…and I figured I’d boil some brown rice and make a green salad after getting home from the beach. I usually don’t have much energy to cook dinner after baking in the sun all day and chasing my kids through sand and waves. That’s what summer time is about for parents, right? We sleep well at night because a) we’re pleased with ourselves as parents for being actively (read: physically) involved our children’s lives, and b) we are worn out due to our level of activity.

So today I get home and the house smells so like a Mexican restaurant, I almost expected to hear Mariachis. Yet, all I heard was “Momma, there’s sand in my belly button.” The clean up necessitated by a day at the beach makes me want to … eat. But I didn’t want rice. I didn’t want a salad. I wanted something comforting and homey and … fattening. I dodged those Doritos all day at the beach and I’ve decided to say the heck with calorie counting and indulge. Besides, I’m at a chronological point in the month when I will mysteriously gain five pounds overnight anyway.

After de-sanding my girls, watching the Food Network, (Giada is doing something with cheese) I remember I have some rich, deeply sharp and flavorful white cheddar in the fridge (I stole it out of my Mom’s SubZero). I also have some Gemelli that was on sale last week. And bubbling around those now tender, fully cooked chicken breasts in my slow cooker is a chipotle/green chili/tomato broth that could blend very nicely into a cheese sauce. The chicken would shred easily and add protein to the mac and cheese…I see where my imagination is going with this, and my appetite is sold.

That’s the thing about me, I could have zero energy for laundry, paying bills or pruning, but I always, always have energy to invent a new recipe and whip up a meal. Watching food shows invigorates me, it’s the creative equivalent of about four Espresso shots.

Within ten seconds of lounging on the couch (“Momma, there’s a rumbling in my tummy”), I’m running hot water into a pot to boil pasta, I’m grating white cheddar for a miraculous, snowy cheese sauce. After shredding two of four chicken breasts with forks, I add five ladlefuls of broth from the slow cooker into the cheese sauce. The broth generated by all of the ingredients I put in the slow cooker eight hours ago now dots the white background of the cheese sauce with green chilies and red tomato pieces. My meal is festive. My meal is flavorful. My meal is anything but the same old thing. Not bad for being away from my kitchen all day.

But the best part about the slow cooker concoction is this...the remaining shredded chicken breasts combined with the strained broth from the slow cooker makes a fabulous tortilla soup for tomorrow. Into the fridge the remaining chicken and strained slow cooker broth go…waiting until tomorrow evening, when hunger strikes again. It’ll be a 1-2-3 inning as I add a little more chicken stock, some tortilla strips, and a dollop of sour cream to the soup bowls.

With all the time I’ll have tomorrow freed up by an already cooked meal, I could do so many things…fold laundry? (Probably not) … trim my drooping Gerberas? (They’ll fall back into the planter eventually) … pay bills? (They get deducted from my account anyway) …or, I know! Get sandy all over again.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken

4 big, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*2 cans stewed tomatoes, Mexican recipe with chilies and seasonings
*1 can roasted, diced green chilies
*1 can chipotle peppers
16 oz. chicken stock
* do not drain contents of can

Cook on low for six-eight hours, until chicken is cooked through.
Reserve broth/liquid for macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni & Cheese with Chipotle & Chicken

1 package gemelli, macaroni, fusilli, or whatever tube-type pasta you have
7 tbsp. butter
7 tbsp. all purpose flour
3 cups half & half or whole milk
4 cups shredded white cheddar
2 cups broth from slow cooker chipotle chicken
2 chicken breasts from slow cooker chipotle chicken, shredded

Boil water for pasta.
When water is boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions.
Start the roux – melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat.
When butter is melted, add flour.
Whisk flour and butter well until roux is thick, about 1-2 minutes.
Add half & half or milk, mix in well.
When mixture is thick and will coat the back of a (wooden) spoon, add cheese.
When cheese is melted into sauce, add broth from slow cooker, mix well.
Keep on low until pasta is cooked.
Drain pasta when done cooking, then add to cheese sauce.
When macaroni/pasta is mixed with cheese sauce, add in shredded chicken.