Weeknight Meals Made Easy – Living in Yellow

Disclosure: Thank you Walmart and ShopStyle for sponsoring today’s post. All products were selected and loved by me… maybe a little too much considering how many times a day I’m bringing up this slow cooker in random conversations.

Swiss Dot Top [TTS, wearing in L] // Press-On Nails [Wearing in Corally Crazy]

I love cooking! I do! BUT I don’t love feeling like cooking is a big chore. I crave efficiency, even when it’s something I enjoy – and have made it my mission to make meals as effortless (and tasty) as possible. Full transparency – I am not good at meal planning. If you’re looking for a sample calendar to print of meal ideas for the month or week, you’ve come to the wrong place unfortunately. Where I excel, is utilizing what I’ve cooked earlier in the week to make additional meals and time saving hacks!

Allow me to introduce you to 3 of my favorite recent purchases!

First up is this slow cooker! Where do I even begin? I suppose by telling you that everyone who has seen it has said one of two things (sometimes both) — “Wow, that thing is huge!” and “That is the most beautiful slow cooker I’ve ever seen!” It is in fact Beautiful [you really knocked naming your line right outta the park, Drew!], but it’s also got a lot of great features! The removable lid holder is probably my favorite, followed closely by the digital countdown display letting you know exactly how much time is left on your current setting. It’s worth every penny of the $69 normal price tag, but is currently on sale for less than $50 and I suggest purchasing before everyone else does!

Next up in my list of time saving hacks – Shred cooked chicken in literally seconds using a hand or stand mixer! If using a hand mixer, you’ll want to make sure to use a bowl with high sides, otherwise you could end up with little chicken pieces flying all over. Let’s just say the first time I tried this trick I wasn’t aware of that, but my dog was very happy about the chicken treats raining down for her to gobble up. Great hack – just use a deep bowl!

I use kitchen sheers to cut just about everything! They’re honestly probably the most used utensil in my kitchen! The only problem with this, is that every time I want to use them the seem to be dirty in the dishwasher. Good news, the new Beautiful line has a 2-pack available for a GREAT price, and they work like a charm! For the recipe below, I used them to cut the bacon into small bits before cooking.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

My number one rule for making weeknight meals as easy as possible? Make extra meat to use later in the week. [If you’re into this too, check out this post for 6 more meal ideas] This chicken taco recipe is so delicious, and so easy to double or triple for more recipes later in the week!

PRO TIP: Store leftover chicken and juice in your slow cooker for easy soup making later in the week! Once slightly cooled, I just take the crock out of the base and put it in the fridge with the lid on. When you’re ready to make soup, pop it back into the base and you’re ready to add your other ingredients.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

The most delicious, easy chicken tacos!

• 2
  Large Chicken Breasts
• 1
  packet
  Taco Seasoning
• 1
  packet
  Ranch Dressing Mix
• 2
  cups
  Chicken Broth

1. Add all ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Shred chicken, return to juice for 30 minutes on low.

Double the recipe, saving half for another easy meal later in the week. Works great for quesadillas, soups, nachos and casseroles.

Creamy Fiesta Tortellini Soup

I made this soup recipe using the leftover juice and meat from the chicken tacos above. You could definitely use rotisserie or other leftover shredded or cubed chicken. If you do that, I would suggest adding the seasonings from the above recipe to give this soup the same fiesta flavor.

Creamy Fiesta Tortellini Soup

Use shredded chicken for this easy, delicious soup.

• 4
  cups
  Chicken
  Cooked and Shredded
• 5
  cups
  Broth
  Can also use leftover juice from chicken tacos, supplement with water as needed.
• 5
  slices
  Bacon
  Cut and Cooked
• 1
  Tbs
  Butter
• 1
  Tbs
  Flour
• 1
  cup
  Onion
  Diced
• 3
  cloves
  Garlic
  Minced
• 2
  Carrots
  Shredded
• 1/2
  tsp
  White Pepper
  Can substitute Black Pepper
• 1/2
  tsp
  Poultry Seasoning
• 20
  oz
  Tortellini
• 1
  cup
  Heavy Cream
  Can substitute Milk
• 1/5
  cups
  Pepper Jack Cheese
  Shredded or Diced

1. Sauté Onions, Garlic and Carrots in Butter. Once onions are translucent, add flour. Cook an additional 2 minutes.

2. Add sautéd vegetables to slow cooker along with Shredded Chicken, Broth, Bacon, White Pepper and Poultry Seasoning. Cook on High in slow cooker for 2 hours.

3. Add Heavy Cream, Pepper Jack Cheese and Tortellini. Cook on High for 1 additional hour.

As our Director of Operations, Steph is single-handedly responsible for any structure that exists here at LIY. Between communicating with our amazing brand partners, organizing blog content, managing the team, Steph loves organization *almost* as much as she does the latest cookie recipe she came up with from scratch. Give her a puzzle to be put together, a candle to burn and new sprigs of green growing out of her garden, and you’ve just explained the perfect day in Steph’s world.