Slow Cooker Shredded Barbeque Chicken

Shredded barbeque chicken that's as easy as ordering pizza.

After the busy holidays, and cookie making from hell, I needed something simple and easy to make for dinner, that would leave leftovers that didn't suck. (Sometimes I just can't with leftovers, you know?). And what's easier than throwing some chicken, spices, and barbeque sauce into a Crock Pot?

With as little as 10 minutes of prep, the most amazing, spicy, shredded chicken was born. Reminiscent of summer picnics and barbeques, it's the easiest lazy meal I've made all year.

Candy Stripe Cookies

I wanted to like making these cookies. I wanted to enjoy how delicate and perfect they are, the care and precision it takes to colour and roll them. But really? Fuck these cookies.

Don't get me wrong-- they're delicious. Crispy and sweet, and with a subtle holiday theme. But somewhere along the way, maybe between work, Christmas, parenting, and catching up on season 3 of Community, I lost my baking patience. Cookies blackened, fingers burnt, and stencils sogged (it's a word, okay?).

I didn't end up making the full batch-- my fingers grew tired of piping, prepping, stenciling, and then finally rolling up hot dough. I would like to try them again, though. Just on a day I'm feeling more determined.

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

I'm kind of weird about soup. The texture grosses me out, and sometimes there's too much mixing of the things. But this one? This one even soup haters can love.

I picked up a slow cooker on sale at London Drugs a couple of months ago. Nothing fancy, just a basic Crock-pot to do my bidding during the day while I lazed about listening to Justin Bieber and stuff. After my initial disgust at slow cooker recipes and their obsession with canned soups and other questionable food products, I found the Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection at the library. (Side note: If you're looking for cookbooks at VPL, I have them all. Sorry about that). The recipes use real, natural ingredients, are straightforward and versatile, and I haven't had one turn out bad yet.

This soup is my favourite, though, and a perfect antidote to the increasingly cold weather that's hitting Vancouver. Even if you hate soup, there's a good chance you'll love it.