AFFORDABLE CROCKPOT MEALS

[@TheStarlujan]

I work at a casino here on the Vegas strip as a Banquet cook. We use crispy deep fried prosciutto on one of our chicken dishes as a topping, and it’s a big hit. We slice hundreds of lbs of prosciutto just for this dish!

[@LAactor]

Is a banquet cook different than the cooks for the buffets? Do you do stuff for the EDR?

[@ArdentMichelle]

thanks for sharing this!

[@yellowtiger6296]

What a nice vacation! Thank you for sharing all the pictures and experiences with us. As always, the food looked amazing.

[@ArdentMichelle]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed my video! 😊 Have a great rest of your weekend!

[@LAactor]

I was totally harassing her gently to put the vacation footage in!! Good decision.

[@Patricia-nq8lo]

Your Tuscan Bean Soup looks delicious and I plan to try it soon. What a beautiful getaway weekend you must have enjoyed. California is truly a beautiful place. And to travel from one gorgeous place (Irvine looks really pretty) to another is truly a treat for you. Have a great week. See you Sunday!

[@ArdentMichelle]

Thank you so much! 😊. Hope you enjoy!

[@eloiselle7933]

Aldi sold a raclette grill last year ago for a good price. I bought it and haven't taken it out of the box. Thanks for the reminder. WIth the holidays coming up, I'm sure I can have some fun with it.

[@ArdentMichelle]

So many options of what to use it for!

[@LAactor]

I'm upset now. Ralph's had a grill for $15 sale price normally $44.⁹⁹ and I'm kicking myself for not getting it. Didn't think I'd need it!!

[@moonstoneway2694]

Glad you had such a great vacation with your family! Perfect spot to go to and the food looked delicious.

[@buffys3477]

I’m not Italian but I’ve had fried prosciutto many times cooked with roasted cherry tomatoes and served with pasta. It’s delicious.

[@ArdentMichelle]

great idea with the pasta!

[@chellesoup]

Your vacation looked amazing! Thanks for more wonderful meal ideas.

[@sheemaalen9286]

Yummie!! I enjoyed this soo much! Thx for taking us along! Beautiful bnb. Nice ur sons can pitch in too! 😊

[@anitaknight8235]

This is how I make my veggie soup with beans. I add boullion powder as well. I keep dehydrated mixed veggies on hand so I can make a quick soup or pot of beans with added nutrition.

[@sharonfarnsworth3325]

Thanks for taking us on vacation! Glad you got some rest & change of pace!

[@shelzp7272]

Beautiful out there in the desert… 🎶

[@clotildecorneille1267]

I love your channel! I love your nails in the videos. One day you should tell us your nail routine☺️. Great ideas as usual.

[@ArdentMichelle]

Aw, thanks so much! I appreciate that. 😊

[@rebekahhansen1112]

What a lovely getaway . I had gone to my sister 's who lives in Arizona over a month ago .The desert is magical . We had opportunity to see wild horses right from the hi way. I think your grill would be great for mexican food.

[@ArdentMichelle]

I think it would be too! I agree about the desert. It was great for stargazing too!

[@LAactor]

​@@ArdentMichelleif you go to Nevada or more remote and east like New Mexico you might see weird lights in the sky. 👾👽

[@dianethoroughman9541]

What a nice vacation! Were those Joshua trees I saw in your pictures? Your food looks amazing! And that raclette looks so versatile. Maybe in a year or two I will buy one for my daughter and her husband.

[@ArdentMichelle]

@@dianethoroughman9541 yes they were Joshua trees. 😊 we were actually very close to Joshua Tree National Park.

[@MM-gl5th]

Thank you so much for this and all your wonderful videos! I made the white bean soup in my thrifted 3 quart instant pot. Cooked the beans from dry (I never soak) for about 42 minutes with natural release. I then added cajun seasoning and the diced carrots and cooked in saute mode with the beans till tender, then I added baby spinach and the tomatoes, So good, and you are right, those beans are very rich and filling. Next time I may use Italian seasoning and add small pasta to make a pasta e fagioli. Thank you for all of your wonderful videos!

[@ArdentMichelle]

Sounds yummy! Thank YOU for watching! 😁

[@maryellenbeltracchi]

Being an north east girl, i chuckled when you said rice seems like the best match for sausage and peppers. That's actually a THING in Italian families, and it is usually served on a big hoagie roll. Also, prosciutto and pancetta are often sautéed as an ingredient, pretty sure no one in my family would object if it subbed for bacon, except is more expensive where I live now.

[@maryellenbeltracchi]

You can get coyote collars and jackets for walking your pup. It gives the pups the perfect punk look 😂 and the spikes make it really difficult for the coyotes to grab them.

[@ArdentMichelle]

I've seen those. Great idea!

[@sharonhart3735]

Looks very delicious

[@happygardener28]

If you live in a warm/hot and humid area you can grow your turmeric just like ginger. They both need lots of warmth so it's not an option for the majority of the USA and Europe. But the flowers of both are so pretty and it's so satisfying to get more than you planted in return.

[@LAactor]

Do they like Sandy soil like carrot?

[@happygardener28]

@@LAactor I haven't tried turmeric as my area isn't hot enough. There are channels here on YT who have grown some and you should be able to find the answer to your question. My ginger liked a light weight potting soil but I moved and haven't found a spot that has enough consistent warmth to try again.

[@glorytogodhomestead3495]

Thanks!

[@ArdentMichelle]

@@glorytogodhomestead3495 thank you so much for the support! 💜

[@lenoraw1098]

Thanks for the cooking ideas as well as sharing your vacation. It was a beautiful place! I had never heard of the racketeering grill but am looking into one

[@intuitivegina]

Oh my God if I had that soup I would want to eat two big bowls of it also it looks so delicious

[@elenacala]

Great ideas, I'm gonna make both!!! It's so nice to take time away, glad you had that time to rest and reset.

[@saraherber1887]

Great soup! I put it on my cold weather soup list. I buy fresh turmeric at the Indian market. I keep it along with a small grater in a plastic bag in the freezer. I do it to always have the grater available and to keep the coloring on only one grater. I just put together my skinny storage cart. You are right. Fabulous storage solution. Have a great week!

[@ArdentMichelle]

Yay! 🥳 I'm so glad you like the storage cart! Gosh, fresh turmeric sounds like a pain with staining everything. Is it that much better than the powder that it's worth it?

[@saraherber1887]

I think the taste is better in fresh applications such as salad dressing. I can't tell the difference in long cooking Indian dishes.

[@saraherber1887]

@ArdentMichelle I should also add that ground spices from India were recalled because lead was found in them. It was some time ago.....I made the switch and haven't gone back to dry turmeric. I even grow turmeric in a couple of flower pots. I mean no offense to the people who were unknowingly selling spices containing lead.

[@CathieG]

Looks like a great weekend away! 🤩😍🥰

[@kristaharmon7584]

Thank you …I was trying to put a menu together for this week. When Thanksgiving is the focus - the main star, I tend to forget about all the other meals lol. So a crockpot meal would be perfect for Wednesday.

[@thumpzH]

I bought some croissants this week specially because I was craving them for breakfast sandwiches. So good.

[@ArdentMichelle]

I never buy croissants for sandwiches. I've been missing out.

[@LAactor]

​@@ArdentMichelleha funny, I ALWAYS buy crossaint sandos for whenever there is the option!! That's why I used to only pick BK decades ago! When food was still good.

[@VictoriaFerland-gu7rb]

Hello 👩‍🍳 Michelle. So happy you had such a wonderful vacation. Beautiful house and even better views. Good to see your pup 🐶 Coyotes. I had to stop walking in the evenings because Bitzy and I were being watched. The coyotes may have thought she was a skunk 🦨 😆 but I wasn’t counting on that. A nomad friend just had an encounter. A female was trying to lure her dog closer. FOOD all looked great. Linguica is a favorite in my area. Makes a great kale soup or peppers and onions. I like to add left pasta to my bean soup sometimes. The griddle is so versatile. Crispy prosciutto. Yummy. I love breakfast sandwiches especially on a rich buttery croissant 🥐. The pool looked clean so I would have been in it swimming 🏊 the hit the hot tub. Thanks for the wonderful video. God bless and have a fabulous week 💟

[@LAactor]

There's an animal spray called HALT! and it's specifically designed to ward off four legged creatures like this. She's lucky they're scareable. I'm up in the foothills near Pasadena and the arroyo is home to coyotes and they have been chasing people here. Stories online in the neighborhood group of a guy fighting them off and cops not being able to scare them with lights and sirens. I'm close enough sometimes I'll hear them howl in the night.

[@ArdentMichelle]

Thanks so much. 😁

[@VictoriaFerland-gu7rb]

@@ArdentMichelleyou deserved every single minute. 🩵

[@lindawilson290]

Thanks for showing us your lovely mini-vacation. It looks like it was a nice get-away. ~ Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, AM.

[@ArdentMichelle]

You too! 😁

[@vinnydabarber]

That place you rented is very nice! I'm glad you had a great time. That Tuscan meal looks delicious! I've just started looking for recipes like that! Yay, Michelle to the rescue! lol I also can no longer have dairy and my life revolved around it. I love cheese and anything with cheese in it. PS, loved your video! ❤

[@ArdentMichelle]

from one former cheese lover to another, I'm sorry to hear that you can't eat it anymore. 😞 It's such a bummer.

[@tmdavidson1478]

I have made a tea with raw ginger and turmeric. It's great for mental focus.

[@carlenekalebaugh864]

I’m so glad you got a vacation! You work so hard!❤

[@ArdentMichelle]

It was much needed. 😊

[@ambreewilliams6585]

Looks like you had a great time on your vacation! Beautiful pictures! 👍🏾👍🏾 I'm getting ready to make a beef lentil soup with cornbread. I've been thinking about this for the past few days and I have a nice bunch of rainbow chard that I harvested from my patio garden that I plan to add to it. YUM!!! 😋😋😋

[@ArdentMichelle]

oh wow! That sounds like a great meal! I was just eyeing some red Swiss chard the other day. How wonderful that you were able to grow it on your patio!

[@TXPrincessPaula]

What a wonderful vacation experience! Thank you for sharing your fun. :-)

[@donnamarsh3474]

Great food ideas, awesome scenery!❤❤

[@LAactor]

I love that you're getting so much more views now. There was a trick I tried. Blast your video with comments. It only works if you're getting major low views. It usually won't work again but if you remember that plus you doing the challenge video was perfect timing because that's what it worked. Remember me when your views keep going up and up!! The slow week was me delaying commenting during this vacay trip so I could see if it stuck and it did! I was completely expecting the closing drone shot to be of Joshua Tree for some reason. I count this as a holiday special. Those special times when you keep the outro song but throw in the skyline of the special or something. Unless it costs an unreasonable amount of money to get the footage that you wouldn't get back.. but I'm happy for the ending either way!! Thanks for the vacation foodtage! That's my request from the week you came back too so thanks!

[@ArdentMichelle]

Happy Thanksgiving! 😁

[@abunchahooey]

I love all your recipes today! The bean soup and the breakfast sandwiches most of all! I’m not a huge pot of beans fan, so that soup looked right up my alley. What a nice weekend getaway! Your grill is interesting, I’ve never heard of those. And I believe I’m going to get a rice cooker, for some reason mine is either crunchy or mushy anymore, and I’m tired of it. 😂 Have a great week and thank you. 😊

[@ArdentMichelle]

@@abunchahooey a good rice cooker makes all the difference!

[@kellyjohnson3617]

I love making refrigerator soup. I go shopping in my red and add whatever needs to get used first cuz they are leftovers from other things I made but it didn’t get used up. Usually I have something in the cupboards to make it good. Not made beans from scratch instead of canned in awhile. My crockpot is so enormous that I tend to fill it to the brim. lol. But then feel overwhelmed by eating the same food everyday. I like how you make just beans. Then you add them to various dishes all week. I need to do that. And I love your idea of adding turmeric to rice. Black pepper and ginger are great with turmeric, for taste as well as health reasons. Mostly I just use my hotpot to make soup cuz my kitchen is weirdly poorly organized. It’s big but poorly designed counter space. I have two tiny counters with electrical plugs and an enormous counter that is more of a room divider. Makes me kinda nuts cuz if I want to use my crock pot I have to move my spice rack to the useless counter so the crockpot will fit and not fall off. Maybe I should buy a small crockpot?

[@ArdentMichelle]

I like having a more moderate size crockpot/. The last one was just too big.

[@kellyjohnson3617]

@ yeah. I’m thinking it’s time to retire my giant crock to the storage shed and get a medium sized crock pot. Tho my dash mini rice cooker and my dezin hot pot have been great for soups. But overnight beans would be nice to have. Thus a crock pot is nice for that. Or even during the day while I’m working from home. I got a yogurt maker cuz it was so much less work than making yogurt in the huge crockpot. And it makes enough yogurt for the week. I don’t need yogurt for a month. lol

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

Thank you for the video!

[@tereclemmer7923]

I will be making that bean soup for sure. Your getaway looks like a great time, and you enjoyed good food. Thanks for sharing 👍🏻

[@ArdentMichelle]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Hope you have a great week! 😊

[@NoOneUKnow-c3y]

Thanks for another great video. Have a great day.

[@ArdentMichelle]

You too! 😊

[@justme5544]

Lovely vacation & food! Great crockpot recipes! Thanks for sharing!

[@arthrodea]

Fried prosciutto is awesome! It’s very thin so it fries up super crispy. Also if you like bacon but find yourself picking off the super fatty parts and really wanting the actual meat of bacon - you might really love prosciutto because it’s almost entirely meat with very little fat on the edge.

[@flightlessphoenix77]

I need to buy croissants and make sandwiches, haven't done that for too long! I'm veggie but they are really good with cheese and tomato in.

[@nanny8675309]

I love bean broth and I think the key to the soup is adding canned tomatoes because whenever I add a can to my vegetable soup,it elevates it. Thanks for the info on coyotes! I’ve always wanted to go to a place like that with my dogs and now I’m gonna think twice because they’re recall is not the best😫

[@Mialuvsveggies]

I enjoy a small knob of fresh turmeric in smoothies, curries and soups. It's like ginger's milder cousin with a lovely yellow hue. It's a little fruity, and not spicy like fresh ginger root is. I also like to freeze fresh turmeric root to store it, just like ginger, to avoid waste.

[@ArdentMichelle]

thanks for sharing!

[@diannthomas7849]

That little grill looks like it would be great. Im glad you had a nice get away. Nothing better than quality time with the family. Thanis for sharing!

[@ArdentMichelle]

thanks for watching!

[@allyrooh3628]

What a beautiful trip! The sausage/pepper meal looks so easy & tasty. You are so close to 40k friends!

[@vonneblazier814]

Hawks and owls love cats and little to mid-size dogs too.

[@ArdentMichelle]

I think she would eat a hawk. 😂 She's a scrappy little thing.

[@glorytogodhomestead3495]

It’s time for Sunday night bedtime story for me 😊

[@kellyjohnson3617]

What a clever way to use a rackette grill!. And yes, cooked prosciutto is basically called bacon in Italy. Asparagus cooked with prosciutto is wonderful. Btw. Your desert vacation looks like Joshua tree. I have been to every national park in CA, and multiple times and never to Joshua tree. I need to plan a trip there soon. Not all places accept cats cuz my cats has special needs so I always take her with me. She’s super well behaved and Uber fastidiously clean, but not every place accept cats. I’m gonna have to look into it. Idyllwild and big bear and lake arrowhead have some great cabin rentals that I’ve been to that accept cats. Thanks for sharing your vacation views and good eats.

[@ArdentMichelle]

We were very close to Joshua Tree National Park. I camped there with my friends once. Its beautiful.

[@lexicuryk4414]

Thank You for sharing your vacation...beautiful location...the grill looks very interesting.

[@ArdentMichelle]

glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!

[@vonneblazier814]

To get that same taste with plant based sausage, you have to cut them in 1/2 inch thick slices and grill them on both sides. Then add them to your recipe.

[@helentrbuhovich7349]

Hi Michelle. Just found your channel and been binge watching. So much helpful advice, thank you. I did note you have had a kidney stone issue. So sorry, because it's super painful. I'm a nutritionist and you may not realize but spinach, bring high in oxalic acid, is a frequent culprit causing kidney stones. Whether it is raw or cooked. I ran into trouble myself with getting back pains...once I cut out the cooked spinach, they were gone.

[@ArdentMichelle]

Hello and welcome to my channel 😁 yes, the kidney stones are so painful!!! I saw a specialist and he determined that mine were not caused by oxalates and he said that even if they were, that if I drank enough water it wouldn't matter....so he has me drinking lots of water. I'm also supposed to be cutting salt, which is hard because I do love salt. I'm glad you were able to find the cause of your back pain.

[@helentrbuhovich7349]

@ArdentMichelle 🙏

[@allenguimond4634]

Prosciutto bacon , yumm.❤

[@LindaC616]

I would never, but she's go proof!,😅

[@jonicabeird4657]

Lovely!!!!

[@thegigiollieshow8768]

Great video Michelle oh my goodness I love that girl and the food looked absolutely amazing and I love going to airbnbs I've only been to a handful but a lot of people don't realize they are so much less expensive actually than a hotel and the privacy and everything as well worth it I hope you and your boys have a wonderful Thanksgiving

[@ArdentMichelle]

yeah I feel like air bnb's are a game changer for being able to do little getaways with a group of people. Happy Holidays friend!

[@DebbieM1140]

❤

[@dr.cherylkayahara-bass2571]

Absolutely right on the coyotes, they are bolder than they have been in the past. They circled my female American foxhound, and she stared them down, but there are stories of them attacking humans, at least in a group. Things seem to have changed, coyote-wise…. Glad you had such a great time with your family…

[@ArdentMichelle]

that's so scary. Glad your dog is ok.

[@sharonfarnsworth3325]

I don’t know if you fix a whole turkey for Thanksgiving but I was reading in the LA Times that 1/2 billion food is wasted at Thanksgiving. I always make turkey noodle soup afterward so maybe you do too. There are recipes with leftover veggies & potatoes to go in the soup also!

[@margeebechyne8642]

Both recipes looked delicious. I have a question about the bean soup. You said you loved the recipe and would keep it. Would you use that recipe for other kinds of beans? Like black beans, pinto beans, red beans, etc?? I'm definitely going to try it with the white beans! Looks like you all had a great vacation! Creating good memories is awesome!! Thank you, Michelle.

[@ArdentMichelle]

Hello 😁 I wouldn't use black beans because they would discolor the soup, but most other beans I would use.

[@margeebechyne8642]

@@ArdentMichelle Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!!

[@aikanae1]

I'd be adding cabbage to everything 😂 that's my universal filler ingredient. I use the chewable lactaid tablets when I really want to eat cheese. What a beautiful vacation. I'm nervous about coyotes. They can get used to humans and loose their fear. We've had several urban attacks in Phoenix this year.

[@BobbieNatividad]

You can make a salad on the side. And serve it with hummus, toasted pita bread

[@ArdentMichelle]

That’s a great idea!

[@BobbieNatividad]

@ArdentMichelle thank you so much. Happy Sunday

[@steveg3981]

Another great video. Just wondered if you could do some Keto based recipes.

[@ArdentMichelle]

Thanks do much. 😁 I'm sorry but I don't do Keto recipes. When I've tried to do low carb, nobody watches those videos.

[@Shettikka-s9v]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@ArdentMichelle]

💜

[@jenniferjohnston5548]

Glad you had some down time. I'm in Vancouver Canada. I know someone who had their beautiful angora bunny taken from a hawk. Do you have birds of prey where you are? I'd hate for your cute little doggie to be subject to that! ♡♡♡

[@ArdentMichelle]

she's too large for a bird to carry off and she's also very aggressive, so she would probably try to eat the bird. 😂

[@SheilaEnglish2]

You have such a soft, gentle voice it’s hard to imagine you having a deep and loud enough voice to scare off coyotes. I’m glad you did though as a few years ago a young woman was killed by coyotes when she was out jogging in Cape Breton so if there are enough of them, they can be threatening to humans.

[@showmenana6768]

Try mustard on your beans. Yummy 😋

[@LindaC616]

That reminds me of the 2 yrs my niece lived near Palm Springs. That kitchen is so large, you must have felt like you were in another world! That cheese on the toasted bread looks amazing 😋. Thanks for sharing your vacay! Also, you can sometimes find something called "speck italiano" at Aldi. Kind of like Germany's answer to jamón serrano- give it a try. Cheaper than serrano, which can go for $25/lb. Don't feel bad for thinking badly of the coyotes at all! On the island on the East Coast where I am now, we had about 58 20 years ago. Now we have between 100 and 200, and stories like yours abound. Some people have seen their dogs attacked while they're in their own yard on a leash. Dog didn'tsurvive, imagine witnessing that. Outdoor cats, skunks, possums, and even foxes have just about disappeared around here. We still see the occasional raccoon. Someone posted the other day the story of three of them coming out of the woods and chasing her down her driveway to her truck the other night, although I think that was on the continent and not on the island. Out here on the East Coast, they have bred with wolves and dogs. In the city I live in we are starting to see them hunt in packs, which is dangerous. Usually they are solitary hunters.

[@ArdentMichelle]

thanks for sharing about the speck. Sounds like a smokey version of prosciutto. I grew up in Alaska and we had lots of wolves, but they were never a menace to us. Last year, a coyote tried to grab a toddler at the beach. Her parents were only a few feet away. Someone got it on camera and it was on the news.

[@LindaC616]

@ArdentMichelle We had the same happen recently near Cape Cod. And about 45 minutes from me, a guy who was out hiking was attacked by a coyote. He was able to throttle it so that he could turn it into the state, and it did have rabies (sounds like Seth's "story we could use right now. ")

[@LAactor]

YOUR DOG IS ADORABLE!! Can he be like your mascot?! Would love mkre of him. They are a hit for channels. Just him being him is enough. It doesnt need to be extra and ridiculous. Like i think people wont like him being dressed as a chef and helping cook. Just him laying or running or roaming around. What's his name?! Tell me hebhas a himan name hahah

[@ArdentMichelle]

She...her name is Meesha. 😁

[@mjcreations951]

Thank you for just being here. You're one of my absolute fave channels. I adore the relationship you have with your boys. I've got 2 very young girls and it gives me all the warm feelings to think of having such relationship with them when they are adults. Sending all the love, joy and blessings to you and your fam as we enter this holiday season. Love from Canada.

[@ArdentMichelle]

That’s so sweet. 💜 I appreciate that!

[@jessicasinclair1547]

Raw turmeric will stain everything it touches so only let it touch stuff you don't mind getting stained.

[@ArdentMichelle]

thanks for the warning 😁

[@chrisharmon5453]

Just as an aside to someone who may not understand why turmeric bothers them- it is in the ginger family as you can see in this video and they are both in the nightshade family, so if you were sensitive to nightshades, they may bother you. I get an upset tummy from Ginger, unfortunately. 😮😢

[@ArdentMichelle]

Thanks for sharing this info. That's such a bummer!

[@colettebishop2173]

They're both in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, rather than the nightshade family, Solanaceae. You may be sensitive to both plant families, but they aren't related.

[@infiniteneedle9845]

If you don’t mind sharing, whatt is your monthly food budget? Also, there are monthly puzzle exchanges where a large group people will meet up in a parking lot and trade puzzles. I learned about these exchanges watching Karen Puzzles.

[@ArdentMichelle]

about $30 a week so $120 a month.

[@infiniteneedle9845]

@@ArdentMichelle Thank you!

[@lenoraw1098]

Start carrying an air horn when walking late-alone or with your dog. ♥️🇺🇸♥️

[@ArdentMichelle]

good idea!

[@danneyandroid0391]

Michelle, I am trying with all of my might to imagine your deepest, loudest voice 🫣. I'm glad you and your pupper are ok!

[@ArdentMichelle]

😂 me too. I didn't want to scrap with those coyotes, but I would for my fur baby!

[@alicehunsaker7876]

Very nice pictu