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make ahead slow cooker chicken tikka masala
February 21, 2020

Slow Cookin’

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I busted out the slow cooker this week for the first time in forever! 

On Monday night, we had our friends Heather, Mike, and their toddler Casey over for dinner. Matt and I were both working most of the day, so I put our slow cooker to work so dinner would be ready by the time we got home and our friends arrived – perfect!

make ahead slow cooker chicken tikka masala

On the menu was my Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, which I prepped ahead a few weeks ago with my friend Jackie during our meal prep mini-party (aka just the two of us, while Matt and her husband and the kids hung out). We just put all the raw recipe ingredients into a ziplock bag, then froze it for later.

I popped it out of the freezer on Monday morning, defrosted it by placing the ziplock bag into a big bowl of water, and then threw it into the slow cooker when it was mostly defrosted.

slow cooker chicken tikka masala prep ahead

All we had to do that evening was throw together a salad, which was great because then we could all focus on hanging out vs. one of us being in the kitchen missing out on the fun. 🙂

Heather and Mike brought rice and fruit salad to contribute and we had ourselves a feast!

prep ahead slow cooker chicken tikka masala

Another yummy dinner we had this week was a shrimp and rice bowl. 

shrimp and rice edamame bowl

Riese was entertained by helping me slice the radishes (and by stirring the carrots + edamame aka eating them) – she loves her plastic toddler knives and they actually work decently well!

toddler slicing veggies

It was one of those nights where Riese was bored and as a result a bit fussy, so the cooking was helpful to get her engaged/focused on something else. 

I’ve been giving Riese her toddler knife for meals sometimes, too – she loves slicing her food right before eating it! She was slicing banana and tortilla in the photo below.

make ahead breakfast burrito

I was eating another one of the make-ahead breakfast burritos I prepped and stored in the freezer – having these on hand is so awesome. This batch is made with chicken instead of scrambled egg to mix it up so I’ve been having them for lunch a lot, too!

We had a lot of scrambled eggs this week outside of burritos, though – we had a dropped egg carton situation but Matt was smart and cracked all the broken eggs into a bowl right away so we were still able to use them. Scrambled eggs it was! Plus peanut butter toast and fruit salad. 

easy breakfast scrambled eggs fruit peanut butter toast

As for fitness this week, I did my usual weekly line up of early morning workouts: 1 yoga class, 1 pilates boot camp class, and 1 run. 

The monuments were basically deserted during the run yesterday morning! It was cloudy so no super amazing sunrises but it was still pretty. 

running by the washington dc reflecting pool

4 miles, check! 

dc half marathon training rock n roll

I’ve been running twice a week for my DC rock ‘n’ roll half marathon training and that feels right. If I wanted to set a new PR or try to really race it, I’d definitely want to do one more run, but two feels right for my race goals (finish + have fun) and also my current lifestyle/what I can realistically fit in energy and time-wise. 

And now, I will leave you with two fun photos.

First, for my Zara fans: here we are cozy on the couch one night this week after Riese went to bed.

cozy cat on couch

And second, this photo of Matt from Wednesday night… after Riese went to bed. Yep, we totally stayed up and played with her toys… 😉

We were pretty impressed with our final creation! Turns out playing with blocks is pretty good stress relief for adults!

One more thing before I go: I’m on the “Momosas” (great name, right?) Podcast this week! We had a candid conversation about diet culture, intuitive eating (for us + our kids), thin privilege, mom guilt, and more. Check it out if you’re interested in some unfiltered chatter on parenthood, postpartum body image, etc.!


Please note there are affiliate links in this post.

- anne
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19 comments
  • Sara February 21, 2020 · 10:06AM:
    The photo of Matt with the sculpture made me smile! Glad you had fun playing with the toys. Impressive final project. Have a great weekend!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 1:28PM:
      We were pretty pleased with it haha
      Reply
    • Emily J February 21, 2020 · 3:56PM:
      Made me smile, too! Anne, I love that the guys did that!
      Reply
      • Anne
        February 23, 2020 · 2:38PM:
        :) It was fun!
        Reply
  • Jane Lennox February 21, 2020 · 11:49AM:
    That final sculpture was fannetastic! Bet Riese was surprised when she saw it the next morning.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 1:28PM:
      She was excited to knock it down! ;)
      Reply
  • The Many Thoughts of a Reader
    February 21, 2020 · 12:07PM:
    My husband likes to play with legos after bedtime too!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 1:28PM:
      It really is quite relaxing!
      Reply
  • Haley February 21, 2020 · 12:08PM:
    Love your blog! I bet my son will like those knives too. Super cute you guys played with her toys. Amazing creation!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 1:29PM:
      Thanks Haley! I hope your son has fun helping you in the kitchen with the knives, too!
      Reply
  • Maria February 21, 2020 · 1:53PM:
    Would love to recreate the shrimp and rice bowl this weekend! What did you throw together for the sauce?
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 1:58PM:
      It was a sun basket meal! https://sunbasket.com/recipe/southeast-asian-shrimp-and-rice-bowls-with-edamame-slaw
      Reply
  • Jamie February 21, 2020 · 2:02PM:
    Loved the photo of your little CHEF! Cooking is my stress reviler and brings me joy! For Valentines I borrowed some of your flavors from the orange juice ginger salmon dish and turned them into a wonderful champagne / vodka flavorful punch. Everyone loved it!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 2:34PM:
      Oh yum! What a creative idea!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner February 21, 2020 · 2:29PM:
    Another week of wonderful activities. Very nice to see the little chef in action...
    Reply
  • Rebecca February 21, 2020 · 2:58PM:
    Love this! What set of legos/duplos do you have? I love the little people and think my daughter would as well. We have the children-safe knives for her and haven't busted them out yet - love seeing how you are using them.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 21, 2020 · 3:05PM:
      These are actually super old ones that my mom gave us - they used to be my brother's and she saved them!
      Reply
  • Amy D February 21, 2020 · 4:26PM:
    love Zara the cat :-)
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 23, 2020 · 2:37PM:
      She says meow :)
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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