If there was an award for the most magical kitchen appliance even invented, the slow cooker would win hands down.

Nothing like being gone all day and having to step into the house wondering what your next play will be. Seriously, sometimes I feel like I need a wipe-off board so I can do a Madden football style huddle. “Ok kids..I am going to run around the laundry and you go out for a long pass…”

I find myself thinking “Dinner? You guys just ATE!” But that is just life. One mess and chaos to the next. Wouldn’t it be nice, for once, walk into the house and have the smell of dinner greet you at the door? Now that is what I am talking about. No, you don’t have to hire someone to come in and cook for you. That is always an option, but not always practical.

With a little bit of prep you can make this dream a reality.This is a great recipe to add in some of your favorite ingredients and who know, maybe even use that left over rice from last night’s dinner!

Because it is cooked in the crock put the mess is pretty minimal. So you can spend less time geting things on the table and more time visiting with those you love around the table! Now That is an All-star Game plan!

If only laundry were this easy!

Here is what Holly from Life in the Lofthouse has to say about this easy to make family favorite.

This is probably one of the easiest soup recipes you’ll ever make AND it’s delicious. So it’s a win win! This is one that you can throw everything in the crock pot before work and just keep it on the warm setting all day. Once you get home just quickly brown up the ground beef and dinner is done. Talk about the best little dinner ever!

GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR LIST OF INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS.

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Quick Tip: Don’t want to have to cook up the ground beef after you get home? Go ahead and buy a big package and cook it up. Divide it into smaller ziplocks and stick in the freezer. Need to make tacos?  Pasta with a meat sauce? Or this soup? BAM! It is cooked and ready. Planning ahead and cooking ahead saves a lot of time in the kitchen. Take it from me. A mom who has raised 6 kids!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Holly at Life in the Lofthouse

The post Want to Avoid the Dinner Rush? Throw this in your Crock-pot and come home to dinner. appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

 This plate is full of flavor without being full of guilt!

Sometimes it is easy to be jealous of someones’ plate. Especially if you are counting calories or carbs!

Trust me I know! I have been dieting my whole life and there is nothing more frustrating than trying to cut back on your calorie intake, knowing that you will not be eating the food you love! Sure, this might mean that the super cheesy sour cream chicken enchiladas don’t take front and center on the menu, but when you add in great options like this salad you won’t even miss it.

I also love that you can have all the ingredients prepped and ready to toss together during the week for lunches. I think one of the things that sabotages alot of our eating is the fact we don’t plan ahead and have food that is healthy ready to eat WHEN we are hungry. As a result we end up just grabbing something from the snack bar, the food truck, drive-thru, or the fridge.

Feel free to customize this recipe to suit your taste and needs. On a Weight Watchers point program? Cut down on the corn and beans and add in bell peppers and spicy pickled carrots.

This is what Erin of Well Plated has to say about her yummy salad.

This Skinny Taco Salad is also ideal for meal prep. Chop the veggies and cook the turkey in advance and store them individually in the refrigerator. Then throughout the week, you can quickly assemble individual portions and add any other toppings you desire.

GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS.

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Quick Tip: If you are taking this salad to work or on your next picnic, consider layering the ingredients with the dressing on the bottom, followed by meat, beans, corn, tomatoes, and then lettuce last. When ready to serve turn it upside down on a plate or bowl.

Recipe and Photo courtesy of Erin at Well Plated. 

The post I’ll Have What She’s Having! appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

Skip the Hamburger Helper! This is just as easy and TWICE as good!

When I was growing up my parents built a cabin near Lake Tahoe. Every weekend, for about a year, we would pile into the old Suburban and head toward the mountains where we “roughed it”.

Part of that was eating our fair share of Hamburger Helper. For being limited on having the luxury of a stocked kitchen, it was pretty darned easy. I mean cook up hamburger, dump the packet if ingredients in the same skillet, add water and simmer until cooked.

I remember sitting on paint cans with our plate of food, under the construction lamp while we were building. One night a moth flew into my plate and tried to do the butterfly stroke out of my dinner.
It must have been one of those childhood traumatizing events because think that was the last time I ever ate Hamburger Helper.EVER.

This recipe looks just like what we used to make out of the box, only better! It is one of those recipe that you can have all the ingredients for as a back up plan.

Heaven knows there are some days that you can use all the help you can get and having a dinner that is easy enough your teens can put together without trashing the kitchen is a huge bonus. Just make sure you are free of flying bugs and you will be amazed at how tasty this One Skillet meal is.

This is what Brittney of The Domestic Geek blog has to say about her creatively genius recipe.

I’ve eaten my fair share of processed food. I actually don’t want to know the percentage of my meals that were microwave ready or found in the freezer section. In fact I loved Hamburger Helpers, who doesn’t? They taste great and they’re super easy to throw together, they’re just not the greatest for you.So I came up with my own Tex-Mex skillet. This recipe is my ode to Hamburger Helper. Just as easy and so much tastier and healthier!

GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS.

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Quick Tip: To really make this a super easy option for those “What are we going to have for dinner?” days. Buy 4 pounds of ground beef and cook all of it up at once. Go ahead and drain, then divide into fourths.

Make your meal out of one of the fourths and put the other three into quart size Ziploc bags and put in the freezer.

Next time you want to make this all you have to do is defrost and you are ready to roll.

Recipe and Photo by Brittney of The Domestic Geek Blog

The post The Easiest Tex-Mex Skillet Recipe This Side of the Rio Grande appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

]]> http://urbanretrorecipes.com/easiest-tex-mex-skillet-recipe-side-rio-grande/feed/ 0 http://urbanretrorecipes.com/5-ingredients-away-fantastic-chicken-dish-perfect-busy-schedules/ http://urbanretrorecipes.com/5-ingredients-away-fantastic-chicken-dish-perfect-busy-schedules/#respond Tue, 11 Jul 2017 05:10:59 +0000 http://urbanretrorecipes.com/?p=1287 The foundation of this dish is unbelievable, as in unbelievably easy….unbelievably delicious! I probably sound like a broken record. If you are too young to know what that is, they are like CDs only really big and if you leave them in direct sun that can get a little melted. Sorry, I guess that it […]

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The foundation of this dish is unbelievable, as in unbelievably easy….unbelievably delicious!

I probably sound like a broken record. If you are too young to know what that is, they are like CDs only really big and if you leave them in direct sun that can get a little melted.

Sorry, I guess that it a bit off topic – SQUIRREL!

But the point I am making is cooking more than you need in order to use it later. For example, this is a great recipe to double, then cut up the chicken and make chicken enchiladas for later in the week or for a few weeks down the road. If you are limited on freezer space, go ahead and cube up chicken and put into quart sized zip lock bag to use later.

Everything you can do ahead will save you time, energy and even financially later so try to think ahead. Cook Once, east twice isn’t just a nice sentiment, it is a lifestyle.

This is what Kimber from The Pinning Mama has to say about her creative dish.

I will admit that I eat nachos far more than I probably should.  I do try to pack them full of healthy extras to justify it, like corn, black beans, avocado, fresh cilantro, and tomatoes.  Doesn’t that sounds delicious?  So why stop there?  I mean the nachos are good because of all the stuff topping them, so why not take all that good stuff and bake it with some tender, juicy chicken breast? BINGO!  The Queso Chicken Bake was born!

GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS.

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Quick Tip: Go ahead and cut into strips for smaller portion size, dice it up an you have the fixing for an awesome south of the border quesadilla.

Photo and recipe courtesy of  Kimber at The Pinning Mama

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