Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Cup

I have a new passion – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say addiction – for single serve, microwave desserts in a cup.  This is absolutely the most brilliant invention ever.  It's quick - from the decision to make it, to eating is less than five minutes.  It's easy - all you need is a measuring spoon and a mug, really; and it leaves no more mess behind than that, either, and no extras to store.  And it's delicious!  It is easily as good as most storebought cookies, and better than many homemade ones I've tried.

This particular recipe is the first one I tried, and while it is not perfect, it is easy to try, and quite good enough to hook me!

Lilypad Silicone Lids

Alright, so this blog is usually recipes and other direct cooking how-to's.  However, this is seriously the neatest kitchen "doohicky" I have ever come across, so I am making an exception.

Slow Cooker Thieves' Pork Roast

This is a recipe I actually made up on the fly this morning!  Yesterday I made a large batch of Thieves' Oil Concentrate, and it smelled so very delicious, that today I used the basic ingredients as the foundation of this recipe...  and it was every bit as delicious as it smelled!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

This was amazingly tasty, and had me drooling in anticipation all afternoon — it smells divine while cooking!  It's also quite filling; we were each happy with a 1/2 chicken breast portion, served with lemon-butter dressed steamed broccoli.

Slow Cooker Bacon Ranch Chicken

This was incredibly delicious!  It was a bit on the salty side, though.  I found a recipe for making your own ranch dressing mix, and I am planning to make my own, with much less salt.  In the meantime, I just added more sour cream and that improved the overly saltiness.

Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops with Potatoes

Second only to the Slow Cooker Honey-Butter Chicken Bake, I think this is my favorite of the freezer-to-crockpot recipes I've tried so far.  There was a lot of liquid, though; next time I may try reducing the soup and ranch mix to one each, at least for 4 pork chops.

Slow Cooker Tangy Barbecue Ribs

The first few bites I took of these ribs did not really impress me, as they have a very tangy, slightly bitter taste, but as I ate them, the taste really grew on me, and I decided I really enjoyed them by the end.

I served them with spaghetti squash with tomato sauce.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce

This is a simple, tasty, and extremely healthy side dish that goes well with almost anything.

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

As usual with the spicier/Southwestern recipes, I was not a huge fan, but Jess adored it.

I served it over rice, with baked veggies – rough cut zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and thinly sliced mini red and orange sweet peppers, tossed with olive oil and thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil and dill and baked at 350 F for about half an hour.  I think it might have been better as the original recipe's alternate suggestion: with cheese as quesadillas. 

Slow Cooker Honey-Butter Chicken Bake

This is probably my favorite of the slow cooker meals we've done so far.  The seasoning is amazing – I was afraid I wouldn't like it because of the honey, but it isn't overpowering at all.

For a freezer-to-crockpot version, I would probably use small new potatoes whole (potatoes can go icky in the freezer if cut and not covered with sauce), and would package the chicken and veggies separately, since they are seasoned differently.