot. We all love yogurt in this house. I buy it by the tub because Samson eats it every morning. I've always been intrigued and impressed by people who make their own yogurt, but the process seemed too fussy for me. Making it in the crockpot has been a breeze. I added in a packet of unflavored gelatin at the end to make up for using low-fat milk instead of whole and I think I'll also stir in a packet of vanilla pudding mix. I can't wait to taste it tonight.


P.S. My sweet boy is back to normal today. He took a 3+ hour nap yesterday afternoon and then slept his usual 12 hours last night. I think he was exhausted from the long week of parties and family.