Sorry everyone!  I realized that I advertised a week of Crock-Pot meals and then didn't deliver.  The closing date on our house changed about 3 times and the short story is that we closed with about 1 day's notice and moved the day after that.  I thought I would have time to perfect some of the recipes I experimented with before actually moving, but that didn't end up being the case. 

I am living in the midst of chaos right now as I try to unpack and paint 2 apartments all at once.  It's not the painting that gets you, of course, it's the washing of the walls, the prepping, the trimming, etc.  That mixed with the fact that I have two tiny ones to take care of, and a non-functional kitchen at the moment makes day-to-day living, well, challenging.  Okay, so my kitchen technically functions.  That is to say, the refrigerator and stove both work and so does the microwave we are currently keeping in the porch.  However, there is barely any countertop space, the stove is teeny-tiny, the cabinets hang too low, and... it's just plain ugly.  We are renovating it ASAP.  Starting tomorrow, actually.  So I haven't unpacked any of my kitchen items or put anything in any of the cabinets. 

Starting work on the upstairs apartment.  Hope to post "before" and "after" pics soon!

On top of the that, our internet wasn't hooked up in our new home until today.  So please excuse my absence.  Today is Day 200.  I can't believe I have been doing this for about 200 days!!!  (Even though I may not technically blog everyday.)  Some of you may know that I am starting my own catering company.  With that, I have a new website that I hope to launch in the fall.  It will have a blog of its own that will still be about cooking, but also about much more.  I figured since I will not be doing as much cooking in the next couple of days or weeks as normal, I may as well use this time to give you a taste of that.  I will still keep track of our meals during this time, but I will also blog about the renovations, the apartment fixing-up, home school preparations, and adjusting to stay-at-home life in general.  I hope you enjoy it!

Slow-Cooker Teryaki Salmon BEFORE it's cooked.

With that, let me give you a brief recap of the past week and a half.  Days 191 through 200 went by with no formal documentation.  I tried some new slow-cooker recipes and some were wildly successful and others were not.  We've done take-out quite a bit in order to help keep my sanity, as well.  During this time, I made a good teryaki salmon meal in the Crock Pot, but I haven't perfected that recipe yet.  There is one recipe, however, that was so good, I made it twice already and had to share it tonight!  I'll call it, Slow-Cooker Chicken Gnocchi.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Gnocchi
If you like chicken gnocchi soup (like, from the Olive Garden) or if you like lemon chicken, this recipe is for you!  And it's so simple!

1 lb chicken breasts (with skin or without)
olive oil
salt, pepper
zest and juice of 2 lemons
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
6 sprigs fresh thyme, de-stemmed
1/2 cup white wine
1 package gnocchi (not frozen)
2 handfuls of fresh spinach

Place the chicken breasts in a greased slow-cooker.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle in some salt and pepper.  Add the zest and juice of 2 lemons and the minced garlic.  Sprinkle in the herbs and add the white wine.  Cook on high for about 3 hours.  When there is about a half hour left in your cooking time, add the gnocchi and spinach.  Cook for the remaining 30 minutes.  Serve immediately.

I've been "trapped" in this house for the past week, devoting my days to painting.  It's fun, I love this kind of stuff, but it hasn't felt like "me" because I haven't been doing anything that I usually do.  I haven't been able to cook the way I want, I haven't been able to blog, and I'm in new surroundings and even sleeping on the opposite side of the bed--with new sheets!!!  Nothing feels familiar.  But tonight I went to a Pampered Chef party and spent time with some wonderful lady friends of mine and I think I laughed most of the night.  I finally felt like me again.  And it felt good to put on something other than painting clothes.  I'm glad to be back to blogging hope to be sharing new recipes from a nice, new kitchen shortly!  I'll keep you updated on how the renovation is going and other things.  It's sad that summer is flying by so quickly, I hope you all have a fantastic new few weeks of summer!