I’m on my way to Wisconsin this weekend with one pair of boots and a trench coat (everything else is still in the pod!) so I’m hoping for some mild weather…and thinking about lots of warm and cozy slow cooker meals! 

I’ve mentioned before that I used to have a snobby attitude about the slow cooker. My brother gave me a camouflaged crock pot one year for Christmas and I promptly returned it to K-Mart on December 27th. I believe I said something along the lines of “crock pots are for hicks.” I know, I know, so terrible! You know what they say, karma is a bi*#$!  Now I love them. But I will say that I much prefer my stainless steel to camouflage…

A lot of the recipes for slow cookers can be a bit old-school, or midwestern (meat and potatoes) but I keep seeing new, modern, healthy and delicious sounding crock-pot recipes. And I’m all over them.

(Real Simple)

Slow Cooker Recipes

White Bean Soup with Andouille and Collards – Real Simple

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna – Real Simple

Slow Cooked Chicken Fajitas – Heather’s Dish

Brazilian Feijoada – Cooking Light

Vegetable and Chickpea Curry – Cooking Light

Chicken Curry – Martha Stewart

Spanish Meatballs – Martha Stewart 

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken – Better Homes & Gardens

Drip Beef – The Pioneer Woman

Lentil Sweet Potato Soup – Eat Live Run 

What are you making in your slow cooker?

I was long overdue for a pho trip. Close to withdrawals actually.

So when I spent a weekend on campus for yoga sculpt training, there just happened to be a Vietnamese restaurant right down the street that I had heard had delicious pho. Fate, right?

So the Taster and I headed to a local watering hole for a pre-dinner drink (no wine or cocktails at Bona) and then it was time to get serious. We both ordered the usual – pho with beef for me; pork noodle salad + shrimp for the Taster – for comparisons sake of course. We take this quest very seriously, you know.

Bona was pretty empty, but it was pretty early on a Saturday evening and we were probably there right when those crazy college kids are just waking up from afternoon naps. I will tell you that being back on campus (U of M graduate!) for a weekend was wonderful. I love it there.

My pho was delicious. Thankfully our server steered me away from getting pho and sauteed veggies and suggested that I just add the vegetables to my pho. You can add veggies to pho?! Yes please!  The large pho which was $7.50 + veggies ($1.50). I only ate about 1/3-1/2 of it, the bowl was that HUGE! I’ll definitely get a small next time and be sure to add veggies from now on.

The Tasters salad was pretty blah and the shrimp that he had added for $1.50 were 2 mini ones. I think he would probably order something else next time – and with a menu of 5 pages, he’ll have no problem finding something.

Bona Vietnamese Restaurant

815 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 331-5011