Its 9:00 pm and feeling exhausted, you are locking up the studio. After a 10 hour day of performance planning, rehearsal scheduling, costume ordering, and teaching, you get in your car and begin to think “Yikes! What can I make for dinner?” Completely spent on energy and creativity, it seems like it will be another night of expensive takeout or preservative-charged frozen meals. I spent many evenings like this after a long day of teaching but I knew something had to change for my wallet and my health’s sake. And that is when I first started experimenting with my crock pot.LanaCrockpot_01-22-14_MAIN

I’ll be honest, I am a foodie who loves to dine and prepare gourmet meals. Braise, sauté, purée, bring it on! So at first, even entertaining the idea of crock pot cooking made me immediately have flashbacks of grandmas, doilies, and some mystery meat floating in cream of vegetable soup.

But dance teachers, crock pots, and their recipes have come a long way and they are perfect for our crazy work schedules. You can prepare everything in the morning before you go to the studio, set the crock pot on low, and come back 8 to 10 hours later to a tasty, healthy, home cooked meal.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and if you like them I definitely encourage you to search cookbooks and the internet for more. Say goodbye to costly takeout and unhealthy frozen meals and hello to healthy home cooked dinners.

 

Until then, teach, inspire, and grow.

[tabs tab1=”BBQ Ribs” tab2=”Pot Roast” tab3=”Easy Baked Potatoes”]

 

[tab id=1]

BBQ Ribs

This recipe is so easy and tastes delicious paired with a crisp green salad. Be sure and buy the country style ribs because they stay more moist and tender in the crock pot than other varieties.

Ingredients

~ 2-3 lbs of country style boneless ribs, frozen or thawed

~ 1 jar of your favorite BBQ sauce

Instructions:

Place ribs in the crock pot and pour enough BBQ sauce over ribs to thoroughly coat them. Set crock pot on low and cook for 8-10 hours.

[/tab]

[tab id=2]

Pot Roast

Ingredients:

Check your grocery store’s spice aisle for a tasty pot roast seasoning to add to your roast.

~ 2-3 lbs boneless chuck roast or beef shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2 inch
pieces
~ 15-20 baby carrots
~ 5 celery stalks chopped into 2 inch pieces
~ 1 lb baby red potatoes, halved
~ 2 cups beef broth
~ 1 pot roast seasoning packet (like Lawrys or McCormicks)

Instructions:

Layer meat in bottom of crock pot. Arrange vegetables on top of meat. In separate bowl, whisk seasoning packet into broth and pour over vegetables and meat. Set crock pot on low and cook for 8-10 hours.

[/tab]

[tab id= 3]

Easy Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

~ 4 russet potatoes
~ Olive oil
~ Kosher salt

Instructions:

Rub potatoes with oil and generously sprinkle them with salt. Wrap each potatoes in a sheet of foil and place in crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Unwrap and top with your favorite toppings.

[/tab]

[/tabs]