When I think back to my childhood I think about parents who both worked full time and lived busy lives but I also think about the fact that every night there was dinner cooked and on the table by like 5:30 or 6:00pm at the latest and sometimes I am extremely perplexed by this concept. I just don't know how my mom and dad did it. Really I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done that I want to and we are yet to have kids. I think about what life will be like when we have kids running around and I am trying to juggle all of that. My desire would be to have dinner at a normal time and kids in bed by 8pm (now i know some might think this is crazy but multiple families that I nanny for achieve this nightly so it is my goal when the time comes as well).
How do you moms manage to make this happen? Do you have any tips or tricks?
Brandon and I both work Monday-Friday and 3 of the 5 days of the week I am not getting home until 8:30pm at the earliest due to my work schedule and Brandon is not getting home until close to 11pm due to his. So while I would love to rely on my husband to be home to get dinner ready so we can eat at normal human time that is not the case. We are busy people and life is only going to get more busy as the days go on so I am all about hearing some tips and tricks to keeping organized and making life a little easier. I realize that while not every night I will be able to have dinner done by 7pm I would at least like to know that we can count on home cooked meals those nights rather than eating out because I am scrambling at the last minute to make something happen.
Do you have a go to meal prepping plan that you use? How often do you make crockpot meals? Do you find yourself repeating your meals that you make often? How do you budget for groceries and what makes you effective when it comes to grocery shopping and not feeling like you have broken the bank? Help a girl out in getting more organized and achieving this goal of not eating out every
night and feeling like I am providing my family with good quality food.
Today before I went into work (it is my late day) I decided to put one of my very favorite soups together in the crockpot. I am all about simplicity but I need things to taste good (Brandon is the pickiest person I have ever met. The man doesn't like potatoes 95% of the time, he hates pasta, chicken, peas, and probably 100 other things I am forgetting to name so it makes making meals a little difficult at times. As much as I try there are just days many days that I end up making dinner that includes things he does not like and he can make the decision not to eat if it is that bad). I consider myself to be a pretty good cook so it is not that the food is bad I promise.
Okay anyways back to what I was saying..... Today I decided to make Loaded Baked Potato Soup and it was AMAZING! So I decided I would share my recipe with everyone.
Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup
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Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup Ingredients:
- 2.5 - 3lbs russet potatoes washed but not peeled. Cut into 1/2in cubes (approx.) **
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic (this can change depending on your preference) I used the preminced garlic you can buy in a jar to be honest cause who has time to do that themselves.
- 40oz chicken broth (1 box & 1 regular size can)
- Can of cream of chicken soup (this is also optional but I think it adds delicious flavor)
- 16oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
- Optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, green onions
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Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup Directions:
- Add potatoes, onions, garlic, seasoning, chicken broth & cream of mushroom soup to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Add softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese and puree soup with an immersion blender until the cheese is incorporated and about half the soup is blended. (If you do not have an immersion blender you can remove half the soup and the cream cheese to an upright blender, than re-incorporate).
- Stir well and top with your choice of garnish.
** You can add additional potatoes if you like a more chunky soup
Yields 10-12 servings (This made enough for both of us to eat a large bowl for dinner, have enough for lunch tomorrow as well as to freeze the rest for a whole other meal)
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