Anyone can cook, as long as they follow the directions...

"Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore."
~Thomas Keller

One of the things I love is eating. Yeah, food is always my go-to. Sad..? eat. Happy...? Eat. You get the picture. I'm not incredibly picky either. I love a good steak dinner, but leftover cold pizza from two nights ago is also an acceptable meal. (No shame) I love cooking. Baking is kinda my nemesis, and I rely on my sister and my bountiful baskets order for all my baked goods, but I can handle cooking. My mother raised us in the kitchen. I inherited my odd cooking style from her. While, I can follow a recipe, I tend to go off on my own and make crazy decisions while cooking. Who needs to measure and take the time to be precise? 1 heaping vs. 1 flat tbsp or a packed vs. not packed cup of ingredient x are inconsequential.

This food philosophy drives my husband mad. He is a firm believer in following directions. His philosophy is that "Anyone can cook, as long as they follow the directions." Often he will come home to a meal and one of his first questions is, "Is this a recipe?" I'm never exactly sure how to answer that question. Most of the time the food I make comes from a perusal of the cabinets and a last-minute decision, rather than careful menu planning and ingredient purchases. I really think that he assumes that if I didn't read the list of ingredients off of a page than it is not 'real' food. (Silly boy - someone had to come up with it.)

Since becoming a mom I have really enjoyed my crockpot. I have come up with several soup-like recipes that my family will enjoy for years. I always know I have made a 'keeper' when Cam asks me to please write this one down so I can make it again.

Here is the soup I came up with last night. We had evening plans and I didn't want to spend the $$ on a dive through meal, so I threw some stuff in the crockpot. My goal was a lighter meal that was high in protein.

Black Bean Chicken Soup:

Ingredients
• 3 large frozen chicken breasts
• 1 can cream of chicken soup

• 2-3 cups water
• 2 cubes chicken bullion (crushed)
• 1 fresh celery stock cut to desired size
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or chopped
• 1 large hand full of sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1 can black beans (drain the bulk of the juice from it)
• 1 small can V8 tomato juice
• paprika
• onion powder
• Salt
• Pepper

Toppings (optional)
• Sour Cream
• Shredded Cheese
• Tortilla or Corn Chips

To make, just DUMP all the ingredients into a crockpot and turn it to high. I cooked mine until the chicken was done and ready to shred. Shred or chunk the chicken, however you wanna break it apart, and put it back in the pot. It really is SO easy and yummy. We eat it by putting a few (or a lot) of chips in the bowl, adding the soup and then topping with a little sour cream and cheese. This dish is not a life-changing one, but is good for a lighter meal when you are needing to pack in some nutrition without eating a large dinner.

*SIDE NOTE*
As is true most of the time, the leftovers are even better than the origingal meal. Oh, and my 20 month old is a big fan of this one.