Most Sunday’s I take it pretty easy, but this past Sunday, it was snowing out and really cold. It was our first frost/snow of the season. I don’t mind the snow at all unless I have to drive in it or be out in it for a long period of time (other than skiing or snowshoeing). Since I didn’t have to drive in it, I chose to make this particular snowy Sunday my “Self Care” Sunday.
What does a “Self Care Sunday” look and feel like, you’re wondering?! Well for me, it’s lots of rest, healthy, nourishing food, a long soak in my bathtub with essential oils and epsom salts, a good movie or good book to read after I’ve soaked and changed into warm, toasty and clean pajamas. My self care Sunday’s always involve either staying in or being in clean, fresh pj’s all day and night! It feels comforting, recharging and relaxing to me. I live a very busy and hectic life most of the time, but I’m trying to slow down now that I’m pregnant with twins. Slowing down this past Sunday was just what I needed and it felt so great to not have to be anywhere and to just truly relax.
This particular Self Care Sunday, I was really exhausted. I spent all day Saturday at an awesome blogger conference, “Fuel Your Influence” hosted by the Denver Bloggers Club that I’m a member of. I learned so much and am excited to implement all of it, but it was a very long day for me and implementation can wait until I’m more rested. When I got home from the conference, I could do no more than get comfy and lay on the couch. My pregnancy exhaustion kicked in full time on Saturday night and stayed with me pretty much all day on Sunday. Hence the need for my self care Sunday routine.
The other thing I did on this snowy, cold Sunday was drag my crock pot out of hibernation. I haven’t used my trusty crock pot since last winter. I love using my crockpot in the winter and was super excited to make a delicious meal for my Self Care Sunday. I made a Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings. The dumplings didn’t turn out the greatest, and in fact, the next time I make this, I plan on making Gluten Free biscuits instead of the dumplings. The dumplings were really heavy and soaked the moisture of the dish up too much. If we had eaten the meal without the dumplings, it would have been outstanding. Lesson learned for next time.
If you are interested in making a similar Chicken and Dumplings or Biscuits meal, here’s my recipe:
Gluten Free (GF) Chicken and Dumplings/Biscuits in the Crock Pot
- 2 boneless chicken breasts defrosted (if frozen) and cubed
- 1 medium sized potato cut up into small chunks to add some substance to the sauce
- 1 can of Gluten Free cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
- 1 can of Milk (I used Almond Milk since I’m lactose intolerant, but any kind of milk that you like will work)
- 1 can of water (I just used the soup can to measure this and the milk)
- Add any spices – I added ground pepper, garlic powder and Herbs De Provence (I love this stuff and use in all of my cooking, even my salads!)
- Cook on low in crock-potfor 3 hours
- After 3 hours, add 1 bag of mixed veggies (I like the kind that has peas, carrots and corn) and add about a ¼ bag of frozen onions, if you like onions, if not, omit the onions.
- Cover and cook for 45 minutes to one more hour, still on low
- When you have about a half hour left, either mix up a GF dumpling or GF biscuit mixture (I like Bisquick GF all purpose Baking mix for Biscuits) and bake your biscuits or drop the dumplings into the crock pot to steam for at least a half hour to 45 minutes.
- My dumplings didn’t turn out so great, so I’m not sharing that recipe. I’m sure you can google a GF dumpling recipe and have them turn out much better than what I made. 🙂
- Once the biscuits or dumplings are ready, you are ready to serve your yummy Crock Pot Chicken and Biscuits or dumplings meal.
This was a very comforting and filling meal for my snowy and cold self care Sunday. My husband loved it too. I highly recommend you pull out your crock pot and make a comfort type meal like this one or an old favorite of yours, the next time you need a self care day of any kind.
I’d love to see your favorite self care, comfort crock pot meal recipes. Please share them in the comments so I can try a new recipe out for my next self care Sunday!