Blogging about the daily joys and frustrations of modern motherhood.
This is one of the simplest things I've ever made that I still feel justified calling "home-made." I mean there are only 7 ingredients, and 2 of them are salt and pepper. Even if you claim you can't cook, you can throw 7 ingredients in a slow cooker and make your family believe you can cook. After 6 to 8 hours of low and slow cooking, the chicken is tender and bursting with sweet, tangy barbecue flavor.
Read MoreEvery year, for as long as I can remember, I have watched the Oscars and, of course, the Red Carpet, with my mom.
We usually fail to make dinner plans until the last minute and end up getting pizza or some other fast food, but this year I decided I should plan ahead and actually cook dinner. I wanted to make something that wasn't too labor-intensive, but would be flavorful and satisfying on a cold winter evening. Also something we could eat with chips because I always like an excuse to eat chips.
I think it will be a new Oscar night tradition.
Read MoreLast week, I invited my mom, who is generally not a very adventurous eater, to join us for dinner before staying to babysit one kid while I took the other to a school event (grandma deserves a reward for occupying my - what's a nice way of saying monstrous? - "spirited" toddler when I can't). I wanted to make something that she would enjoy and my kids would eat without complaint. It was also freezing outside and my husband was out of town. That combination called for a non-fussy meal that I could throw in the slow cooker in the morning.
Read MoreValerie Jackson is a basic mom, a tolerable wife, and a self-deprecating writer. She is attempting to raise two young monsters into nice young ladies in Michigan. She has a law degree that’s only current use is to win arguments with her husband.
