Slow Cooker: Vegetable Enchiladas

So it's not the best picture in the world, but these warm, satisfying, and healthy enchiladas are absolutely delicious and come together super quickly. Best of all? You can mix and match, using any vegetables you like to get a variety of tastes without having to come up with original meals.

To me, the beauty of a slow cooker is little effort. If a slow cooker recipe involves a lot of prep or steps throughout the process, it defeats the purpose. I want something I can mix up in 15 minutes or less in the morning, pop into the slow cooker, and head to work. I want to come home and be able to play with my daughter, knowing that dinner is done and all I have to do is unplug and scoop. This recipe fulfills that and more. Once you realize how incredibly easy, delicious, and healthy this is, you'll be making it day after day.

Prep Time: 10 mim
Cook Time: 4 hrs

Black Bean-Butternut Squash-Corn-Quinoa Casserole with Enchilada Sauce

This deceptively simple vegetarian slow-cooker meal manages to imbibe layer upon layer of flavors for a cool-weather dish that hits the spot. I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out (I wasn't even entirely sure what 'enchilada sauce' was until I looked at the ingredients) but it was absolutely delicious, hitting all of the right spots. It provides tons of veggies, filling protein from the beans and quinoa, cheesy goodness, and lots of warmth as the weather begins to get cooler. It also takes all of 10 minutes to prep if you use frozen ingredients like I did, making this super fast to toss in the slow cooker before heading off to work. Bonus? You can assemble it the night before, put the slow cooker in the refrigerator, and just plop on to cook as you head out the door the next morning.

I chose to use frozen veggies (corn, butternut squash) for this meal, but you can certainly use fresh as well if the ingredients are in season. However, keep in mind that if you are choosy about your frozen veggies you may just end up with more nutrients. Look for flash-frozen veggies that are frozen on the spot and double check the ingredients to make sure nothing else (like salt) is added. There should only be one ingredient in a bag of frozen butternut squash...butternut squash! By flash freezing the produce all of the nutrients are retained. That fresh butternut squash you buy, however, might have been picked a week or more before and then sit on your counter for another week or two. By then, sadly, nearly all of the nutrients will have disappeared. Frozen is actually good in this case! So stop feeling guilty and go the easy route with this tasty meal.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 7.5 hours

Chilled Fresh Corn Soup with Cajun Shrimp

What do you do when a thick, hot soup was planned and the day ends up being 100 F? Chill it, of course! Chilled soups hardly have to be the domain of tomatoes and gazpacho - there are plentiful delicious options that will hit your soup craving while keeping the weather cool. The only downside is that since this is already a slow cooker recipe you're talking about planning a day in advance. You'd need to put the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and then chill overnight... not always easy with long work days and children at home. However, the good news, is that it requires very little effort time. The ingredients go in with almost no prep and so the cooking and chilling takes very little additional "hands-on" time.

That being said, this soup is meant to be warm so you can certainly go that route if you want dinner tonight - or if you're simply making this in cooler weather than when I made it. Keep in mind the cajun shrimp will be the tiniest bit spicy. This pairs wonderfully with chilled corn soup but if you're not a fan of spice perhaps keep a lighter hand or try another favorite seasoning if you're going the warm route.

Time: 30 min "hands-on" -- 8.25 hrs total for warm soup -- add overnight if chilling!