Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

I have been struggling to cook during the week because after we get home from work and daycare pick-up, 1) I have very little energy to decide what to make and actually cook and 2) time is short. By the time I cook something and we eat it, it can be way past Leela's bedtime. I'm trying to plan things ahead of time, so I looked up making baked potatoes in the slow cooker. I found a couple different "recipes" but I went with one that said coat the potatoes in oil, cover in foil and cook on low for 8-10 hours. So I did that in the morning before leaving for work - six potatoes with oil in foil in our crock pot. When I got back at the end of the day, they weren't cooked enough - still a little bit hard. So I'm going to call it a fail.

I don't think I'd want to try a weekday high temperature setting. The recipe for the high setting was to cook for 6 hours so I think the potatoes would get overcooked for our 10+ hours away.

Indian Summer Stew: Butternut Squash, Coconut, and Lentil Stew

I had the ingredients for this Butternut Squash, Coconut, and Lentil Stew laying around and decided to make it.
I was a little confused about when to add the tempered spices - I added it before the split peas were done, but it still turned out pretty good. I didn't have a roma tomato, so I used about a cup of tomato sauce that was in the freezer. I also added about a cup of frozen green peas for our pea-loving munchkin. I did think it took a bit longer than the recipe says to cook the yellow split peas/lentils.
I liked the flavors. It was subtly sweet because of the squash, coconut and sugar, but I think that highlighted the spices - turmeric, cumin, mustard, and chili. We had it with rice and Ebon didn't eat a ton, but Leela liked it - at least the first time. She wasn't a fan of leftovers the next day.

Lentil and Sweet-Potato Stew

Another meal I'm making for someone else! This Lentil and Sweet Potato stew caught my eye while looking for a vegetable stew to make for a friend. I had some sweet potatoes I needed to use and wanted to include beans or lentils to make the stew hearty.
My modifications were to use a large parsnip instead of the carrots and instead of the green beans and diced tomatoes I didn't have, I just used a cup of frozen green peas and a cup of crushed tomatoes.
The curry powder I used came from India. My sister got it for me on her honeymoon and it's the first time I'm using it. It is labeled Maharaja Curry. I'm not exactly sure what region she got it in, but it really added a lot of flavor to the stew.
Overall this turned out pretty good, but I would definitely use the diced tomatoes next time.

Aloo Gobi

I made this Aloo Gobi/Cauliflower and Potato dish the other night. Of course I modified it, but I was really happy with how it turned out. Ebon on the other hand, didn't like it as much. I think he prefers Indian food that has more of a gravy/sauce.
My modifications, I opted not to make the ginger/garlic paste and used dried ginger instead with some water and a few cloves of smashed garlic.
If I were to make this again, I'd cut the potatoes a little bigger and I think I'd use/make the ginger garlic paste. After looking at more of the recipes from the Food Network's star's show I think I'll make it soon for some other dishes.

Bread Salad with Sweet Peppers and Onions

I signed up on MealTrain to make a meal for another friend who just had a baby. Having just had a party, we had some leftovers that needed to be used up. I found a Bread Salad recipe that was just the ticket.
Since it's not really grilling season, I cut up a red pepper, an orange pepper, and a white onion (what I had on hand) in large chunks, tossed them in a bowl with olive oil and roasted them in the oven on a baking sheet. I made seasoned croutons from a baguette by tossing cubed bread in a bowl with olive oil, some salt, pepper, dried oregano, and garlic powder and then adding those to the oven on another baking sheet.
I put everything together according to the recipe, but excluded the chives since I didn't have any on hand and didn't add the bread since I was making this ahead of time. I also added some sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and pre-cooked, sweet Italian-style chicken sausages cut up in chunks to give the meal a little more heft.
I really liked the dressing/spices that were added it gave it a unique flavor - from my little taste-test.
The family told me that they liked the meal - so yay!

Couscous Salad with Dates and Almonds

I made this salad for a friend who can't cook at the moment. I thought it turned out awesome - of the little I had to taste test. I added some sun dried tomatoes that I had on hand, but otherwise followed the recipe.
I included a couple bags of spinach for them too, so they could have a hearty lunch salad.

I would love to make this for me/us, but since it has couscous in it, Ebon won't even touch it - booo.

Butternut squash Mac and Cheese

I made Butternut squash Mac and Cheese a few weeks ago and I thought it turned out great! The only drawback was it took a bit longer and Leela went to bed later than I wanted her to.
I used the recipe in my good ol' Betty Crocker Cookbook as a guide and expanded it/added to it.

I peeled and seeded a fairly large butternut squash, cut up half in ~2" chunks, and covered the chunks in about 2" of water and cooked/boiled until tender.
I used a whole box (1 lb) of swirly pasta, can't for the life of me remember it's name now.
I cooked that in boiling water per the instructions.
I made 2 cups of the thin white sauce, per Betty Crocker (in a saucepan make a roux with 2T flour, 2 T butter, salt and pepper gradually whisk in 2 c milk and bring to a slight boil, and remove from heat).
When the squash was done, I pureed the squash in the blender and added the white sauce as needed for liquid.
When the pasta was cooked and drained I combined the squash mix with pasta some butter and probably about 8 oz of cheddar cheese, grated on low until everything was melted and mixed together well - yum!

The butternut squash made it really creamy.

Apparently I like making this and make this at least once a year - here and here (though using pumpkin), each time has been a little different.